The Wisting Quartet #1
A heavy autumn fog covers the coastal landscape of Norway like a blanket, hiding alternately revealing the summer cottages of Vestfold. Ove Bakkerud, newly separated and in need of a secluded place to gather his thoughts, arrives at the now empty summer retreat only to find his cabin ransacked. Going next door, he sees something even worse: the body of one of his burglars, beaten to death.
Police Inspector William Wisting has witnessed his share of bloody crime scenes, but this particular one echoes with a frantic desperation new to him. His unease deepens when his daughter Line decides to temporarily relocate to a cottage near the murder scene. On a break from her work as a journalist and her boyfriend, Line is plunged into the investigation when she discovers the presence of a second body. Worse yet, the evidence points to her boyfriend’s involvement in the murder.
Painstaking and swift, Closed for Winter is a piece of quality craftsmanship, with Horst meticulously bringing together an unexpectedly windy plot, highly intelligent characterizations and a delectably subtle ‘noir’ mood to create a very engrossing crime novel.
First-class crime fiction.
A classic police procedural from an author who knows what he’s talking about /.../ I would recommend anyone who likes crime fiction to devote some time to Jørn Lier Horst’s authorship. Do begin with "Closed for Winter."
Crime lovers: read!
Horst delivers all the way. He possesses a language filled with momentum and he surprises the reader time and time again.