Reviews

• “Norwegian Jørn Lier Horst’s series about William Wisting has grown into an impressive mixture of logical puzzle fiction and detective novel, where a slowly aging protagonist would rather painstakingly gather evidence than chase after action based on a gut feeling. But was Wisting always this talented? /…/ A less competent crime writer would have let their hero be a genius from the start, but Jørn Lier Horst instead points out all the mistakes one makes as a rookie. It transforms the novel into a lovely story of how even the most talented have often only learned by doing.”

• “Horst’s excellent sixth William Wisting mystery to appear in English (after Ordeal) returns to the chief inspector s early career in between his present-day reflections on his 30-plus years of service in Larvik. /…/ This prequel is a fine starting place for newcomers.”

• “Deft and effective.”

• “A new excellent novel from Lier Horst.”

• “Wisting appears as a trustworthy and reliable guide through the labyrinth of the criminal world. Steadily and methodically he acts as both an expert and engaging pedagogue in policework, letting us take part in all the choices and actions that a criminal case leads to, doing so in a manner that lets our inner truth-seekers come out and play.”

• “And it is always this that elevates Horst’s novels. Here fans of the crime series will get exactly what they’ve become accustomed to: credible, expertly balanced and, for this book, nostalgic depictions of the police’s world as it is caught in an era of changing crime.”