Published 31st January 2020 in ebook and audio formats (paperback release 20th February 2020).
Read January 2020.
Police Detective Alexander Blix has certainly not achieved the dizzy heights in his career that he imagined when he was a fresh-raced rookie.
A hostage situation nineteen years ago, in which he was forced to kill to save a five year old girl from her father, has left its mark both personally and professionally, leaving him divorced, estranged from his daughter, and at odds with his boss, but he is a fine and dedicated police officer none-the-less and getting the job done is what keeps him going.
When former athlete, Sonja Nordstrom fails to attend the high-profile launch of her much-anticipated autobiography, Blix finds himself heading up the missing persons investigation, which soon turns into a wider search for a possible serial killer.
There is something cold and calculating about the man they are searching for, and he seems to be using his victims as some sort of countdown - but to what? And why is he so obsessed with targetting celebrities? There must be some sort of pattern here, but the victims seem to have absolutely no connection to each other.
Unexpectedly, Blix finds a new perspective on the case through the eyes of celebrity blogger Emma Ramm and they end up joining forces, in order to track down the killer.
Blix and Ramm form a unlikely pair, but there is a bond between them that was forged in the past, and they make a formidable team. Can they hunt down the killer before the countdown gets to zero?
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Well, Orenda Books have down it again folks! Death Deserved is the first in a new Nordic Noir crime series about the Blix-Ramm partnership and is is something very special indeed. This book, an all new collaboration between two of Norway's best-selling authors, is already a big hit in their native country and I can see why.
This is a slick and perfectly paced crime thriller, set in and around Oslo, with all the hallmarks of the very best of Nordic Noir - and I could not put it down. The story was so twisty and exciting that the tension increased all the way through until I found myself just gobbling up the text at an increasingly rapid rate to find out what happened next, and there are delicious blind alleys galore that keep you looking with suspicion at practically every character in the book. My poor heart was going nineteen to the dozen almost the entire time, and my palpitations were not helped by the cliffhanger at the end...
The interaction between Blix and Ramm is just wonderful and their connection from the past casts such a tender light over it, that I found it really quite emotional - especially since Blix was struggling with his realtionship with his own daughter at the same time. My goodness, thrills and emotion? The perfect package.
Fiction sometimes suffers in translation, as removing the reader from the native language of the author can result in a loss of the intimacy with the characters. None of that here, ladies and gentlemen! Anne Bruce has done a fine job, and with a nifty use of vernacular that keeps you right in the story for every gorgeous second of it - just like Messrs Lier Horst and Enger are whispering their cleverly plotted thriller right in your eager ear (just gave myself goose-bumps at the thought!).
This is the kind of classy, intelligent crime thriller that I like best and it ticked every box for me. The Blix and Ramm series is one that I am definitely signed up for and I can't wait for the next installment.
Death Deserved is available now from your favourite book retailer!
Thank you for Anne Cater for inviting me to be part of this blog tour, and to the amazing Orenda Books and the esteemed authors, Jorn Lier Horst and Thomas Enger, for providing me with a copy of this book in return for an honest review.
From the cover of the book:
Police officer Alexander Blix and celebrity blogger Emma Ramm join forces to track down a serial killer with a thirst for attention and high-profile murders, in the first episode of a gripping new Nordic Noir series…
Oslo, 2018. Former long-distance runner Sonja Nordstrøm never shows at the launch of her controversial autobiography, Always Number One. When celebrity blogger Emma Ramm visits Nordstrøm’s home later that day, she finds the door unlocked and signs of a struggle inside. A bib with the number ‘one’ has been pinned to the TV.
Police officer Alexander Blix is appointed to head up the missing-persons investigation, but he still bears the emotional scars of a hostage situation nineteen years earlier, when he killed the father of a five-year-old girl. Traces of Nordstrøm soon show up at different locations, but the appearance of the clues appear to be carefully calculated … evidence of a bigger picture that he’s just not seeing…
Blix and Ramm soon join forces, determined to find and stop a merciless killer with a flare for the dramatic, and thirst for attention.
Trouble is, he’s just got his first taste of it…
About the authors:
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| Jorn Lier Horst |
Jørn Lier Horst first rose to literary fame with his No. 1 internationally bestselling William Wisting series. A former investigator in the Norwegian police, Horst imbues all his works with an unparalleled realism and suspense.
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| Thomas Enger |
Thomas Enger is the journalist-turned-author behind the internationally acclaimed and bestselling Henning Juul series. Enger’s trademark has become a darkly gritty voice paired with key social messages and tight plotting. Besides writing fiction for both adults and young adults, Enger also works as a music composer.
Death Deserved is Jørn Lier Horst & Thomas Enger’s first co-written thriller.
Thanks for the blog tour support Sue x
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