Smoke Screen (Blix and Ramm Book Two) by Thomas Enger & Jørn Lier Horst

 

Smoke Screen (Blix and Ramm Book Two) by Thomas Enger & Jørn Lier Horst. Translated by Megan Turney.

Published in e-book format 18th December 2020 and paperback 18th February 2021 by Orenda Books.

From the cover of the book: 

When the mother of a missing two-year-old girl is seriously injured in a suspected terrorist attack in Oslo, crime-fighting duo Blix and Ramm join forces to investigate the case, and things aren't adding up...

 The second instalment in an addictive, atmospheric, award-winning series.

Oslo, New Year's Eve. The annual firework celebration is rocked by an explosion, and the city is put on terrorist alert.

Police officer Alexander Blix and blogger Emma Ramm are on the scene, and when a severely injured survivor is pulled from the icy harbour, she is identified as the mother of two-year-old Patricia Smeplass, who was kidnapped on her way home from kindergarten ten years earlier... and never found.

Blix and Ramm join forces to investigate the unsolved case, as public interest heightens, the terror threat is raised, and it becomes clear that Patricia's disappearance is not all that it seems...

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I really enjoyed the first part of this new Nordic Noir crime series, Death Deserved, when I read it at the beginning of 2020 (review here), so I was looking forward to reading what Thomas Enger & Jørn Lier Horst had in store for detective Alexander Blix and blogger Emma Ramm in their second adventure, Smoke Screen.

The incredible Death Deserved cliff-hanger ending, with a huge explosion during the New Year's Eve firework celebration in Oslo, is exactly where this second instalment begins, dropping us seamlessly right into the action - and Blix and Ramm are both there at the scene, having been unable to rid themselves of the feeling that something was afoot. 

In the aftermath of the explosion, Blix pulls a horribly disfigured survivor from the icy waters of the harbour: one who appears to be the mother of the missing child, Patricia Smeplass, snatched ten years ago - a case he remembers all too well, and one which has co-incidentally been brought back to his attention very recently. At the same time, Ramm wanders through the wreckage, trying to record the events for the news site she works for, and discovers the explosion has touched her own life in a very shocking way - one which makes tracking down the perpetrator of this crime a personal mission.

It's time for Blix and Ramm to team up again in pursuit of the identity of the bomber who is not content to stop at only one explosion and has Oslo gripped in a state of fear. As the investigation gets underway it gradually becomes clear that terrorism may not be the real motive here - instead, the bombings may actually be related to the unsolved case of the missing Patricia Smeplass in some way. Can they discover the truth before anyone else comes to a violent end?

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and became totally caught up in the story. The storyline here revolves more around the sins of the past than in the first book, but our authors cleverly create pace and tension in the present as Blix and Ramm put together all the pieces of the puzzle. There is plenty of excitement and chilly atmosphere to be enjoyed as the case progresses, and the truth is uncovered, but there is also an interesting thread about the different kinds of relationships between parents and their children, and how they show their love, that is quite intriguing. 

The characters of Blix and Ramm are more developed in this second book, and they know where they stand with each other. Blix is more more settled in his personal life, with a better relationship with his own daughter, which helps him bring an air of calm to the piece, which plays nicely against Ramm's more impulsive style. I love the way they touch base with each other, swapping subtle hints and ideas back and forth in the cagey, but co-operative, way they have of working together, and their evolving father-daughter like relationship is very touching.

This is another cracking tale from the combined penmanship of the best selling authors Thomas Enger & Jørn Lier Horst, and fine work by the translator Megan Turney. It's the kind of book that will have you reading long into the night to get to the end of the story, as it is as impossible to put down as the first book. You can almost feel yourself at the side of the both Blix and Ramm as the story moves between their independent investigations, until their threads collide at the moment of the heart-in-your-mouth ending - this is Nordic Noir at its very best and another winner from Orenda Books!

Smoke Screen is available to buy now in e-book from your favourite book retailer, and in paperback from 18th February 2021.

Thank you to Orenda Books for sending me an e-book copy of this book in return for an honest review and to Anne Cater of Random Things Tours for inviting me to be part of this blog tour.

About the authors:

Jørn Lier Horst and Thomas Enger are the internationally bestselling Norwegian authors of the
William Wisting and Henning Juul series respectively. 

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. 

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 was Jørn Lier Horst & Thomas Enger’s first co-written thriller. They are currently working on the third book in the Blix and Ramm series.