Victim (Blix and Ramm Book Five) by Jorn Lier Horst and Thomas Enger

 

Victim (Blix and Ramm Book Five) by Jørn Lier Horst and Thomas Enger.

Translated by Megan E. Turney.

Published 7th November 2024 by Orenda Books.

From the cover of the book:

Buried sins
Brutal revenge…

Two years ago, Alexander Blix was the lead investigator in a missing person’s case where a young mother, Elisabeth Eie, was kidnapped. The case was never solved.

Blix’s career in law enforcement is now over, but her kidnapper is back, leaving evidence of Elisabeth's murder in Blix’s mailbox, as well as hints that there are other victims.

At the same time, Emma Ramm has been contacted by a teenage girl, whose stepfather has been arrested on suspicion of killing a childhood friend. But there is no body. Nor are there any other suspects…

Blix and Ramm can rely only on each other, and when Blix’s fingerprints are found on a child’s drawing at a crime scene, the present comes uncomfortably close to the past.

A past where a victim has found their own, shocking form of therapy.

And someone is watching…

Shocking, relentless and unbearably tense, Victim marks the return of the international bestselling, blockbuster Blix & Ramm series from two of Norway's finest crime writers.

***********

Former police detective, Alexander Blix, is struggling to move on with his life, even though he has been exonerated from murdering the man who killed his daughter. Unable to reconcile the feelings of guilt he carries with him, he feels consumed by darkness, and without direction now his police career has ended. 

But his investigative days are far from over. Out of the blue, he receives a chilling letter in his mail box, connected to the unsolved case of a young mother who was abducted two years ago. His ex police colleagues seem uninterested in this new lead, despite the fact that her body was never found, and that the letter writer gives a chilling hint about the existence of other victims. Blix is sure this might be the chance to finally find some answers, and he cannot let matters lie.

Meanwhile, Blix's friend and some-time sleuthing partner, Emma Ramm, is looking for a way to pick up the threads of her journalistic career. When she is contacted by a teenager needing help to clear the name of her step-father in a murder investigation, she find herself digging into a case which the police consider open-and-closed, but which is actually far more complicated.

The quite brilliant Jørn Lier Horst and Thomas Enger writing partnership is back in business with instalment five of  the sublime Blix and Ramm series - a couple of characters who make a formidable partnership all of their own. Picking up from one of the best-selling duo's classic cliff-hangers at the end of book four, Stigma, Blix is a free man, but feeling there is little light at the end of the tunnel now his police days are over. In many ways, his young friend Emma Ramm is also at a crossroads in her life. Both of them are about to find a new sense of purpose.

The story unfurls beautifully in two threads around the crimes they are investigating, with Blix and Ramm going their own way, and coming back together to help each other work through knotty problems in the highly enjoyable way they can - which has not always been the case in the course of the series. This is peak Blix and Ramm, where their special talents complement each other to solve a tricky current investigation, and a series of shocking cold case abductions/murders which you gradually learn are related to tragedies in Blix's own life. 

Fascinating themes of family, motherhood, the impact of dysfunctional parental relationships, and unresolved trauma echo through both sides of the story, and there is a lovely character-led element for delicious depth. Blix has always remained a bit of a puzzle, largely on a path to self-destruction: for the first time, our novelist duo delve into the things that have shaped him into the man he is, and I found that very emotional - especially when you discover he is still capable of redemption. I was unable to look away until all the twists and turns had worked out. The tension is pitch perfect, the clever red herrings are nicely misdirecting, and the climax is edge-of-your-seat heaven. Superb translation work from Megan Turney too. 

Whenever I read a new Blix and Ramm I think Jørn Lier Horst and Thomas Enger cannot possibly ramp up the atmospheric, Nordic noir thrills another notch, and each time I am proved wrong. Absolutely my favourite one yet (yes, I know I am always saying that), and this time I am in love with the little cliff-hanger guys... roll on book six.

Victim is available to buy now in paperback, ebook and audio formats. You can support indie publishing by buying direct from Orenda Books HERE.

Thank you to Orenda Books for providing me with an ecopy in return for an honest review, and to Random Things for inviting me to be part of this blog tour.

About the authors: 

Jørn Lier Horst and Thomas Enger are both internationally bestselling Norwegian authors.

Jørn Lier Horst first rose to literary fame with his no. 1 bestselling William Wisting series.

A former Detective Chief 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 acclaimed Henning Juul series. Enger’s trademark is his dark, 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, the first book in the Blix & Ramm series, was Jørn Lier Horst and Thomas Enger’s first co-written thriller, and all five books in the series series have hit no. one on bestseller lists worldwide.