Blood On Snow by Jo Nesbo

June 29, 2023 By Leave a Comment


Blood On Snow by Jo Nesbo
Publisher: Penguin Random House UK
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Fern

Olav is a fixer for a high-profile crime kingpin in 1970s Oslo. He easily takes care of anyone who causes trouble for his boss. But he is more complicated than he seems. Olav’s latest job puts him at the pinnacle of his trade, but it may become his greatest mistake: It turns out that the more you know about your boss’s business, the more your boss might want you fixed yourself—especially if you’re falling for his wife.

Olav lives a solitary life as the “fixer” for one of the two main heroin drug lords in Oslo, Norway. He’s used to fixing the problems of his boss, but suddenly he’s given a problem he can’t bring himself to fix. Olav is hired to kill his boss’s wife. Olav finds his problems quickly spiraling and all too soon his solitary life is quite crammed with people – most of them his enemies.

I really enjoy Scandinavian noir books, and this one was no exception. Jo Nesbo (and Scandi noir in general, in my opinion) is a somewhat acquired taste. I personally feel most of the writing styles of the Scandinavian authors is slightly different to UK and US authors – usually a bit grittier and more bare in style, but also a lot of the themes and cultural aspects are somewhat different too. This all adds up to mean I fully recognize frequently Scandinavian written books – especially noir style stories – are not to everyone’s taste. This book most certainly falls into that category.

Readers looking for a different sort of thriller, or assassin book, or even a gritter style of mystery should definitely find this fits the bill. I thoroughly enjoyed Nesbo’s writing and Olav’s voice, finding it different and more hard boiled than I’m used to, but I also really enjoyed how despite the cleaner style of writing there were ample twists to the plot and quite a few curves I personally didn’t see coming. I found my attention quite riveted to Olav and his story and even as I was trying to guess exactly what was going on I was drawn deeper into the mess he found himself in.

Readers should also be quite aware that this story does not have a traditional ending. I personally found it interesting and thought-provoking, but readers expecting a certain style of conclusion might not find this suits their tastes or needs. That said, I found the whole book really interesting and with enough plot and twists to easily capture my attention. I was happy with this quick read and enjoyed all the differences from the more normal mysteries out there on the market.

Filed Under: Mystery/Suspense, Reviews Tagged With: , , , ,

The Sentence Is Death by Anthony Horowitz

July 6, 2022 By Leave a Comment


The Sentence Is Death by Anthony Horowitz
Publisher: Arrow Books (Penguin Random House)
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Rating: 3 stars
Reviewed by Fern

“You shouldn’t be here. It’s too late . . . “

These, heard over the phone, were the last recorded words of successful celebrity-divorce lawyer Richard Pryce, found bludgeoned to death in his bachelor pad with a bottle of wine—a 1982 Chateau Lafite worth £3,000, to be precise.

Odd, considering he didn’t drink. Why this bottle? And why those words? And why was a three-digit number painted on the wall by the killer? And, most importantly, which of the man’s many, many enemies did the deed?

Baffled, the police are forced to bring in Private Investigator Daniel Hawthorne and his sidekick, the author Anthony, who’s really getting rather good at this murder investigation business.

But as Hawthorne takes on the case with characteristic relish, it becomes clear that he, too, has secrets to hide. As our reluctant narrator becomes ever more embroiled in the case, he realizes that these secrets must be exposed—even at the risk of death . . .

This is the second book featuring the ex-Detective, now Private Investigator Daniel Hawthorne and much like the first book I found myself utterly absorbed. I still find it a little odd how the entire story is written in the first person perspective by Horowitz, in a semi Watson-following-after-Holmes sort of fashion. Horowitz has been contracted to write three books about Hawthorne solving various murders that the police find too baffling to solve on their own and this lends quite a different spin to a more standard murder mystery book. And while I often find the first person perspective to be difficult to read for some reason these books don’t seem as hard for me to follow along with.

Readers will be glad that this book stands alone very well. Hawthorne and Horowitz aren’t best buddies or even particularly friendly outside of their crime-solving escapades and so I really don’t think there is much missed from book to book. And with the characters and plot explained very clearly this helps the book feel very much as a standalone story so I think readers should be happy to pick this up without needing to read the previous story.

While the story has an overall feeling slightly to me of Sherlock/Watson this book is very much a modern murder mystery, and I can never really tell if it’s just my imagination that makes the links between Hawthorne and Sherlock or if the faint echoes are there on purpose from the author. Readers who enjoy non-standard characters and enjoy a bit of conflict should really feel this suits their tastes. At times I wished we could have seen more of Hawthorne’s perspective – but the mystique surrounding the character really is a large part of the draw I expect, so again the first person perspective of Horowitz (while limiting in my personal opinion) simply adds to the drama and mystery of the ex-detective.

With a good plot, steady pacing and enough false trails and red herrings to keep even the most dedicated mystery reader guessing this is a good book and a solid read I feel that should appeal to many readers.

Filed Under: Mystery/Suspense, Reviews Tagged With: , , , , ,