Norway’s number one female distance runner, Sonja Nordstrom, has gone missing on the day her explosive autobiography is published. Is it a stunt or a meltdown? Emma Ramm, young on-line blogger on celebrity antics, goes to doorstep her. There is no answer, but the door is unlocked; inside it is empty but there are signs of a struggle. She does the right thing and calls the police.
Alexander Blix arrives to take charge of the case. Emma and Blix converse. To him she is a witness in a potential abduction; to her he is a police source in the story she will file. But it is more than that for Blix, they have a shared history that she is oblivious to, but he knows all too well.
That is why he keeps her in the loop, enabling her to post exclusives to her editor’s delight and Blix’s boss’s dismay. It is not all one way. Emma’s celebrity knowledge and contacts prove useful, as another high-profile disappearance is uncovered, and new ones occur. Then bodies start to turn up.
It is soon clear there is a full-on serial killer on the loose, and both Blix and Emma are on the trail. A side story, Blix’s daughter on a reality TV show, gives Blix more to think about; could the contestants, or the winner, become potential targets?
The pace is fast and the balance between police/journalistic investigation and Blix/Emma personal issues is about right. The joint authorship – Horst is ex-police and Enger is ex-journalist – is no doubt reflected in the Blix/Emma dual lead, but it is seamless. And a word for the translator, as the English text is flawless.
It is a suitably dark Scandi-noir thriller,
with a late reveal and a resounding climax.
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