Gunnar Staalesen

Bergen based investigator Varg Veum is at a stage in his life where nothing much surprises him. So when a new client introduces herself as his half sister, it’s almost enough to make a guy reach for the Aquavit.

After tracking him down, Norma Bakkevik wasted no time with small talk. She wants him to find her teenage god-daughter, Emma Haglund. She left a troubled home life & moved to Bergen several weeks ago but no one has heard from her since. Varg has many questions. About Emma….and show more about Norma & their mother.

His search for Emma requires dogged determination. Her circle is small & it’s not long before his questions lead to her estranged (and piece of….work) father & his new family. There’s a reason he left Emma & her mother all those years ago & it’s not very pleasant. Varg has to wonder if a decades old crime has ties to Emma’s disappearance.

What starts as a simple missing persons case soon evolves into so much more. Varg’s digging opens old wounds & brings unwanted attention from those who’d prefer he left things alone. But it’s information about his own past & a sudden shocking loss that leave Varg reeling.

This is an engrossing & intricate read that works on a couple of different levels. You have his current case which initially moves slowly as information & characters are presented. At the halfway mark, the pace picks up considerably as the investigation takes a dangerous turn. There are some surprising reveals ahead as pieces fall into place although the author saves the best twist for the final chapter.

But there is a deeper theme that runs through every thread of the story. Family…not just the one you’re born into but the one you create. Norma introduces Varg to a side of his family he never knew & it forces him to reexamine his parents in a new light. Like Emma, he has to decide how much he’ll allow the past to intrude on the present.

One of the great things about a long running series is the relationship you develop with the MC. They age with you & every time I pick up one of these, I feel like I’m catching up with an old friend. Varg is in his 60’s now & a little worn around the edges. But on a personal level, he’s in a better place. He’s less impulsive & more inclined to use brains over brawn to solve his cases. He’s even attempting a bit of a fitness regime (more stairs, less Aquavit). He’s always been the thinking man’s detective & the personal ramifications from this case ensure he’ll have plenty to ponder as he waits for the next client to walk through his door. show less

Gunnar Staalesen's Varg Veum is a true original. His name can mean "lone wolf", "persona non grata" and other negative labels, and Varg manages to live up to all of them. His background as a sociologist working in child services (before he went postal on a child abuser) tends to attract him to cases involving children, and this is no exception.
Varg is hired by a mother whose teenage daughter Torild has disappeared. As Varg digs deeper, he finds that Torild was embroiled with some very show more unsavoury characters and finds himself the recipient of some letters threatening him with death. Needless to say, Varg ploughs on and irritates the police, witnesses, parents, suspects and everybody else that he encounters.
The Varg Veum novels are set in Staalesen's home town of Bergen and he excels at describing the city, the surrounding countryside and the bitter weather encountered there. Similar to Rebus' Edinburgh, the reader really feels a sense of place when reading these books.
Apparently these books are highly popular in Norway, and one of the greatest Varg Veum mysteries is why so few of them have been translated into English, and why the publishers chose to not start with the first, and to translate intermittent novels in the series rather than give English readers continuity. show less

We Shall Inherit The Wind – Nordic Noir at its Best

We Shall Inherit The Wind by Gunnar Staalesen is the latest in his canon to be translated in to English and published by Orenda Books. Who? Gunnar Staalesen is one of the best writers of Nordic Noir and it is not just me that thinks that, but real experts such as Jo Nesbo and Ian Rankin.

This is not the usual run of the mill police procedural crime thriller, this is a private investigator called Varg Veum, whose name means wolf, who at 65 show more should really be winding down his career. Varg could cause a riot in a phone box without trying, while aiming to get to the truth, however unwelcome that is. I am no stranger to Staalesen’s Varg Veum and his style of Nordic Noir and what I like is that if you cheat and read the last chapter before you get there it will make no sense to you!

What Gunnar Staalesen is excellent at is that he, like Agatha Christie, dots enough clues throughout the plot as well as a slight of hand so you might be able to work out the villain of the piece but will you be able to predict what the sting in the tail is? There is no telegraphing the plot it is carefully worked out and you need to take each chapter as they come, the descriptions he gives to people, places and actions deepens the imagery in your mind.

Varg Veum has been given a job to find a missing person, someone who owns his own company as well as land that is mired in controversy. As bodies start to pile up, dead and alive, especially when Varg is around always makes the Police a tad weary of him.

Up on the desolate coast line and outlying islands of Norway the Environmental movement are fighting against a wind farm, that besides giving electrical power, would also give much needed work and investment to an area of scant opportunities. All sorts of people have been attracted to the campaign both for and against, with the ever present threat of terrorism it is not until the first body turns up you really do not know who the good guys are.

What Varg Veum does discover is that not everything is what it seems however hard you look, especially when this turns in to one of the hardest cases in his long career. He comes face to face with religious fundamentalism, careers riddled with many conflicts, some very dodgy business ethics that would make a banker blush.

The reason why Staalesen is considered the best Crime Writer in Norway and has a stash of International Bestsellers to his name is packed in to We Shall Inherit the Wind; a love story, revenge and desire all the things a thriller needs. He proves why he is one of the best storytellers alive with a deft touch and no wasted words he is like a sniper who carefully chooses his target before he takes aim.

If you want tough Nordic Noir then this Norway Crime Thriller will tick all the boxes, you are grabbed by the throat from the first chapter and not released until the last. This is a breathtaking wonderful crime thriller that will hook you and you will want to read more Staalesen and you will not be disappointed. show less

Varg Veum is back with a cold case that has strange ties to the present. It’s been almost 25 years since 3 year old Mette Misvaer went missing from her yard. With the statute of limitations looming, her mother Maja asks Veum to take one final crack at finding the truth.

It would be a welcome paycheque but before he signs on, Veum will need to make a few changes to his lifestyle. In the 3 years since his partner died, his only relationship has been with a bottle. If he can put the Aquavit show more back on the shelf, he might find some answers & perhaps a little self respect along the way.

The book opens with an armed robbery of a jewelry store In Bergen. As the masked thieves flee the scene, a pedestrian is fatally shot. Police are unable to find or identify the culprits & the case is soon sliding toward the unsolved stack.

What’s the connection? Well, you’ll have to sit yourself down & ride shotgun with Veum to find out how this one thread is elegantly woven into the main story. It’s not easy tracking down those who were part of Mette’s world. Some have moved on, same have died, some have secrets they’ll do anything to protect. But Veum is a persistent guy & his relentless questions soon unveil more mysteries than he bargained for.

Staalesen excels at telling stories that are intricate & plausible. There are no bolts from the blue or hastily constructed endings. Every piece of the puzzle is uncovered through persistent digging & there’s almost an audible click as each slides into place on the way to a satisfying end. Violence is kept to a minimum as he chooses to employ Veum’s brains rather than brawn to find answers.

It’s a refreshing take on the P.I. genre & more believable given he’s now a man of “a certain age”. He’s not exactly the poster child for healthy living & doesn’t bounce back quite as easily. Instead, he relies on quick thinking & a well placed verbal jab when trouble comes knocking. Veum is a complex, fully developed character who may seem to fit the hardboiled stereotype at first glance. But as you spend time with him, it’s his introspection & compassion that will stay with you. He’s not a bad person, just a lost soul doing the best he can.

It’s a gritty & poignant story that flows at a steady pace until the jaw-droppers begin at the 3/4 mark. You’ll find yourself thinking about the nature of secrets, how they never really go away but just hibernate. And the longer they are hidden, the more powerful they become. It’s also a cautionary example of how easily we judge based on someone’s appearance or reputation.

If you get to a place where you’re putting out book #18, you’re doing something right. Probably several things, as is the case with this author. His Bergen based PI has become a benchmark in the genre who fans have been following for 40 years & this is a clever, absorbing addition to the series.

And hey, if you’re ever in Bergen, stop by & have your picture taken with Veum’s statue outside the Strand hotel near the fish market. He’s a looker. show less