Publisher: No Exit Press (21st Sept 2017)



ISBN-13: 978-1843442929

Source: Real Readers

Rating: 2*



Synopsis:

In the depths of the Norwegian winter, a woman s frozen corpse is discovered in the garden of a notorious ex-lawyer, Vilhelm Thygesen. She has been stabbed to death.

A young biker, a member of a gang once represented by the lawyer, is found dead in suspicious circumstances.

Thygesen starts receiving anonymous threats, and becomes ensnared in a web of violence, crime and blackmail that spreads across Northern Europe.

Does the frozen woman hold the key?



Review:

I have lost count of the number of times I have picked up The Frozen Woman over the past several weeks. Usually, I really enjoy nordic crime thrillers, and this has twice won Norway's best crime novel, so there is no reason that I should not thoroughly enjoy it. I just could not get into it. At my last attempt, I got about 40% in, and then just completely lost interest again. I persevered more than I normally would if I had bought the book rather than had been given it to review, but alas, it was not for me. Thank you to the nudge team for providing a copy for me to review via Real Readers. ( )

It all begins with a body.

Vilhelm Thygesen is a lawyer who used to be a cop so when he finds a frozen young woman in his garden, he knows the drill. One phone call brings DCI’s Arve Stribolt & Vanja Vaage to his door & they’d love nothing better than to nail him for the crime. Twenty-five years ago he left the force in disgrace after being charged with murder.

Meanwhile, Terje Kykkelsrud & Oystein Strand meet up at an abandoned cabin outside Oslo. Strand is keen to celebrate his release from prison with every substance he can get his hands on but Terje has something a little more serious on his mind. Both belong to the Seven Samurai MC & apparently there’s a rat in their midst.

MP Gerhard Ryland is in a spot of trouble. Someone is blackmailing him & unless he comes up with a whack of cash, the media will hear of his ties to a young woman recently found dead in the garden of a notorious lawyer.

As Arve & Vanja struggle with the case, the story lines above play out in different spots in & around Oslo. Gradually they begin to weave together as hidden links & secret agendas are revealed. Events from each character’s past come back to haunt them & when another body appears, things only get more complicated for the cops.

This is definitely Scandi noir & those looking to be spoon fed will be disappointed. The reader is privy to everything that is happening as they travel with each character in alternate chapters. Still, the identity of the victim & why she was murdered came as a shock when all was said & done.

Of all the characters, I found Vilhelm the most interesting. He’s a world weary guy who’s tried to pick up the pieces from his past & live a quiet life. You get the feeling he actually enjoys his frequent sparring sessions with Vanja. But there’s something elusive about him that makes you wonder if he knows more than he’s telling.

My only quibble is some of the dialogue was difficult for my western ears to understand. When I read a book originally written in another language, I expect to run into idioms/phrases that are unfamiliar & miss a bit of subtext. But there were whole sections, particularly during the initial meeting between Strand & Terje, where I had no clue what they were saying. Despite translation from the amazing Don Bartlett, I couldn’t grasp what they were talking about & it was only later on that I could look back & understand what transpired.

It’s still an intricate & well plotted story that keeps you guessing. There are some unpredictable little twists along the way & I enjoyed how all the pieces finally fit together. Kudos to those responsible for creating such a striking cover. It certainly caught my eye. ( )

I don’t speak Norwegian, doubt I ever will so I am indebted to Don Bartlett, who apparently translates Jo Nesbo too, for rendering this fiction accessible to an ageing anglospeak. However I am sure my experience in reading it would have been enhanced if I could experienced the native expression. As always with a translation I feel I am getting half a book. That is no criticism of the translator, its just that different languages have such different idiosyncrasies.

This book has won an award for being Norway’s best crime novel. The cynics among you may pose the question, just how many crime novels does Norway have? Quite a lot in fact; NordicNoir and ScandiCrime are potent forces within the genre. The sceptics among you might enquire just why Scandinavia should merit a genre(s) of its own when other nations don’t. I think this book is a perfect example of why.

For me anyway, Nordic crime, indeed broaden that to Swedish, Danish maybe Finnish and Icelandic too, is far more cerebral in its intent. The works seldom function as pure action packed thrillers, they demand the reader pays attention and not leave all the work to the fictional detective. Is that a bit too much like hard work when you’re simply trying to enjoy a read? And is it worth it?

I liked this book but I didn’t love it. The characters were quirky, difficult to get to know. It wasn’t that they were merely functional but they seemed detached from the reader.It sometimes seemed as if they were all enjoying an ‘in’ joke that the reader wasn’t ‘in’ on!

Much of the financial, business, political and economic strands of the plot lines were lost on me but that isn’t a criticism that’s just me. The ultimate unravelling of the actual crime was clever and well constructed. I had the sense of jig saw pieces falling into place. I think there were some attempts at humour to offer some light relief in what was quite a tense story but they may have lacked impact in translation.

Ultimately I am confused by my own reaction to this book. I can’t assert definitely exactly how I feel about it which I am finding unnerving and unusual. Certainly its worthwhile and I’m glad I read it but I’m more comfortable with the likes of Jo Nesbo and Anne Holt. ( )

The Frozen Woman - Jon Michelet.

This is consummate crime writing from a master of the craft. A police procedural with more than one kink and original twist. The Frozen Woman was published nearly twenty years ago in Norway so it's freshness is all the more remarkable. Jon Michelet is not well known in the English speaking world but I hope this novel goes a long way to addressing that anomaly. I almost missed out on the pleasure of reading 'The Frozen Woman' because in all honesty I hadn't heard of Michelet until No Exit Press published this novel. The Frozen Woman is an intelligent thriller but I wasn't particularly excited by the first few pages - it doesn't grip early on. The novel sets up the characters and their relationships, there is very little plot beyond identifying that a woman has been murdered and dumped. Without giving anything away this is crucial to the tale because thereafter brief appearances drive the plot with increasing intensity. I know a lot of novels build slowly developing characterisation but it is particularly well done and a richer story emerges because of that. Then 50 pages in a new strand to the story opens and things begin to heat up. What emerges is an original, clever and highly entertaining mystery. One that seems grounded in reality, both in the type of crime and the way the investigation unfolds. The Frozen Woman has all the sophistication of a veteran writer at the top of his game.
Vilhelm Thygesen is a left wing lawyer with no love for the police - the feeling is mutual. He reports finding the frozen body of a young woman in his garden. The two Criminal Politisentral, (Kripo), detectives called to the scene, Stribolt and Vaage, instantly suspect Thygesen of involvement. Thygesen lives in a big house, he has nice things and yet he is claiming state benefits. He has a bad reputation with law enforcement, too many dodgy connections, a murder conviction dating back nearly 30 years and a more recent charge of petty fraud in the 1990's. The murdered woman bears a striking resemblance to Thygesen's tenant, Vera Alam, who rents a small cottage in the grounds. Thygesen swears that Vera is in Bosnia working for Norwegian People's Aid. A week later the team confirm that Vera Alam is in hospital in Sarajevo being treated for cancer but very much alive. Bang goes the first theory - the victim, unidentified, becomes known as 'Picea'. Kripo are looking at any plausible link between the killing and Thygesen with no joy. Then Øystein Strand, fresh out of prison, member of the Seven Samurai bike gang, rides his bike off the road and kills himself - except it wasn't an accident the brakes were cut. How this links to the murder of the woman, the involvement of Thygesen, big business oil interests, rival biker gangs, drug trafficking and old world politics becomes clear as the story unfolds.
Michelet has woven a story around the chilling death of a woman that leaves no evidential footprint. In 2000 hundreds women from outside Western Europe were murdered in our countries and often remain unidentified. As Larsson says of the investigation, solving the crime will be difficult;
"....because there are no friends or acquaintances to report to us".
It is a haunting thought that not only could a murder occur and remain unsolved but the victim's family never known of their fate, nobody grieves at the graveside.
Stribolt and Vaage are the lead detectives on the investigation and they play off each other brilliantly; they are healthily competitive, close enough to tease each other and both hard working decent police officers. The most intriguing character in The Frozen Woman is Thygesen, the semi-disgraced lawyer, he is at the heart of the story - roguishly intelligent, slightly shady, detached but also charming. But is he the murderer, what does he know about the dead woman? Thygesen makes brief appearances in the novel but his presence overhangs the plot, even when the action heats up. He is the catalyst for the story and his relationship to the investigation and the police officers seesaws and is fascinating. Ultimately the denouement is satisfyingly pacy.
The story feels like it could be lifted from a newspaper; a crime that is tawdry and brutal, solved with good police work, a lot of luck and time. There is so much more going on in the background. The criminals are venal and stupid in equal measure, If they weren't so hell bent on cheating each other and internecine wars they would be even more dangerous to society, (ambition exceeds talent).
Jon Michelet is a well known literary figure in his native Norway; from his Thygesen crime novels and his 'a hero of the sea' series set in WWII to plays and football reportage. He is twice winner of the Riverton Prize for Norway's best crime novel, most recently for this novel, 'The Frozen Woman' his first to be translated into English for some time. Judging by the standard of this novel it is easy to believe that he is one of the leading lights of the Norwegian noir tradition. It would be great if more of the Thygesen series could be published in English in the future. ( )