by Gunnar Staalesen (Translated by: Don Bartlett)
SYNOPSIS
Fresh from rehab, PI Varg Veum faces his most complex investigation yet, when a man is found drowned, a young woman disappears, and the case of a missing child is revived. The classic Nordic Noir series continues…
PI Varg Veum has returned to duty following a stint in rehab, but his new composure and resolution are soon threatened when three complex crimes land on his desk.
A man is found dead in an elite swimming pool. A young woman has gone missing. Most chillingly, Veum is asked to investigate the ‘Camilla Case’: an eight-year-old cold case involving the disappearance of a little girl, who was never found.
As the threads of these three apparently unrelated cases come together, against the backdrop of a series of shocking environmental crimes, Veum faces the most challenging, traumatic investigation of his career.
REVIEW
Private Investigator Varg Veum is getting back on his feet after a stint in rehab when his physio Lisbeth suggests he takes a job as a house sitter. When she takes him over to the house to show him around, the body of a man is found in the swimming pool and while Varg tries to resuscitate him, Lisbeth disappears. The police begin to investigate and tell Varg that there might be a link to a cold case where a young girl went missing from her home and was never found.
As Varg begins to ask questions, more and more evidence points to these three instances being connected, and he uncovers a tragedy which had far-reaching consequences for everyone involved.
Bitter Flowers is more of a slow burn, as Varg works his way through the investigation trying to put all of the pieces together. He even describes his own method this way - collecting all of the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle and then working out how they fit the picture. This was not a problem for me at all, I was in no hurry to leave the lazy summer days in Bergen, and thoroughly enjoyed exploring Norway with Varg as he travelled around following the trail of clues.
Somewhere between the original Norwegian text and Don Bartlett's translation, beautifully written descriptions of the city, surrounding areas and landscapes emerged. From the very first page I was transported to 1980's Bergen and stayed there right alongside Varg the whole way through his investigation.
The setting for this book provided the perfect backdrop to not only bring in discussions about environmental politics but also gave an interesting insight into gender equality at the time. This carefully plotted, intricate and compelling investigation completely captivated me with its authentic vision and emotional storytelling.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
One of the fathers of Nordic Noir, Gunnar Staalesen was born in Bergen, Norway, in 1947. He made his debut at the age of twenty-two with Seasons of Innocence and in 1977 he published the first book in the Varg Veum series. He is the author of over twenty titles, which have been published in twenty-four countries and sold over four million copies. Twelve film adaptations of his Varg Veum crime novels have appeared since 2007, starring the popular Norwegian actor Trond Espen Seim. Staalesen has won three Golden Pistols (including the Prize of Honour); Where Roses Never Die won the 2017 Petrona Award for Nordic Crime Fiction, and Big Sister was shortlisted in 2019. He lives with his wife in Bergen.
Thanks to Anne Cater - @RandomTTours and Orenda Books - @OrendaBooks for the opportunity to read and review.
Fiction: Crime / Nordic Noir / Political Fiction
Publisher: Orenda Books
ISBN: 978-1913193089
Pages: 276pp
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