Vidar Sundstøl

Set in present-day Minnesota near Lake Superior, a mystery in which a Norwegian tourist is killed brutally, with another one who was with him, injured badly. A "forest cop", i.e. law enforcement officer for the U.S. Forest Service, Lance Hansen, works with the local sheriff. the FBI and a detective from Norway, Eirik Nyland, to solve the case. The glowing descriptions of the Lake Superior country, the Scandinavian townsfolk and history of the area, and Ojibway Native American culture display the fact the book was originally written for a Norwegian audience. Lance figures out the possible perpetrator early on and much of the novel consists of his ruminating on if he should reveal what he knows or not, even after an Objibway is arrested. This novel was fascinating, albeit slow in spots, with so much description and explanation; that didn't bother me, as I learned a lot. The author himself lived in that area for a couple of years, so I felt there was a certain ring of authenticity.… (mais)

This is a 3.25 book, but I'm rounding up because Minnesota.

My first impression of this book is place dropping - between Old Dutch Potato Chips, Minnesota Vikings, and Two Harbors - everything needed to place the story in Northern Minnesota. At times, its like the author is using a hammer to yell "THIS IS MINNESOTA".

As for the story itself, the author manages to write the feel of the area - residents who are of Scandinavian origins, reticent in words, distrusting of outsiders. The book is written by a Norwegian, and has direct ties back to Norway in an Investigator from Norway sent by the Government to investigate the death of a citizen.

There is a secondary story that follow a murder set in settler times - a medicine man disappears and his death goes mostly unnoticed.

The author had done his research. Between modern day North Shore, and the history of the region from the first settlers, it makes for a history book as much as a mystery. Unfortunately, the large amount of information tends to drag at times, bringing down the whole story. The other problem is the main character, Lance Hansen, doesn't add much to the book. He's a leading character, but is mostly a stand in for the events happening around him. I think he's written correct for the region, but he needs a greater inner voice to make him interesting.… (mais)

I received an ARC from Netgalley to review this book. I was also reading a lot of Nordic noir at the same time, and this is one of the better books that I have read. It maybe that the main characters were closer to my own age so I related to them more, but the story included likable characters and a plot that involved ancient cult rituals which kept my interest. The plot was well developed although I have a bit of a hard keeping track of the characters in Nordic literature because I am not familiar with the names. Good job on the book though!… (mais)