Jorn Lier Horst – Judefire33

It happened in the quiet town of Larvik.

A severed head is displayed on a stake. A crime so dark only one man is capable of solving it: Police Inspector William Wisting.

Before long, more bodies are found. Media frenzy sweeps the locals into a panic. And when Wisting’s investigation leads him to a deadly underground crime ring, he fears the whole town may be in danger.

But at the heart of it is just one man: The Night Man.

Their elusive leader. The man Wisting must find if he wants to stop the murders.

That is if The Night Man doesn’t get to him first . . .

As all my followers know, Jorn Lier Horst and Wisting are on the top of my favorite author and character list, so as always I was looking forward to reading The Night Man.

I have all the Wisting books that have been published in English and have read them all in the order that they have originally been published in Norway, However, The Night Man is actually book 5 in the series, so therefore it does read a little out of sync. This is my only minus point and I think that it should be made clear before readers dive in.

That said, the story and plot is excellent as always, the way Jorn Lier Horst writes the police procedural side is always so true to life ( something to do with him being a Detective with the Norweigian Police before becoming a novelist ), and I love that we get so deep into Wisting’s psyche with every book in the series. I don’t know why but I just really feel so much warmth for William Wisting as a character, he is such a lovely thoughtful Detective, who always goes to the ends of the earth for the victims of crime. He isn’t perfect, his relationship with his son, Thomas isn’t the best, but he is close to his daughter, Line who I also love… she is a journalist and has her father’s curious and analytical mind. From reading the first book in the Wisting series I totally fell in love with William, that is definitely down to the skilful writing of Jorn Lier Horst, and as an added bonus being set in my favourite Country, Norway, makes these one of my favourite reads.

Line features quite heavily in The Night Man, and as I’ve said it’s strange reading about what’s happening to her as this book is in the last compared to the last read of A Question Of Guilt. But her character is so well written by Jorn, I always find it amazing how male authors can portray female protagonists so well.I love Line to as she is an inquisitive and kick ass journalist, who won’t let things go….however sometimes this can mean trouble can find her!

The storyline follows the discovery of a child’s severed head on a post in the middle of Larvik, Norway. There are some quite gory descriptions of this that made my skin crawl haha, but that’s one of the reasons I adore Crime Fiction. We follow Wisting and his team on a journey through drugs and child exploitation from Europe to Afghanistan, on a quest to find the killer or killers.

The detail Jorn Lier Horst writes in his books is what always stays with me, the descriptions of the settings, the food being eaten, the insides of Norweigian homes, all are exquisite and totally make The Night Man sing with realism.

The ending leaves the reader wanting, but as I’ve said if you were to read the Wisting series in order – the next book being Dregs – it actually makes more sense. But as I love Wisting and also Jorn Lier Horst, it didn’t matter to me. It was a great read and another added to my collection. To help new readers I will list the Wisting series in order for you –

Key Witness (Org. Nøkkelvitnet, 2004)
Disappearance of Felicia (Org. Felicia forsvant, 2005)
When the Sea Calms (Org. Når havet stilner, 2006)
The Only One (Org. Den eneste ene, 2007)
The Night Man (Org. Nattmannen, 2009) – translated into English July 2022
Dregs (Org. Bunnfall, 2010) – translated into English by Anne Bruce, 2011
Closed for Winter (Org. Vinterstengt, 2011) – translated into English 2013
The Hunting Dogs (Org. Jakthundene, 2012) – translated into English 2014
The Caveman (Org. Hulemannen, 2013) – translated into English 2015
Ordeal (Org. Blindgang, 2015) – translated into English 2016
When It Grows Dark (Org. Når Det Mørkner, 2016) – translated into English 2016 (A prequel to the series.)
The Katharina Code (Org. Katharina-koden, 2017) – translated into English 2018
The Cabin (Org. Det innerste rommet, 2018) – translated into English 2019
The Inner Darkness (Org. Illvilje, 2019)- translated into English 2020
A Question of Guilt (Org. Sak 1569, 2020)- translated into English 2021
Boundless (Org. Grenseløs, 2021)
The traitor (Org. Forræderen, 2022)

I hope that this helps those readers who haven’t yet ventured into the Wisting series by Jorn Lier Horst, if you want to read gripping, tense, exceptionally well written police procedurals and thrillers, then I urge you to start collecting and reading this series.

I will also add that all the Wisting novels are written in Norwegian first, then translated into English, this is done so well, that one really doesn’t know they were not written in English first!

So my score is a sound 4 stars, and as always I wait for the next Wisting book to be translated into English!

Jørn Lier Horst is one of Norway’s most experienced police investigators, but also one of Scandinavia’s most successful crime writers. He writes engaging and intelligent crime novels that offer an uncommonly detailed and realistic insight into the way serious crimes are investigated, as well as how both police and press work. His literary awards include the Norwegian Booksellers’ Prize, the Riverton Prize (Golden Revolver), the Scandinavian Glass Key and the prestigious Martin Beck Award.

You can follow Jorn Lier Horst on TWITTER INSTAGRAM FACEBOOK

Jorn Lier Horst has his own website HERE

You can watch Wisting on the BBC iPlayer HERE

A killer caught. A murder sentence served. But did they arrest the wrong man?
_______

In 1999, seventeen-year-old Tone Vaterland was killed on her way home from work.

The police – desperate for a quick conviction – deemed the investigation an open-and-shut case and sent her embittered ex-boyfriend, Danny Momrak, down for murder.

Her family was able to grieve. The public felt justice had been done. The streets were safe again.

But twenty years later, William Wisting receives an anonymous letter suggesting that the wrong man was convicted, and worse yet: the real murderer is still out there.

Thrown into a terrifying race against time, Wisting must find the sender and catch the real killer before they strike again.

But nothing is as it seems. And as Wisting disappears further into a dark past of secrets, lies and murder, his own life is threatened . . .

Can he find Tone’s true killer before it’s too late?

A Question Of Guilt is Book 4 In The Cold Case Quartet

So, I discovered the William Wisting books at the beginning of 2020, and immediately I fell in love with Jorn Lier Hort’s style of writing and the character, William Wisting. So ive eagerly been waiting for A Question Of Guilt for a year, when it arrived i was SO excited.

As with all the Wisting series, we start with William being on annual leave and he starts getting anonymous letters leading him to a case he was not involved in, twenty years ago. But being the honest Detective he is, He cannot help but to get involved.

I’m not going to give away the plot, but I will try to tell you why I adore the Wisting Series so much. Firstly Jorn Lier Horst is an ex-police Detective, so his knowledge of the procedural side of police work is extremely clear when reading his books. As someone who spent 12 years in the Police as a civvy but working closely with Police officers, I’m always wary of reading how fictional characters deal with the Police side of things, however, with Wisting there are no such worries. as a reader, you can feel that Jorn has a depth of knowledge of what it’s like to work on murder investigations etc, and this shines through in the writing.

The way these books are written and A Question of Guilt especially is just so smooth, the story flows and the plot builds like a snowball gathering speed and size down a steep hill. The amount of twists and turns is enough to make you feel like you’re on a rollercoaster ride! I also love that Wisting’s daughter Line, gets involved in some of the plots, she is a freelance Journalist and has the same exceptional mind as Wisting, and the way Jorn writes as Line’s character is fabulous.

The description of the settings in Norway are so realistic, whether it be in the summer ( as A Question Of Guilt is set) or in the winter. I’m a massive fan of Norway and Jorns’ Wisting series is perfect for that.

So in summing up, A Question Of Guilt was a fast and gripping read, and we again get to solve the crime with this century’s greatest Police detective, William Wisting. If you havent read anything by Jorn Lier Horst, then please start the Wisting series, they are quite simply an exquisite example of Nordic Noir. Any Jorn is one of my utter favourite authors!

Another 5 Star read!

About Jorn Lier Horst

Jørn Lier Horst is one of Norway’s most experienced police investigators, Bestselling author Jørn Lier Horst is a Former Senior Investigating Officer from Norway and recently winner of the Glass Key Award for the best Nordic Crime Novel and the prestigious Martin Beck Award. He made his debut in 2004 with the crime novel Key Witness, based on a true murder story. His crime novels has been extremely successful in Europe and is characterized by political and social commentary subtext.

The Night Man by Jorn Lier Horst is out 7/7/22

Jorn’s website is HERE Twitter @LierHorst Instagram @lierhorst Facebook

The first series of Wisting on AcornTV HERE

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My #review of #AQuestionOfGuilt by @LierHorst @MichaelJBooks