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Wolf Winter
In the chill of the Cold War, two Norwegians are shot dead after straying into Soviet wilderness, killings that will bind together three people in a web of treachery and Halvard Starheim, veteran explorer, Ragna Johansenn, widow of one of the dead men and Rolf Berg, a Norwegian journalist.
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First published January 1, 1987
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About the author
Clare Francis
75 books65 followersClare Francis's first novel; Night Sky was published in 1983 to international success. It went to number one in the Sunday Times bestseller list, and spent six weeks in the New York Times top 10.
Three more thrillers followed, Red Crystal (1985), Wolf Winter (1987) and Requiem (1991), which was published in the U.S. as The Killing Winds. Her first crime novel, Deceit was published in 1993, and dramatised for television in 2000. Four other highly successful crime novels have followed, and a highly acclaimed literary novel, Homeland. Her latest crime novel Unforgotten has just been published. Her books have been translated into 20 languages and published in over 30 countries.
Clare was born in Thames Ditton, Surrey, the younger of two sisters. Christmas holidays were spent with her grandparents in a remote corner of the Yorkshire Dales where she developed the love of landscape that is a feature of so much of her fiction. Summer holidays were spent on the Isle of Wight, where she learnt to sail at the age of nine.
After five years at the Royal Ballet School she went to an A-level crammer in Oxford (where she appeared in the university revue Keep This to Yourself), then to University College London, where she obtained a degree in Economics. She worked in marketing for three years before taking a year out to travel and discover what she really wanted to do.
What began as a personal odyssey turned into what she terms her 'unplanned' five-year career in sailing. The odyssey was an unsponsored and unsung solo voyage across the Atlantic, during which she read, listened to music and tried her hand at writing. Soon after, Clare was offered sponsorship to take part in the Round Britain Race with Eve Bonham. This was followed by the Azores and Back Singlehanded Race, the Observer Singlehanded Transatlantic Race, and, with a crew of eleven, the Whitbread Round the World Race. It was after writing three works of non-fiction about her adventures, Come Hell or High Water (1977), Come Wind or Weather (1978), and The Commanding Sea (1981) that Clare took the leap into fiction.
In 1977 she married Jaques Redon with whom she had a son, Tom, in 1978.
She is an MBE, a Fellow of University College London, and an Honorary Fellow of UMIST. She has served as Chairman of the Society of Authors (1997-99) and Chairman of the Advisory Committee on Public Lending Right (2000-03).
For the past twenty years she has been commited to the charity Action for ME, of which she is President, a trustee and member of the Council of Management. She herself has had ME (also known as Post Viral Fatigue Syndrome or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome) for many years.
Clare Francis lives in London and the Isle of Wight, and loves opera and walking.
Three more thrillers followed, Red Crystal (1985), Wolf Winter (1987) and Requiem (1991), which was published in the U.S. as The Killing Winds. Her first crime novel, Deceit was published in 1993, and dramatised for television in 2000. Four other highly successful crime novels have followed, and a highly acclaimed literary novel, Homeland. Her latest crime novel Unforgotten has just been published. Her books have been translated into 20 languages and published in over 30 countries.
Clare was born in Thames Ditton, Surrey, the younger of two sisters. Christmas holidays were spent with her grandparents in a remote corner of the Yorkshire Dales where she developed the love of landscape that is a feature of so much of her fiction. Summer holidays were spent on the Isle of Wight, where she learnt to sail at the age of nine.
After five years at the Royal Ballet School she went to an A-level crammer in Oxford (where she appeared in the university revue Keep This to Yourself), then to University College London, where she obtained a degree in Economics. She worked in marketing for three years before taking a year out to travel and discover what she really wanted to do.
What began as a personal odyssey turned into what she terms her 'unplanned' five-year career in sailing. The odyssey was an unsponsored and unsung solo voyage across the Atlantic, during which she read, listened to music and tried her hand at writing. Soon after, Clare was offered sponsorship to take part in the Round Britain Race with Eve Bonham. This was followed by the Azores and Back Singlehanded Race, the Observer Singlehanded Transatlantic Race, and, with a crew of eleven, the Whitbread Round the World Race. It was after writing three works of non-fiction about her adventures, Come Hell or High Water (1977), Come Wind or Weather (1978), and The Commanding Sea (1981) that Clare took the leap into fiction.
In 1977 she married Jaques Redon with whom she had a son, Tom, in 1978.
She is an MBE, a Fellow of University College London, and an Honorary Fellow of UMIST. She has served as Chairman of the Society of Authors (1997-99) and Chairman of the Advisory Committee on Public Lending Right (2000-03).
For the past twenty years she has been commited to the charity Action for ME, of which she is President, a trustee and member of the Council of Management. She herself has had ME (also known as Post Viral Fatigue Syndrome or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome) for many years.
Clare Francis lives in London and the Isle of Wight, and loves opera and walking.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 56 reviews
June 11, 2023
This was a good book. I shall give a full review at a later date.
January 1, 2022
Set in Norway in the early 1960's, `Wolf Winter' is a mystery thriller that keeps you turning the page to find out what happens next.
Against the backdrop of the Cold War, it centers on well arctic explorer, Halvard Starheim, the beautiful widow of his best friend Jan Johansen, Ragna, and the villainous leftwing playboy-journalist Rolf Berg.
Someone is betraying Norway to the Soviets, and has been responsible for the death of several of Hal's friends? We explore the icy tundra of northern Norway, the politics of the Cold War, and interpersonal relationships, in this thrilling novel, which is impossible to put down.
You will be compelled to always ask `What is going to happen now?' `What will he do? , what will she do?'.
Against the backdrop of the Cold War, it centers on well arctic explorer, Halvard Starheim, the beautiful widow of his best friend Jan Johansen, Ragna, and the villainous leftwing playboy-journalist Rolf Berg.
Someone is betraying Norway to the Soviets, and has been responsible for the death of several of Hal's friends? We explore the icy tundra of northern Norway, the politics of the Cold War, and interpersonal relationships, in this thrilling novel, which is impossible to put down.
You will be compelled to always ask `What is going to happen now?' `What will he do? , what will she do?'.
March 22, 2010
Absolutely fantastic read!!! The author displayed a masterful job of spinning a believable thriller. Great character development, lots of action, suspense, and romance. I found it extremely hard to put the book down. I just wanted to come back for more. Highly recommend you pick up this novel, but beware, you'll have to let other things go because you won't be able to stop reading it.
September 18, 2016
I loved this book. It's a genre that's right up my alley: spy thriller set in the Cold War in a wintry clime, in this case Norway. Really good plotting too.
July 20, 2020
Rating: 2.3 / 5
DNF at about 25%
Unfortunately, rather than "interesting", I would describe this book as more "informative"--which, I'm finding, is a common flaw in books that insist on taking place in an exotic, little-known location, wherein the author feels the necessity to throw exposition in your face on everything about the history and surroundings of the place within the first third of the book. This is bad because it relies on a reader's presumed interest in the details of everything to really get going; but, in the process, compromises the plot.
Unfortunately (again), in this case, there isn't much of a plot to go on--at least not enough to justify all the tediousness of the details. The "mystery" isn't really much of a mystery, since in reading Part I, you more or less get what happened and why. So...yeah, I felt no inclination whatsoever to proceed, and instead just skimmed to the end for the minor detail of who the main heroine would end up with. But that's it.
Glad I picked this up at a thrift shop and didn't pay more money for it. Overall, perhaps it's either for an obscure or outdated sort of reader--in any case, not for me.
DNF at about 25%
Unfortunately, rather than "interesting", I would describe this book as more "informative"--which, I'm finding, is a common flaw in books that insist on taking place in an exotic, little-known location, wherein the author feels the necessity to throw exposition in your face on everything about the history and surroundings of the place within the first third of the book. This is bad because it relies on a reader's presumed interest in the details of everything to really get going; but, in the process, compromises the plot.
Unfortunately (again), in this case, there isn't much of a plot to go on--at least not enough to justify all the tediousness of the details. The "mystery" isn't really much of a mystery, since in reading Part I, you more or less get what happened and why. So...yeah, I felt no inclination whatsoever to proceed, and instead just skimmed to the end for the minor detail of who the main heroine would end up with. But that's it.
Glad I picked this up at a thrift shop and didn't pay more money for it. Overall, perhaps it's either for an obscure or outdated sort of reader--in any case, not for me.
May 20, 2019
A thriller! This one started slowly and I struggled (almost gave up) but the story caught on and by the time I got to the middle I could hardly put it down. Perhaps I struggled at first because the blurb said it is set in Norway, and in my mind Scandinavian country have nothing interesting: just snow and good-natured people. But Clare's thriller made me think I would want to visit Norway or Finland-though, not in winter!
August 19, 2018
Before I began reading “Wolf Winter” I learned that Clare Francis was an accomplished yachtswoman, and the sailing competitions she competed in would cause her to appreciate that success was dependent on the efforts of a small number of people, working closely together toward a common goal.
Francis incorporated this idea of “the power of a few” into this novel. As I completed the first 25% of the book I realized how her scenes were generally focused on the interaction of a few people, mostly just two in fact.
I found myself becoming absorbed in these “mini stories within the larger story” partly because of the deeper character understanding that resulted, but also because the scenes seemed to be more dramatic when there were fewer players involved.
In addition, there are three time periods visited in this novel, one was in January 1945, the second in February 1960 and the third in January 1963. These timelines were well paced well and each served to give context to the timeline to follow. There were a few timeline scenes that really stood out for me:
January 1945 – Hal and Jan
The two men are making a quick, but careful descent of Goalsvarre Mountain in the Lyngen Alps of northern Norway. They reached Route 50, the German Army-built north-south highway. There seemed to be no sign of the German 20th Mountain Army, and as a result, the two men were optimistic that this was confirmation of the rumors they’d heard that the German Army was retreating along the Arctic coast, falling back away from the Russian border, back through Finland and eventually into Norway. Seeing the highway devoid of German traffic prompted the men to compare their theories as to the reasons for the retreat, they even considered that the German’s conquest efforts were frustrated by Mother Nature, the road blocks being caused by avalanches. They pressed forward, confident that the Russians were on the heels of the German Army and that their defeat was imminent.
They ski down the mountain until the town of Lyngseidet came into view. It was there that their earlier assumptions were proven wrong, German vehicles could be seen and the two men steered clear, choosing to bypass the town in favor of a pass that lead to a small fjord named Kjosen. They maintained their distance from the road, but in spite of their caution, soon heard nearby voices. It was a group of six skiers, uniformly dressed in white parkas, head directly for them. As they came closer, Hal and Jan noticed the rifles slung over their shoulders, an unmistakable sign that this was a German patrol.
Suddenly the patrol begin pursuing two other skiers who were moving in the opposite direction of Hal and Jan, up the far mountain pass. They watched the German patrol turned to pursue, and soon began gaining on their quarry. Despite the ground the Germans were gaining, they were not going to reach the ridge and the safety of the high mountains in time to ensure capture of the men above them. Hal and Jan watched the men reach the ridge, then turn back to look down at their pursuers. Just then, shots rang out and a deep rumble began to erupt. The German patrol quickly found themselves in the middle of an avalanche. They scattered to escape, but were soon swallowed up by the tons of churning snow sliding down the mountain. Hal and Jan pull back into the cover of trees, not wanting to be arrested if someone saw them in close proximity to the scene.
After the avalanche is over, the men above begin skiing downward, stopping at a high point of snow mound left by the avalanche, and there, as best as Hal and Jan could tell, began digging. After a while the two men stopped and appeared to be finished whatever it was that they were doing. The men skied near them and Hal and Jan emerged from their hiding place in the trees, “We saw what happened. We thought you might need help” Hal say to the two men. They look at each other, “Help? You could say that. You could tell us how to get out of this place” the one man says. He then explains that they are planning to head north. “Not easy” Hal warns, to which the one man says he is aware of but that they are determined to make the journey anyway. They ask for food and Hal is about to hand it to them when another German patrol appears, the four men flee to a safer place to make camp.
They find a suitable place and Hal and Jan give food to the men. Both of the mysterious men are about eighteen years old, the taller one had a handsome face and a thatch of thick yellow-blonde hair, vivid blue eyes and a taut kind of energy, especially when he spoke in great bursts. His laugh was exhilarating, almost euphoric. The other man was quieter, with dark features and a pleasant round face. Both men conversed as they ate, seemingly unaffected by the dramatic events of less than an hour before. They didn’t offer a reason for being where they were and Hal didn’t ask. As Hal listened to the men speak he tried to pinpoint their accent, from the south of Norway perhaps? He couldn’t be absolutely certain.
As they continued talking it became clear that it was these two men, and not the German patrol that initiated the firing that led to the avalanche. “We did well out of it too” the one man said, waving his hand at the collection of two Schmeisser machine guns, ammunition, knives, gloves, binoculars and goggles that they gleaned from the dead German soldiers. One of the men then said that they’d previously executed one German soldier, then noticed Hal’s displeasure at hearing this. Hal knew the reprisals for those who killed Germans were severe, “Sometimes these things have to be done” the one man said defensively.
After they ate, the two men slept while Hal and Jan kept watch. It was just after dark when they woke the two men and they all prepared to set off again. The one man asked if he could exchange his skis for Hals because he was travelling further and was unsure as to whether his pair would survive the greater distance. Hal reluctantly exchanged with the man and they turned to ski away when Hal impulsively stopped them. “If for any reason you can’t get away and you find yourself in Tromoso, ask for the Starheim house.” The men thanked them and were soon gone.
Two days later the news spread around Tromoso that a boat was stolen and gunfire was hear shortly afterward. Hal imagined that the two were captured and were now prisoner of the Gestapo, or worse. He’d heard that many captured prisoners were tortured and eventually talked, these thoughts caused him to worry about his family – his mother, sister and himself.
One day, shortly after the German’s were defeated, Hal pulled out the pair of skis he exchanged with the unnamed man back on that cold January evening. He studied them closely and noticed the faint marking of what appeared to be the initials “R.B.” He tried to think if those initials meant anything and couldn’t come up with anything. He thought it was unlikely that the two men he and Jan met that afternoon actually made their way to freedom. The thought that they failed caused him a sadness he couldn’t quite explain.
I liked how this scene opened with Hal and Jan in action. I always prefer this kind of opening. This opening also gave us a clue as to the grand scale of the story to come, and gave us a greater understanding of Norway’s strategic place in World War Two history. But most of all, the scene told us the story of two men, Hal and Jan who had one of the strongest, most durable partnerships two people can have. Trust in one another in times of conflict, in times when capture or even death are always looming. This alliance was highlighted just as much by the things that were not said, but rather implied, rather than the author telling us this fact.
The opening also drew me into this intriguing and compelling story.
February 1960 – Hal and Jan – The team is split for the first time:
This segment opens with Major Halvard Starheim standing alone, high on the mountain. The air was cold and was predicted to become even colder, this reflected his mood concerning the upcoming mission that was about to embark from a military installation at the foot of the mountain, far below his perch. He skied down to one of the huts, seeing that men were prepared to leave, and just then bumped into Major Thrane. He always thought of Thrane as a “desk man” – those who fretted about the wrong things while at the same time betraying their ignorance of real field operations by using euphemisms such as “intelligence expedition” as a way of legitimizing the use of civilians in what were really military operations.
Hal knew that this mission would be one of those he disliked most, once created by “desk men”, manned by civilians and labelled “semi military.” But worst of all, he was not permitted to personally oversee this one. “I should be going” He tells Thrane, “You know that’s out of the question” Thrane replies in a patient voice tone that only further confirms that everything about this mission was “against the grain” of everything Hal knew…and believed in.
Hal was never comfortable allowing his men to take part in any expedition he couldn’t oversee personally. He fretted knowing that some of his men, along with civilian counterparts were to take part in this mission, he protests to Thrane once again, only to hear the desk man repeat his position, “You’re a serving officer, you know you can’t be found – outside.” Hal looks to the civilians, local Lapps and a fear comes over him that they will be used as hapless spies in this ill planned, clandestine operation.
The goal of the mission was to find a certain man and bring him back with them. Hal then looked, realizing he was seeing the man who was drive the first leg of the trip. He was Mattis, a nomadic Lapp well known to him. He took some comfort in knowing Mattis would be part of this expedition due to his experience and his endurance. Mattis was an ex-army cross-country skiing champion who once skied ninety miles in twenty-four hours.
“Are you planning another expedition?” Major Thrane asked Hal, interrupting his thoughts. After prying further, Hal could see that the Major was not going to be put off, so he told him of his plan to scale the West Ridge of Mount Everest. “An army expedition?” Thrane presses…”No” Hal confirms as he becomes weary of the Major’s repeated inquiries.
Just then, Jan Johansen emerges from the hut…he’s dressed entirely in reindeer skin, “A real Lapp!” Hal calls out, laughing as he looks to the man he’s completed so many mission with over the last fifteen years. Hal recalls what an optimist Jan always was and how much he’d relied on his positive outlook to counter-balance his own, darker, more impatient nature. Hal watched Jan step into the Land Rover, recalling how the two of them built this Arctic travel and survival techniques team. It also hit him that as of this mission, he and Jan were no longer a team. “See you then” he says to Jan after embracing him, feeling quite lost as he saw his partner drive away. It was as if a significant chapter of his life was closing before he was able to fully comprehend it.
“Incidentally” Thrane says, watching Hal watching the Land Rover pulling away, “Will you be in contact with Johansen’s wife?” Hal thought of Ragna for a second, “I’ll be seeing her day after tomorrow” he replies. “She’s been told some story has she?” Thrane asks, to which Hal replies that she has, but she probably doesn’t believe that her husband’s been sent all the way up to Finnemark to do field testing for Hal when he can do that in the Lyngen Alps which are much closer to home. The Major presses, “She’s discreet though?” To which Hal frowns and responds, “Yes.”
They eat breakfast as Hal registers his reservations about the mission one more time, “What happens if someone finds out about this operation? Like the Finns for example?” Thrane tries to set him at ease yet again, “The men are merely going to Finland to meet someone. They won’t be breaking any laws, or crossing any other borders.” Hal expresses his nervousness about the lack of experience of some of the civilian members and that the team may be captured and suspected of being spies. “That’s our problem – not yours” Thrane insists, then reminds Hal that there are certain operations that must function in the “grey areas”, something he knew was necessary from a political standpoint of view, but something that field specialists, men like Hal, never really appreciated. The Major knew that Hal liked to see things as “black and white.”
The two men parted ways and Thrane looks at Hal, smiling as he thinks of him as a “prickly independent” – something the Major grudgingly admired. If there was one thing he did agree with Hal on, it was that it would be embarrassing if anyone found out about this operation.”
This scene was very compelling, and well written. Francis does a good job of setting the tone of this scene, poignant and frustrating. Hal and Jan have been a very close knit team for over 15 years. Together, they’ve achieved many successes in the field of Arctic exploration and cold weather survival techniques. As I read this section, I could literally feel Hal’s sense of helplessness and concern for his longtime partner. We know that Jan has the strength of optimism, but somehow know that this may not be enough without Hal’s pragmatism to balance things out. I also thought that Clare Francis did a wonderful job of creating tension between the viewpoint of a seasoned field agent and a career bureaucrat. I felt a foreboding sensation as I read this chapter, and definitely wanted to read on!
February 1960 – Jan, Mattis and the Skolt Lapp – “The Mission”
The army Land Rover made its way from the hut at Porsangmoen, climbing steadily to the high plateau, eventually reaching the Lapp town of Karasjok, the former winter quarters of the Lapp, and the only civilization within fifty miles. They come to a halt by a wooden house, the two passengers alight the vehicle, unload their gear and a short time later an Eastern Lapp (Skolt) drives up in his battered truck to pick the men up. They load their gear in the ancient truck and begin the journey toward the frontier crossing of the Finnish border.
They reach the border and the Skolt is waved through without any questions, evidence of the free passage between Norway and Finland, and the trader’s regular visits. They drive for mile after mile, eventually descending into lowlands, primeval forests and frozen lakes. They near the area referred to as “the bottleneck” between Norway and the Arctic pack ice, the Kola Peninsula, one of the most valuable pieces of real estate on earth, it is the Soviet Union’s sole means of access to the Atlantic Ocean. The massive Northern Fleet is stationed near here, in Murmansk, this is a place that the Soviet Union jealously guards…it is the stronghold of its Western Front. Politically this place is touchy, on one side is the Soviet Union, on the other a NATO member nation.
They've travelled sixty miles inside Finland before finally stopping on the shores of a large frozen lake. Jan and Mattis pitched a traditional Lapp tent, a “Lavo” with the help of the old Skolt Lapp. The tent was the best kind of shelter for men who were considered strangers and wanted to say off the beaten path. They prepared a meal and then fell asleep.
The journey across the lake was eighteen miles, they wanted to leave before dawn, but the minus thirty temperature and gale force winds kept them to their tent. Visibility was almost zero and the force of the wind would cause them to expend extra energy to just walk. They waited patiently, and by midmorning they were rewarded when the wind began to moderate. They set out, using a compass bearing to guide them to their first landmark. They continue pressing forward, thrusting through the soft snow in rhythmic strides, travelling surprisingly fast.
Once across the lake they would follow the shoreline for another six miles, into a deep bay and then they would stop at an isolated hut. They spotted the hints of rocky outcrops that were the promontory. They looked at each other with a pleased expression, the hut should be nearby, and finding it would mean they could spend the night in relative luxury.
The next day a man approaches them on the lake, Jan asked the code question and the man did not answer. After resting a few minutes the man said, “Please, you come find my friend?” Jan frowned, this was not going according to plan. “He is not good, he is sick.” The man asked them to go with them to find the other man. Jan finally decides to help the man find his friend.
Jan, Mattis and the third man had come about two miles from the lake. The border lay just ahead. Jan paused a moment then decided to cross the border and get to the supposedly injured man on the other side. They were nearing the Pasvik River, a place Jan knew to be regularly patrolled, it was then he noticed that the third man, the one who had earlier claimed exhaustion, was now skiing at a vigorous pace. New doubts now gnawed at his stomach.
Jan motioned the other two men to halt. He approached the brow of the hillock and peered down, seeing what looked like a dirty white anorak. He circles the hollow cautiously, then slides down, pulled the hood from the man’s face, and realizes he was dead. He turned to the third man and shook him, “What happened?!” The man said they were shot at earlier and that’s where the wound may have come from. “Why didn’t you say?” Jan asked in exasperation. “I think you will not come” the man replies.
Jan senses danger all around them then suddenly Jan hears a loud hiss, turned and saw the other man pointing in the direction of the unseen river, there is an expression of panic on the man’s face. Jan and Mattis ski away, cutting their own new trail in the low shrubs. They reached the lake and began crossing when they hear another round of gunfire. Closer this time. Suddenly, Jan felt a thud of being struck by a bullet and felt himself falling forward.
As I read the wonderful ways in which Clare Francis described this mission, I thought of the words of Jack London:
“A vast silence reigned over the land. The land itself was a desolation, lifeless, without movement, so lone and cold that the spirit of it was not even that of sadness. There was a hint in it of laughter, but of laughter more terrible than any sadness-a laughter that was mirthless as the smile of the Sphinx, a laughter cold as the frost and partaking of the grimness of infallibility. It was the masterful and incommunicable wisdom of eternity laughing at the futility of life and the effort of life. It was the Wild, the savage, frozen-hearted Northland Wild.”
I could literally feel the vastness of these northern extremes of Finland and the Soviet Union. The physical features of wide open, harshly cold expanses seem to accentuate the futility of this expedition. But despite my sense that the mission itself would be a failure, the scenes were captivating, and held me, the smitten reader, to turn page after page. The story of the expedition itself, told early in this novel is the linchpin, holding all the other elements together.
Francis demonstrates her keen ability to create two to three person scenes over and over again, some of my other favorites was one I thought of as “Erik and Sonja – A Precarious Liaison” one between Rolf Berg and mysterious Alex and Hal, Ragna and Rolf at the press conference. But my favorite would have to be the one I dubbed, “Ragna and Hal – A Subtle Current – Pulling Them Toward One Another.” Not only were they superbly crafted, but also served as critical “building blocks” in the construction of this grand tale.
Francis incorporated this idea of “the power of a few” into this novel. As I completed the first 25% of the book I realized how her scenes were generally focused on the interaction of a few people, mostly just two in fact.
I found myself becoming absorbed in these “mini stories within the larger story” partly because of the deeper character understanding that resulted, but also because the scenes seemed to be more dramatic when there were fewer players involved.
In addition, there are three time periods visited in this novel, one was in January 1945, the second in February 1960 and the third in January 1963. These timelines were well paced well and each served to give context to the timeline to follow. There were a few timeline scenes that really stood out for me:
January 1945 – Hal and Jan
The two men are making a quick, but careful descent of Goalsvarre Mountain in the Lyngen Alps of northern Norway. They reached Route 50, the German Army-built north-south highway. There seemed to be no sign of the German 20th Mountain Army, and as a result, the two men were optimistic that this was confirmation of the rumors they’d heard that the German Army was retreating along the Arctic coast, falling back away from the Russian border, back through Finland and eventually into Norway. Seeing the highway devoid of German traffic prompted the men to compare their theories as to the reasons for the retreat, they even considered that the German’s conquest efforts were frustrated by Mother Nature, the road blocks being caused by avalanches. They pressed forward, confident that the Russians were on the heels of the German Army and that their defeat was imminent.
They ski down the mountain until the town of Lyngseidet came into view. It was there that their earlier assumptions were proven wrong, German vehicles could be seen and the two men steered clear, choosing to bypass the town in favor of a pass that lead to a small fjord named Kjosen. They maintained their distance from the road, but in spite of their caution, soon heard nearby voices. It was a group of six skiers, uniformly dressed in white parkas, head directly for them. As they came closer, Hal and Jan noticed the rifles slung over their shoulders, an unmistakable sign that this was a German patrol.
Suddenly the patrol begin pursuing two other skiers who were moving in the opposite direction of Hal and Jan, up the far mountain pass. They watched the German patrol turned to pursue, and soon began gaining on their quarry. Despite the ground the Germans were gaining, they were not going to reach the ridge and the safety of the high mountains in time to ensure capture of the men above them. Hal and Jan watched the men reach the ridge, then turn back to look down at their pursuers. Just then, shots rang out and a deep rumble began to erupt. The German patrol quickly found themselves in the middle of an avalanche. They scattered to escape, but were soon swallowed up by the tons of churning snow sliding down the mountain. Hal and Jan pull back into the cover of trees, not wanting to be arrested if someone saw them in close proximity to the scene.
After the avalanche is over, the men above begin skiing downward, stopping at a high point of snow mound left by the avalanche, and there, as best as Hal and Jan could tell, began digging. After a while the two men stopped and appeared to be finished whatever it was that they were doing. The men skied near them and Hal and Jan emerged from their hiding place in the trees, “We saw what happened. We thought you might need help” Hal say to the two men. They look at each other, “Help? You could say that. You could tell us how to get out of this place” the one man says. He then explains that they are planning to head north. “Not easy” Hal warns, to which the one man says he is aware of but that they are determined to make the journey anyway. They ask for food and Hal is about to hand it to them when another German patrol appears, the four men flee to a safer place to make camp.
They find a suitable place and Hal and Jan give food to the men. Both of the mysterious men are about eighteen years old, the taller one had a handsome face and a thatch of thick yellow-blonde hair, vivid blue eyes and a taut kind of energy, especially when he spoke in great bursts. His laugh was exhilarating, almost euphoric. The other man was quieter, with dark features and a pleasant round face. Both men conversed as they ate, seemingly unaffected by the dramatic events of less than an hour before. They didn’t offer a reason for being where they were and Hal didn’t ask. As Hal listened to the men speak he tried to pinpoint their accent, from the south of Norway perhaps? He couldn’t be absolutely certain.
As they continued talking it became clear that it was these two men, and not the German patrol that initiated the firing that led to the avalanche. “We did well out of it too” the one man said, waving his hand at the collection of two Schmeisser machine guns, ammunition, knives, gloves, binoculars and goggles that they gleaned from the dead German soldiers. One of the men then said that they’d previously executed one German soldier, then noticed Hal’s displeasure at hearing this. Hal knew the reprisals for those who killed Germans were severe, “Sometimes these things have to be done” the one man said defensively.
After they ate, the two men slept while Hal and Jan kept watch. It was just after dark when they woke the two men and they all prepared to set off again. The one man asked if he could exchange his skis for Hals because he was travelling further and was unsure as to whether his pair would survive the greater distance. Hal reluctantly exchanged with the man and they turned to ski away when Hal impulsively stopped them. “If for any reason you can’t get away and you find yourself in Tromoso, ask for the Starheim house.” The men thanked them and were soon gone.
Two days later the news spread around Tromoso that a boat was stolen and gunfire was hear shortly afterward. Hal imagined that the two were captured and were now prisoner of the Gestapo, or worse. He’d heard that many captured prisoners were tortured and eventually talked, these thoughts caused him to worry about his family – his mother, sister and himself.
One day, shortly after the German’s were defeated, Hal pulled out the pair of skis he exchanged with the unnamed man back on that cold January evening. He studied them closely and noticed the faint marking of what appeared to be the initials “R.B.” He tried to think if those initials meant anything and couldn’t come up with anything. He thought it was unlikely that the two men he and Jan met that afternoon actually made their way to freedom. The thought that they failed caused him a sadness he couldn’t quite explain.
I liked how this scene opened with Hal and Jan in action. I always prefer this kind of opening. This opening also gave us a clue as to the grand scale of the story to come, and gave us a greater understanding of Norway’s strategic place in World War Two history. But most of all, the scene told us the story of two men, Hal and Jan who had one of the strongest, most durable partnerships two people can have. Trust in one another in times of conflict, in times when capture or even death are always looming. This alliance was highlighted just as much by the things that were not said, but rather implied, rather than the author telling us this fact.
The opening also drew me into this intriguing and compelling story.
February 1960 – Hal and Jan – The team is split for the first time:
This segment opens with Major Halvard Starheim standing alone, high on the mountain. The air was cold and was predicted to become even colder, this reflected his mood concerning the upcoming mission that was about to embark from a military installation at the foot of the mountain, far below his perch. He skied down to one of the huts, seeing that men were prepared to leave, and just then bumped into Major Thrane. He always thought of Thrane as a “desk man” – those who fretted about the wrong things while at the same time betraying their ignorance of real field operations by using euphemisms such as “intelligence expedition” as a way of legitimizing the use of civilians in what were really military operations.
Hal knew that this mission would be one of those he disliked most, once created by “desk men”, manned by civilians and labelled “semi military.” But worst of all, he was not permitted to personally oversee this one. “I should be going” He tells Thrane, “You know that’s out of the question” Thrane replies in a patient voice tone that only further confirms that everything about this mission was “against the grain” of everything Hal knew…and believed in.
Hal was never comfortable allowing his men to take part in any expedition he couldn’t oversee personally. He fretted knowing that some of his men, along with civilian counterparts were to take part in this mission, he protests to Thrane once again, only to hear the desk man repeat his position, “You’re a serving officer, you know you can’t be found – outside.” Hal looks to the civilians, local Lapps and a fear comes over him that they will be used as hapless spies in this ill planned, clandestine operation.
The goal of the mission was to find a certain man and bring him back with them. Hal then looked, realizing he was seeing the man who was drive the first leg of the trip. He was Mattis, a nomadic Lapp well known to him. He took some comfort in knowing Mattis would be part of this expedition due to his experience and his endurance. Mattis was an ex-army cross-country skiing champion who once skied ninety miles in twenty-four hours.
“Are you planning another expedition?” Major Thrane asked Hal, interrupting his thoughts. After prying further, Hal could see that the Major was not going to be put off, so he told him of his plan to scale the West Ridge of Mount Everest. “An army expedition?” Thrane presses…”No” Hal confirms as he becomes weary of the Major’s repeated inquiries.
Just then, Jan Johansen emerges from the hut…he’s dressed entirely in reindeer skin, “A real Lapp!” Hal calls out, laughing as he looks to the man he’s completed so many mission with over the last fifteen years. Hal recalls what an optimist Jan always was and how much he’d relied on his positive outlook to counter-balance his own, darker, more impatient nature. Hal watched Jan step into the Land Rover, recalling how the two of them built this Arctic travel and survival techniques team. It also hit him that as of this mission, he and Jan were no longer a team. “See you then” he says to Jan after embracing him, feeling quite lost as he saw his partner drive away. It was as if a significant chapter of his life was closing before he was able to fully comprehend it.
“Incidentally” Thrane says, watching Hal watching the Land Rover pulling away, “Will you be in contact with Johansen’s wife?” Hal thought of Ragna for a second, “I’ll be seeing her day after tomorrow” he replies. “She’s been told some story has she?” Thrane asks, to which Hal replies that she has, but she probably doesn’t believe that her husband’s been sent all the way up to Finnemark to do field testing for Hal when he can do that in the Lyngen Alps which are much closer to home. The Major presses, “She’s discreet though?” To which Hal frowns and responds, “Yes.”
They eat breakfast as Hal registers his reservations about the mission one more time, “What happens if someone finds out about this operation? Like the Finns for example?” Thrane tries to set him at ease yet again, “The men are merely going to Finland to meet someone. They won’t be breaking any laws, or crossing any other borders.” Hal expresses his nervousness about the lack of experience of some of the civilian members and that the team may be captured and suspected of being spies. “That’s our problem – not yours” Thrane insists, then reminds Hal that there are certain operations that must function in the “grey areas”, something he knew was necessary from a political standpoint of view, but something that field specialists, men like Hal, never really appreciated. The Major knew that Hal liked to see things as “black and white.”
The two men parted ways and Thrane looks at Hal, smiling as he thinks of him as a “prickly independent” – something the Major grudgingly admired. If there was one thing he did agree with Hal on, it was that it would be embarrassing if anyone found out about this operation.”
This scene was very compelling, and well written. Francis does a good job of setting the tone of this scene, poignant and frustrating. Hal and Jan have been a very close knit team for over 15 years. Together, they’ve achieved many successes in the field of Arctic exploration and cold weather survival techniques. As I read this section, I could literally feel Hal’s sense of helplessness and concern for his longtime partner. We know that Jan has the strength of optimism, but somehow know that this may not be enough without Hal’s pragmatism to balance things out. I also thought that Clare Francis did a wonderful job of creating tension between the viewpoint of a seasoned field agent and a career bureaucrat. I felt a foreboding sensation as I read this chapter, and definitely wanted to read on!
February 1960 – Jan, Mattis and the Skolt Lapp – “The Mission”
The army Land Rover made its way from the hut at Porsangmoen, climbing steadily to the high plateau, eventually reaching the Lapp town of Karasjok, the former winter quarters of the Lapp, and the only civilization within fifty miles. They come to a halt by a wooden house, the two passengers alight the vehicle, unload their gear and a short time later an Eastern Lapp (Skolt) drives up in his battered truck to pick the men up. They load their gear in the ancient truck and begin the journey toward the frontier crossing of the Finnish border.
They reach the border and the Skolt is waved through without any questions, evidence of the free passage between Norway and Finland, and the trader’s regular visits. They drive for mile after mile, eventually descending into lowlands, primeval forests and frozen lakes. They near the area referred to as “the bottleneck” between Norway and the Arctic pack ice, the Kola Peninsula, one of the most valuable pieces of real estate on earth, it is the Soviet Union’s sole means of access to the Atlantic Ocean. The massive Northern Fleet is stationed near here, in Murmansk, this is a place that the Soviet Union jealously guards…it is the stronghold of its Western Front. Politically this place is touchy, on one side is the Soviet Union, on the other a NATO member nation.
They've travelled sixty miles inside Finland before finally stopping on the shores of a large frozen lake. Jan and Mattis pitched a traditional Lapp tent, a “Lavo” with the help of the old Skolt Lapp. The tent was the best kind of shelter for men who were considered strangers and wanted to say off the beaten path. They prepared a meal and then fell asleep.
The journey across the lake was eighteen miles, they wanted to leave before dawn, but the minus thirty temperature and gale force winds kept them to their tent. Visibility was almost zero and the force of the wind would cause them to expend extra energy to just walk. They waited patiently, and by midmorning they were rewarded when the wind began to moderate. They set out, using a compass bearing to guide them to their first landmark. They continue pressing forward, thrusting through the soft snow in rhythmic strides, travelling surprisingly fast.
Once across the lake they would follow the shoreline for another six miles, into a deep bay and then they would stop at an isolated hut. They spotted the hints of rocky outcrops that were the promontory. They looked at each other with a pleased expression, the hut should be nearby, and finding it would mean they could spend the night in relative luxury.
The next day a man approaches them on the lake, Jan asked the code question and the man did not answer. After resting a few minutes the man said, “Please, you come find my friend?” Jan frowned, this was not going according to plan. “He is not good, he is sick.” The man asked them to go with them to find the other man. Jan finally decides to help the man find his friend.
Jan, Mattis and the third man had come about two miles from the lake. The border lay just ahead. Jan paused a moment then decided to cross the border and get to the supposedly injured man on the other side. They were nearing the Pasvik River, a place Jan knew to be regularly patrolled, it was then he noticed that the third man, the one who had earlier claimed exhaustion, was now skiing at a vigorous pace. New doubts now gnawed at his stomach.
Jan motioned the other two men to halt. He approached the brow of the hillock and peered down, seeing what looked like a dirty white anorak. He circles the hollow cautiously, then slides down, pulled the hood from the man’s face, and realizes he was dead. He turned to the third man and shook him, “What happened?!” The man said they were shot at earlier and that’s where the wound may have come from. “Why didn’t you say?” Jan asked in exasperation. “I think you will not come” the man replies.
Jan senses danger all around them then suddenly Jan hears a loud hiss, turned and saw the other man pointing in the direction of the unseen river, there is an expression of panic on the man’s face. Jan and Mattis ski away, cutting their own new trail in the low shrubs. They reached the lake and began crossing when they hear another round of gunfire. Closer this time. Suddenly, Jan felt a thud of being struck by a bullet and felt himself falling forward.
As I read the wonderful ways in which Clare Francis described this mission, I thought of the words of Jack London:
“A vast silence reigned over the land. The land itself was a desolation, lifeless, without movement, so lone and cold that the spirit of it was not even that of sadness. There was a hint in it of laughter, but of laughter more terrible than any sadness-a laughter that was mirthless as the smile of the Sphinx, a laughter cold as the frost and partaking of the grimness of infallibility. It was the masterful and incommunicable wisdom of eternity laughing at the futility of life and the effort of life. It was the Wild, the savage, frozen-hearted Northland Wild.”
I could literally feel the vastness of these northern extremes of Finland and the Soviet Union. The physical features of wide open, harshly cold expanses seem to accentuate the futility of this expedition. But despite my sense that the mission itself would be a failure, the scenes were captivating, and held me, the smitten reader, to turn page after page. The story of the expedition itself, told early in this novel is the linchpin, holding all the other elements together.
Francis demonstrates her keen ability to create two to three person scenes over and over again, some of my other favorites was one I thought of as “Erik and Sonja – A Precarious Liaison” one between Rolf Berg and mysterious Alex and Hal, Ragna and Rolf at the press conference. But my favorite would have to be the one I dubbed, “Ragna and Hal – A Subtle Current – Pulling Them Toward One Another.” Not only were they superbly crafted, but also served as critical “building blocks” in the construction of this grand tale.
October 6, 2017
This book was a real struggle to get through. It started off good but quickly went down hill after that.
The author takes much too long to give the reader a sense of what is going on in the story. What could have been a fairly decent thriller got bogged down in excessive detail and boring side plots.
I was sorry that I plodded on because the ending wasn't worth the effort. I gave it two stars as the idea was a good one. It just wasn't executed very well.
The author takes much too long to give the reader a sense of what is going on in the story. What could have been a fairly decent thriller got bogged down in excessive detail and boring side plots.
I was sorry that I plodded on because the ending wasn't worth the effort. I gave it two stars as the idea was a good one. It just wasn't executed very well.
September 13, 2016
I read this fifteen or twenty years ago, and it struck me as one of the best thrillers I've ever had the pleasure of reading. It conveyed a sense of remoteness and unique culture, the action kept me on the edge of my seat, and I found the love story unobtrusive. It's still on my shelf, and I'm sure I'll read it again one of these days.
March 11, 2020
I had forgotten what a good author Clare Francis is. It is a compelling read but ensure you read the prologue in order to make sense of what follows. It is well written and gripping even though it took a while to get into. After about 50 pages I found it difficult to put down. This edition is 625 pages long not 736 as indicated.
April 15, 2012
Great spy novel on the frozen North of Denmark amid the Lapps. This woman knows cold weather skiing and survival. She had rowed across the Atlantic solo and done other notable feats before becoming a novelist.
July 24, 2021
My difficulties with this book start with the authors obvious contempt for women especially middle aged women. My stomach churned as we are told the woman enjoyed the things he "did to her". The author is a women so I was shocked that she put the "required amount" of smutty sex in this book. Anything to sell a book!
January 16, 2024
I've had this book for several years.......ever time I picked it up I thought it was too thick to read. I started this book and it just flowed through the characters and storyline so well. I sure hope Clare wrote more novels. Excellent.
May 16, 2025
Cold war spy thriller, slow start, twisty as heck, fast paced finish with a thankfully happy epilogue. Very similar to a John LeCarre novel if you like his writing. 3.5 star rating just because it’s somewhat of a plod in the beginning.
March 25, 2019
Great story with wonderful character building and incredible scenery. Definitely want to read more of her books now.
June 18, 2019
Beautifully written by a sensitive author who seems to know the region, Finland and Norway, but more specifically the mountainside, and background, very well.
April 19, 2020
Tense thriller superbly written with many twists. The aithor also describes beautifully the harsh terrain of northern Norway.
September 17, 2022
A very well written novel.
December 30, 2022
This could have been more enjoyable if the only two female characters of note hadn't been portrayed as idiots who are completely susceptible to smooth-talking men.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 21, 2024
I couldn’t do it
September 25, 2025
great read
Bought because price was right and reviews were good. Got hooked right away loved description of mountains. Recommend this book.
Bought because price was right and reviews were good. Got hooked right away loved description of mountains. Recommend this book.
August 11, 2020
A new author to follow! This covers life in winter in Norway...something I would prefer to avoid. As it is a mystery, I won't tell you anything more about it.
February 18, 2017
loved the setting esp. felt you were there.
October 16, 2013
I was a bit disappointed by this book. I read Deceit by Clare Francis previously which I really enjoyed so I might have had high expectations.
In this case I will write about characters and plot, so if you are intending to read this book do not keep reading...
I struggle with the concept that Rolf Berg, who killed his father for being a collaborator with the Nazis would turn spy; collaborator with the Russians. It does not seem plausible even though the story how this happened in itself is quite believable. For me this was a bit of a flaw in the plot.
I also think it was a bit long winded and full of information that only contributed very little to the main story. What was disappointing was that all the additional fluff did not make the characters more believable or intriguing but they stayed quite superficial and mostly predictable.
Having said that, as you can see from the above, my writing is pretty crappy so good on you Clare Francis for turning out a very readable and enjoyable book.
In this case I will write about characters and plot, so if you are intending to read this book do not keep reading...
I struggle with the concept that Rolf Berg, who killed his father for being a collaborator with the Nazis would turn spy; collaborator with the Russians. It does not seem plausible even though the story how this happened in itself is quite believable. For me this was a bit of a flaw in the plot.
I also think it was a bit long winded and full of information that only contributed very little to the main story. What was disappointing was that all the additional fluff did not make the characters more believable or intriguing but they stayed quite superficial and mostly predictable.
Having said that, as you can see from the above, my writing is pretty crappy so good on you Clare Francis for turning out a very readable and enjoyable book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 29, 2014
As a story, it wavered between mediocrity and genuine fun. It's the type of story sold in paper blocks at airports, some portions beat their points to death like a textbook and a romance interrupted the taught spy thriller at the halfway point. Despite all that this managed to do something I thought only John LeCarre could pull off: It made a realistic spy story fun. LeCarre strays far enough into reality to avoid feeling like a movie script. James Bond has always been the opposite. This lands just between. It felt like a blockbuster but poked around the psyche of its spy well enough to get me to care about what was going on beyond the next dead body. The author also put extensive work into researching the location and even social issues of the Norwegian setting. Yes the story could have been tighter but that isn't what you look for in pulp novels is it? From that point of view I got a lot more than I asked for from this and feels good.
January 23, 2017
I stumbled on this book when I was browsing a second-hand shop (long before I actually read it, mind you), something seemed familiar about it so I decided to grab it. When I started reading it I was surprised to discover it was a book I had started reading when I was very young, never finished and long forgotten the title and author of.
Anyway, the book turned out to be quite good. It's right up my alley and set in one of my most alluring places of the planet, and is basically historical fiction at this point which one of my favourite genres. It took my a while to read as I lapsed in my routine, quite a bit, during the Christmas frenzy. It also took a while to get going, it wasn't boring, just uneventful with a lot of build-up. It paid off, though, and I've accidentally sat up past midnight the last few nights powering through the latter third of the book, unable to put it down. Definitely worth a read.
Anyway, the book turned out to be quite good. It's right up my alley and set in one of my most alluring places of the planet, and is basically historical fiction at this point which one of my favourite genres. It took my a while to read as I lapsed in my routine, quite a bit, during the Christmas frenzy. It also took a while to get going, it wasn't boring, just uneventful with a lot of build-up. It paid off, though, and I've accidentally sat up past midnight the last few nights powering through the latter third of the book, unable to put it down. Definitely worth a read.
June 6, 2024
Whilst I started off really enjoying Francis' descriptive writing style, by about a third of the way through it begins to lose its appeal. The narrative itself is lost in paragraphs, pages even, describing irrelevant details in painstaking depth. The climax of the mystery could have been about 100 pages shorter. Unfortunately this meant that I was skim reading a lot of the last third just to find out what happened to the "goodies" and "baddies" only to give up caring about the characters or mystery at all, and skim reading just to reach the end so I could pick up a different book.
However, the plot itself was wonderful, and should I have been a more patient reader, I'm sure I could have appreciated all the detail put into the story. So, if you like a slow burn this one's for you. If you don't... I'd give it a miss.
However, the plot itself was wonderful, and should I have been a more patient reader, I'm sure I could have appreciated all the detail put into the story. So, if you like a slow burn this one's for you. If you don't... I'd give it a miss.
June 17, 2016
Fun read. I read this book on my trip to Branson, but just finished today. It is a fun story, interwoven and with enough twists to keep me entertained and guessing. I want to read her other books, now that I've read this one. Of course it's a 'just for fun' book, not one that teaches or has redeeming qualities. But I believe we need 'fluff' in this world. **stop here for spoilers*** Our hero always tells the truth. He wants things to be done with honesty. He is a hard worker, and he is protective of the people he loves. Our spy is just the opposite. We don't find out that he is a spy until late in the book. Fun plot- using cross-country skis- so I'm sure my husband will love it-- Norway, Russia-- crossing the border-- and the Cold War. Fun!
September 25, 2011
This could have been a good book; however, the characterisation was appalling and the story was too drawn out. I found myself skim reading just to get to the end. The plot had potential but the cliched romantic element thoroughly spoiled it. The characters were so stereotyped and annoying I just didn't feel any empathy at all. The best part about the book was the setting which was atmospherically conveyed.
December 31, 2015
The story is set during the cold war - the tension between the Soviet Union and the West, issues about locating nuclear weapons in neutral countries. The beginning of the book took awhile to get going, but the tension in the later pages was epic. Something worth emulating. Knowing that the author is familiar with (and enjoys) sailing in bad weather made the scenes nerve wracking. It was well done. I will have to read more of Clare Francis's books.
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