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Inspector Sohlberg #1
Sohlberg and the Missing Schoolboy: an Inspector Sohlberg mystery
A Vik Crime/Blue Salamander Edition 2012.
New translation with added material by the author.
Chief Inspector Harald Sohlberg returns to the Oslo police district where his career started and almost ended in disgrace and scandal.
Although he is experienced with hardened and heartless criminals, C.I. Harald Sohlberg has never met as devious and brilliant a criminal mind as when he is called to investigate an unsolved case in Holmenkollen, one of Oslo’s sleepy and boring suburbs.
C.I. Sohlberg meets his match amid the beautiful homes and gardens of Oslo’s well-to-do professional class. An elementary school—Grindbakken Skole, Pilot Hill School—becomes Ground Zero for the most shocking and unforgettable of crimes.
Confronted with his own difficult and controversial past, Sohlberg must now find a missing 7-year-old boy who vanished while he was inside his school, surrounded by classmates, teachers, and parents at a science fair. The case brings back memories of Norway’s worst serial predator, Lommemannen The Pocket Man, and his predecessor, The Smiley Face Killer.
Chief Inspector Sohlberg has spent decades investigating Norway’s most devious criminals as a Police Chief Inspector in Oslo. Sohlberg has also hunted some of world’s most violent and ruthless criminals as an adviser to Interpol. Years of working abroad for Interpol have made him a stranger to his own country and people. Rumors of his wife joining a religious cult in America certainly don’t help.
The Harold Sohlberg crime novel series by Jens Amundsen joins Norway’s best crime detective series, including the Inspector Konrad Sejer series by Karin Fossum, the Inspector Gunnarstranda series by K. O. Dahl, and the Detective Harry Hole series by Jo Nesbø.
Dark undercurrents of Norwegian and modern society pull this classic of Nordic noir into new and uncharted waters that are as terrifying as they are thrilling. It’s time to enjoy Sohlberg and the Missing Schoolboy, the debut novel of Jens Amundsen. His novels on Chief Inspector Harald Sohlberg masterfully blend the psychological novel into the crime, suspense, thriller, and detective genre.
Sohlberg and the Missing Schoolboy introduces the characters and situations that explode in White Death in Tromsø, the sequel to Sohlberg and the Missing Schoolboy.
This book includes the first chapter of White Death in Tromsø.
New translation with added material by the author.
Chief Inspector Harald Sohlberg returns to the Oslo police district where his career started and almost ended in disgrace and scandal.
Although he is experienced with hardened and heartless criminals, C.I. Harald Sohlberg has never met as devious and brilliant a criminal mind as when he is called to investigate an unsolved case in Holmenkollen, one of Oslo’s sleepy and boring suburbs.
C.I. Sohlberg meets his match amid the beautiful homes and gardens of Oslo’s well-to-do professional class. An elementary school—Grindbakken Skole, Pilot Hill School—becomes Ground Zero for the most shocking and unforgettable of crimes.
Confronted with his own difficult and controversial past, Sohlberg must now find a missing 7-year-old boy who vanished while he was inside his school, surrounded by classmates, teachers, and parents at a science fair. The case brings back memories of Norway’s worst serial predator, Lommemannen The Pocket Man, and his predecessor, The Smiley Face Killer.
Chief Inspector Sohlberg has spent decades investigating Norway’s most devious criminals as a Police Chief Inspector in Oslo. Sohlberg has also hunted some of world’s most violent and ruthless criminals as an adviser to Interpol. Years of working abroad for Interpol have made him a stranger to his own country and people. Rumors of his wife joining a religious cult in America certainly don’t help.
The Harold Sohlberg crime novel series by Jens Amundsen joins Norway’s best crime detective series, including the Inspector Konrad Sejer series by Karin Fossum, the Inspector Gunnarstranda series by K. O. Dahl, and the Detective Harry Hole series by Jo Nesbø.
Dark undercurrents of Norwegian and modern society pull this classic of Nordic noir into new and uncharted waters that are as terrifying as they are thrilling. It’s time to enjoy Sohlberg and the Missing Schoolboy, the debut novel of Jens Amundsen. His novels on Chief Inspector Harald Sohlberg masterfully blend the psychological novel into the crime, suspense, thriller, and detective genre.
Sohlberg and the Missing Schoolboy introduces the characters and situations that explode in White Death in Tromsø, the sequel to Sohlberg and the Missing Schoolboy.
This book includes the first chapter of White Death in Tromsø.
215 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 1, 2011
37 people are currently reading
60 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
January 24, 2014
I enjoyed this second book in the Sohlberg series! Only off point was the ending, which seemed rather abrupt to me, and not the best translating!
March 26, 2014
I really enjoyed this. The author's a new one to me and I chose it on the back of enjoying so many of the Nordic TV shows we've recently been treated to. I wasn't disappointed in the least. Sohlberg himself is quite a character, and, being older than the usual cop protagonist, has an interesting past of his own we get to learn about as the story progresses.
I'll definitely read more in the series. There were a few very amusing remarks in it,too.
However, it loses a star for me because a lot was missed out in the translation or editing exercise.
It annoyed me initially that in the introduction itself his name is spelt Harold AND Harald. That wasn't a great beginning for me. I don't know which is correct but on ensuing pages the word was spelled hyyte then hytte. Usual was spelt as ususal and peek as peak and discernible as discernable-ouch. Then Alta Soft morphed into altasoft on the page after-just a bit too careless for my liking.Smooch was also used where mooch was meant.
There were a lot of tense mistakes-such as hanged up/digged into and aggravatingly, the apostrophe in parents' was misused almost every time as parent's. Yet I did spot it was used correctly at least once so clearly the difference was known and nobody bothered to proofread it properly.I realise the author went in favour of American as opposed to English spellings but the repeated use of kidnaping I still don't think is correct. He also avoids using commas and you do miss them, especially in lines like "she traded me the old beat-up model...".
A pity so much seemed to get lost in translation although, in fairness, I've seen as many (if not more) mistakes in stories where English is supposedly the native language !!
The ending was a real shock one for me and I can say no more as I don't do spoilers. You'll just have to read it yourself.
I'll definitely read more in the series. There were a few very amusing remarks in it,too.
However, it loses a star for me because a lot was missed out in the translation or editing exercise.
It annoyed me initially that in the introduction itself his name is spelt Harold AND Harald. That wasn't a great beginning for me. I don't know which is correct but on ensuing pages the word was spelled hyyte then hytte. Usual was spelt as ususal and peek as peak and discernible as discernable-ouch. Then Alta Soft morphed into altasoft on the page after-just a bit too careless for my liking.Smooch was also used where mooch was meant.
There were a lot of tense mistakes-such as hanged up/digged into and aggravatingly, the apostrophe in parents' was misused almost every time as parent's. Yet I did spot it was used correctly at least once so clearly the difference was known and nobody bothered to proofread it properly.I realise the author went in favour of American as opposed to English spellings but the repeated use of kidnaping I still don't think is correct. He also avoids using commas and you do miss them, especially in lines like "she traded me the old beat-up model...".
A pity so much seemed to get lost in translation although, in fairness, I've seen as many (if not more) mistakes in stories where English is supposedly the native language !!
The ending was a real shock one for me and I can say no more as I don't do spoilers. You'll just have to read it yourself.
February 19, 2014
the translation is a bit 'iffy' but that just adds to the authenticity.
April 3, 2024
A good read!
In-depth, believable character development, and a well-told story of a competent police detective's solving of a tragic case involving a child missing for over a year. The lack of commas in the translation was sometimes a little distracting, as also was the use of 3 periods, perhaps indicating slight pauses, but used in many sentences on most pages throughout the book. An alert copyeditor would catch quite a few missing or misused words. I am following this author, and will look for future books!
In-depth, believable character development, and a well-told story of a competent police detective's solving of a tragic case involving a child missing for over a year. The lack of commas in the translation was sometimes a little distracting, as also was the use of 3 periods, perhaps indicating slight pauses, but used in many sentences on most pages throughout the book. An alert copyeditor would catch quite a few missing or misused words. I am following this author, and will look for future books!
August 31, 2017
Kohlberg and the Missing Schoolboy.
One of the best thrillers I have ever read. Scandinavian Nordic Noir books are extremely good- and I have read many but this certainly tops the list. Not only an extremely good, intriguingly to the end , but very well
written and translated into English.
I shall recommend this to my friends and murder for myself another book by the same author.
Shirley Stevens.
One of the best thrillers I have ever read. Scandinavian Nordic Noir books are extremely good- and I have read many but this certainly tops the list. Not only an extremely good, intriguingly to the end , but very well
written and translated into English.
I shall recommend this to my friends and murder for myself another book by the same author.
Shirley Stevens.
January 17, 2019
Enjoyed my first Sohlberg book. I read it in paperback around several ebooks and I was able to follow the story even with long breaks in between readings. I have several more I picked up at a book sale and am looking forward to them.
January 5, 2020
Interesting to read a book where the main character while having characteristics that are endearing also is racist and right winger against the liberal policies of Norway. That aside the plot was well devised and a good holiday read.
April 21, 2021
Great Nordic crime fiction
It is a great procedural that Sohlberg takes us through finally solving a cold case that nobody else had been able to.
The author sets up a likeable, honorable man as detective. I will definitely read more about him.
It is a great procedural that Sohlberg takes us through finally solving a cold case that nobody else had been able to.
The author sets up a likeable, honorable man as detective. I will definitely read more about him.
March 13, 2018
I can't believe the reviews of the readers of this book. It was terrible. Badly written and badly translated.
March 5, 2012
The plot: Chief Inspector Harald Sohlberg, who has spent many years away from his native Norway working for Interpol, returns home for a visit and is asked to undertake a case the Oslo police gave up on-- finding a missing boy who disappeared from his elementary school a year earlier. Sounds good, right? Well, the plot works out in an interesting way, so there is promise in this series.
BUT, this is the worst translation I have ever read of anything in any genre. Unbelievably bad. Distractingly bad. Beyond humorously bad. Several times I almost stopped reading because I just could not put up with it. I gave it a chance though, thinking that perhaps if the plot was a good one, I might read Amundsen again but would download a sample beforehand to see if it was edited by someone who knows English. Just as one annoying instance, the word "particularly" is rendered "pArcticularly" in every one of the many places it appears. I was so distracted by that capital "A" that I was nearly finished with the novel before I noticed the word is actually misspelled and has the word "Arctic" in the middle of it. Then I began to wonder if this was a machine translation. The writing is stilted, sometimes introduces the word "ain't" where it isn't connected to anything about the character, uses incorrect homonyms, doesn't use apostrophes in words that require it, and...well, I won't go on.
Now, as I entered Goodreads to write this review, I noticed that this book is indicated as being in a "revised translation." I thought, "Oh! That explains it. This must be the uncorrected first edition. That explains why it was a 99 cent download for Kindle." Alas, no. The edition I am reading on Kindle is listed by Amazon as the "THIRD EDITION (new revised translation)." My god, what must it have been like before?
Readers have rated this book 4 and 5 stars, though some have commented on the errors. I can only think that somewhere out there, perhaps in a paper edition, there is a readable version of this text. I will give it 2 stars, rather than one, hoping that editing will catch up.
Beware downloaders though. You do get what you pay for here.
BUT, this is the worst translation I have ever read of anything in any genre. Unbelievably bad. Distractingly bad. Beyond humorously bad. Several times I almost stopped reading because I just could not put up with it. I gave it a chance though, thinking that perhaps if the plot was a good one, I might read Amundsen again but would download a sample beforehand to see if it was edited by someone who knows English. Just as one annoying instance, the word "particularly" is rendered "pArcticularly" in every one of the many places it appears. I was so distracted by that capital "A" that I was nearly finished with the novel before I noticed the word is actually misspelled and has the word "Arctic" in the middle of it. Then I began to wonder if this was a machine translation. The writing is stilted, sometimes introduces the word "ain't" where it isn't connected to anything about the character, uses incorrect homonyms, doesn't use apostrophes in words that require it, and...well, I won't go on.
Now, as I entered Goodreads to write this review, I noticed that this book is indicated as being in a "revised translation." I thought, "Oh! That explains it. This must be the uncorrected first edition. That explains why it was a 99 cent download for Kindle." Alas, no. The edition I am reading on Kindle is listed by Amazon as the "THIRD EDITION (new revised translation)." My god, what must it have been like before?
Readers have rated this book 4 and 5 stars, though some have commented on the errors. I can only think that somewhere out there, perhaps in a paper edition, there is a readable version of this text. I will give it 2 stars, rather than one, hoping that editing will catch up.
Beware downloaders though. You do get what you pay for here.
November 3, 2014
I read this book as part of the Nordic Noir book club on Goodreads. It is OK, but I didn't love it. Too much time is spent with political or philosophical conversations, and setting up red herrings that don't go anywhere. There are whole chapters that seem to be setting something up, and then nothing comes of it. I did like Sohlberg as a character. As a person who's lived in 3 different countries, I liked how he notices things that most natives ignore, his position between insider and outsider makes him notice small things that are fun to know about Norwegian society. All in all, entertaining, but no threat to Jo Nesbo.
November 29, 2014
I would love to give this book four stars because I think the story was solid, and the character development was strong. Inspector Sohlberg especially was both likable and believable. The translation, however, was atrocious and not properly edited for mistakes. It is a credit to the author that the story and characters held up so well within the framework of such an unskilled and error-filled translation. I'm usually quick to pass on books so poorly edited, but the author's story and characters were sufficiently good to keep me looking past the awkward translation and focus on the story, which was quite enjoyable, even so.
April 5, 2015
Jens Amundsen's character Chief Inspector Sohlberg is a pleasure to read in action. He has compassion and is passion.
Sohlberg must take over a an old case of a missing boy and learns he has to start at the beginning because the first officer in charge was so biased and did not question or allow others to check facts out , but took the word of those involved at face value while dismissing others due to their social status. As this takes place in Norway and Solhberg is Norwegian remember he works for Interpol. This makes him see his homeland in a new light. A very good police procedural with many twists and turns. A whodunit with many possible characters.
Sohlberg must take over a an old case of a missing boy and learns he has to start at the beginning because the first officer in charge was so biased and did not question or allow others to check facts out , but took the word of those involved at face value while dismissing others due to their social status. As this takes place in Norway and Solhberg is Norwegian remember he works for Interpol. This makes him see his homeland in a new light. A very good police procedural with many twists and turns. A whodunit with many possible characters.
September 29, 2021
This could have been a really interesting book but for pages it goes nowhere. The book needs a thorough edit - either give the Norwegian word/s with a translation at the end or in a footnote or just use English; use good English; keep the endless dithering of the main protagonist to a minimum and concentrate on the real plot. Lots of information repeated - sometimes in the next sentence. It would have been twice as readable had it been half as long.
April 7, 2014
Norwegian Inspector Sohlberg who seems to be a rather pretentious investigator is asked to locate a young boy who has been missing for over a year. The writing appears stilted and characterisation a little lacking. However it has an imaginative, interesting plot therefore future books hold promise.
March 21, 2016
Intrigue Galore!
Jens Amundson has crafted an amazing tale of deceit while describing the actions of Gunnar and Agnes, the boy's parents. It's hard to believe how the police were deceived for over a year. Sohlberg brilliantly tracks down and exposes the guilty party. Good job!
Jens Amundson has crafted an amazing tale of deceit while describing the actions of Gunnar and Agnes, the boy's parents. It's hard to believe how the police were deceived for over a year. Sohlberg brilliantly tracks down and exposes the guilty party. Good job!
January 26, 2016
Excellent Read
I love how the Scandinavian authors pen such interesting novels. This is the start of another fascinating mystery series. I will enjoy many hours reading these ongoing stories.
I am already very attached to Inspector Sohlberg.
I love how the Scandinavian authors pen such interesting novels. This is the start of another fascinating mystery series. I will enjoy many hours reading these ongoing stories.
I am already very attached to Inspector Sohlberg.
March 29, 2012
this was apretty good book.
May 20, 2014
horrible translation, dumb ending
October 19, 2014
Proves that not all Scandinavian mystery writers are equal. Strange story strangely told. Not totally awful, but not very enjoyable either.
January 20, 2016
Good crime novel coupled with interesting cynical attitude to standard police procedure and political corruption. I look forward to reading more in the series.
September 10, 2016
3.5 stars
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews