What do you think?
Rate this book
Flokí: A gripping twisty suspenseful mystery romance
What are you willing to sacrifice for the people you love?
After a personal tragedy shattered his life and career, Flokí Wilhelmsen, a former SFPD homicide detective, and his 15-year-old daughter Charlene, moved back home from San Francisco to the western fjords of Norway in search of solace.
A call from Cathrine, a woman connected to his younger brother Olav, interrupts his peace when she informs him that Olav has mysteriously vanished from his Spanish apartment.
As Flokí embarks on his journey to Spain to uncover the truth behind Olav’s disappearance, danger and deception engulf him. Each clue reveals family secrets and connections to criminal activities that threaten to unravel everything he holds dear.
An intense mystery novel about family ties, trust, and what we are willing to sacrifice for the ones we love.
If you appreciate a good mystery thriller with many complications and a likable, realistic hero, wonderful Norwegian nature, Spanish luxury lifestyle, dangerous criminals, and a Chinatown movie feel; then this is your book!
Read it now and join Flokí and his friends in this fast-paced quest for the truth!
After a personal tragedy shattered his life and career, Flokí Wilhelmsen, a former SFPD homicide detective, and his 15-year-old daughter Charlene, moved back home from San Francisco to the western fjords of Norway in search of solace.
A call from Cathrine, a woman connected to his younger brother Olav, interrupts his peace when she informs him that Olav has mysteriously vanished from his Spanish apartment.
As Flokí embarks on his journey to Spain to uncover the truth behind Olav’s disappearance, danger and deception engulf him. Each clue reveals family secrets and connections to criminal activities that threaten to unravel everything he holds dear.
An intense mystery novel about family ties, trust, and what we are willing to sacrifice for the ones we love.
If you appreciate a good mystery thriller with many complications and a likable, realistic hero, wonderful Norwegian nature, Spanish luxury lifestyle, dangerous criminals, and a Chinatown movie feel; then this is your book!
Read it now and join Flokí and his friends in this fast-paced quest for the truth!
355 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 4, 2024
27 people are currently reading
6 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
Read
December 26, 2024Since I've written the book, I am not impartial to leave a comment. However, I just received my first review (on the Norwegian version) from Isa Berg (Criminal Book World blog); full score (6 out of 6).
Best Christmas present ever. :-)
If you are a member of Kindle Unlimited you still have 60 days to read it for free.
Best Christmas present ever. :-)
If you are a member of Kindle Unlimited you still have 60 days to read it for free.
January 9, 2025
At nearly 5 o'clock in the morning in the small town of Haugesund, in Norway, Flokí reluctantly answers an unknown number of one of his brother Olav's friends, Catherine. She informs him that Olav is missing and no one has heard from him for quite some time. Flokí dismisses the call knowing his brother's shenanigans, but the nagging feeling starts to grow until his father and his daughter, Charlene, pressure him into going on a search for Olav after all their attempts to reach him on his phone fail. Flokí uses his years in the San Francisco Police Department as a homicide detective to search for his brother in Marbella, Spain, with the help of Olav's friend Catherine, but what he finds is much more sinister than he could ever imagine.
"Flokí" by Paul B. Bergquist is a suspense thriller with a bit of romance that succeeded in gripping my attention from the first page to the last one. I must say I was a bit skeptical about the book since the book cover is very mysterious and doesn't reveal much about the book, nor does the title, but I am glad I gave it a chance as I was well rewarded.
For the first time, I actually like how the fast pace of the book slows down at some parts to give me a breather before picking up again since the slower parts are perfectly timed to keep the book from being boring, which I deeply appreciate. The way the author keeps wrapping up the plot to give the impression that the book is almost finished but then reveals another clue at the last minute shows his outstanding writing skills.
The author uses simple and easy-to-understand language, which helps in giving a vivid description of the scenery in Norway and Spain, making me feel as if I am there. I believe the book is well-edited since I only encountered 3 editorial errors in the book, which is a huge positive for me.
My favorite aspect of the book is the way the author portrays the characters, especially Flokí; he isn't the witty, clever, super-observant hero who is usually portrayed in thriller novels but a regular person with above-average observation skills who fights his own demons, stumbles, and makes mistakes like every regular person. The way Flokí and the rest of the characters are presented makes them relatable while it gives a realistic streak to this fictional story, making it believable.
My only comment is that I would have liked to know more about Charlene's real mother and how Charlene ended up considering Jo-Ann as her mother and that there is a minor plot hole that I found at the end of the book, but it didn't affect the overall plot or disrupt my reading. I believe "Flokí" is suitable for thriller, suspense, crime, and mystery fans of all ages. I really think it will make a great movie someday, and I hope there is a sequel.
"Flokí" by Paul B. Bergquist is a suspense thriller with a bit of romance that succeeded in gripping my attention from the first page to the last one. I must say I was a bit skeptical about the book since the book cover is very mysterious and doesn't reveal much about the book, nor does the title, but I am glad I gave it a chance as I was well rewarded.
For the first time, I actually like how the fast pace of the book slows down at some parts to give me a breather before picking up again since the slower parts are perfectly timed to keep the book from being boring, which I deeply appreciate. The way the author keeps wrapping up the plot to give the impression that the book is almost finished but then reveals another clue at the last minute shows his outstanding writing skills.
The author uses simple and easy-to-understand language, which helps in giving a vivid description of the scenery in Norway and Spain, making me feel as if I am there. I believe the book is well-edited since I only encountered 3 editorial errors in the book, which is a huge positive for me.
My favorite aspect of the book is the way the author portrays the characters, especially Flokí; he isn't the witty, clever, super-observant hero who is usually portrayed in thriller novels but a regular person with above-average observation skills who fights his own demons, stumbles, and makes mistakes like every regular person. The way Flokí and the rest of the characters are presented makes them relatable while it gives a realistic streak to this fictional story, making it believable.
My only comment is that I would have liked to know more about Charlene's real mother and how Charlene ended up considering Jo-Ann as her mother and that there is a minor plot hole that I found at the end of the book, but it didn't affect the overall plot or disrupt my reading. I believe "Flokí" is suitable for thriller, suspense, crime, and mystery fans of all ages. I really think it will make a great movie someday, and I hope there is a sequel.
June 30, 2025
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this eARC.
At first glance, Flokí: A Mystery Novel might read like a traditional small-town whodunit. But Paul B Bergquist doesn’t just write a mystery—he evokes a world shaped by primal instinct, quiet observation, and the ancient bond between animal and human. In this first book of the Flokí series, what begins as a simple investigation unfolds into a tale of loyalty, loss, and intuitive justice—all seen through the eyes of an unexpected narrator.
When a local recluse is found dead under suspicious circumstances in a remote Nordic village, suspicion falls quickly on the outsider. Enter Flokí—half-wolf, half-domesticated dog, wholly captivating. As the village reels and the investigation stalls, Flokí becomes an unlikely observer and, more importantly, the story’s conscience.
Told in a style that slips between traditional narration and Flokí’s raw, sensory-laced observations, the plot moves steadily but with a poetic undercurrent. The mystery is satisfying, but the emotional resonance is what lingers—especially as Flokí’s instincts lead him to uncover motives that no human detective would ever sense.
Bergquist’s greatest narrative trick isn’t just giving voice to an animal protagonist—it’s making that voice feel ancient, wise, and startlingly perceptive. The novel walks a fine line between anthropomorphism and realism, and it does so with grace.
Themes of isolation, environmental tension, and the unspoken hierarchies of rural life are embedded deeply in the plot. There’s an ecological subtlety here too—Flokí’s connection to the land acts almost as a second layer of detection, a kind of ecological intuition that parallels the human investigation but adds a deeper, spiritual resonance.
The village setting is rendered with quiet menace—snow, silence, wind, and withheld truths. The stark Nordic landscape becomes not just a backdrop but a character of its own, shaping choices, hiding clues, and resisting intrusion. It calls to mind the immersive atmospheric layering of Tana French or Ragnar Jónasson, but with a voice all Bergquist’s own.
Flokí is a mystery novel in the guise of folklore—a grounded narrative wrapped around a primal consciousness. For readers drawn to stories that unspool slowly, with textured prose and soulful undertones, this debut promises much more than the solution to a single death. It’s a meditation on truth—the kind we uncover and the kind we carry quietly inside us.
At first glance, Flokí: A Mystery Novel might read like a traditional small-town whodunit. But Paul B Bergquist doesn’t just write a mystery—he evokes a world shaped by primal instinct, quiet observation, and the ancient bond between animal and human. In this first book of the Flokí series, what begins as a simple investigation unfolds into a tale of loyalty, loss, and intuitive justice—all seen through the eyes of an unexpected narrator.
When a local recluse is found dead under suspicious circumstances in a remote Nordic village, suspicion falls quickly on the outsider. Enter Flokí—half-wolf, half-domesticated dog, wholly captivating. As the village reels and the investigation stalls, Flokí becomes an unlikely observer and, more importantly, the story’s conscience.
Told in a style that slips between traditional narration and Flokí’s raw, sensory-laced observations, the plot moves steadily but with a poetic undercurrent. The mystery is satisfying, but the emotional resonance is what lingers—especially as Flokí’s instincts lead him to uncover motives that no human detective would ever sense.
Bergquist’s greatest narrative trick isn’t just giving voice to an animal protagonist—it’s making that voice feel ancient, wise, and startlingly perceptive. The novel walks a fine line between anthropomorphism and realism, and it does so with grace.
Themes of isolation, environmental tension, and the unspoken hierarchies of rural life are embedded deeply in the plot. There’s an ecological subtlety here too—Flokí’s connection to the land acts almost as a second layer of detection, a kind of ecological intuition that parallels the human investigation but adds a deeper, spiritual resonance.
The village setting is rendered with quiet menace—snow, silence, wind, and withheld truths. The stark Nordic landscape becomes not just a backdrop but a character of its own, shaping choices, hiding clues, and resisting intrusion. It calls to mind the immersive atmospheric layering of Tana French or Ragnar Jónasson, but with a voice all Bergquist’s own.
Flokí is a mystery novel in the guise of folklore—a grounded narrative wrapped around a primal consciousness. For readers drawn to stories that unspool slowly, with textured prose and soulful undertones, this debut promises much more than the solution to a single death. It’s a meditation on truth—the kind we uncover and the kind we carry quietly inside us.
January 19, 2025
The book has a good story line. It keeps you entertained with beautiful, detailed description. The unique, detailed reviews of Norway is brought out beautifully. As for the story, it is long and drawn and being a mystery fan, I feel that too many chapters are just fillers. I have to skip a few and I am bummed that I could predict the ending few chapters before. Still a good read for long travels and minute detailed description. The author did justice to the beautiful fjords!
January 11, 2025
He moved away from America and his life as a murder detective but he is about to be pulled into a case. His younger brother goes missing he will team up with her to find him. It is not going to be easy as things are not as they seem. See if he can find his brother and all the answers
I received an advance copy from hidden gems and was pulled into his hunt for his brother
I received an advance copy from hidden gems and was pulled into his hunt for his brother
January 22, 2025
I'm Norwegian, but I got this book in English translation from Netgalley, and I think the translator should have kept the original name "Floke". The plot of the novel is excellent, with a few twists, and the characters are very good. My tip for the author is to write everything from 3.person POV. If you can't tell the whole story in 1.person, don't use it.
April 24, 2025
This story captured me from the first paragraph. Continuous action,and the feeling that you’ve made new friends
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews