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Trouble in Trondheim: Bikers and Gangsters
Kurt Hammer is in trouble. His wife and infant have been found brutally murdered, and Hammer has to leave the past behind. At the same time, a menace is killing innocent victims in the city of Trondheim, and the police are clueless. Kurt Hammer must save the day.
Trouble in Trondheim: Bikers and Gangsters is Mats Vederhus' second novel.
It is set in the Norwegian city of Trondheim and the Russian Capitol of Moscow.
It fits neatly into the Scandinavian tradition of Nordic Noir, and will satisfy anyone who's ever read any books in this genre, including Stieg Larsson's world-famous "Millenium"-trilogy.
Mats Vederhus currently lives in Trondheim, meaning that the book offers up thrilling descriptions of various places and areas in the city.
REVIEWS
I really liked the plot. It is exciting and it just keeps on escalating in a way that never makes it boring and it makes the story both interesting and good.
- Ida Elise Østberg, bymarlida.blogspot.no/
Trouble in Trondheim: Bikers and Gangsters is Mats Vederhus' second novel.
It is set in the Norwegian city of Trondheim and the Russian Capitol of Moscow.
It fits neatly into the Scandinavian tradition of Nordic Noir, and will satisfy anyone who's ever read any books in this genre, including Stieg Larsson's world-famous "Millenium"-trilogy.
Mats Vederhus currently lives in Trondheim, meaning that the book offers up thrilling descriptions of various places and areas in the city.
REVIEWS
I really liked the plot. It is exciting and it just keeps on escalating in a way that never makes it boring and it makes the story both interesting and good.
- Ida Elise Østberg, bymarlida.blogspot.no/
161 pages, ebook
Published January 31, 2016
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12 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
April 24, 2016
I was lucky enough to receive the first script from this book before it was published, and even though I'm up to my ears with exams right now, I finally got the time to read through it.
Mats Verderhus is a journalist and a writer that went to the same school as I did. He share the same love for writing as I do, and it's always so nice to see other people writing and actually make books out of it. It makes me believe I'll be able to do the same some day. I'm happy to have been able to be a small part of this by reading the script, and I already know that it is going to be exciting to see what Verderhus will do in the years to come.
"Trouble in Trondheim - bikers and gangsters" is first of all maybe not the title I would have chosen myself. It sound a little cheesy, and I don't think it does justice to the content of the book. In other words, this book is kind of an example that you shouldn't judge a book by it's title.
THE PLOT ★★★☆☆
Journalist Kurt Hammer has a dark past, and has to pick up the pieces after it. At work, he is suddenly
dragged into a series of mysterious murders taking place in Trondheim. The police is clueless, but Kurt Hammer achieves more and more clues. The murders turns out to be part of a story bigger than we thought.
I really liked the plot in this story. It is exciting and it just keeps on escalating in a way that never makes it boring and it makes the story both interesting and good.
THE WORLD ★★★★☆
The world in this book is authentic. It all takes place in Trondheim (which is in Norway, if you were wondering), and Vederhus describes it with accurate descriptions and real street-names. It fits very well with the story, and makes perfect sense.
CHARACTERS ★★★☆☆
I actually liked the characters in this book a lot. Kurt Hammer is a well thought through character with a big heart and a lot of flaws. I also really like Felicia and Frank. The only thing I have to complain about is a character named Lise, which I wished we could get to know a little better.
WRITING STYLE ★★★☆☆
Vederhus writes in an interesting, original way. When the characters speaks, it is written in the dialects that they speak in. It was a bit unusual for me at first, but refreshing when I got used to it. I think it adds to the character-building, in fact. At some points, I think Vederhus describes things in a way that's more gory than perhaps necessary. I personally don't mind much (I'm a Stephen King fan, I can take it all), but it only happens two or three times in the book, so you kind of don't see it coming and I found it a bit disturbing.
Vederhus uses a lot of descriptions, which I love, and he makes it easy to imagine how things and characters looks like and what is happening. During the book, we get to read a lot of newspaper articles, and they make a wonderful break from the text. Something I personally liked.
DRAMATURGY ★★★★☆
The dramaturgy of this book is really good. I thought it was exciting from the first page to the last, and it constantly builds the excitement and makes the plot bigger and bigger. At the same time, it's never at a point where it becomes too much either. We get to read some pages where things have calmed down, and the balance of the exciting parts and the calm ones really works.
ALL IN ALL ★★★☆☆
All in all, this book has been a nice break from all the studying I've been doing lately and I'm very pleased with that. I received the first script of it in December, and I was dying to know the ending while I waited for the second script. As I've already mentioned, I think it was really exciting and you really get to know the characters, and it's easy to like them. Although it's not really the type of book I read the most of, it's an easy read, and I'm really pleased with the ending.
I hope this is not the last we see of Kurt Hammer, because he is a main character I would love to continue to follow throughout more adventures!
Mats Verderhus is a journalist and a writer that went to the same school as I did. He share the same love for writing as I do, and it's always so nice to see other people writing and actually make books out of it. It makes me believe I'll be able to do the same some day. I'm happy to have been able to be a small part of this by reading the script, and I already know that it is going to be exciting to see what Verderhus will do in the years to come.
"Trouble in Trondheim - bikers and gangsters" is first of all maybe not the title I would have chosen myself. It sound a little cheesy, and I don't think it does justice to the content of the book. In other words, this book is kind of an example that you shouldn't judge a book by it's title.
THE PLOT ★★★☆☆
Journalist Kurt Hammer has a dark past, and has to pick up the pieces after it. At work, he is suddenly
dragged into a series of mysterious murders taking place in Trondheim. The police is clueless, but Kurt Hammer achieves more and more clues. The murders turns out to be part of a story bigger than we thought.
I really liked the plot in this story. It is exciting and it just keeps on escalating in a way that never makes it boring and it makes the story both interesting and good.
THE WORLD ★★★★☆
The world in this book is authentic. It all takes place in Trondheim (which is in Norway, if you were wondering), and Vederhus describes it with accurate descriptions and real street-names. It fits very well with the story, and makes perfect sense.
CHARACTERS ★★★☆☆
I actually liked the characters in this book a lot. Kurt Hammer is a well thought through character with a big heart and a lot of flaws. I also really like Felicia and Frank. The only thing I have to complain about is a character named Lise, which I wished we could get to know a little better.
WRITING STYLE ★★★☆☆
Vederhus writes in an interesting, original way. When the characters speaks, it is written in the dialects that they speak in. It was a bit unusual for me at first, but refreshing when I got used to it. I think it adds to the character-building, in fact. At some points, I think Vederhus describes things in a way that's more gory than perhaps necessary. I personally don't mind much (I'm a Stephen King fan, I can take it all), but it only happens two or three times in the book, so you kind of don't see it coming and I found it a bit disturbing.
Vederhus uses a lot of descriptions, which I love, and he makes it easy to imagine how things and characters looks like and what is happening. During the book, we get to read a lot of newspaper articles, and they make a wonderful break from the text. Something I personally liked.
DRAMATURGY ★★★★☆
The dramaturgy of this book is really good. I thought it was exciting from the first page to the last, and it constantly builds the excitement and makes the plot bigger and bigger. At the same time, it's never at a point where it becomes too much either. We get to read some pages where things have calmed down, and the balance of the exciting parts and the calm ones really works.
ALL IN ALL ★★★☆☆
All in all, this book has been a nice break from all the studying I've been doing lately and I'm very pleased with that. I received the first script of it in December, and I was dying to know the ending while I waited for the second script. As I've already mentioned, I think it was really exciting and you really get to know the characters, and it's easy to like them. Although it's not really the type of book I read the most of, it's an easy read, and I'm really pleased with the ending.
I hope this is not the last we see of Kurt Hammer, because he is a main character I would love to continue to follow throughout more adventures!
September 17, 2016
Trouble in Trondheim by Vederhus - this is an honest review of a free book. Unfortunately the Norwegian names and places slowed my reading though the repetition of the character names kept me in the loop. Formatting also slowed me down with sentences continued on the next line after two words. The story was believable - does it rain all the time in Norway? The main character, Kurt, is the man to solve all his problems and that of the police department.
March 12, 2020
A Complex, explosive plot, told at express train pace.
What struck me most of all about this excellent, explosive crime thriller, was the style of writing; no chapters. Instead we are treated to a composition of short statements, followed by action, followed by expressive feelings, followed by a news report from the protagonist journalist, Kurt Hammer and then, poetic descriptions of scenes, feelings, people and their reactions, love and tragedy and, most of all, fate.
The style suits the express train pace of this novel and the format really grew on me. It is a complex plot with action in Norway and Russia, some of which I found fanciful at first but it all worked and I read it in a blur of heart in mouth action, hand over mouth at tragic, love won and then lost moments and, finally, I felt like I was there (the sign of a good writer).
If I had a comment it would be that the translation had some staccato moments but it did not detract from my enjoyment of this book; recommended with 5 stars.
What struck me most of all about this excellent, explosive crime thriller, was the style of writing; no chapters. Instead we are treated to a composition of short statements, followed by action, followed by expressive feelings, followed by a news report from the protagonist journalist, Kurt Hammer and then, poetic descriptions of scenes, feelings, people and their reactions, love and tragedy and, most of all, fate.
The style suits the express train pace of this novel and the format really grew on me. It is a complex plot with action in Norway and Russia, some of which I found fanciful at first but it all worked and I read it in a blur of heart in mouth action, hand over mouth at tragic, love won and then lost moments and, finally, I felt like I was there (the sign of a good writer).
If I had a comment it would be that the translation had some staccato moments but it did not detract from my enjoyment of this book; recommended with 5 stars.
February 16, 2020
With such a gritty title I had no idea what to expect with this thriller, but on most points it delivers well. The character of Kurt Hammer is well-developed & compelling, fighting his demons & taking on struggles against a Russian gangsters is no mean feat. The storyline trips along at a fast-pace with plenty of action & descriptive scenes, although I had a niggling feeling that something was definitely lost in translation.
October 2, 2016
Lots of mayhem in Trondheim! Mats Vederhus has created a thrilling story of bikers and Russian gangsters on a collision course in a peaceful Norwegian town. A journalist Kurt Hammer gets stuck in the middle of it all, sorting out his own demons at the same time as working the case.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews