Cold Hearts

by Gunnar Staalesen, Don Bartlett (Translator)

On a frosty January day in Bergen, Private Detective Varg Veum is visited by a prostitute. Her friend Margrethe has disappeared and hasn't been seen for days. Before her disappearance, something had unsettled she'd turned away a customer and returned to the neighbourhood in terror. Shortly after taking the case, Veum is confronted with a brutal, uneasy reality. He soon finds the first body - and it won't be the last either. His investigation leads him into a dark subculture where corrupted idealism has had deadly consequences.

289 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 1, 2013

About the author

Gunnar Staalesen is a Norwegian writer. Staalesen has a cand.philol degree from Universitetet i Bergen and he has worked at Den Nationale Scene, the main theater in Bergen.

Reviews

[Nick Brough · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not sure why I bought this book (given it is well into the series) as it was a while ago and has sat on the shelves unread for a while. Possibly I saw a TV adaption of one of the series ?

I dont know Norway or Bergen unfortunately, so following the protagonist (Varg Veum) as he drives around the city is somewhat difficult. The story is quite gripping, very enjoyable, but i guessed at least part of the major events well in advance of it being revealed, which never helps with a detective story. The attitude of the Police didnt make much sense to me either. They seemed rather dismissive rather then taking witness statements at times, although the overall attitude was perfectly fine.

I will read more in the series, perhaps even start at book 1.