Unhinged by Thomas Enger and Jorn Lier Horst #bookreview #blogtour @EngerThomas @LierHorst @OrendaBooks @RandomTTours

On my blog today, I’m delighted to be taking part in the blog tour for the new novel by Thomas Enger and Jorn Lier Horst, Unhinged. With thanks to Anne Cater from Random Things Tours for inviting me to take part.

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When police investigator Sofia Kovic uncovers a startling connection between several Oslo murder cases, she attempts to contact her closest superior, Alexander Blix before involving anyone else in the department. But before Blix has time to return her call, Kovic is shot and killed in her own home – execution style. And in the apartment below, Blix’s daughter Iselin narrowly escapes becoming the killer’s next victim.

Four days later, Blix and online crime journalist Emma Ramm are locked inside an interrogation room, facing the National Criminal Investigation Service. Blix has shot and killed a man, and Ramm saw it all happen.

As Iselin’s life hangs in the balance, under-fire Blix no longer knows who he can trust … and he’s not even certain that he’s killed the right man…

Two of Nordic Noir’s most brilliant writers return with the explosive, staggeringly accomplished, emotive third instalment in the international, bestselling Blix & Ramm series … and it will take your breath away.

MY THOUGHTS

Thomas Enger and Jorn Lier Horst have created one of my favourite series in the crime fiction genre. In Unhinged, the latest book in the Blix and Ramm series, Detective Alexander Blix is thrown head first into a tense, very personal investigation, when his daughter, Iselin becomes involved in a complex police investigation, following the shocking murder of a police officer.

What I love about these books, is that Enger and Horst always begin each novel with action, and the action in the book never lets up. The books are always so intense, and Unhinged takes the level of intensity, in Enger and Horst’s writing, up a notch. In the opening section of this book, Blix is being questioned by police officers about his actions in an investigation. I wanted to know what it was Blix had done to make the police want to question him.

Without trying to give too much of the plot away, this is also a book with a strong emotional core. The authors really do put their characters through a very difficult time, beginning with the murder of one of Blix’s work colleagues, Sofia Kovic, and the character’s emotions come through very strongly on the page. You can feel this right from page one, as Blix is trying to come to terms with what has already happened. I was rooting for Blix right the way through this book, to get the answers that he was seeking. There are some really shocking revelations as the plot progresses.

Right from the get-go, I wanted to find out more about the investigation, and if Sofia Kovic knew more about what they were investigating and if she potentially knew who was involved. Sofia is also a close friend of Blix’s friend, journalist Emma Ramm, who, like Blix, is heavily affected by her death. The plot is so well thought out, and Enger and Horst really do take you on a whirlwind of a ride, as Blix and Ramm try to work out who is behind the horrific events. You can see just how desperate for answers Blix is, and I wasn’t sure just how far he was willing to go to achieve his goal. It’s what makes this book such a tense read and I flew through it, as I was desperate to find out who was the person responsible.

This is the best book yet in this series. It has made me wonder how Blix and Ramm will progress from here, especially after everything that has happened in this book, it is clear that things will never be the same. Unhinged is an outstanding addition to this series. I was captivated right the way through. If you’re not yet reading these books, then you really need to.

Publisher: Orenda Books

Publication date: 17th December 2021 (kindle) 17th February 2022 (paperback)

Print length: 276 pages

Unhinged is available to buy:

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Smoke Screen by Thomas Enger and Jorn Lier Horst #bookreview #blogtour @EngerThomas @LierHorst @RandomTTours @OrendaBooks

I’m delighted to be joining the blog tour for Smoke Screen by Thomas Enger and Jorn Lier Horst on my blog today. With thanks to Anne Cater from Random Things Tours for inviting me to take part.

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Oslo, New Year’s Eve. The annual firework celebration is rocked by an explosion, and the city is put on terrorist alert.

Police officer Alexander Blix and blogger Emma Ramm are on the scene, and when a severely injured survivor is pulled from the icy harbour, she is identified as the mother of two-year-old Patricia Smeplass, who was kidnapped on her way home from kindergarten ten years earlier … and never found.

Blix and Ramm join forces to investigate the unsolved case, as public interest heightens, the terror threat is raised, and it becomes clear that Patricia’s disappearance is not all that it seems…

MY THOUGHTS

I was a huge fan of the first book in Thomas Enger’s and Jorn Lier Horst’s new series; Death Deserved when I read it last year. I was eager to read what they would come up with next and I wasn’t disappointed. Smoke Screen is a brilliant addition to this series. Enger and Horst hit the ground running with an intense opening chapter, and the pace doesn’t drop throughout the rest of the book.

The plot is cleverly constructed and is weaved together really well. In the opening chapter, on New Year’s Eve, a bomb is detonated in Oslo, prompting the police and emergency services to suspect a terror attack. One of the victims of the bombing, who is seriously injured, is the mother of a missing girl who vanished a decade earlier. The case was never solved, and two-year-old Patricia was never found. With the current events unfolded, interest in the case is sparked again, and Detective Alexander Blix hopes to solve the case once and for all.

If you love action-packed books, then this is a series you really need to be reading. What I really like about these books is the relationship between Alexander Blix and journalist Emma Ramn. In an unofficial capacity, they make a good team, and they both have mutual respect for each other. There is a lot of mystery in this book. I wanted to find out what had happened to Patricia ten years earlier, and the police are also kept on their toes as the terror threat level is raised. Who was responsible for the attack on New Year’s Eve?

As Detective Blix does, Emma throws herself into the investigation of Patricia’s disappearance. There is a twisty web of deceit the investigation team needs to unpick, and Emma gets too close to the truth, which puts her in danger. This is what keeps the tension in the book going as the investigation to uncover the truth proceeds. I got the sense that the police were so close to discovering what had happened, but I thought it could also be snatched away from them. The last chapters are so tense as the police and Emma get closer to understanding the truth about what had happened. I couldn’t stop reading until I had turned the final page.

I’m always fascinated when authors collaborate on one project. The writing here was seamless, and it felt as though it had just been written by one author. I’d love to know more about how they go about the writing process.

This is another thrilling read in this series which I couldn’t put down. I know I’ll be reading the next book as soon as I can get my hands on a copy. If you’re not yet reading this series, you’re really missing out. This is a top crime series which I can’t wait to read more from. I think it would also translate really well to screen and it is crying out to be made into a TV series. Smoke Screen gets an easy five stars from me.

Publisher: Orenda Books

Publication date: 18th December 2020 (kindle) 18th February 2021 (paperback)

Print length: 276 pages

Smoke Screen is available to buy:

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Death Deserved by Thomas Enger and Jorn Lier Horst #bookreview blog tour @EngerThomas @LierHorst @OrendaBooks @annecater

I’m delighted to be taking part in the blog tour today for Death Deserved by Thomas Enger and Jorn Lier Horst. With thanks to Anne Cater from Random Things Tours for inviting me to take part.

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Police officer Alexander Blix and celebrity blogger Emma Ramm join forces to track down a serial killer with a thirst for attention and high-profile murders, in the first episode of a gripping new Nordic Noir series…

Oslo, 2018. Former long-distance runner Sonja Nordstrøm never shows at the launch of her controversial autobiography, Always Number One. When celebrity blogger Emma Ramm visits Nordstrøm’s home later that day, she finds the door unlocked and signs of a struggle inside. A bib with the number ‘one’ has been pinned to the TV.

Police officer Alexander Blix is appointed to head up the missing-persons investigation, but he still bears the emotional scars of a hostage situation nineteen years earlier, when he killed the father of a five-year-old girl. Traces of Nordstrøm soon show up at different locations, but the appearance of the clues appear to be carefully calculated … evidence of a bigger picture that he’s just not seeing…

Blix and Ramm soon join forces, determined to find and stop a merciless killer with a flare for the dramatic, and thirst for attention.
Trouble is, he’s just got his first taste of it…

MY THOUGHTS

Death Deserved by Thomas Enger and Jorn Lier Horst is one of the most gripping crime novels I’ve read. I was a huge fan of Thomas Enger’s Henning Juul series, so I was really interested to see what he had in store for us with this book. Enger and Horst deliver with a high tension and an action-packed read that will keep your eyes glued to the page.

The novel opens with a horrifying scene when Detective Alexander Blix is called to a domestic dispute which ends in catastrophe. There is a high level of tension in this opening scene, paving the way for what is to follow. At this point in time, Alexander has no idea how much of an effect this night will have on events which are to follow.

Fast forward to the present, and the police are handed a high profile case when Sonja Nordstrøm, a local celebrity, goes missing after she fails to turn up for a television interview to promote her latest book. The case takes a dark and terrifying turn, which sees Blix and his team racing against the clock to track down the person behind Sonja’s disappearance before they murder her. And it soon appears that she isn’t the only person in her kidnapper’s sight.

I really liked the element of mystery to this book. Enger and Horst kept me totally gripped as I tried to work out what had happened to Sonja. It really seemed that the police were fighting a losing battle, and the book kept me wondering how they were going to track down the person responsible and find Sonja. You really do get the sense that they’re running out of time to achieve this.

I also liked Blix’s relationship with journalist, Emma Ramn. We begin to see this develop throughout the course of the book, although it doesn’t always look good on Blix’s part when Emma publishes elements of the police investigation. This causes some frictions between him and his superiors who see him as the cause of the leaks. I could see that Blix and Emma genuinely did like each other and that Blix cared for her. He wants to make sure she’s safe, but Emma is keen to be involved in the investigation, and she sails close to danger. This did make me wonder if their friendship would eventually fizzle out. But I think I would like to see it carried forward in future books. And I’m hoping that we’re not going to have to wait too long for the next book.

I’m always intrigued at how two different people can write the same book, but the writing flows seamlessly here. Each character sprang from the page, and the plot was very well executed.

This is an absolutely brilliant book that I would highly recommend. I can’t wait to read more from this series. Very satisfying and extremely well written!

Publisher: Orenda Books

Publication date: 31st January 2020 (kindle) 20th February 2020 (paperback)

Print length: 276 pages

Death Deserved is available to buy by clicking on one of the following links below.

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#Killed by Thomas Enger blog tour @EngerThomas @OrendaBooks

I’m delighted to be joining the blog tour for Killed today. The final book in the Henning Juul series by Thomas Enger which is published by Orenda Books and translated by Kari Dickson.

Source: Review Copy

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Crime reporter Henning Juul thought his life was over when his young son was murdered. But that was only the beginning…

Determined to find his son’s killer, Henning doggedly follows an increasingly dangerous trail, where dark hands from the past emerge to threaten everything. His ex-wife Nora is pregnant with another man’s child, his sister Trine is implicated in the fire that killed his son and, with everyone he thought he could trust seemingly hiding something, Henning has nothing to lose … except his own life.

Packed with tension and unexpected twists, Killed is the long-awaited finale of one of the darkest, most chilling and emotive series you may ever read. Someone will be killed. But who?

MY THOUGHTS

Killed is the finale in the Henning Juul series by Thomas Enger and what a brilliant end to the series it is. I first discovered this series when I read his previous novel Cursed, and I was hooked on Henning’s story. I still need to read the first three books; they are high up in my TBR pile. Enger’s Henning Jull series is an emotive, twisty and gripping journey. It follows Henning as he attempts to find his son’s killers in his quest for the truth. Cursed ended with a revelation that made me desperate to read the next book, and the moment my copy of Killed arrived, I couldn’t wait to read it. If I were to start this series again, I would go right back to the beginning, and this is what I would suggest if you are interested in reading this series. But what I did find helpful is that there is a cast of characters at the front of the book, so if you are coming to the Henning Juul books for the first time, it is possible to read it as a stand-alone.

Thomas opens his latest novel with a prologue that will really make you step back and think before it urges you to read the rest. Killed can very easily be read in one sitting. As I mentioned earlier, this is an emotional read as Henning tries to uncover who killed his son. It is clear that he will try and attempt this by any means possible, he has little care in the world if anything should happen to him in the process, and this is what makes him a reckless and an exciting character to follow. Someone is desperate to try and silence Henning however, and this is where the tension in the novel rises.

The last two Henning Juul novels which I have read have been translated really well. The descriptions of the Norwegian landscape drew me into the setting. From the start of the book, there is a strong sense of foreboding and it is clear that there are going to be obstacles set in Henning’s way as he attempts to reach the truth, be prepared for shocking and heartbreaking scenes.

Although it is sad to see this series come to an end, Thomas certainly couldn’t have given this series a better one. But I still have the first three books to read, so I’m looking forward to finding more about Henning. I’m sure that Thomas has more exciting books up his sleeve.

Thank you to Karen Sullivan at Orenda Books for sending me a copy of this book to review and to Anne Cater for the invitation to join the blog tour.

Publisher: Orenda

Publication date: 15th February 2018

Print length: 276 pages

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