Saturday 3 June 2017

#BlogTour Wolves in the Dark by Gunnar Staalesen @OrendaBooks #BookReview

Wolves in the Dark by Gunnar Staalesen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

PI Varg Veum fights for his reputation, his freedom and his life, when child pornography is found on his computer and he is arrested and jailed. Worse still, his memory is a blank…

Reeling from the death of his great love, Karin, Varg Veum’s life has descended into a self-destructive spiral of alcohol, lust, grief and blackouts. 

When traces of child pornography are found on his computer, he’s accused of being part of a pedophile ring and thrown into a prison cell. There, he struggles to sift through his past to work out who is responsible for planting the material . . . and who is seeking the ultimate revenge. 

When a chance to escape presents itself, Varg finds himself on the run in his hometown of Bergen. With the clock ticking and the police on his tail, Varg takes on his hardest—and most personal—case yet. 

Chilling, shocking and exceptionally gripping, Wolves in the Dark reaffirms Gunnar Staalesen as one of the world’s foremost thriller writers.

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I have seen every single Varg Veum TV movie there is, but this is the first book I have read. Wolves in the Dark is book 21 so I have missed a couple. Nevertheless, I just knew I had to read this one since I find Varg Veum to be such a fabulous TV characters that I wanted to see how he is portrayed in the books.

And, he is, to be honest not showing his best side in the book, after losing Karin some years before has he pretty much spent the years since then drinking which makes it hard for him to remember the cases he has been involved with. And, now he really needs to remember them, so that he can clear his name from the accusation of harboring child pornography on his computer. He has not many allies in this book, luckily for him he has a girlfriend that believes in him, but even her trust will be put to the test.

Let me tell you, this is a dark story. Child pornography is an awful subject to read about, and I really, really wanted Veum to get to the bottom of it and clear his name. However, first, he must try to put the pieces together, he has some names and vague recollections, and as the story progress will he learn that there are some people out there that wouldn't mind destroying his life. It's an engrossing book, and it was interesting to see how the story that started out with Veum trying to remember his past then everything started slowly getting more clearly as the story progressed.

The ending, well, gave some answers, but not everything was resolved. And, the cliffhanger was excruciating and now I want the next book to read!

I want to thank the publisher for providing me with a free copy for an honest review! 

THE AUTHOR

Gunnar Staalesen was born in Bergen, Norway in 1947. He made his debut at the age of 22 with Seasons of Innocence and in 1977 he published the first book in the Varg Veum series. He is the author of over 20 titles, which have been published in 24 countries and sold over four million copies. 

Twelve film adaptations of his Varg Veum crime novels have appeared since 2007, starring the popular Norwegian actor Trond Epsen Seim. Staalesen, who has won three Golden Pistols (including the Prize of Honour), lives in Bergen with his wife. When Prince Charles visited Bergen, Staalesen was appointed his official tour guide. There is a life-sized statue of Varg Veum in the centre of Bergen, and a host of Varg Veum memorabilia for sale. We Shall Inherit the Wind and Where Roses Never Die were both international bestsellers. 

Don Bartlett is the foremost translator of Norwegian, responsible for the multaward-winning, bestselling books by Jo Nesbo, Karl Ove Knausgaard and Per Pettersen. It is rare to have a translator who is as well-known and highly regarded as the author.


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