The Assistant by Kjell Ola Dahl
The award-winning Godfather of Nordic Noir returns with a fascinating and richly authentic portrait of Oslo’s interwar years, featuring Nazis operating secretly on Norwegian soil and militant socialists readying workers for war...
Oslo, 1938. War is in the air and Europe is in turmoil. Hitler’s Germany has occupied Austria and is threatening Czechoslovakia; civil war rages in Spain and Mussolini reigns in Italy.
When a woman turns up at the office of police-turned-private investigator Ludvig Paaske, he and his assistant – his one-time nemesis and former drug-smuggler, Jack Rivers – begin a seemingly straightforward investigation into marital infidelity.
But all is not what it seems. Soon, Jack is accused of murder, sending them on a trail which leads back to the 1920s, to prohibition-era Norway, to the smugglers, sex workers and hoodlums of his criminal past ... and an extraordinary secret.
About the author.
One of the fathers of the Nordic Noir genre, Kjell Ola Dahl was born in 1958 in Gjøvik. He made his debut in 1993, and has since published eighteen novels, the most prominent of which form a series of police procedurals- cum-psychological thrillers featuring investigators Gunnarstranda and Frølich. In 2000 he won the Riverton Prize for The Last Fix, and he won both the prestigious Brage and Riverton Prizes for The Courier in 2015 (published in English by Orenda books in 2019). His work has been published in fourteen countries. He lives in Oslo. Follow him on Twitter @ko_dahl
Review.
‘The Assistant’ is a riveting piece of historical crime fiction. It enthralled me with its dual timeline, multilayered narrative, deliciously complex characters, and of course, it's stunning writing. I adore both historical fiction and crime fiction so when they are combined I silently do a wee dance in my head. Examples like ‘The Assistant’ show a writer at the top of their game and makes writing reviews a joy!
‘The Assistant’ takes us to prohibition era Norway and the spread of Nazism through Europe, plus opinions on the Spanish Civil War. We find we have two main characters - Jack Rivers and Ludwig Paaske and the story follows their relationship over two decades. Paaske is an ex-cop turned PI and Rivers is an ex-con and now assistant to the cop who arrested him. The narrative switches between the two timelines - that of when Rivers was a smuggler in the prohibition era being pursued by Paaske the cop and then that of when they are working a case together. They have been tasked with following a German man by his wife as she believes he is having an affair. However, this soon leads to a case that covers espionage, murder, deceit and lies. But which of the two men will come out of it with their integrity in tack?
As much as this book covers historical themes, crime and consequences to me it was an in-depth look at the characters of the two main protagonists. Rivers was the person that I was instantly drawn to, despite his background he had more of a distinct personality. You found out his love for motor vehicles and his love of chess. His love of chess I think gave him an advantage in this very confusing board of motives, counter-moves and back and forth. As the threads from the different timelines became more intertwined you found out more about Paaske. Why did he leave the police, why does his daughter not speak to him and why does he always seem to be on the side of one of the characters? Is his motivation greed or is there something else pushing his buttons?
I must also give a round of applause to the translator, Don Barlett, as one would never know that this wasn't first written in English. There were idioms that would have only worked in English scattered through it and none of the beauty of the writing was lost. I honestly felt as if I was cruising on the boats with Rivers or trying to piece together the art jigsaws with Paaske. When fiction is this easy to read you know that the writer has a special talent and Kjell is one of the best.
Seriously, I doubt I am ever to find a book that Orenda books has published that I don't love! An easy recommendation!
