Sister by Kjell Ola Dahl
Oslo detective Frølich searches for the mysterious sister of a young female asylum seeker, but when people start to die, everything points to an old case and a series of events that someone will do anything to hide... Suspended from duty, Detective Frølich is working as a private investigator, when his girlfriend’s colleague asks for his help with a female asylum seeker, who the authorities are about to deport. She claims to have a sister in Norway, and fears that returning to her home country will mean instant death. Frølich quickly discovers the whereabouts of the young woman’s sister, but things become increasingly complex when she denies having a sibling, and Frølich is threatened off the case by the police. As the body count rises, it becomes clear that the answers lie in an old investigation, and the mysterious sister, who is now on the run... A dark, chilling and up-to-the-minute Nordic Noir thriller, Sister is also a tense and well-plotted murder mystery with a moving tragedy at its heart, cementing Kjell Ola Dahl as one of the greatest crime writers of our generation.
“‘A masterclass in plotting, atmosphere and character that finely balances shocking twists with the coppers’ complicated personal lives.’ Sunday Times Crime Club ”
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 eleven novels, the most prominent of which is 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. His work has been published in 14 countries, and he lives in Oslo.
Review
This was the first book in the series which I have read and it was a great book to start with. The main protagonist Frolich has just set up a private detective agency and is embarking on a new relationship, plus there aren’t too many references to previous storylines. I will be going back to the start of the series and reading them all though as I thoroughly enjoyed this book.
The narrative in ‘Sister’ was complex with two intertwining stories, chilling in places, and the style of writing was just superb. The book opens with Frolich’s new girlfriend asking if he can help trace a refugee’s sister which results in a visit from a writer who is investigating refugees. He then turns up dead and the story really kicks up the pace. It turns out that the writer Anderson had also investigated a boat tragedy which has been covered up by the authorities on numerous investigations. Frolich becomes involved with both storylines and how it all fits together is brilliant.
I really enjoyed the character of Frolich. So many times in Scandi Noir the detective is severely damaged and set on self destruction, but Frolich is not cut from this cloth. Yes, there may be incidents in his past I may not know about, but he seems more approachable than some. His relationship comes across as being healthy, he enjoys his work. It was quite refreshing.
I really enjoyed this book and wouldn’t hesitate to recommend to people, both as a series but also as a standalone book. Kjell has managed to develop characters which were nuanced but ‘human’, a plot that was so intricate in places but entwine into an excellent narrative. When you boil it down it is a magnificent book.
