IT'S good to know that Selm Falck will be back.
Selma who?
She is a talented lawyer with a penchant for investigative assignments that set her off, foraging for miscreants amid the snow covered Scandanavian landscapes
She is a troubled would-be crime solver, Anne Bolt's new addition to her Nordic literary criminologists and we meet her in A Grave For Two, the opener in a promosing new series.
Selma's seminal fault is her compulsion for betting, a compelling issue that has become very relevant in today's society.
Selmas sees it as both a blessed sanctuary and also a compulsive, corrosive curse.
Truth is, the author admits, gambling does not pay off in the end. Otherwise there would be no bookies.
It draws the lawyer into fulfilling a bet: uncover the truth of a drugs scandal among Norway's leading cross-country skiers, or be exposed as having misappropriated a client's funds.
What ensues is a smorgasbord of intrigue, murder, and societal misgivings.
I was drawn to this book by the allure of the Scandanavian literary noir, that genre of crime writing that has served up tough, cynical characters and bleak settings?
Anne Bolt does not shy away from these, her plot and writing imbued with psychological nuance
The translation may lack precise intent of the writer at times, but maintains the pace with lucidity and with a contribution of its own.
Ms Bolt's characters offer a sublime reading enjoyment.
Such as the poor man's philosophy offered by a homeless derelict with earthy home truths and a caring soul, hidden under the grime of life as as a rough sleeper, driven to this end as a misunderstood runaway perpetrator of a killing by misadventure.
We are promised more of the Selma Falck machinations.
Bring it on.
Selma who?
She is a talented lawyer with a penchant for investigative assignments that set her off, foraging for miscreants amid the snow covered Scandanavian landscapes
She is a troubled would-be crime solver, Anne Bolt's new addition to her Nordic literary criminologists and we meet her in A Grave For Two, the opener in a promosing new series.
Selma's seminal fault is her compulsion for betting, a compelling issue that has become very relevant in today's society.
Selmas sees it as both a blessed sanctuary and also a compulsive, corrosive curse.
Truth is, the author admits, gambling does not pay off in the end. Otherwise there would be no bookies.
It draws the lawyer into fulfilling a bet: uncover the truth of a drugs scandal among Norway's leading cross-country skiers, or be exposed as having misappropriated a client's funds.
What ensues is a smorgasbord of intrigue, murder, and societal misgivings.
I was drawn to this book by the allure of the Scandanavian literary noir, that genre of crime writing that has served up tough, cynical characters and bleak settings?
Anne Bolt does not shy away from these, her plot and writing imbued with psychological nuance
The translation may lack precise intent of the writer at times, but maintains the pace with lucidity and with a contribution of its own.
Ms Bolt's characters offer a sublime reading enjoyment.
Such as the poor man's philosophy offered by a homeless derelict with earthy home truths and a caring soul, hidden under the grime of life as as a rough sleeper, driven to this end as a misunderstood runaway perpetrator of a killing by misadventure.
We are promised more of the Selma Falck machinations.
Bring it on.