Condition: Excellent
First published: 2021
Pages: 415
ISBN 10:
ISBN 13:
ABOUT THE BOOK:
From the author of the Richard & Judy bestseller Im Travelling Alone (Munch and Krüger Book 4)
The Wolf is the latest novel in the Munch and Krüger series which began with Im Travelling Alone in 2016, an instant hit with readers and critics. Scandi-noir is now more of a regional than a style designation but Norwegian author Samuel Bjørks novels are firmly in that original dark, psychological mould that fascinates British and American readers thanks to Steig Larsson and Jo Nesbø. The Wolf is is actually prequel so this is the real beginning of the story:
The tragic discovery of the bodies of two young boys in Norway is all the more chilling as the crime is reminiscent of an unsolved case in Sweden eight years earlier.
Veteran detective Holger Munch and his team investigate the baffling case but its the uncanny insight of a Police Academy cadet, Mia Krüger, that brings real insight to the mystery. This is a page turning psychological thriller, with a twist or two that induce a shudder.
Writer Samuel Bjørk, under his real name Frode Sander Øien, is a successful musician and actor too.
REVIEWS:
It's all About Books:
I always seem to have a weak spot for a good Nordic noir thriller Add the fact that I really enjoyed the first three Holger Munch and Mia Kruger books, and you can imagine that I was excited when I found out there was going to be a prequel showing us how one of the main characters first joined the team. Ive been looking forward to finally read The Wolf, so imagine my surprise when I ended up struggling considering with this story instead Im not sure if it was just the stubborn reading slump talking, but I had a hard time finding the motivation to keep reading and it took me a lot longer than usual to actually finish it. Ill try to explain what did and didnt work for me below.
I can never resist a Nordic setting, and it was great to return to Oslo and watch how the team was first formed. I appreciated the link to a Swedish murder investigation eight years ago, which gave the story more dept and added an extra level of intrigue. The murder case itself is fascinating, and the structure of the plot is without doubt more than solid with plenty of plot twists and new angles along the way. There was so much potential with this premise, but somehow the actual story simply didnt live up to expectations to me. Part of me is still struggling to understand why, because I did enjoy the other three books despite a couple of minor issues But it is what it is I guess.
I think part of the issue with The Wolf has a lot to do with both the writing style itself and the multiple Point Of View structure. The writing style somehow didnt flow properly and felt quite stunted, with a lot of short sentences interrupting the flow and thoughts seemingly expressed out loud. Especially Mias chapters started to become extremely annoying, and I caught myself starting to find excuses to stop reading or skip her chapters altogether. There were also way too many POVs, and to make things worse there were a couple that didnt seem to have anything to do with the rest of the story and they lacked a proper introduction to be able to have them make proper sense. Sure, things were explained in the end, but it was too little too late for me.
The overdose of POV switches and seemingly unrelated POVs in between the more interesting chapters made it a lot harder to find the motivation to keep reading. In fact, I caught myself starting to skimread well before the halfway mark, and Im surprised I even made it to the end This was probably mostly due to the fact that I wanted to know how things would end. And sure, the way the case was wrapped up was solid, but what is a good ending if you dont enjoy the journey getting there?
As a whole, sadly The Wolf ended up being a bit of a dud for me. I did enjoy the rest of the series, so it might just have been the reading slump and my fickle reading mood acting up again Either way, I would personally recommend sticking with the other books of this series instead.
Nordicnoirblog:
The Wolf by is a prequel to three other books by the Norwegian author Samuel Bjørk. All the books feature detectives Holger Munch and Mia Krüger. Munch is a veteran, chain smoking, middle aged detective (who does have a smile, a rarity in middle aged Nordic detectives) whilst, in this book, Mia is a remarkable 22 year old police trainee. Both the main characters and the supporting ones are all really well written. Mia is quite a straight talking, tortured character who is suffering personally because her twin sister has taken a darker path in life and has gone missing. The two meet when Mia is plucked out of her studies to work on a case with Munch and his team.
The case involves two young boys who have been abducted and murdered and who have been found in very particular circumstances. The police are struggling with the case and call upon Mia who has a rare talent for looking beyond the facts. There appears to be a link to an old, very similar, unsolved case in neighbouring Sweden and an expert is brought in from the Swedish police force to see if he can work alongside the team to get the case cracked.
As you can imagine The Wolf has all the usual police procedural elements. Samuel Bjørk places some emphasis on describing the investigation, team dynamics and the lives of the the characters. My takeaway from Im Traveling Alone, which came out around 7 years ago, was the atmosphere the author created. I can still feel the mesmerising, chilly intrigue of the story when I see the cover or hear the name of that book. Samuel Bjørk definitely seems to have a talent for creating intrigue and atmosphere and this is also well crafted in The Wolf. Bjørk is the kind of writer who weaves the tale together from seemingly random chapters describing different peoples lives and backgrounds and then they all converge near the end to draw the story to some kind of conclusion. I quite enjoy these chapters and the non-linear aspects they bring to the story, they build my intrigue and make me want to keep reading.
The Wolf can definitely be read as a standalone novel and I would recommend it. It came out in hardback, e-book and audio-book on November 2nd 2023 (Bantam Press) and is translated from Norwegian by Charlotte Barslund.
