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A review by marko68
The Last Fix by Kjell Ola Dahl
5.0
“Have you never wondered who you are and where you come from?”
“It’s pretty obvious…”
“I mean, seeing yourself as a mortal and wondering what the meaning of life is, whether there is a purpose.”
Frølich smirked into his beard, but stopped the moment he felt he was being observed. He shrugged. “Not that often.” P239
The Last Fix is the second in the Norwegian ‘Oslo Detectives’ series by Kjell Dahl and I must admit I’m loving what Dahl is serving up so far. Detective duo Gunnarstranda and Frølich are an excellent duo, very human, a bit rough around the edges, humorous, a bit inappropriate and politically incorrect, but generally all round good guys. I find them thoroughly entertaining in an authentic way. They seem real to me.
This instalment of the series centres around a young woman, Katrine Bratterud, a recovering drug addict who meets her end after a rehab centre party. While this is not quite a ‘locked room’ mystery, there are elements of that genre, with each of the attendees at or connected with the small gathering very much under the microscope of potential suspects.
Dahl builds a sense of intrigue around Katrine and as the book progresses we get to know the concentric and overlapping circles around her. I love the way Dahl summarises what is happening at various junctures in the book through aspects of dialogue. Really helps with keeping track of the story which is not too convoluted but sufficiently complex.
Gunnarstranda and Frølich are self contained characters, thinkers, ponderers. Gunnarstranda is a little more on the serious side, tinkers with botany and Frølich is a bit more of a larrikin in some ways. Certainly a red blooded Norwegian man I think.
There is a great balance between place, character and plot and I absolutely love the detail that Dahl provides about Oslo, the streets, spaces and places. I kept referring to maps on my phone to get a sense of place and feel like I know Oslo so much more and cant wait to visit and walk a Nordic Noir trail.
I reckon this is a 4.5 star read for me and I’m going to round it up to 5.
“It’s pretty obvious…”
“I mean, seeing yourself as a mortal and wondering what the meaning of life is, whether there is a purpose.”
Frølich smirked into his beard, but stopped the moment he felt he was being observed. He shrugged. “Not that often.” P239
The Last Fix is the second in the Norwegian ‘Oslo Detectives’ series by Kjell Dahl and I must admit I’m loving what Dahl is serving up so far. Detective duo Gunnarstranda and Frølich are an excellent duo, very human, a bit rough around the edges, humorous, a bit inappropriate and politically incorrect, but generally all round good guys. I find them thoroughly entertaining in an authentic way. They seem real to me.
This instalment of the series centres around a young woman, Katrine Bratterud, a recovering drug addict who meets her end after a rehab centre party. While this is not quite a ‘locked room’ mystery, there are elements of that genre, with each of the attendees at or connected with the small gathering very much under the microscope of potential suspects.
Dahl builds a sense of intrigue around Katrine and as the book progresses we get to know the concentric and overlapping circles around her. I love the way Dahl summarises what is happening at various junctures in the book through aspects of dialogue. Really helps with keeping track of the story which is not too convoluted but sufficiently complex.
Gunnarstranda and Frølich are self contained characters, thinkers, ponderers. Gunnarstranda is a little more on the serious side, tinkers with botany and Frølich is a bit more of a larrikin in some ways. Certainly a red blooded Norwegian man I think.
There is a great balance between place, character and plot and I absolutely love the detail that Dahl provides about Oslo, the streets, spaces and places. I kept referring to maps on my phone to get a sense of place and feel like I know Oslo so much more and cant wait to visit and walk a Nordic Noir trail.
I reckon this is a 4.5 star read for me and I’m going to round it up to 5.