Wolves at the Door by Gunnar Staalesen

"The next installment in the international, bestselling Varg Veum series by one of the fathers of Nordic Noir"

Wolves at the Door finds Private Investigator Varg Veum deep into the Bergen underworld as he continues to investigate a case which has tormented him, professionally and personally, for years. Thank you Orenda for the pre-release copy.

The story is heavy on darkness as Veum meets increasingly shady characters embroiled in deceit and deception. With a rogue VW tearing round the town and knocking people of their feet there is real fear on every street corner.

Staalesens’s style is unique, his almost forensic descriptions of Bergen neighbourhoods, architecture and streets are like a travel guide. From the Hanseatic Wharfs to Brutalist social housing Veum understands Bergen innately.

At times Veum’s years in the business begin to show signs of frustration and fatigue. When he reflects that he doesn’t understand modern music you wonder whether he is really lamenting a different time when PIs functioned in a world without the internet and social media. 

With the World changing Varg Veum is in danger of becoming anachronistic but for now sit back and enjoy this old school private detective series that began in a time before Nordic Noir was a genre 3

Wolves at the Door by Gunnar Staalesen (translated by Don Bartlett) published by Orenda 276 pages