The Assistant / Kjell Ola Dahl ; translated by Don Bartlett.

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Title:

The Assistant / Kjell Ola Dahl ; translated by Don Bartlett.

Author:

Dahl, Kjell Ola, 1958-

Bartlett, Don

ISBN:

9781913193652

Publication Information:

London, England : Orenda Books, 2021.

Physical Description:

293 p.

Abstract:

Oslo, 1938. War is in the air and Europe is in turmoil. Hitler's Germany has occupied Austria and is threatening Czechoslovakia; there's a civil war in Spain and Mussolini reigns in Italy. When a woman turns up at the office of police-turned-private investigator Ludvig Paaske, he and his assistant -- his one-time nemesis and former drug-smuggler Jack Rivers -- begin a seemingly straightforward investigation into marital infidelity. But all is not what it seems, and when Jack is accused of murder, the trail leads back to the 1920s, to prohibition-era Norway, to the smugglers, sex workers and hoodlums of his criminal past, and an extraordinary secret.

Subject Term:

Private investigators -- Fiction.

Organized crime -- Fiction.

Murder -- Investigation -- Fiction.

Geographic Term:

Oslo (Norway) -- Fiction.

Europe -- History -- 1918-1945 -- Fiction.

Genre:

Detective and mystery stories.

Historical fiction.

Added Author:

Bartlett, Don

Available:*

Library	Material Type	Item Barcode	Shelf Number	Status
Searching... Avon-Washington Township Public Library	Adult Mystery Fiction Book Paperback	120791002919470	M DAH	Searching... Unknown

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Summary

A seemingly straightforward investigation into marital infidelity leads a PI and his ex-con assistant on a murderous trail, in a sophisticated, riveting, cunningly plotted historical thriller set in interwar and prohibition-era Norway.

'An expertly crafted unravelling of mixed loyalties, love, lust, lies and trust, set against the background of a world increasingly on the edge of all-out war' John Harvey

'Dark, gritty and compulsive ... feels like a classic of the genre' William Ryan

'A stylish standalone thriller ... Dahl ratchets up the tension from the first pages and never lets go' Sunday Times

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Oslo, 1938. War is in the air and Europe is in turmoil. Hitler's Germany has occupied Austria and is threatening Czechoslovakia; there's a civil war in Spain and Mussolini reigns in Italy.

When a woman turns up at the office of police-turned-private investigator Ludvig Paaske, he and his assistant - his one-time nemesis and former drug-smuggler Jack Rivers - begin a seemingly straightforward investigation into marital infidelity.

But all is not what it seems, and when Jack is accused of murder, the trail leads back to the 1920s, to prohibition-era Norway, to the smugglers, sex workers and hoodlums of his criminal past ... and an extraordinary secret.

Both a fascinating portrait of Oslo's interwar years, with Nazis operating secretly on Norwegian soil and militant socialists readying workers for war, The Assistant is also a stunningly sophisticated, tension-packed thriller - the darkest of hard-boiled Nordic Noir - from one of Norway's most acclaimed crime writers.

For fans of Sebastian Faulks, Lars Mytting, Mick Herron and Robert Harris.

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'Kjell Ola Dahl doesn't write novels; he creates experiences by executing a strong sense of place of a spellbinding period that leaves its readers craving more' Books Technica

' Political, or intelligence thrillers are ten a penny. Dahl does something altogether different ... lush, detailed and personal' Café Thinking

Praise for Kjell Ola Dahl's The Courier

'Absorbing, heart-rending and perfectly plotted ...' Denzil Meyrick

'Cleverly braiding together past and present, the who and why of murder and betrayal are unpicked. The detail is impressive' Daily Mail

'A dark but richly described backdrop and a relentless, underlying tension drive this sad story. Fans of Nordic Noir will be satisfied' Publishers Weekly

'Skilfully juggles three Oslo timelines ... simply superb plotting and essential reading' The Times

'A truly eloquent and rewarding tale' LoveReading

'This stunning and compelling wartime thriller is reminiscent of the writing of John Le Carré and William Boyd' NB Magazine

'Masterful, detailed plotting... Dahl has given a complex, human face to such an inhuman tragedy' Crime Fiction Lover

Reviews (2)

Publisher's Weekly Review

This atmospheric, intricately plotted standalone from Dahl (the Oslo Detectives series) cuts between Kristiana (the old name for Oslo) in 1924 and Oslo in 1938. In 1924 Kristiana, Jack Rivers ferries bootlegged liquor for smuggler Arvid Bjerke, who's having an affair with a flirtatious, opportunistic woman named Amalie Iversen. Policeman Ludvig Paaske arrests Jack. Fast forward to 1938. Paaske, now a private investigator, is hired by a German, Vera Gruber, to find out whether her husband, Bernhard, is cheating on her--and Jack, surprisingly, is working for Paaske as the assistant of the title. Jack tails Bernhard and discovers that Vera is actually Amalie, who isn't connected to Bernhard at all but is in league with German military officers. When Jack confronts Vera/Amaie, she drops the case, but he realizes that a lot more is going on than mere infidelity. The tension grows as Nazi Germany's presence in Oslo becomes more palpable and sinister. Jack's arrest for murder raises the stakes. Dahl does a good job depicting Norway's experience of the run-up to WWII, but the overly long backstory slows the pace. Fans of historical suspense who prefer nuance to action will be rewarded. (Oct.)

Booklist Review

In Oslo in 1938, Jack Rivers attempts to leave his smuggling past behind and joins former police detective Ludvig Paaske's private-investigation firm. When wealthy housewife Vera Gruber hires Paaske to investigate her husband's possible infidelity, Rivers and Paaske's personal history becomes tangled with Gestapo spies, blackmailers, and murder. While surveilling Gruber's husband, Jack recognizes Vera Gruber as his dangerous old flame, Amalie, and discovers that the man they've been following isn't her husband. Amalie, in league with a notorious Gestapo agent, Werner Krause, has hired them to track a German dissident. She promises to explain, but when Jack shows up for their meeting, he finds a body and is marked as the prime suspect. While Jack goes underground, Paaske works to clear him until a run-in with a figure from his own past makes him the ultimate instrument of betrayal. The fallout from long-buried passion and manipulation collides with prewar espionage to create a complex mix of motives here; Dahl deftly controls the narrative, wielding irony to create bittersweet noir tension.