Unhinged by Jørn Lier Horst and Thomas Enger (tr. by Megan Turney) #Extract #BookReview #BlogTour

 

When police investigator Sofia Kovic uncovers a startling connection between several Oslo murder cases, she attempts to contact her closest superior, Alexander Blix before involving anyone else in the department. But before Blix has time to return her call, Kovic is shot and killed in her own home – execution style. And in the apartment below, Blix’s daughter Iselin narrowly escapes becoming the killer’s next victim.

Four days later, Blix and online crime journalist Emma Ramm are locked inside an interrogation room, facing the National Criminal Investigation Service. Blix has shot and killed a man, and Ramm saw it all happen.

As Iselin’s life hangs in the balance, under-fire Blix no longer knows who he can trust … and he’s not even certain that he’s killed the right man…

Two of Nordic Noir’s most brilliant writers return with the explosive, staggeringly accomplished, emotive third instalment in the international, bestselling Blix & Ramm series … and it will take your breath away.

I originally posted my review back of Unhinged back in December but I love this outstanding thriller so much, I jumped at the chance to shout about it again! I'm also thrilled to also have an extract to share with you today. Huge thanks to Jørn Lier Horst and Thomas Enger, Orenda Books and Anne Cater from Random Things Tours for my advance copy of the novel and for inviting me to take part in the blog tour.


Brogeland lifted his chin, scrutinising Blix, who sat a little more upright, pushing his shoulders back. 

‘So at this point, you had no idea what had happened in Kovic’s flat?’ ‘No, I just knew that something had happened. I tried to call her – Kovic, I mean – after I’d spoken to Iselin, but her phone was off. Or … I couldn’t get through to her anyway.’ 

‘You…’ Brogeland flipped through the stack of documents on his lap. ‘You called her at … 16:42?’ 

‘If that’s what it says there, then yes,’ Blix said, nodding at the papers. ‘I wasn’t really paying attention to the time.’ 

‘Was Emma Ramm with you already at that point?’ 

‘No, I left the event by myself.’ 

‘And you didn’t talk to her before leaving?’ 

Blix hesitated for a second before shaking his head. ‘I just told her I had to go.’ 

‘You didn’t tell her that something had happened?’ 

‘No, but I think she realised.’ 

Brogeland jotted something down. Blix was expecting him to ask what kind of relationship he and Emma had. Wondered how much Brogeland knew. 

‘Okay,’ the Kripos investigator said. ‘You left the talk and drove back to Oslo. What happened then?’

The other motorists obediently pulled onto the hard-shoulder at the sight of the flashing blue light on Blix’s car roof. He adjusted his headset to try and hear more clearly. He had made Iselin stay on the line as he got back into his car, but the communication had been almost solely one-sided. He’d tried getting her to explain what had happened, what she’d seen, but she had answered absent-mindedly, offering monosyllabic responses. 

Pulling off the motorway at the exit to Smestad, Blix asked if she could see the patrol car yet. 

‘They’re here.’ 

‘Can you see them?’ 

No answer. 

‘Get up. Go to them,’ Blix insisted. 

He had spent the drive trying to reassure her that whoever had tried to shoot her would most likely have wanted to flee the scene afterwards, and that they wouldn’t be running around the entire borough of St. Hanshaugen, trying to track her down. But he wasn’t sure she had taken any of it in. 

‘Just focus on the police car,’ he said, overtaking a taxi. ‘Make yourself visible.’ 

Nothing. 

‘Iselin,’ he said sternly. ‘Make sure they can see you. Wave. Let them know it’s you they’re looking for.’ 

Iselin took a deep breath, as if she were trying to talk herself into getting up. 

Voices in the background. Whose they were, Blix couldn’t tell, but plenty of officers had met Iselin at the station over the years, and even if they hadn’t, most of them would recognise her face. If she couldn’t bring herself to wave or say anything, there was a good chance that they would find her and help her themselves. 

The call cut off.

Sorry to leave you with a cliffhanger, you'll need to read the book to find out what happens next! To tempt you still further, here's my review again.

Unhinged is the third book in Jørn Lier Horst and Thomas Enger's excellent series featuring an experienced detective, Alexander Blix and young news blogger, Emma Ramm, and while it's not necessary to have read the first two novels, I'd highly recommend that you do. I loved Death Deserved and Smoke Screen and it's a testament to their quality that despite having read several crime thrillers since, I can still readily recall the plot of both. However, Unhinged takes the series to the next level and won't just be a book I'll be recommending as often as possible in 2022; it's guaranteed a place on my all-time favourites list.
So why did I love it so much? I'm not sure I can do it justice but I'll try to sum up why it resonated so strongly with me. The novel opens with Blix on the other side of the interview table as he answers questions about how and why he came to shoot and kill a man. Much of the storyline then takes us back and forth, describing the inexorable course of events which lead to the terrible moments that will change Blix's life forever. By switching between a present where a grim Blix and uncertain Ramm disclose their respective roles in what occurred, and the events of just a few days ago where we observe what really happened, we begin to make assumptions and form theories about the dreadful events which resulted in Blix's daughter, Iselin becoming caught up in the horror.
This is a very personal case for Blix and it threatens to change his relationships with everybody in his life, including Emma. The pair have a unique bond due to their shared history but as the later chapters reveal the devastating repercussions, it becomes severely strained here. It's necessary and inevitable for a crime series to feature some form of conflict between its protagonists but it feels achingly authentic in Unhinged. Both Blix and Ramm make decisions which will haunt them but it's impossible not to empathise with them, even when it's horribly likely that they are making a mistake. They are desperate, broken, scared and angry and that's a potentially destructive combination which makes for compulsive, nail-biting reading. 
The murder of Blix's colleague, Sofia Kovic is the catalyst for what follows and both he and Emma need to figure out why she was looking more closely at apparently unconnected cases. I managed to guess the perpetrator ahead of the investigation but I'm sure it's obvious that it didn't affect my enjoyment of the book in the slightest. Crime is more than the who, it's also the why and the dark recesses of a killer's mind are explored in Unhinged without resorting to gratuitous violence; this is a thoughtful and consequently deeply chilling examination of the motive behind murder.
However, the uncomfortable truth is that Blix has killed too and not just here; he has been responsible for the death of two people in the past too. Those deaths were judged to have been justifiable but there's a huge question mark hanging over whether the same verdict will be reached this time. Blix clearly isn't a dangerous criminal, he's a man who has dedicated his life to helping others through their most trying times but doubts are gradually cast about his character. What really happened in the heat of the moment and why? Did the lines between being a police officer and a father become so blurred that any of the usual boundaries no longer applied? As Blix faces the consequences of his actions, unsure who he can still trust and with the bond he had with a regretful Emma seemingly irreparably damaged, she is left to investigate any hunches and potential leads alone. There's such a powerful, heartbreaking rawness to this story, the anguish of these characters becomes almost visceral; this one of those books you feel as much as read. The intricate, compelling plot allows the tense investigation and the poignant unravelling of lives torn apart by guilt and fury to be woven impeccably together and the first-class translation by Megan Turney ensures the sense of place is never lost while the narrative flows as smoothly as if it was originally written in English. 
After spending much of the book either holding my breath or fighting back the tears, I was torn as I reached the end; almost too scared to know what would happen and yet unable to tear my eyes from the page. The stunning conclusion left me reeling but so too did the preceding pages, all of which thrilled, moved and shocked me as only most exceptional fiction can. I adored Unhinged more than I can put into words. Intense, dark, emotional and utterly outstanding!

Unhinged is published by Orenda Books and can be purchased directly from the Orenda website or from bookshop.orgHiveWaterstonesKobo and Amazon but please consider supporting independent bookshops whenever possible.

Don't miss the rest of the blog tour, details are below.

About the Authors

Thomas Enger
Thomas Enger is a former journalist. He made his debut with the crime novel Burned (Skinndød) in 2010, which became an international sensation before publication. Burned is the first in a series of five books about the journalist Henning Juul, which delves into the depths of Oslo’s underbelly, skewering the corridors of dirty politics and nailing the fast-moving world of 24-hour news. Rights to the series, which includes Cursed and Killed, have been sold to 28 countries to date. In 2013 Enger published his first book for young adults, a dark fantasy thriller called The Evil Legacy, for which he won the U-prize (best book Young Adult). Killer Instinct, another Young Adult suspense novel, was published in Norway in 2017, and formed the basis for his standalone thriller, Inborn, which was rewritten for the adult market in English, and shortlisted for the Petrona Award. Thomas also composes music, and he lives in a village outside of Oslo. He writes the international bestselling Blix & Ramm series with Jørn Lier Horst.

Jørn Lier Horst
Jørn Lier Horst (b. 1970) has, with his award-winning novels about William Wisting, joined the elite of Nordic crime writers. Having worked as a head of investigations before becoming a full-time author, Horst brings a unique brand of suspense and realism to the table. Besides his novels for grown readers, Horst has gained recognition for his unparalleled ability to thrill even young readers with charming mysteries. His standing as the Norwegian king of crime fiction for all ages was cemented when he created the Detective Agency No. 2 and CLUE series, both the most popular children’s book series in their respective age categories. Jørn writes the international, bestselling Blix & Ramm series with Thomas Enger, and lives in Norway. 

About the Translator
Megan Turney is originally from the West Midlands, and after having spent several years working back and forth between the UK and the Hardanger region of Norway, she is now based in Edinburgh, working as a commercial and literary translator and editor. She was the recipient of the National Centre for Writing’s 2019 Emerging Translator Mentorship in Norwegian, and is a published science fiction critic. She holds an MA (Hons) in Scandinavian Studies and English Literature from the University of Edinburgh, as well as an MA in Translation and Interpreting Studies from the University of Manchester.

Comments

  1. Great review. You have me intrigued and I'll definitely look up this book (and also their other works). Thanks

    ReplyDelete

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