Book Review: Where Evil Lies by Jørgen Brekke

Where Evil Lies by Jørgen Brekke
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Where Evil Lies by Jørgen Brekke follows the brutal murder and flaying of two victims. The catch is that both murders, virtually identical, occurred in two different continents, in Norway and Richmond, Virginia. One victim is female, one a man. One found in the Edgar Allen Poe Museum, the other found in a locked vault in a library. But the manner in which they are killed is so strikingly similar that it must have been committed by the same person.
The investigator in Norway is Odd Singsaker, who is recently recovering from brain surgery and therefore his memory is a little on the dodgy side. He is by the by, your typical Scandinavian detective, likes to take things slow and steady.
Felicia Stone has her own dark secrets and is a strong female character. The author has not made her into some manly 'one of the boys'. I didn't find her stereotypical and warmed to her. Even more so when I read about the issues that led her to be the person she is now.
Both detectives compliment each other and there is no bravado to be seen which can occur in many detective novels of this kind.
From the beginning we know there is some connection between the murders and the abduction of a mother and child. The author also takes us back to the 1500s, where the barber is busy helping out the local physician.
I really enjoyed the main bulk of the story. I'm never one to shy away from gore, and the descriptions and action that took place created a vivid picture. The pace was quick, enough to keep you intrigued but not enough so that you had no idea what was going on. I didn't enjoy the historic sections. I found that they slowed the book down completely. I found myself skimming them just to get back to modern day Norway.
There weren't too many supporting characters, which I find a good thing. I do enjoy Scandinavian novels but I sometimes struggle to remember all of the names. Only once did I have to double check a character and that was because there was one called Jens and one called Jensen. The only character I wasn't particularly fond of was a girl named Siri Holm. She literally seemed to jump anything that moved, which I don't thing added to the character at all.
Overall I enjoyed the book, and Brekke's characters. I am looking forward to reading more of his novels in the future.

View all my reviews