The Fourth Man [Paperback]

K.O. Dahl (Author), Don Bartlett (Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 3, 2009

Award-winning author Kjell Ola Dahl has attained cult status in his home country of Norway with his sharp, riveting bestsellers. Over the last decade he has found audiences in ten other countries and finally, with his gripping and intelligent novel, The Fourth Man, the master of Norwegian crime writing is crossing the Atlantic.

In the course of a routine police raid, Detective Inspector Frank Frølich of the Oslo Police saves the life of Elizabeth Faremo, a dark-haired beauty with mysterious eyes who was inadvertently caught in the crossfire. Some weeks later, Frølich coincidentally runs into her again---but their ensuing affair is no accident.

By the time he learns that she is no stranger---but rather the sister of a wanted member of a larceny gang---it is already too late.

In the middle of the night, Frølich receives a call that a young guard has been killed in the course of an attempted break-in. Scrambling to respond, he realizes that Elizabeth is no longer in his bed. And all at once, Frølich’s life has changed. In a turn of events cryptic, erotic, and complex, he finds himself a prime murder suspect and under the watch of his doubting colleagues.

Led through the dark underworld of Oslo and his own soul, Frølich---suspended from the force, blindly in love, and on the hunt for some hint of truth in a vortex of darkness and lies---must find out if he is being used . . . before his life unravels beyond repair.

The Fourth Man is a sexy, fast-paced psychological thriller that puts a modern twist on the classic noir story of the femme fatale. K. O. Dahl has crafted a dark, poetic, and incredibly complex crime novel for his U.S. debut---the first in a series of detective novels from this rising international mystery star.

Praise for The Fourth Man:

“A Norwegian Mankell”
---Norra Vasterbotten (Sweden)

“I have read many clever and thrilling crime novels through my life, but often they have nothing to do with real life. If I don’t believe in them, they don’t impress me. But when K.O. Dahl tells his stories, I believe every single word.”
---Karin Fossum, author of The Indian Bride

“An absorbing study of sexual enthrallment, dogged police work and a harrowing twist or two: Fans of procedurals…will snap this one up.”
---Kirkus

“Recommend to fans of Karin Fossum and Kjell Eriksson. Dahl is a formidable talent whose books may well become as popular in the US as in Norway.”
---Booklist

“A crime master of style... Dahl’s original trait, the rich language, is here fully developed. He is perhaps the most literary of our crime writers. He fully masters the use of images and re-takes that serve to emphasize and strengthen the text, the latter a risky business regardless of genre. In addition to this, he is a proper devil at describing emotions, and throughout the entire spectrum at that…. Conclusion: Kjell Ola Dahl has again written an excellent crime novel.”
---Aftenposten (Norway)

“Effective and entertaining crime….We let ourselves be both mesmerized and entertained…”
---Adresseavisen (Norway)

“Elite crime writing… Kjell Ola Dahl is one of the big names of Norwegian crime fiction, and The Fourth Man shows why: here, the plot is effectively narrated, the drive forward is dynamic and the reader is served his seconds over and over again…”
---Stavanger Aftenblad (Norway)

“High-shine crime… a crime novel solidly and aptly constructed. Chock full of action, with precise shifts in tempo, sparkling good dialogue and a plot that carries all the way through.”
---Bergens Tidende (Norway)

“A suspenseful and well costructed story… Stringent and directed towards an astounding denouement.”
---Münchner Merkur (Germany)

“…an excellent crime novel has seen the light of day…”
---Hersfelder Zeitung (Germany)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Little is as it seems in Norwegian author Dahl's U.S. debut, which features a tangled web of art theft, blackmail, torrid sex and double crosses. After femme fatale Elisabeth Faremo seduces Det. Insp. Frank Frølich of the Oslo police, Frank learns Elisabeth has a brother, the thug Jonny Faremo, and Elisabeth has used Frank as part of an alibi to help Jonny beat a murder rap. Later, Frank discovers that Elisabeth's female university mentor, Reidun Vestli, is also her lover. Reidun eventually turns up dead, as do Elisabeth and Jonny. Frank becomes a suspect in Jonny's death even as he begins to understand how an old robbery is connected to the murders. The entertaining if overstuffed plot is undermined at times by Frank's strange lack of reaction to Elisabeth's death and an unprofessional approach to forensic evidence relevant to the twist ending. Still, scenes like the one in which Frank finds himself locked in a sauna, doomed to become wrinkled to death, combined with the clinical style, make for an exciting read. (Mar.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

International Praise for K.O. Dahl and The Fourth Man:

“A Norwegian Mankell.” --Norra Vasterbotten (Sweden)

“I have read many clever and thrilling crime novels through my life, but often they have nothing to do with real life. If I don’t believe in them, they don’t impress me. But when K.O. Dahl tells his stories, I believe every single word.” --Karin Fossum, author of The Indian Bride

“An absorbing study of sexual enthrallment, dogged police work and a harrowing twist or two: Fans of procedurals…will snap this one up.” --Kirkus

“Recommend to fans of Karin Fossum and Kjell Eriksson. Dahl is a formidable talent whose books may well become as popular in the US as in Norway.” --Booklist

“A crime master of style... Dahl’s original trait, the rich language, is here fully developed. He is perhaps the most literary of our crime writers. He fully masters the use of images and re-takes that serve to emphasize and strengthen the text, the latter a risky business regardless of genre. In addition to this, he is a proper devil at describing emotions, and throughout the entire spectrum at that…. Conclusion: Kjell Ola Dahl has again written an excellent crime novel.” --Aftenposten (Norway)

“Effective and entertaining crime….We let ourselves be both mesmerized and entertained…” --Adresseavisen (Norway)

“Elite crime writing… Kjell Ola Dahl is one of the big names of Norwegian crime fiction, and The Fourth Man shows why: here, the plot is effectively narrated, the drive forward is dynamic and the reader is served his seconds over and over again…” --Stavanger Aftenblad (Norway)

“High-shine crime… a crime novel solidly and aptly constructed. Chock full of action, with precise shifts in tempo, sparkling good dialogue and a plot that carries all the way through.” --Bergens Tidende (Norway)

“A suspenseful and well costructed story… Stringent and directed towards an astounding denouement.” --Münchner Merkur (Germany)

“…an excellent crime novel has seen the light of day…” --Hersfelder Zeitung (Germany)

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Minotaur Books; 1 Reprint edition (March 3, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312540574
• ISBN-13: 978-0312540579
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #908,814 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining, but a bit stereotypical, March 20, 2008

By 

David W. Nicholas (Van Nuys, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Fourth Man (Hardcover)

One of the latest trends in mystery writing is the Scandinavian mystery series. We all remember (or some of us, who are old enough, do) the series by Maj Sjovall and Per Wahloo from back in the seventies, but since there have only been a couple of writers. Lately, though, it seems every second book in the mystery section comes from the frozen North. This current book, by Norwegian mystery writer K.O. Dahl, is apparently rather typical.

Dahl is a competent writer, though his plot is a bit far-fetched. His main character, Frank Frolich, becomes involved with a witness to a violent arrest in Oslo, and soon is having a torrid affair with her. But she acts very strangely, and after a while this becomes a problem. It soon develops that she's related to a gang of criminals who are robbing Norwegian businesses, and that she used to date one of the gang. Then she vanishes, and Frolich, now under some suspicion from his colleagues, must discover what happened and what her connection to the criminal gang is.

This is a reasonably good book. Foreign detective novels like this almost always, to me, have a dated feel to them, with the main character resembling Philip Marlowe or Sam Spade with a strange accent. In spite of that (or perhaps because of it) I enjoyed this book and would recommend it.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Obsession in Oslo, October 13, 2008

By 

F. J. Harvey "Cricket ,country music and a go... (Birmingham England) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Fourth Man (Hardcover)

A prefatory note to the UK paperback edition of this book informs the reader that Mr Dahl's first novel was published in 1993 but that it was not until this 2007 effort that his work was translated into English.It is set in Oslo ,the capital of Norway and its protagonist is a police officer Detective Frank Frolich ,who becomes obsessed with a woman he meets while operating a police surveillance .She is Elisabeth Faremo and they soon become bedfellows .What she neglects to tell him is that her brother ,Johnny Faremo is a career criminal with a prison record .When an armed robbery at a warehouse goes wrong and a part time security guard killed by one of the robbers an anonymous tipoff implicates Johnny Faremo and some of his known associates.Elisabeth alibis him however and questions are raised withinn the Police department about Frolich's wisdom in maintaining the relationship with the sister of a known felon.Soon she disappears and her brother is murdered .It also emerges that she is in another relationship -a gay affair with a university lecturerer ,reidun Vestli.

The -literally -key to the whole mystery is a safe deposit box key which holds the secret of a stolen Bellini painting and financial fraud involving a prominent businessman ,Narvesen .Before the case is brought to its bitter sweet conclusion Frolich must contend with two attempts on his life , a suicide and further deaths .

Frolich is a rather dull figure and altogether more interesting is his boss,the taciturn and wry Gunnarstranda The atmosphere of a windy ,wet and freezing Oslo is evocatively done and the seamy side of the city-its lap dancing clubs and seedier bars-is thoroughly trawled .Its an engrossing tale but a bit overplotted and the ending ,in which the plot stands are unwound comes across as old fashioned and plodding..However as a study in obsession and greed this is pretty well done even if somwhat cold and unemotional.

It is a good change of pace for those wanting a break from Anglophone crime writing

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Another Norwegian writer to follow, February 12, 2010

By 

Claire Mooers "mystery mad" (Pembroke Pines, Fl. USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Fourth Man (Paperback)

A well written and imaginative story. Sometimes confusing for an old lady like me but never gave up. More sex and emotional factors than any other Scandinavian police procedural, not really so necessary but didn't detract from the overall story. Perhaps to attract American readers. Back cover 'blurb' compares Dahl to Henning Mankell - no one can write like Mankell.