The Man in the Window (Thomas Dunne Books) [Paperback]

K.O. Dahl (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 16, 2010 | Series: Thomas Dunne Books

A cryptic murder resurrects dark memories of past atrocities in this latest mystery from the master of Norwegian crime writing.

Award-winning author K. O. Dahl received international acclaim for his gripping debut thriller, The Fourth Man, which introduced readers to Detective Inspector Frank Frølich and Detective Chief Inspector Gunnarstranda. Now the Oslo detectives are back.

It’s Friday the thirteenth, the Norwegian capital is enveloped in freezing cold, and Reidar Folke Jespersen passes what will be the last day of his life.

The aging antique dealer leaves home and takes a taxi to a nearby café. A few hours later, through the window of the café, he watches his wife enter the door to a flat on the other side of the street, where her lover lives.

In the early hours of the following morning, Jespersen is found stabbed to death, sitting naked in an armchair in the display window of his antique shop. 

Detectives Frølich and Gunnarstranda are called to the scene. Their only clues are a numerical combination written in ink on the body of the dead man, a red string tied around his neck, a few missing World War II objects, and a number of people extremely satisfied with the news of the man’s death. Questions of love and betrayal, loyalty and guilt consume the investigation, just as they fill the private lives of the investigators.

K. O. Dahl’s dark and poetic writing moves through the shadows of one country’s history---a country where victims, perpetrators, and even police officers are haunted by the past, still trying to cope with dark memories of the Nazi occupation. The Man in the Window, the second installment in Dahl’s Oslo police mysteries, is an intricate and chilling detective story about love, revenge, and the inescapable past.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Norwegian Dahl’s second U.S. title, following his knockout thriller, The Fourth Man (2008), features the same police characters, Inspector Frank Frolich and Chief Inspector Gunnarstranda, but lacks the thrill and punch of the earlier novel. In a longer but not necessarily more complex story, Frolich and Gunnarstranda investigate the bizarre murder of octogenarian antiques dealer Reidar Folke Jesperson. Written almost as a documentary-style police procedural, the novel lacks the rich characterization of The Fourth Man, as Dahl records the slow gathering of information on the victim and suspects and the eventual discovery of links to World War II and the German occupation of Norway. Fans of Jo Nesbo’s Redbreast (2007) who enjoyed the WWII subplot in that book would be the best audience for this novel, though readers of Helene Tursten’s procedurals set in Sweden may also find appeal here. This is a definite disappointment after Dahl’s American debut, but Scandinavian crime fiction fans shouldn’t let him drop off their radar quite yet. --Jessica Moyer --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

International Praise for The Man in the Window

“Kjell Ola Dahl has written a captivating detective story with plenty of nuances, and there is no reason for him to hide in the shadow of Mankell.” --Zillo (Germany)

“Kjell Ola Dahl masters the art of tightening the intrigue to maintain the suspense until the very well-conceived end.” --Sala Allehanda (Sweden)

“Kjell Ola Dahl writes like Volga. Calm and powerful. Everything falls into place at the end and it is constantly suspenseful.” --Dagens Nyheter (Sweden)

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Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Minotaur Books; First Edition edition (March 16, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312605641
• ISBN-13: 978-0312605643
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #919,172 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant Mystery, May 20, 2010

By 

Uncredited (Toronto) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Man in the Window (Thomas Dunne Books) (Paperback)

The characters are deep, the backdrop is engaging, but the mystery is the thing. The plot takes time to play out, getting thicker and murkier as it progresses. I found myself thinking about this novel much more than most mysteries. Mankell is the standard comparison for Scandinavian crime fiction, and his novels do have more breadth and finesse. However I never found his mysteries as engaging and puzzling as the one Dahl presents.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellant Norwegican noir, July 11, 2010

By 

Neal C. Reynolds (Indianapolis, Indiana) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Man in the Window (Thomas Dunne Books) (Paperback)

Again, K. O. Dahl creates a unique Scandinavian mystery. The victim here has not only been murdered, but has been further humiliated by being exhibited in the nude in his shop window. We're given the last day of his life in detail, and then the methodical investigation by Norwegian inspectors Frolich and Gunnarstranda. We are led through a compolex labyrinth leading to a complicated solution with the requisite red herrings. The victim is an octogenarian and the investigation leads us back to the second World War as seen through Norwegian eyes.All in all, this is a quite satisfying book and one more example of Scandinavian mystery telling.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not really credible, February 11, 2011

By 

n.rivot (Rockville, MD United States) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Man in the Window (Thomas Dunne Books) (Paperback)

This novel started rather auspiciously. Unfortunately, several of the protagonists never came to life. And in the end, the motives appeared specious, and it was hard to believe the murderers really acted in the way described. It did not seem in character with the way they had been shown.

I have read a number of Scandianvian authors, and am a particular fan of Henning Mankell's and Karin Fossum. This author is way below.