#BlogTour – #BookReview of #Stigma by Thomas Enger and Jørn Lier Horst @EngerThomas @LierHorst @OrendaBooks @RandomTTours #NordicNoir #BlixandRamm #RandomThingsTours

calturner

Oct 30

I'm excited to welcome you today to my stop on the blog tour for superb thriller Stigma (Blix and Ramm 4) by Thomas Enger and Jørn Lier Horst. Thank you to Anne Cater and Orenda Books for giving me the opportunity to read this outstanding book.

About the book:

Alexander Blix is a broken man. Convicted for avenging his daughter's death, he is now being held in one of Norway's high- security prisons. Inside, the other prisoners take every opportunity to challenge and humiliate the former police investigator.

On the outside, Blix's former colleagues have begun the hunt for a terrifying killer. Walter Kroos has escaped from prison in Germany and is making his way north. The only lead established by the police is that Kroos has a friend in Blix's prison ward. And now they need Blix's help.

Journalist Emma Ramm is one of Blix's few visitors, and she becomes his ally as he struggles to connect the link between past and present, between the world inside and outside the prison walls. And as he begins to piece things together, he identifies a woodland community in Norway where deeply scarred inhabitants foster deadly secrets … secrets that may be the unravelling of everyone involved.

About the authors:

Jørn Lier Horst and Thomas Enger are the internationally bestselling Norwegian authors of the William Wisting and Henning Juul series respectively. Jørn Lier Horst first rose to literary fame with his No. 1 internationally bestselling William Wisting series. A former investigator in the Norwegian police, Horst imbues all his works with an unparalleled realism and suspense.

Thomas Enger is the journalist-turned-author behind the internationally acclaimed and bestselling Henning Juul series. Enger's trademark has become a darkly gritty voice paired with key social messages and tight plotting. Besides writing fiction for both adults and young adults, Enger also works as a music composer.

Death Deserved was Jørn Lier Horst & Thomas Enger's first co-written thriller, closely followed by Smoke Screen, and the series has sold more than two million copies worldwide, outselling Jo Nesbo in their native Norway, Sweden and Germany.

@LierHorst @EngerThomas.

Stigma is translated by Megan Turney.

My Review:

Stigma is the fourth book in the Blix & Ramm crime thriller series by Norwegian authors Jørn Lier Horst and Thomas Enger. Death Deserved, the first book in the series, introduced us to Alexander Blix and Emma Ramm, two troubled souls with a shared history. This was closely followed by the excellent Smoke Screen and then Unhinged.

Now Blix and Ramm are back in Stigma, only this time a broken Blix is serving time for the murder of the man who killed his daughter, Iselin. And oh my goodness, what a fantastic read it is! It has the kind of twists, turns, shocks and surprises I've come to expect from this series, but also moves along at a slightly slower pace than previously, gradually building the tension as Blix slowly begins to piece things together, with the help of journalist Emma Ramm who is now his eyes and ears on the outside.

With the hunt for a terrifying killer who has escaped from a German prison gathering momentum, Blix's former colleague and boss Gard Fosse asks him to get close to a dangerous inmate who may have links to the missing prisoner.

So, as the pieces of the puzzle begin to fall into place, Blix and Ramm find themselves joining forces once again, determined to find the link that connects the past to the present. With feelings running high and the tension ratcheting up to breaking point, will Blix and Ramm be able to solve the case before time runs out?

What follows is an exciting and intelligent thriller that kept me on my toes throughout. The two main protagonists are as fascinating as ever, their enforced separation due to Blix's incarceration changing the dynamic of their relationship once again as Blix continues to grieve for the daughter he has lost at the same time as trying to come to terms with his new life behind bars

With a complex cast of characters and a dark and intense storyline, Stigma is a stunning addition to a series that is fast becoming one of my favourites.

Skilfully translated by Megan Turney, this is Nordic Noir at its very best and is a series I wouldn't hesitate to recommend. I can't wait to see what the talented writing duo of Thomas Enger and Jørn Lier Horst have in store for us next!

Stigma by Thomas Enger and Jørn Lier Horst is available to purchase now: