Wolves in the Dark by Gunnar Staalesen

This is the first title by Gunnar Staalesen that I’ve read and apparently part of an ongoing series, featuring his PI hero Varg Veum. You don’t have to read previous titles to enjoy this, but it would undoubtedly help. The love of his life, Karin, was killed when investigating a previous case (presumably in a previous title) and he has sunk into a fog of alcohol abuse and drink-fuelled blackouts. While enough of this back story is given and explained in this title, I feel I would have appreciated the character’s pain more had I been more familiar with the events described.

Wolves in the Dark starts with Varg Veum being arrested in an international round up of online paedophiles. It quickly transpires that someone has planted child pornography on his computer and is framing him for this heinous crime. The question is, why? Veum escapes from custody and goes on the run to get answers. He wracks his mind for people who might have a grudge against him and the computer skills necessary to tamper with his computer and send him to prison. This is a task made difficult by the fact that he has no shortage of enemies, and that much of the past few months were spent in a boozy haze.

There’s much to like about this book, it deals with issues that are incredibly current: computer hacking, the dark underbelly of the internet, online child pornography. In that sense it’s a gritty, nourish tale, the kind of thing I naturally like. That said, the author is clearly influenced by the classics of American gumshoe like Chandler. Indeed, on the front cover is a quote from Jo Nesbo calling him “A Norwegian Chandler”. Unfortunately, I found this influence to be a little dated and not a little at variance with the dark subject matter of the plot. Veum travels around, tracking down those who hold a grudge against him and interrogating them. Despite the fact that they are under no obligation to do so, that he has no legal authority whatsoever, they answer his questions. Even those who know he’s wanted by the police talk with him. While this might have worked in Chandler’s day, this struck me as incredibly unrealistic. Equally, the Chandleresque snappy dialogue just grated a little.

That all said, this is all very much a personal opinion. Chandler is still popular; his books still sell, and if the golden age of noir is your thing then this book is definitely for you. It’s well written and despite my misgivings it kept me turning the page and wanting to know what happened next. It ends on something of a cliff hanger, so be prepared for feeling compelled to buy the next title in the series.

3 out of 5 stars.