Chief Inspector William Wisting keeps revisiting an unsolved 24 year old disappearance. His daughter is a journalist on maternity leave who has him babysit her daughter while he is revisiting the old files. He is distracted, you can guess that something happens! Then someone from Kripos decides to reopen the cold case and Wisting is drafted in, undercover.
I was moved along swiftly through this tale. Quite quickly I became concerned that Wisting's daughter Line would become a victim, and this stayed with me through the book. Jørn Lier Horst crafts his story well, his work is worthy of being set to celluloid, I'm sure that many people will enjoy watching it (I'm a book person myself).
Those who liked The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo will most likely enjoy this too.
I liked that this story didn't give the plot away in the middle of the book and kept many more surprises until right at the end.

Chief Inspector William Wisting has a cold case from 24 years ago where the wife of Martin Haugen, Katharina went missing. Every year Wisting looks over the cold case notes, tries to work out the mysterious code that was left behind and as usual visits Martin on the anniversary of the case. However this time Martin Haugen is missing too, though whilst he turns up, his story of why he wasn't home doesn't add up.

As Wisting prepares to investigate Martin's discrepancies, he's visited by another detective from Oslo, Adrian Stiller who is interested in the cold case Wisting has. Using new technology, Stiller is convinced Martin's involved in another disappearance of a young woman and asks Wisting to get close Martin to see if he will divulge the truth.

Can Wisting discover if Martin a dangerous killer or a grief-stricken husband who cannot lay the past to rest?

Without knowing it when I picked this book from Netgalley, I've previously listened to the Ordeal from this author too where it mainly focused on Line. I'm a sucker for nordic noir crime tv programmes, so this hit the spot for me and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I believe it may be made into a TV series, and if so i will be watching and I will certainly read more of these from this author.

It builds the characters and story up well, with the story is shown both from mainly Wisting and his daughter Line, the journalist point of view, with some of the scenes seen from Stiller. As the story evolved, I had my own theories on the cases but the ending surprised me and wrapped up quite quickly, with potential for a future story.


I received this book from netgalley in return for a honest review. into that along with the two cases.

An unusually gripping detective thriller set in Norway. I say unusual because there weren’t really any dramatic moments and the ending was more real life than crime cliff-hanger. So why was it gripping? I guess it’s because of the way the story was told; the slow reveal. There was everyday detail such as the dried yeast for the pizza dough being out of date. We’ve all been there and probably used twice the quantity like our really solid detective William Wisting. I think we’d all like him as an uncle, he seems so calm and reliable. Then there was the quite bizarre way the Norwegians fit a period in prison around their everyday lives. Maybe it was the immersion the reader experienced of life in Norway by way of excellent story telling, which made the Katharina Code such a compelling read.

I hadn't read any of the previous books by Jorn Lier Horst, but that didn't detract from my enjoyment of this one - and I didn't feel I'd missed anything by not knowing anything about Chief Inspector Wisting. I liked him from the start and found his preoccupation (that caused him to be less than aware what mischief his toddler granddaughter was getting into) in a twenty four year old cold case interesting and intriguing. I felt it was slightly unusual for the main detective in charge of a crime to be on friendly terms with the husband of the woman who had been missing for all those years, yet as the story progresses and more facts come to light the friendship doesn't interfere with Wisting's thought process and his eventual conclusion, even though he's placed in a very awkward position by Adrian Stiller, who has uncovered new evidence.
Although I enjoyed the book (and will read the others in the series) I felt at times the story seemed slightly stilted (which could be down to the translation from Norwegian to English). I believe the books are being made into a TV series and if the other books in the series are like this one I think they'll go down well!

Although it took me a while to get into this story I did enjoy reading it. I haven't read any of the author's previous books but will look out for them in the future. A little long winded in parts but an easy read.

Jorn Lier Horst is a new name to me in what is becoming an increasingly crowded Scandi Noir market. For a number of reasons, I was very impressed with this novel and I have subsequently gone back to start reading the earlier books in the series (which are equally well written).

Some reviewers have mentioned the similarities with the Wallander novels but I would go back further and suggest that this book has much in common with the classic Sjowall and Wahloo series both in terms of its authenticity and meticulous plotting, for which the author’s experience as a senior police investigator is no doubt responsible.

If you are looking for fast-moving, all-action crime novels, these books are probably not for you. They are slow burners, where the tension is gradually built and maintained as plot layers are peeled away. William Wisting makes a fine hero and how refreshing it is to have a central character who is relatively normal rather than a quivering wreck trying to tame his demons.

This book is very much focused on relationships, not least between Wisting and his daughter Line, a journalist with a local paper whose parallel investigations produce their own tensions but gradually merge into the main plot. A journalist daughter allows for far more interesting sub-plotting than the standard loyal side-kick.

I really enjoyed both this and the other novels I have now read in the series and thoroughly recommend them. If I have a minor criticism, I felt that the ending was a slight low-key, but arguably that was in keeping with the general tone of the book and it shouldn’t detract from a well-written, expertly researched addition to the genre.

My thanks to Netgalley and the publishers, Michael Joseph, for an ARC in return for an honest review.

Twenty four years ago Katharina went missing, leaving behind nothing but a piece of paper with a list of numbers on it. Every year since Wisting has met up with Katharina's husband Martin. This year is different because now Martin has gone missing and whilst Wisting is obsessed with Katharina's case, other detectives feel the answers are much closer to home.

I struggled to get into this book and found it rather pedestrian throughout. Not one of the better Scandic-Crime novels I have read.

This was well written, but not great.

I liked the character of the older detective, but not the new broom with his manipulative ways and I'm not sure the journalist would have behaved the way she did.

There was a pretty obvious signpost (ahem) regarding the resolution of the code, and a rather large coincidence in discovering the significance of the packing, but the resolution was quite neat.

If you are a fan of Scandinavian writers, add Horst to your list! His new detective character, Wisting, is of the genre which first came to my attention through the works of Nesbo and others.

The storyline focuses on a cold case, switches to and fro, and is paralleled by his domestic scene and the involvement of his daughter in the case. Excellent scene setting, great characters, rich detail, and background add to a strong sense of being there in the moment, living the case as it unfolds.

I thoroughly enjoyed and would recommend it.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this Norwegian set police procedural and will certainly be on the look out for further books by the author. I was delighted to read that the book will soon be appearing as a TV series and look forward to this as I did think that the novel was very televisual, particularly in the scenes set in the forest and on the motorway.
Chief Inspector William Wisting has been obsessed with the case of missing Katharina Haugen for 25 years and visits her husband Martin annually on the anniversary of her disappearance. Katharina left behind a packed suitcase and a handwritten note which appears to be a code, giving the book its title. Wisting has been trying to crack this code for the past 25 years but this year a cold case is opened on another missing woman and his attempts to find out what happened to Katharina are accelerated due to coincidences in the two cases.

The plot was gripping throughout and the personal and professional relationships were very well developed. The relationship between Wisting and Martin was tense yet credible. I appreciated the inclusion in the tale of Wisting's family: daughter Line, granddaughter Amelia and son Thomas. Their presence grounded Wisting but Line especially is an integral and important part of the plot and a strong character. Stiller who heads up the cold case unit was another interesting character and the author gives the reader insight into his back story which leads to sympathy for a somewhat manipulative detective.

I received a complimentary ARC of this title from the publisher via Net Galley in return for an honest review.

A very well thought out and researched story. I obviously don’t know how accurate the depiction of the relationship between press and police but this did seem to be the only unlikely part of the book. I’m not sure that Lone would have had the amount of access to the crime details that she had.
I liked the characters I was meant to like and distrusted those I was meant to distrust so clearly the author got that right. Sometimes I felt there was too much unrelated information and detail but on the whole I enjoyed it and would certainly read John Lier Horst again and very happy to recommend a The Katharine Code to all.

The publisher's tagline "A gripping thriller" is well deserved!

This is the first title I've read by the author, hence the first William Wisting novel I've read - so all the characters were new to me. This did not matter as the characters are well-described.

As usual in my reviews, I will not regurgitate the plot summary given by the publishers. The book covers not one but two cold cases - one of my favourite crime fiction genres - and I was quickly drawn in.

I stayed up late to finish the book - it was worth it! I'll now be looking out for other titles by this author.

My thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for an ARC in return for my honest review.

Thanks Netgalley and the Publisher. This is the first book that I have read by this author and although was a bit slow and long winded in places I actually quite enjoyed it.

The Katharina Code by Jorn Lier Horst is a Norwegian cold case police procedural, a case where 24 years ago, Katharina Haugen disappeared into thin air in Kleiverveien. Detective William Wisting has never been able to let go of the case, and every year on the 11th October anniversary, he reaches for the case files to pore over them to see if anything can be done. He has developed a friendship over the years with Katharina's husband, Martin, who he visits on the day as well. Martin has never got over the loss of his wife. There are some odd anomalies that Wisting obsesses over, the chief being the paper on which Katharina wrote a series of numbers and letters, known as Katharina's code. This code has passed through numerous expert hands and no-one has been able to make head or tail of it. A suitcase packed with oddly precise clothing had been packed suggesting Katharina was planning to leave, but for where?

This year when Wisting visits Martin, he is not at home and appears to have gone missing. Oslo detective, ambitious, manipulative and insomniac Adrian Stiller is part of the cold case group in Kripos. Stiller wants Wisting's co-operation on an even older colder case, where 17 year old Nadia Krogh went missing, assumed to be abducted in 1987. New evidence has emerged that might possibly connect the Katharina and Nadia cases. He has identified Wisting as the man who can be the most helpful to him and Wisting agrees, driven by the potential to get to the truth of what happened in two mystifying cases. There is plenty of insight into Wisting's family life, his journalist daughter, Line with her baby daughter, Amalie, and his soldier son, Thomas, who is on leave and visiting. Stiller has got the media on side, having developed an indepth media strategy to help crack the case, and he has chosen Line to cover the investigation. Line is not privy to the new evidence that has re-opened the Nadia Krogh case but gets passionately involved with interviewing key individuals and putting out podcasts as well.

Unlike the repertoire of troubled detectives with messy personal lives that inhabit much of crime fiction, Wisting is a remarkably stable guy with a average and normal family life. Being a police officer is his life and he endeavours to find a central purpose in securing justice, and to this end, he is extremely focused and dogged in his determination, even as decades go by with no resolution. For me, I was particularly interested in his close and personal relationship with Martin Haugen that has grown through the years and which provides the main focus of this crime novel. I found this absorbing reading, it is less concerned with heavy dramatics and fast pacing, more about relationships and characters. Many thanks to Penguin Michael Joseph for an ARC.

Jørn Lier Horst's THE KATHARINA CODE tells the story of two Norwegian cold-case disappearances: one, a married woman called Katharina who disappeared from her house, leaving a half-packed suitcase and a cryptic note on the table behind her; the second, a young woman called Nadia who left a party one evening to walk home and was never seen again.

Our main protagonist in this book is William Wisting, a police detective who was heavily involved in Katharina's case many years before. Feeling tortured by his inability to solve the case, he has kept the case files and visits Katharina's husband Martin every year on the anniversary of her disappearance - until his latest visit, when Wisting goes to the house to find that Martin himself is missing...

A string of events begin to quickly unravel, leading trails across the area to secluded cabins, introverted characters from the missing women's pasts, the insertion of a new department into the cases, a mysterious insomniac detective and, unbeknownst to Wisting, the appearance of his own daughter Line - a journalist returning from maternity leave - right into the heart of one of the cases.

This book is a 'calm' mystery, if that makes sense! The pace is very measured (at least right up until the last few chapters), laying out the stories of the two missing women in a way that ensures the reader can follow each new clue as it is discovered, without ever giving too much away. The writing is spare and simple yet effective throughout, with careful translation by Anne Bruce. Some of my favourite scenes were those where Wisting is sitting at home, his granddaughter napping beside him as he reads through case documents with a hot coffee while rain runs down the windowpane.

I particularly enjoyed the way the story is told through several mediums: just as the cold cases are reopened with new evidence, there are television appearances by detectives, a print serial on the new evidence in the papers, and Wisting's daughter Line is busy creating a daily podcast, which we read 'in real time' as she records it. The book has a satisfactory ending that I had not guessed at beforehand - which is always a good thing in a mystery novel!

THE KATHARINA CODE is the twelfth book in the William Wisting series, although this was my first introduction to Horst's books and I think this one works absolutely fine if you were to read it as a standalone as I did (I actually had no idea it was part of a series until I looked it up just now). My plan now is to read the series from the very beginning.

3.5 out of 5 stars! The Katharina Code was an interesting crime thriller read about an unsolved missing persons case and a new case of another missing woman. After 24 years, a girl called Katharina went missing and has never been found. The main character William who is a chief inspector hasn't given up on finding her but there's a code that has never been cracked by anyone... that is, until now and a new person who ends up missing. I liked the podcast element, the dialogue was written well and kept good pacing. I struggled with character connection and did feel underwhelmed at some stages (just before and just after the halfway mark). Full review on my Goodreads profile!

Police story involving a cold case which took too long to get going. Lots of twists and turns. A very dogged detective.

A very well-written nordic detective story. Literally a cold -case, with a present day kickstart. Looking forward to more Wisting

Can the reopening of a cold case finally reveal the culprit?

Each year, on the 10th October, for the past twenty-four years, Chief Inspector William Wisting has opened the files he keeps at home, relating to the disappearance of Katharina Haugen. He also visits her husband, Martin, on the day, again hoping that somehow he might say something that will help Wisting find that one vital missing clue. All she left behind was a list of numbers, now known as the Katharina Code.

Adrian Stiller, a member of the Cold Case Group, a newly established section within Kripos (National Criminal Investigation Service) based in Oslo, has asked that Wisting and his team, including his deputy, Nils Hammer, help with the investigation into the unsolved kidnapping and disappearance of Nadia Krogh. What shocks Wisting is that new evidence points to Martin Haugen being responsible for the abduction and disappearance. Could this case and the case Wisting has been trying to solve for the past twenty-four years be linked? Could Katharina’s husband be involved with both cases?

This is an unusual storyline. It follows the re-opening of the Nadia Krogh case with Martin Haugen being the main suspect. Wisting needs to use the friendship that has grown between him and Haugen to unravel what really happened all those years ago. His daughter, Line, is also drawn into the case as she’s a journalist and Adrian Stiller has inveigled her to act as the person who will once again bring this once notorious case back into the public’s interest by re-interviewing all the witnesses.

I loved this novel. It’s unusual. Very well written. Excellent characters. I could feel in my mind’s eye how the case proceeded. The author has a way of writing that is totally spellbinding and paints vivid pictures, so is easy to imagine as the story unfolds.

Treebeard

Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review.

I received an ecopy of this Nordic thriller from Netgalley.

If you like Wallander you'll love this. The story grabs your attention from the beginning, bringing to life the main character, the policeman Wisting, and introducing us to his family, as two cold crimes seem to become intricately woven together.

The plot does seem to drag on a bit as the conclusion becomes inevitable but even at the end there is a further twist which caught me out.

On introduction to his daughter we are told her name is Line. If I am unsure how to pronounce a character's name it is a problem to me (I know...) so I assumed the pronunciation would be Lyn. Place names are something else but I can skip over them.

Wisting is a character absolutely made for television which is where this book is soon to be played out. I look forward to seeing and comparing my reading of the names with the actuality and I would recommend and look out for other works by this author.