Blog Tour: Sister

SISTER | Kjell Ola Dahl
(Oslo Detectives #9)
04.30.2020 | Orenda Books
Rating: 4/5 stars

Detective Frolich has been suspended from duty on the Oslo police force. Since he’s departure as a police officer, he has started his own private investigation business. Frolich’s girlfriend has a case for him, as her co-worker desperately wants to help an asylum seeker. She claims her sister is somewhere in Norway and is urgently in need of finding her to avoid deportation. As Frolich starts his search things quickly escalate in complexity when the missing sister claims she’s never heard of this woman before. Things start to get stranger for Frolich as bodies start to accumulate, all with an odd connection to this asylum seeker, her missing sister, and an old investigation.

My first introduction to Kjell Ola Dahl was with the previous installment of this series, ICE SWIMMER. I instantly was hooked to Kjell’s writing style. With SISTER the reader is instantly thrown into Frolich’s day to day life as a private investigator and his new case. I love how the chapters unfold in a way that is methodically plotted and never rushed, but somehow still manages to hold an air of tension. Nordic Noir is often classified as being on the darker side, but Kjell finds a way to blend those elements of this story with a lighter air. Put simply, this book is rich, tense, and captivating!

SISTER is driven by the main character of Frank Frolich, who seamlessly conveys a sense of devotion to his detective craft, as well as a passion for justice. The reader never once doubts Frolich’s conviction to solving the case that has been dumped in his lap, even though time after time he is put in strange situations that would certainly justify throwing in the towel. There is a wonderful sense of honesty to Frolich, which I think for me as a reader is incredibly refreshing. So often books in the crime fiction genre lean too heavily on creating detectives with dark pasts. While Frolich has personal issues, namely the fact that he has lost his position on the police force, these items don’t weigh him down. 

I absolutely love that SISTER has such an intricately layered plot. I wasn’t sure what Frolich was going to find himself investigating when he first took the case of the missing sister. What we both, Frolich and myself,  found was something so much more! This case has a little bit of everything: a missing person who doesn’t want to be found, an odd connection to a controversial case, and a healthy dose of murder! Despite being the ninth installment in a long running series, this book easily works as a standalone and in a great introduction to Kjell Ola Dahl’s fantastic writing!

Please be sure to check out all of the amazing bloggers heading up this tour!

This book is available to buy from: Amazon | Book Depository

A huge thank you to Orenda Books for my free copy of this book!

Disclosure: What Jess Reads is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. This in no way influences my opinion of the above book.