I’ve been lucky enough to have a bit of a flurry of blog tours these past couple of weeks, with some excellent books, but I have to say this latest one is definitely in my top five so far!
Smoke Screen is a joint collaboration between authors Thomas Enger and Jorn Lier Horst. Set in Oslo, the story begins with a suspected terror attack on New Year’s Eve. One of the injured is the mother of a young girl who went missing ten years before, and has never been found. Both Police Office Alexander Blix and journalist Emma Ramm are on the scene when the explosion happens, and therefore have a personal interest in the case. As the terror threat is increased it becomes clear that the missing girl case is not all it seems.
I’m a big fan of Nordic Noir and this one didn’t disappoint. Smoke Screen was a great story that I thoroughly enjoyed. I found both the main characters to be really engaging. Blix is almost a brother to Emma, and I liked the fact that there didn’t seem to be anything other than friendship between them. Emma has clearly been through a tough time, and sadly things don’t seem to be improving for her. She is used to reporting on tough cases but this time it is distinctly personal.
I found this story really gripping, it’s hard to review without giving too much away, but suffice to say it’s definitely worth a read. It was a fast paced novel, that flits between present day and ten years prior. Gradually the story of the attack and the missing girl unravel as both Blix and Ramm get caught up in their investigations, until the explosive finale.
Smoke Screen is actually the second in the series, although was the first book I’ve read by the pair. It can definitely be read as a stand-alone (as I did) but I loved it so much that as soon as I finished I ordered the first one.
Thanks to Orenda Books and Random Things Tours for inviting me ont this tour. To find out what others thought of the book visit the other stops on the tour:
A crime readers blog 