I have been a big fan of Gunnar Staalesen’s books for a while so I was pleased to be invited onto the blog tour for his latest novel Mirror Image.

Private Investigator Varg Veum is contacted by Lawyer Berit whose sister is missing having disappeared with her husband. At the same time, Varg is asked to look into a ship that is heading towards the Norwegian coast, but the authorities have no idea what it is carrying. As Varg begins his investigation it becomes clear that the two cases are linked. There also seems to be similarities to events thirty-six year’s earlier when a woman and her partner died in an apparent double suicide. Varg is soon caught up in a complex web of lies that becomes more threatening by the minute.

I love a good Nordic based thriller and this was another great read that I thoroughly enjoyed. Like many of his books the story starts off slowly with several strands that start to wind together as the pace of the story picks up and revelations come thick and fast.

The story is set in the early nineties, and I think that actually makes it interesting. Without the benefit of the internet at your fingertips (although he does have a brand-new mobile phone) work has to be done on foot by going out and talking and that makes the story move on quickly. The book is obviously translated but it speaks to the quality of the translation by Don Bartlett that it is seamless and has an almost poetic quality to it.

I like the character of Varg, and having read a number of this series I like to see how Varg has changed over the books. Throughout the story his humour and wit comes out, and it gives a nice edge to the writing. There is a great cast of characters, and I enjoyed the way they all took on a life of their own. Each time I thought I knew where they were going something would happen and my thoughts would change.

I would recommend Mirror Image to all fans of a gripping story!

Find out what others thought of Mirror Image by visiting other stops on the tour.