Hans Olav Lahlum

Historian Hans Olav Lahlum branches into crime fiction with The Human Flies. Set in Norway in 1968, and harking back to WW2, this is essentially a locked-door murder mystery. A hero of the Norwegian resistance is found shot dead in his apartment, but there seems to have been no way for a murderer to have got in or out, and other tenants were on the stairs at the time of the shooting.

Inspector Kolbjorn Kristiansen, known as K2, is called in to investigate. He is baffled but receives some unexpected help when an old family friend introduces him to his wheelchair-bound daughter Patricia, who has some clever ideas about the crime. K2 and Patricia investigate together and soon turn up a sordid tale of murder, adultery, disputed inheritances and other skullduggery. Few if any of the tenants in the building are able to be ruled out of consideration, even as the investigation progresses.

Lahlum dispenses with the locked-door aspect of his novel pretty quickly, which is a bit disappointing, as I think he could have made more of that. K2 seems pretty useless as an investigator, relying far too much on Patricia's insight. I think this novel would be better if K2 had more to offer. The resolution is OK, but the aftermath is played out a bit too much as Lahlum rather too obviously sets up his characters for a series outing.… (más)

Sometimes I find obscure gems to read within my TBR mountain, which is the case with Satellite People by Hans Olav Lahlum. Now, I call this book obscure, not because it got published by an independent publisher - in fact it is a Pan Macmillan title - but because apparently nobody else had gotten their hands on it. This, I feel, is odd. Why? Because everyone's missing out on a freaking entertaining book, that's why! Everyone jumped on the bandwagon when the Millennium Trilogy by Stieg Larson was to be made into a Hollywood film (the original flicks are still the best), which is admittedly a wonderful read, but all the other great writers from Europe are being neglected as a result. Well, let me school you on another must-read then, my lovelies...
Translated from the Norwegian by Kari Dickson, this charming noir-filled crime mystery, which shows a lot of homage to Agatha Christie, is one of those books that will keep you on the edge of your seat and will leave you wanting more. Satellite People is the second book in the series (the first book is called The Human Flies, which I have not read yet), and revolves around the murder of Magdalon Schelderup, who called police inspector K2 the day before his death. Now it's up to K2 to figure out which one of Magdalon's dinner guests hated their host enough to commit murder!

I know what you're thinking: "I've read this book before." Well, you're right with that one, it does have a lot of influence from Agatha Christie, as I've said earlier, but Satellite People also has its own unique qualities that makes it equally enjoyable. It's not fan-fic, it's just a hat's off to one of the greatest and most influential crime writers in history.

Hans Olav Lahlum did a great job, and although I can't judge on how accurate the translation is, Kari Dickson made the book a breeze to read. So, if you're in the mood to try something different, to read about a crime in a different country, I would definitely suggest you get your hands on this one. Satellite People might be the second book in the series, but I had no problem navigating through the story, the characters, or the mystery.

I rate this book with Jazz Hands.

Review originally posted on:
… (más)