Death Deserved

Police officer Alexander Blix and celebrity blogger Emma Ramm join forces to track down a serial killer with a thirst for attention and high-profile murders, in the first episode of a gripping new Nordic Noir series…

‘Grim, gory and filled with plenty of dark twists … There’s definitely a Scandinavian chill in the air with this fascinating read that loses none of its terror and fun in translation’ Scottish Sun

‘A stunningly excellent collaboration … a brutal tale of fame, murder, and reality TV that gets the pulse racing’ Russel McLean

‘An exercise in literary tag-teaming from two of Norway’s biggest crime writers with a bold new take on the serial-killer-as-twisted-artist … the start of a series with potential’ Sunday Times
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Oslo, 2018. Former long-distance runner Sonja Nordstrøm never shows at the launch of her controversial autobiography, Always Number One. When celebrity blogger Emma Ramm visits Nordstrøm’s home later that day, she finds the door unlocked and signs of a struggle inside. A bib with the number ‘one’ has been pinned to the TV.

Police officer Alexander Blix is appointed to head up the missing-persons investigation, but he still bears the emotional scars of a hostage situation nineteen years earlier, when he killed the father of a five-year-old girl. Traces of Nordstrøm soon show up at different locations, but the appearance of the clues appear to be carefully calculated … evidence of a bigger picture that he’s just not seeing…

Blix and Ramm soon join forces, determined to find and stop a merciless killer with a flare for the dramatic, and thirst for attention.

Trouble is, he’s just got his first taste of it…
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‘Everything about this crime novel sings, the relationship between Blix and Emma, which is complex, but also the relationship between Blix and Fosse and Kovic. The past bleeds into the present and the clever melding of the strands of the story and the slow reveal of details that propel the story is masterly. This tale often surprises or shifts in subtle ways that are pleasing and avoid cliché. As the opener for a new series this is a cracker, long live the marriage of Horst and Enger’ New Books Magazine

‘Death Deserved is a fast-moving, punchy, serial killer investigative novel with a whammy of an ending. If this is the first in the Blix and Ramm series, then here’s to many more!’ LoveReading

‘A clever, gripping crime novel with personality, flair, and heart’ Crime by the Book

Thomas Enger is a former journalist. He made his debut with the crime novel Burned (Skinndød) in 2010, which became an international sensation before publication. Burned is the first in a series of five books about the journalist Henning Juul, which delves into the depths of Oslo’s underbelly, skewering the corridors of dirty politics and nailing the fast-moving world of 24-hour news. Rights to the series have been sold to 28 countries to date. In 2013 Enger published his first book for young adults, a dark fantasy thriller called The Evil Legacy, for which he won the U-prize (best book Young Adult). Killer Instinct, another Young Adult suspense novel, was published in Norway in 2017. Rights have been sold to Germany and Iceland. Enger also composes music, and he lives in Oslo. Follow him on Twitter @EngerThomas, on Facebook www.facebook.com/thomas.enger.77 or visit his website thomasenger.net Jørn Lier Horst worked as a police officer and head of investigations before becoming a full-time writer, establishing himself as one of the most successful authors to come out of Scandinavia. He writes engaging and intelligent crime novels that offer an uncommonly detailed and realistic insight into the way serious crimes are investigated, as well as how both police and press work. His books have sold over two million copies in his native Norway alone and he’s published in twenty-six languages. His literary awards include the Norwegian Booksellers’ Prize, the Riverton Prize (Golden Revolver), the Scandinavian Glass Key, and the prestigious Martin Beck Award.