The Man in the Window (Thomas Dunne Books)
Norwegian Dahl’s second U.S. title, following his knockout thriller, The Fourth Man (2008), features the same police characters, Inspector Frank Frolich and Chief Inspector Gunnarstranda, but lacks the thrill and punch of the earlier novel. In a longer but not necessarily more complex story, Frolich and Gunnarstranda investigate the bizarre murder of octogenarian antiques dealer Reidar Folke Jesperson. Written almost as a documentary-style police procedural, the novel lacks the rich characterization of The Fourth Man, as Dahl records the slow gathering of information on the victim and suspects and the eventual discovery of links to World War II and the German occupation of Norway. Fans of Jo Nesbo’s Redbreast (2007) who enjoyed the WWII subplot in that book would be the best audience for this novel, though readers of Helene Tursten’s procedurals set in Sweden may also find appeal here. This is a definite disappointment after Dahl’s American debut, but Scandinavian crime fiction fans shouldn’t let him drop off their radar quite yet. --Jessica Moyer--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.