Into Thin Air by Ørjan Karlsson (translated by Ian Giles)

For my first post of this new year, I'm sharing my review of a Norwegian crime novel, set in the rugged north of the country and the islands off its coast. Into Thin Air by Ørjan Karlsson, and translated into English by Ian Giles, is the first in a new crime series featuring Chief Investigator of Nordland Police, Jakob Weber. My thanks go to Anne Cater at Random Things Tours for the invitation and to the publisher for my review copy. 

The Blurb

When nineteen-year-old Iselin Hanssen disappears during a run in a popular hiking area in Bodø, Northern Norway, suspicion quickly falls on her boyfriend. For investigator Jakob Weber, the case seems clear-cut, almost unexceptional, even though there is some suggestion that Iselin lived parts of her life beneath the radar of both family and friends.

But events take a dramatic turn when another woman disappears in similar circumstances – this time on the island of Røst, hundreds of miles off the Norwegian coast, in the wild ocean.

Rumours that a killer is on the loose begin to spread, terrifying the local population and leading to wild conspiracies. But then Jakob discovers that this isn’t the first time that young women have vanished without a trace in the region, and it becomes clear that someone is hiding something.

And another murderous spree may have just begun…

Into Thin Air is published by Orenda Books and came out on 16th January 2025. 

My Review

Ørjan Karlsson was a new author to me. I'm not sure if any of his previous work has been translated into English (and sadly my Norwegian is somewhat (!) lacking) but I will be keeping an eye out for it now, and will be pleased to catch up with Jakob Weber when the time comes for his next adventure. 

But first, to this one. When a young woman goes missing on a run leaving seemingly no trace, the small investigation team of the Nordland Police are stumped, especially as it happens soon after an unexplained death. Told from multiple points of view the story unfolds slowly, with plenty of possible suspects. One of the viewpoints is that of the perpetrator, giving us an uneasy understanding of some of his methods and the thought processes behind them. 

Jakob is a uncomplicated, straightforward man, with a strong sense of right and wrong. He hasn't long lost his wife, giving him an understandable air of sadness. And there are some complications in his personal life. Noora, freshly transferred to the team from Kripos, brings a fresh pair of eyes, but also secrets of her own. And I loved the description of the team's boss, and his perfect nickname, 'The Crow'. 

Although the investigation seems slow moving, the story isn't, with the multiple view points and changes of scene keeping it fresh. And talking about location, can we just talk about how stunning northern Norway sounds? Seems like somewhere I'd like to visit, although not sure I'd cope so well with The midnight sun! But the beautiful scenery and often isolated locations play their own part in building this story.

Into Thin Air is a brilliant start to a new series - an engaging collection of main characters (whilst it might be a Weber story, it's a team effort), an interesting storyline, a frightening denouement,  a couple of possible story arcs/subplots put in place, all come together to make a very satisfying whole. And I liked that I still had questions at the end... Would recommend. 

The Author

Ørjan Karlsson (b. 1970) grew up in Bodø, in the far north of Norway. A sociologist by education, he received officer training in the army and has taken part in many missions overseas. He has worked at the Ministry of Defence and is now head of department in the Norwegian Directorate for Civil Protection. He has written a wide range of thrillers, sci-fi novels and crime fiction, and been shortlisted for or won numerous awards, with a number of his books currently in production for the screen. He lives in Nordland, where the Jakob Weber crime series is set, and Into Thin Air is the first book in his first detective/police procedural series.