The Writing on the Wall

The story starts out with a bang. A seventy-year-old judge is found dead of a heart attack in a hotel room, wearing women's underwear. After that, the focus switches, and things move more slowly into a lot of frustrating investigation and interviewing. Private investigator Varg Veum has been hired to look for a sixteen-year-old girl gone missing. Torild Skagestøl is from a good family, but as Veum looks into her habits and associates, he gradually uncovers her connection with a procurement service for clients who like very young teenage girls. At first I felt I didn't know Varg Veum well enough to get caught up in his concerns. But his background does become clear after a while. He worked for many years in Child Welfare, and he has a particular aversion to seeing adults neglect and mistreat children. A fifty-year-old sociologist type, Veum has a nice way of relating to his age-appropriate girlfriend. On the other hand, he's no pushover. He fights dirty when he has to. Although Gunnar Staalesen's books are immensely popular internationally, they're just trickling through to the U.S as far as I can tell. I do feel that if I'd read the earlier books, I would be more tuned into the main character. That said, the plot does pick up momentum if you stick with it, and Staalesen delivers a strong ending. So all in all, I'd recommend the book. It offers an interesting look at contemporary Norway, too.