This is the 4th in the Blix and Ramm series, and therefore there is a LOT of background to both characters, my own opinion is that the books do need to be read in order, as this will then give you the full picture. We meet Alexander Blix, currently in prison, The ex-police Investigator is there because he murdered his daughter's killer ( as I said a HUGE background story!) Being an ex-cop in a Norweigian Prison isn't easy for Blix, but he is so broken he feels he has nothing left to live for and is numb to everything around him. Meanwhile, his only real ally, is Emma Ramm, the journalist who has been with him throughout his darkest of days and indeed has suffered herself, They make an unlikely pair but both being damaged means they have bonded well over the years. Blix's former colleagues are chasing an escaped prisoner on the outside and after finding a connection with Blix in Prison, they enlist his help with Emma Ramm's investigative journalism skills, they both begin to piece together a disastrous set of events, and secrets that bring them both closer to danger and also the residents of a small woodland community. What entails is a race against time that leaves Blix with some tough choices. As always, with the Blix and Ramm series the writing is sublime, how Jorn Lier Horst and Thomas Enger have created two such enduring and emotive characters is a testament to their gifted writing skills. The police procedural aspect of Stigma and the attention to detail is forcefully realistic. I love Alexander Blix, he is such a great Detective whose life has been decimated by loss, and the way his personality shines through this series of novels is fabulous. The pacy story will have you gripped and on the edge of your seat, which builds to an explosive climax. And the journalist Emma Ramm, is a feisty and dogged reporter, whose own back story is interlinked in each of the novels in the series, and she plays a huge part in Stigma...but I cannot say anymore! If you have never read any Nordic Crime Fiction, then I urge you to read Stigma and the whole Blix and Ramm series, each novel is a work of art, written with intelligence and emotion. Stigma can even at times feel a little claustrophobic, especially in the prison cell setting. A huge 5-star read from me, I tried to pace myself and read Stigma slowly as I never went to finish these novels.....well it didn't happen and now I have to wait another year to find out what happens next to Blix and Ramm!

Polic Procedural set in NORWAY The scene in this novel is quickly set. Alexander Blix, former police investigator, has been sent down for avenging his daughter’s death. Now, in the high security prison, he is tormented by Jarl Inge Ree, who takes every opportunity to humiliate and bully him. Beyond the prison walls journalist Emma Ramm is set upon finding some dirt on Ree, as the level of wretchedness endured by Blix cannot continue for much longer. Meanwhile in Germany, Walter Kross has escaped from prison where he was doing time for killing his father. He has now killed his mother and is on the run. It would seem that he is heading north, with Jarl Inge Ree in his sights. The police now actually need Alexander Blix – despite his imprisonment – to be on board and understand the potential motivation! There are flashbacks to an earlier decade when Walter Kross spent a Summer holiday in Osen – seemingly his intended destination now. We learn about the bullying and abusive nature of his father and the young people he encountered there in his teenage years. We also learn a little about the relationship between Emma and Alexander and how they first met and why they have such an enduring connection. Soon, Emma takes herself off to Osen to find out what she can there. This is no. 4 in the Blix/Ramm series and turns the policing element on its head, with the central character – Blix – in prison, experiencing a new world on the inside; this, of course, adds an interesting angle. This novel can be read as a standalone but the experience will be richer with a knowledge of the background context and a sense of the main characters involved. The reader is in incredibly safe hands with this reliable writing duo. You know that the evolution of the story will be well told and credible; the characters will grow as the novel continues; and the structure is such that you will not get lost in the finer detail.

And so we come to Thomas Enger and Jørn Lier Horst’s latest collaboration, Stigma, the fourth of the series ( Death Deserved, Smoke Screen, Unhinged) featuring detective Alexander Blix and journalist Emma Ramm, and once again translated by Megan Turney. With one of the key character’s actually being imprisoned at the outset of the book, my little grey cells were set a-twitching at how this story could possibly play out… As the book opens, Blix seems resigned to his fate, endeavouring to keep his head down and doing his time, despite the provocations of his fellow inmates, imprisoned as he has been for his involvement in the death of a man, who in turn had been responsible for the murder of Blix’s daughter. However, it soon becomes apparent that one cannot cage a tiger like Blix for too long, as he is far too valuable to the Norwegian police force to be incarcerated for such a long stretch. He is sequestered to help in the tracking down of Walter Kroos, an escaped murderer from Germany by dint of being imprisoned with a man who may be instrumental in tracking down Kroos who has made his way to Norway. The game is afoot and Blix is most definitely the man for the job. He once again joins forces with Emma Ramm, a headstrong and tenacious journalist to revisit a crime from the past, which is having unwelcoming reverberations in the present… I think it can safely be said that I do have a fairly wide experience of reading Scandinavian crime fiction as a blogger, and as a judge for the Petrona Award ( which is awarded every year for Scandinavian crime fiction in translation). Both of these writers, whether writing together or as individuals, are consistently good, drawing on their previous careers as a police officer and a journalist, the finer details of which are always integral to their plots, and giving the reader a sense of authenticity in their writing. This is strongly in evidence again, as the factual details of police procedure, and the journalistic nous of the main characters, drive the story on in a compelling and enthralling manner, with adroitly placed moments of frustration and peril to keep the reader gripped. The structure of the book, with the past narrative and the present, and the secrets and lies that gradually unfold is assuredly done, with a nice smattering of red herrings along the way to keep our dogged investigators, and us as readers, on our collective toes, which is always pleasing when reading crime fiction. I like the relationship between the two main protagonists very much too, which is a combination of collaboration and resistance. The authors’ control of pace and plotting is always spot on, and fortified by another sterling translation by Megan Turney, there is once again much to be appreciated here. Overall I enjoyed this latest instalment very much, particularly by the ramifications of the events of the last book on Alexander Blix in particular. I am also intrigued by the ending of Stigma, which, with no spoilers, leaves our characters in a state of flux, and I’m incredibly curious to see how this will affect the plotline of the next in series. Hopefully we will not have to wait too long to find out. A solid recommendation for this one.