The Wolf by Samuel Bjørk

Good morning, readers! Today I'm super excited to be a stop on the Random Things tour for the latest in Samuel Bjørk's Munch and Krüger series, The Wolf!

As an aside, over a decade since I was introduced to this series with the amazing I'm Traveling Alone and to this day it remains one of my favorites!

The Wolf is actually a prequel to the existing series. It is the story that starts it all: Mia Krüger being recruited to Munch's team at the ripe old age of 21. Her dreams to be the first female Delta sidelined when she's approached with an offer that turns out to be too tantalizing to resist. 

Two boys have been murdered. Their bodies found in a bizarrely laid out scene with a dead fox placed between them. It mirrors a still unsolved case from Sweden with one exception: the animal there was a hare. 

As Munch and his team comb the growing crime scene as well as case files from outside of Norway, the head of the police academy flags Mia Krüger as a potential candidate Munch who might interest Munch. And while he's not looking to expand his team at the moment, Mia's skills of observation prove to be truly unique. After just forty minutes with the crime scene photos, she's made an observation everyone missed. 

Solving the case is anything but easy. No trace evidence at either scene, no connection between the victims in Sweden and Norway, and an eight-year gap between the crimes complicates things, to say the least. And yet, Munch's team is determined.

Bjørk, aka Frode Sander Øein, excels in creating dark and disturbing puzzles of plots for his characters to unravel. And he also excels in building fascinating and well-rounded characters. 

I've noted before that although this is commonly referred to as the Munch and Krüger series, it is in fact a larger cast of characters, all of whom get a careful amount of focus and build. (Though Munch and Krüger do take the spotlight.)

In the case of The Wolf, Bjørk even adds a bit of a forward that sent me on an internet search to see if it was in fact real, which is actually something I love. It means the author has done such a great job at putting together their story that it does feel as though it could be seated in reality!

I will warn you that this series is dark. And by dark I mean it probably needs ALL of the trigger warnings. But if you're a fan of Nordic Noir, this is truly one of the best series I can recommend!

To date there are actually five installments in the series. The fifth has only just released this year and has yet to be translated (so I don't have a title), but the reading order now is:

The Wolf

I'm Traveling Alone

The Owl Always Hunts at Night

The Boy in the Headlights

Book 5 

I'm Traveling Alone by Samuel Bjørk + a Giveaway

Good morning, readers! One of my absolute favorite reads of 2016 is out in paperback this week and I get to give away a copy!

Here's my review from last Feb:

Mia is ready to end it all. She's counting down the days, in fact. But her plans go awry when her old boss, Holger Munch, pays her a very important visit.

A six-year-old girl has been found hanging from a tree. The body has been carefully cleaned and dressed, posed with a schoolbag full of books and a sign reading "I'm traveling alone" placed around her neck. Once upon a time, Mia was part of an elite investigative squad whose job was to handle cases exactly like this. But scrutiny on a particularly touchy and personal case caused the squad to be disbanded and its members scattered. In spite of all of that, Mia's skills have never been in doubt and it's her insight the police need now. Unfortunately, Mia can't offer a quick solution or the killer's head on a silver platter. What she can offer is worse: the assurance that this is just the first in what will surely be a string of child murders.

A crime so egregious means even those most staunchly against reuniting Munch's crew have to admit that the squad - including Mia and led by Munch - is their best chance to solve this case and hopefully prevent more death. But can Mia overcome her own personal issues in order to be of any use?

I'm Traveling Alone kicks off what I expect will be a quite exciting new Scandinavian crime series! The plot is twisted and extremely well built, worthy of characters like Mia, Munch, and the others. In fact, while Mia and Munch quickly shoot to the head of the list as possible main characters, Bjørk's debut features the team as a whole (with admittedly heavy focus on Mia and Munch) rather than a true lead character.

It's a fun way to set up such a series because it gives the author a chance to highlight each character's skills.

One downside to this is that Bjørk switches narrators quite frequently, not limiting himself even to the team. Various players and witnesses are introduced throughout the novel to show different aspects of the growing mystery. It's a method that can quite often work against the author and reader, making the story harder to get fully engrossed in. I have to say, however, that in this instance I thought it worked. Each new narrator, rather than taking me out of the story or jarring the narrative, offered a new layer to the overall plot.

I'm Traveling Alone is out in paperback as of yesterday and the follow up, The Owl Always Hunts at Night is due out in June.

To enter to win a copy of your very own, simply fill out the Rafflecopter below before Monday, March 27. Open US only and no PO boxes please. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I'm Traveling Alone by Samuel Bjørk

Mia is ready to end it all. She's counting down the days, in fact. But her plans go awry when her old boss, Holger Munch, pays her a very important visit. 

A six-year-old girl has been found hanging from a tree. The body has been carefully cleaned and dressed, posed with a schoolbag full of books and a sign reading "I'm traveling alone" placed around her neck. Once upon a time, Mia was part of an elite investigative squad whose job was to handle cases exactly like this. But scrutiny on a particularly touchy and personal case caused the squad to be disbanded and its members scattered. In spite of all of that, Mia's skills have never been in doubt and it's her insight the police need now. Unfortunately, Mia can't offer a quick solution or the killer's head on a silver platter. What she can offer is worse: the assurance that this is just the first in what will surely be a string of child murders. 

A crime so egregious means even those most staunchly against reuniting Munch's crew have to admit that the squad - including Mia and led by Munch - is their best chance to solve this case and hopefully prevent more death. But can Mia overcome her own personal issues in order to be of any use?

I'm Traveling Alone kicks off what I expect will be a quite exciting new Scandinavian crime series! The plot is twisted and extremely well built, worthy of characters like Mia, Munch, and the others. In fact, while Mia and Munch quickly shoot to the head of the list as possible main characters, Bjørk's debut features the team as a whole (with admittedly heavy focus on Mia and Munch) rather than a true lead character.

It's a fun way to set up such a series because it gives the author a chance to highlight each character's skills.

One downside to this is that Bjørk switches narrators quite frequently, not limiting himself even to the team. Various players and witnesses are introduced throughout the novel to show different aspects of the growing mystery. It's a method that can quite often work against the author and reader, making the story harder to get fully engrossed in. I have to say, however, that in this instance I thought it worked. Each new narrator, rather than taking me out of the story or jarring the narrative, offered a new layer to the overall plot.

To date there are two titles in the series in Bjørk's native Norway (Samuel Bjørk, by the way, is the pseudonym used by Frode Sander Øien for his thrillers). I'm Traveling Alone has just been released here in the States and I do very much hope we'll get to see The Owl soon!

Rating: 5/5