Fallen Angels by Gunnar Staalesen

Fallen Angels(Varg Veum #8) by Gunnar Staalesen

Release: March 1st, 2021
Format: Ebook
Publisher: Orenda Books
Source: Orenda Books
Find it at Orenda Books, Amazon, Kobo, B&N.

When Bergen PI Varg Veum finds himself at the funeral of a former classmate on a sleet-grey December afternoon, he’s unexpectedly reunited himself with his old friend Jakob—the once-famous lead singer of 1960s rock band The Harpers—and his estranged wife, Rebecca, Veum’s first love.

Their rekindled friendship ends up abruptly with a horrific murder, and Veum forces himself to dig deep into his own adolescence and his darkest memories, to find a motive . . . and a killer.

Tense, vivid, and disturbing, the spellbinding Fallen Angels is an award-winning thriller. Gunnar Staalesen’s earned his reputation as one of the world’s foremost crime writers.

About the Author:

One of the fathers of Nordic Noir, Gunnar Staalesen, was born in Bergen, Norway, in 1947. He made his debut at the age of twenty-two with Seasons of Innocence and in 1977. Gunnar published the first book in the Varg Veum series. Besides, he is the author of over twenty titles, publishing in twenty-four countries with a sale of four million copies. Twelve film adaptations of his Varg Veum crime novels have appeared since 2007, starring the popular Norwegian actor Trond Espen Seim.

Again, Staalesen has won three Golden Pistols (including the Prize of Honour), and Where Roses Never Die won the 2017 Petrona Award for Nordic Crime Fiction, including shortlisting of Big Sister 2019. He lives with his wife in Bergen.

Website | Goodreads

Fallen Angels Review:

Fallen Angels is a captivating book where a school reunion soon turns into murders, funerals, and investigations.

The author connects the readers to the character right away from the first page. I liked Varg in the lead and thought he handled the investigation pretty well. In the beginning, I loved how he and his school mates all reminisce about old times. Given that, we get to know all the characters like Varg, Jakob, Paul, Rebecca, and Johnny. There is also a sense of mystery that looms how Helge, Arvid, and Jan all died.

Moreover, the author does a lovely job of slowly unraveling the murder mystery. You slowly start to see the true nature of some characters and the bizarre things they do. Also, some of the characters are memorable, like Rebecca, Harry, and Bente. Similarly, the ending is twisted and shocking, which makes you feel uncomfortable. One memorable scene is when Varg walks in on a strange ritual that shocks him.

Additionally, the setting was another highlight of the story. The author describes Bergen in an attractive manner that made me want to visit it. As the author is Norweigian, you can see how he mentions the culture and the people personally.

However, I did feel the author/translator could have worded the text better. Perhaps it is the translation, but the sentences were too lengthy and over-descriptive for my taste. At times, it felt like one sentence was the paragraph in itself. Personally, this not my cup of tea, and it threw me off from the story a bit.

Apart from that, this was an exciting read. Although this is the 8th book in the series, you can easily read it as a standalone. I would recommend this book if you love Norweigian tales or slow burner murder mysteries.