{"id":3027,"date":"2025-04-21T21:19:02","date_gmt":"2025-04-21T19:19:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/minimal-kritikak.hu\/en\/?p=3027"},"modified":"2025-04-30T22:34:52","modified_gmt":"2025-04-30T20:34:52","slug":"ordeal-by-jorn-lier-horst-book-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/minimal-kritikak.hu\/en\/2025\/04\/21\/ordeal-by-jorn-lier-horst-book-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Ordeal by J\u00f8rn Lier Horst \u2013 Book Review"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Everyone has pretty much given up on the missing taxi driver by now\u2014everyone except the media, who are busy accusing the police of negligence. (Hyenas.) But the safe belonging to a recently deceased old gangster boss\u2014who \u201cpassed away peacefully\u201d by tumbling down the stairs\u2014suddenly brings new information to light. And what’s more, it ties the disappearance to a high-profile murder case. The ordeal of uncovering the truth falls to Inspector William Wisting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So who is this William Wisting guy, anyway?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

He\u2019s hands down the most likable detective in all of Norway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you hate the cops (and honestly, who doesn\u2019t?!), but you’re thinking it might be time to change that, J\u00f8rn Lier Horst\u2019s crime novels could be a good place to start.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wisting is the textbook example of a dedicated and conscientious police officer. He\u2019s also a devoted dad.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

And if his professional track record somehow doesn\u2019t win you over, you can always root for him to hit it off with the charming prosecutor\u2014or maybe patch things up with his ex, who recently dumped him for NO REASON. (Fingers crossed it wasn\u2019t because she found the poor guy boring!) \u2026 Either way, there\u2019s something quietly compelling about the way Horst gently nudges these two love-starved characters toward each other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

And just when this side of Ordeal<\/em> starts to fade into the background and you begin to feel something\u2019s missing\u2014bam! You suddenly realize the book has become more and more gripping by the page.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Perfect Crime Novel Formula<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

By the tenth installment in the William Wisting series, J\u00f8rn Lier Horst has absolutely nailed the recipe for writing a top-tier crime novel. Even more impressive? He does it using only the simplest, most down-to-earth ingredients. Yet the end result is still outstanding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thorough depictions of police work\u2014interrogations, digging through old case files\u2014always help boost a crime novel\u2019s credibility.<\/strong> But Horst goes a step further: instead of just one, he throws multiple serious obstacles in Wisting\u2019s path, making the story unusually gripping.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A nitpicky boss is par for the course; that\u2019s basically standard operating procedure. But a narrow-minded, malicious, straight-up garbage colleague? That\u2019s a whole different story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So Wisting has to push forward against constant headwinds\u2014and not just in one case, but two. Meanwhile, the trial for the young woman who was murdered is already looming, which means time is yet another enemy. All this packs the second half of Ordeal<\/em> with a steady, simmering tension.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

And what\u2019s especially impressive is that Horst pulls this off without a single gunshot, without any serial killers, and without even one action scene. Seriously impressive stuff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hey there, Line\u2019s here too<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

One of the trademark features of the Wisting series is that crime journalist Line\u2014his daughter\u2014is an integral part of his investigations. She usually works in parallel with him: hiding this and that from each other, sometimes helping each other out, but eventually they both end up in the same place\u2014the culprit\u2019s doorstep.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Admittedly, this setup gets harder to believe after a while. And writing it out over and over again\u2014especially for a crime that\u2019s not super complex to begin with\u2014can\u2019t be easy either.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ordeal<\/em> handles this nicely: Line\u2019s role is scaled back. She still becomes involved in the case through one of her friend, but she doesn\u2019t really play a key part in solving it.<\/strong> And in this form, the story feels much more satisfying for the reader.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But what\u2019s truly satisfying is this: just when you\u2019re convinced that it\u2019s almost impossible to make a standard police investigation\u2014starring a regular cop, without any earth-shattering plot twists\u2014genuinely thrilling, J\u00f8rn Lier Horst walks in with Ordeal<\/em> and proves ONCE AGAIN that yes, it can be done!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rating: 8.4\/10<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Ordeal<\/em> (William Wisting #10) by J\u00f8rn Lier Horst
352 pages, Hardcover
Published in 2017 by Minotaur Books<\/a>
—
You may also like:
We Know You Remember by Tove Alsterdal
No Mercy by Joanna Schaffhausen<\/a>
—
Reviews of the other volumes in the series:
7. Closed for Winter<\/a>
8. The Hunting Dogs
9. The Caveman
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Everyone has pretty much given up on the missing taxi driver by now\u2014everyone except the media, who are busy accusing the police of negligence. (Hyenas.) But the safe belonging to a recently deceased old gangster boss\u2014who \u201cpassed away peacefully\u201d by tumbling down the stairs\u2014suddenly brings new information to light. 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