Faithless (Oslo Detective Series Book 5)

I'm not going to go into content, plot or character development. I want to talk about the translation. I could barely continue reading this as I approached the 40% mark. It seems to have been translated by two different people. in the first third of the book, the translation is acceptable, with a few wacky interpretations but overall readable. Ditto the last third or so of the book. The middle third, however, is fraught with sticky clichés, mystifying perceptions on the part of the translator about how English-speaking people express themselves, and worst of all, squirm-producing maudlin emotions on the parts of the characters.There are places where one sentence's meaning is completely at odds with the meaning of the sentence just prior, a clear indication that the translator is trying to cover his bases without any true understanding of the material he is translating. There were phrases and sentences which added nothing to the story and were embarrassingly off base as far as structure or meaning. I was constantly reminded of those e-mails I sometimes see that attempt to get the reader to cough up a password or other important bit of information so the sender can plunder the recipients' assets. They are clearly from people whose first language is not the language in which they've sent the junk, and they are good for a laugh, nothing else.The book did tell a good story, though how every member of a group of friends can turn out to be a twisted criminal begs belief. I will not be picking up any more of this author's books, but more importantly, I now know to check the translator, too, before I spend my money. Thank you.

I couldn't read this. The translation is incompetent--seems to have been done by software alone, with practically zero input from an actual human speaker of English. This isn't American-English vernacular, nor is it British-English vernacular. It's weird, robotic, disconnected words. No one talks like this dialogue. I'm saying nothing about the plot, etc., because, again, I didn't read this--gave up, to save my sanity, after only about three chapters. My apologies (unnskyld) to author Kjell Dahl.

This book had me at the very beginning on the edge of my seat, in suspense. I feel like I know the characters as if they were in my real life. I read an average of 2 books a week and have been for years and can honestly say this was one of my favorites. I am going to look up previous books by him with these characters that I grew attached to during this book.

Perhaps it's my problem alone, but I found this novel perplexing in Dahl's series for the way it portrays the character Frolich supposedly in an earlier period of time (I gather) from the one where he gets virtually traumatized by his relationship w/ Elizabeth, which supposedly takes place later. He's with one woman here who doesn't figure in the other novels, and so which taken together fail to pick up on or at least refer to Frolich's past relationships, experiences, what have you.

This psychologically complex police procedural from Norway is advertised as part of a series, but at present there is only one entry available in English. I hope that more get translated soon! The plot is compelling, and the characters are well developed. One of the police investigators has a connection to the victim, a device that often gets in the way in detective stories, straining plausibility. Here, it does not. A rather grim read, but an excellent thriller.

It was not as good as a Jo Nesbo book. The ensemble cast of this police procedural played well together within the story. It was slow in places, but most books in this genre are. I liked the book.

Good, twisting plot. But gaping holes in timelines and narrative. The translation could be at fault. Shallow characters, not well developed. And you are not sure who is the hero. Disappointing!

Very good book, not as good a writer as Jo Nesbo. Was hoping to start the series at the beginning, instead started at the last book. Was difficult to find the correct order in the series

This novel might be excellent in the original Norwegian, but the translation is so strange that I had to give up after I'd read about a third of it, which is a shame. Like some other reviewers, I couldn't decide whether the translator didn't speak English as a first language, or perhaps was English but with a very individual idea of how to write a narrative.Of course I'm probably just showing my age - younger readers might love it...

Detective Frank Frølich is in a bit of a spot. A few days ago he arrested a woman after finding cocaine in her purse. That night he attended a birthday party for old school chum Karl Anders where he met Karl’s new fiancée, Veronika Undset….yup, the woman he arrested. Well, that was awkward.Unfortunately, the next time they meet is after her horribly beaten body is pulled from a dumpster. Frank is uneasy about having personal ties to a murder investigation & requests to be left off the case. Even though they hadn’t spoken for years before the party, he knows Karl will be front & centre as a suspect. Besides, he has another case that needs attention. Rosalind M’Taya is a beautiful, young exchange student who came to study in Oslo for the summer & promptly disappeared. When Frank finds all her belongings still in her room, he knows she didn’t leave willingly.Inspector Gunnarstranda needs all hands on deck & denies Frank’s request. Another body has been found & the victim had ties to Veronika. And so they begin the process of picking apart her life, gathering an odd assortment of suspects as they dig.This is a fast paced procedural that definitely qualifies as Nordic Noir. As Frank & Gunnarstranda follow separate lines of investigation, they both encounter people who are shifty, scary and/or crazy. Early on there are hints something happened between Frank & Karl when they were teenagers that led to them drifting apart. As the story progresses, Frank has to come to terms with the event & his role in how it all played out.Along with the cast of suspects, we also meet other members of the police & forensic units. Personal details & glimpses of their private lives help flesh out the characters. But it’s Frank we get to know best as he works the murder case & continues his hunt for Rosalind. He’s a smart cop & complex man who is forced to confront past mistakes & fears. He may not like what he finds & although both cases are solved the results take their toll, personally & professionally.Many Scandinavian thrillers are very different stylistically from their typical American cousins. There’s no spoon feeding here. Not everything is spelled out & some questions go unanswered. And just as you reach the end….well, turns out the author kept a few zingers in reserve.It’s my first time reading this author & although I found 5 books listed as part of the Oslo Detectives series, I was unable to determine where this one fit in. As usual, Don Bartlett has done a stellar translation & I look forward to catching up with Frank & Gunnarstranda in the next one.

This is an 'ok' read and it does stand alone, despite being part of a series. It's not terribly exciting but certainly kept my attention and interest. There are four separate incidents that the investigating officers are dealing with; one of which is an historic rape/murder that appears to have tenuous links with the recent murder of a woman.The main characters are fairly engaging- although none are developed to full potential. The plot lines are believable. Not gripping but nonetheless 'chugs' along.

This is the first book by this author I have read. It is quite a good read but rather a messy ending! The two main detectives Frolich and Gunnarstranda were interesting enough characters to want to read the earlier novels to perhaps find out why their appears to be not much warmth or respect in their relationship.