Samuel Bjørk, pseudonym of the Norwegian writer Frode Sander Øien (Trondheim, 1969), sign the second novel, The owl, from his series starring the Oslo police investigators, Holger Munch and Mia Krüger. This versatile writer, also playwright, singer and artist, has exhibited in various art galleries and translated Shakespeare.

With two previous novels successfully published in his native Norway, Pepsi Love (2001) and Speed ​​for Breakfast (2009) I travel alone It was the first translated into Spanish. The very favorable response from both readers and critics has brought this second title with a very good reception. Y the formula seems to still work for him. Bjørk can establish itself as a new reference name of the still not exhausted Nordic crime novel.

Yes, with the permission of colleagues like a certain Jo Nesbø. And it Bjørk seems to have learned some knack about plot twists and manipulation well. so characteristic of his compatriot. The many fans of the Nordic crime novel who have read both will surely see that parallel in The owl, especially in its end.

Synopsis

Una teenager is found strangled in a forest on a bed of feathers (owl) and in the center of a circle with candles. The Oslo Homicide department takes over the case. In front we meet again with el Inspector Holger Munch. He does not hesitate to turn to his best researcher again, Mia kruger. But Krüger is still in a very fragile psychological moment with his suicidal tendencies and his addiction to pills and alcohol.

Research of what looks like a macabre ritual murder will affect very closely several members of Munch's team. Y to Munch and Krüger themselves.

Opinion

Very entertaining, keep up the pace, with short chapters, scenes that are easily read and interesting. The opening prologue gives us a background on a story from the past that will have dire consequences in the present. And the characters that appear make us continually suspect of their greater or lesser involvement in the case. Of course one of them is the culprit, but the author plays his cards well and bluffs the right way.

Fans of the black in general, and those cold lares in particular, will recognize the structure and the way of throwing bones to the reader in that agile and precise narration. They will also continue to meet the team of police officers who introduced us. Y possibly they are the reason with more weight to read this novel. You also have an interest in solving the case, of course, but the question is to get the balance between plot and characters right. Bjørk gets it.

The protagonists

My sympathies since I travel alone went to Holger Munch. Big, bearded and in his mid-fifties, his affable, understanding but somewhat melancholic character leads him to make himself loved and respected by his subordinates. Marked by his wife's divorce, he has not put his personal life back together. At least the relationship with his daughter is good and, above all, he adores his granddaughter. But he does not finish focusing or setting goals, although he feels more realistic than pessimistic. This case will affect you in a very personal way.

As for the Mia Krüger, her great emotional instability keep leading her to the idea of ​​suicide. It is not enough, nor does it matter, to be considered the best. She is in the crosshairs of her superiors, who force her to receive psychological therapy and keep her brilliant ability in quarantine. However, and In this my humble opinion as a reader, it was already a bit scratchy in the first novel the insistence of the author in emphasizing his tormented character so that the contrast with her magnificent investigative skills amazes us more.

En The owl that blackness of character continues to be insisted upon. We see her over and over again wondering what she is doing in the world, reaching times when nothing and no one matters to her. Right up to the one that brings the reaction. That is the point by which the character of Krüger does not convince me. He is the strongest, he wants to appear the weakest and we all know that he will continue to be the strongest. Too predictable. Or already read too many times.

The secondary

For the rest, the secondary ones that surround them stand out again. The hacker computer scientist Gabriel Mørk, the veteran Ludvig Grønlie, the very off-center Curry, drinker and gambler and here with serious relationship problems ... They all make up an interesting mosaic of characters that effectively clothe the protagonists. Also Munch's family or the suspects that appear and mislead the reader. Some of them work well, but others remain mere pretexts for that oversight. Nevertheless, the puzzle is solved with success.

Verdict

Another good sample of the genre who has managed to make his place among the many successful black names already from the cold Nordic lands. It has not gotten me excited, perhaps because I am more of the sole protagonist (and with a preference for the male), than of pairs of researchers. But it is effective, maintains the suspense and ends with the expected climax. It is very entertaining and very easy to read. Anyway, what you can follow the path of Bjørk .