Review of THE CABIN by Jørn Lier Horst

 3.5 Stars

This is the second Norwegian police procedural in the Cold Case Quartet.

A prominent politician dies and 80 million kroner is found in his cabin. Chief Inspector William Wisting is asked to conduct a secret investigation to determine the origins of the money. Wisting comes to realize that there may be a link between the money and two cold cases: the disappearance of a young man, Simon Meier, and an airport robbery, both of which happened 15 years earlier.

As I mentioned in my previous review of the first book in the series, The Katharina Code, the character of Wisting is what drew me to the series. In this book, he is as likeable as ever: thorough and competent, it is not surprising that he is asked to lead this investigation. What bothered me then is that Wisting takes some actions which just don’t seem in keeping with his reputation for professionalism. For example, he asks Lise, his journalist daughter, to assist in this sensitive, confidential case? And he decides to keep the fortune in his house? Then he also adds other people to his team almost at random.

There are other elements which bothered me as well. Wisting doesn’t show much concern when he sees a stranger around his daughter’s house? Lise likewise doesn’t worry too much about finding the door to her house open or to discovering that her daughter Amelia’s drawing is missing? And Lise enlists the help of another journalist she’s never met before?

Then there’s the coincidence that Adrian Stiller, whom we met in the previous book, just happens to be reopening the Simon Meier case at the same time. Of course adding Stiller to the case adds tension because Wisting has “reservations about the man’s approach and methods” and Line agrees: “his investigations were a game of strategy in which he set the players up against each other, held the cards close to his chest and did not always play fair.”

Readers should not expect a fast-paced thriller. This is more of a plodding investigation, and I imagine most crime investigations, especially those into cold cases, are exactly that. Momentum does pick up towards the end as the attention of some nefarious characters is attracted. I must say however that there is perhaps too much attention paid to domestic details, especially those involving Amelia.

I was not as impressed with this book as I was with The Katharina Code, but I will still continue reading the series.