The Courier
By Kjell Ola Dahl
In 1942 the Jewish courier Ester is betrayed, narrowly avoiding arrest by the Gestapo. In a great haste, she escapes to Sweden, and saves her life. Her family in Oslo is deported…
By Kjell Ola Dahl
In 1942 the Jewish courier Ester is betrayed, narrowly avoiding arrest by the Gestapo. In a great haste, she escapes to Sweden, and saves her life. Her family in Oslo is deported…
In 1942 the Jewish courier Ester is betrayed, narrowly avoiding arrest by the Gestapo. In a great haste, she escapes to Sweden, and saves her life. Her family in Oslo is deported to Auschwitz. In Stockholm she meets the resistance hero Gerhard Falkum, who has left his little daughter and fled both the Germans and the suspicion of murdering his wife Åse, who helped Ester get to Sweden. Their burgeoning relationship ends abruptly when Falkum appears to perish in a fire.
In 1967 Falkum shows up in Oslo, having been declared dead since 1943. He wants to reconnect with his daughter. But why does he turn up only now, 25 years later? And what is the real reason for his return?
The events from the war catch up with Ester. She has also returned to Norway, having worked for the Israeli intelligence since the end of the war. Now she gets new information on Gerhard Falkum, information that forces her to take a new look at her past, and to revive her rusty combat skills.
FOREIGN SALES: Denmark, Modtryk Italy, Marsilio Editori Germany, Bastei Lübbe Slovakia, Premedia Sweden, BokfabrikenUK, Orenda Books
REVIEWS
Norwegian praise for the novel
«Kjell Ola Dahl has written a very knowledgeable, intelligent and within the boundaries of fiction credible and reliable crime novel. The five shortlisted books for 2015 are all good and it is almost unfair for the other candidates to have to compete against this unbelievably good book – an absolute top notch crime and suspense novel.»From the jury statement of The Riverton Prize jury
«… a well written and evocative crime novel … As literary fiction it plays in a higher league than most crime novels.»5 out of 6 stars, Dagbladet
«A sober and successful spy thriller, which gives associations to the black and white classic The Third Man … A solid comeback.»Dagens Næringsliv
«Solid crime, rooted in war history ... If anybody should write crime novels at all, Kjell Ola Dahl should be among them.»NRK P2
«An incredibly well-told story ... It's hard to put the book down.»5 out of 6 stars, Romerikes Blad
«Elegant and seamless. When you read a novel by Dahl, with or without the crime-prefix, you get the feeling of being in safe hands. That means quite a lot to the reader.»Aftenposten
«The Courier by Kjell Ola Dahl is a thriller, a war story and a story from Oslo. And it succeeds on all levels.»Smaalenenes Avis
Danish praise for the novel
«… whilst being very well entertained we also get a little wiser.»5 out of 6 stars, Fyens Stiftstidende
«Kjell Ola Dahl has written a solid crime … The tempo makes you read one more page and then one more and then another in order to get the answers. Because the author gives you no chance at all to figure out the answers on your own.» 5 out of 6 stars, Nordjyske Stiftstidende
«The story is told in present tense which has the curious effect that the reader feels that the events are new to the author as well…»Folketidende
«No wonder that Dahl received the Brage Prize and the Riverton Prize for Best Norwegian Crime for The Courier.»Jydske Vestkysten
«An outstanding historical crime.»5 out of 5 stars, Bogrummet
English praise for the novel
«What makes this such a page-turner is the confluence of events leading up to and after the crime. A dark but richly described backdrop and a relentless, underlying tension drive this sad story to its bittersweet conclusion. Fans of Nordic noir will be satisfied.»Publishers Weekly
