Norwegian writer Gunnar Staalesen, is the very popular and worldwide bestselling author of the ‘Varg Veum’ private investigator series and is nicknamed the King of Nordic Noir. “Bitter Flowers” is the ninth in the series (of which there are over 20) and has been republished in 2021 by Orenda books. However, each one can easily be read as a standalone, though as with any developed series, it is nice to follow a main character’s journey through their life’s events.

Having already read the latest four Varg books and thoroughly enjoying them, I had high hopes for this one, a much earlier story In the series. Sadly, “Bitter Flowers” didn’t hit the spot for me like the more recent reads featuring the troubled investigator and his unique cases and took a very long time for me to ‘get’ into the plot. The denouement did have a Poirot style feel to it as Varg finally connected the pieces of the mysteries, which did redeem it slightly for me. 

Staalesen has a definitive style of writing that is exceedingly descriptive and features a constant array of similes and metaphors, which for me on this occasion broke up the story too much. That said, I do enjoy this talented style of writing, immersive and expressive but in this book I found it a bit too much.

Don’t let this put you off, the author has a huge, huge following and twelve of these crime books have been made into Norwegian film adaptions, there’s even a life sized statue of the Varg Veum in the centre of Bergen, just proving the success of the series. I will continue to follow Varg should any new books be written and haven’t ruled out reading any of the previous books, I just didn’t find any entertainment in this particular one. 

#BitterFlowers - 3 stars