Big Sister by Gunnar Staalesen – Blog Tour Review.

About the Book

When PI Varg Veum is approached to find a missing girl, by a half-sister he barely knew, his investigation takes him deep into the dark web, and some personal history he’d rather forget…

Varg Veum receives a surprise visit in his office. A woman introduces herself as his half-sister, and she has a job for him. Her god-daughter, a 19-year-old trainee nurse from Haugesund, moved from her bedsit in Bergen two weeks ago. Since then no one has heard anything from her. She didn’t leave an address. She doesn’t answer her phone. And the police refuse to take her case seriously.

Veum’s investigation uncovers a series of carefully covered-up crimes and pent-up hatreds, and the trail leads to a gang of extreme bikers on the hunt for a group of people whose dark deeds are hidden by the anonymity of the Internet. And then things get personal…

Chilling, shocking and exceptionally gripping, Big Sister reaffirms Gunnar Staalesen as one of the world’s foremost thriller writers.

My Review

With thanks to the publisher for the copy received.
Big Sister is the latest in the long running series to feature Varg Veum and is set in 2003. The case he has to solve is often chilling and a harsh reminder that some of the more murky side to society was an issue then as well. Many of the people he has to see don’t want to talk or are simply unable to. And some of them you really wouldn’t want to meet.
With this novel I felt like I got to know Varg more. There is the case he is trying to solve, which he does in his usual way. Mainly by annoying people and putting himself in danger. But the case has been brought to him by his older half sister who he had never met. With the arrival of Norma, Varg discovers more about himself and his family and whilst apprehensive he feels an instant connection to her. Much of this side of the story really touched me, how common is it to know nothing at all about loved ones?

for an instant a thought struck me: how many siblings are out there who never meet? Who don’t even know about each other…? ‘

I think this is book twenty in the series but with the way it is written a reader can pick any of the books up and follow them easily. This one was the third that I have read and they are all later in the series. I haven’t noticed any spoilers and Varg is the type of character who you feel like you would want to always have around. Quiet, determined, and even though at times he appears to be a loner there are always people there who he can turn to.
I have enjoyed all the books that I have read so far but this is my favourite. This is the one where the poetry comes through. How many authors are there who can make rain sound so enticing?

In Bergen, November is the month of the grey monk. The snow comes later. The sun makes a guest appearance or two. Most days are grey and more often than not it rains. Not summer’s short bursts; not October’s long downpours, which flood the streets and cellars because the relevant authorities haven’t cleared the autumn leaves this year, either; nor spring’s refreshing rain, which washes away the remnants of winter and makes the town clean again. In November, rain is the personification of gloom, as though really it wants to be snow, like a teenage girl with her head in the clouds, dreaming about becoming a prima ballerina one day.

I can’t wait for the next instalment.