Illvilje

Illvilje The Inner Darkness

William Wisting #13

A cold case heats up as the body of a young woman is found in the forest. She’s been killed and dismembered in a manner that’s eerily reminiscent of serial killer Tom Kerr’s signature m.o. But Kerr is currently serving his fourth year behind bars and couldn’t possibly have committed the murder. Everything points instead to the man the press named The Other – Kerr’s never-found partner.

Adrian Stiller prepares a reconstruction in which Kerr will lead the police to the remains of an old victim. The grave is in Eftang and Wisting is put in charge of security. His daughter Line has been recruited to document it all. But the reconstruction goes terribly wrong and when Kerr escapes, Wisting suddenly finds himself being made the scapegoat as both Kerr and The Other are free once more.

Awards

Shortlisted for BOK365’s Book of the Year Award Norway 2019
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Reviews

  • “Horst, a former cop, proves once again that procedurals can be relentlessly exciting. He creates a sense of real menace as the killer continues to elude capture with the help of an accomplice known only as The Other One. The identity of this cunning sadist comes as a complete surprise.”

    The Times, UK

  • “Effectively written. /…/ The prose is capable and confident.”

    Stavanger Aftenblad, Norway

  • “Jørn Lier Horst crafts one excellent crime fiction after another. The question is if The Inner Darkness isn’t the best to date. /…/ Lier Horst simply gets better and better in terms of prose. His economic language guarantees that there’s hardly an excessive word in all 360 pages – pages that fly by at a rapid pace as it’s very difficult to put the book down before your eyes glide shut. The story, featuring the fascinating and bestial mass murderer Tom Kerr in a lead role, is both diabolic and highly realistic. Lier Horst has conducted some incredibly high-level psychological research, and paired with his background within the police which lends the story both credibility and believability, the result is crime fiction art of the highest order.”

    ★★★★★

    Nettavisen, Norway

  • “Tense. /…/ Fast-paced. /…/ [Jørn Lier Horst’s] latest is as compelling as anything he has written.

    The Sunday Times, UK

  • Norway’s most reliable crime writer offers up evil and suspense. /…/ Well-written, balanced and harrowing.”

    Göteborgs-Posten, Sweden

  • “Whenever I read procedurals by Norwegian Jørn Lier Horst, I feel as if I’ve become a colleague of his seasoned detective, William Wisting. /…/ Evocative and believable.”

    Kristianstadsbladet, Sweden

  • “The suspense soars to horror levels.”

    Dagens Nyheter, Sweden

  • “Pure evil in a solid Wisting crime novel. /…./ Jørn Lier Horst delivers credible crime fiction as always.”

    Verdens Gang, Norway

  • “With The Inner Darkness, Jørn Lier Horst claims the number one spot on the winner’s podium. /…/ The Inner Darkness is the most brutal and ruthless novel penned by Horst to date. A ruthlessness that Horst delivers with elegance. /…/ The interplay between father and daughter, the police man and the journalist, is once again brilliantly portrayed.”

    ★★★★★★

    Tvedestrandsposten, Norway

  • “Nerve-racking. /…/ The novel is incredibly thrilling and Lier Horst narrates the plot closely and with humanity. Another blessing of Horst’s writing is that he spares the reader various chronological and literary device leaps. It’s simply put a joy to read a story that begins with the beginning, and ends with the end.”

    Fedrelandsvennen, Norway

  • “With crime novel The Inner Darkness Jørn Lier Horst breathes new life into the whole William Wisting suite. /…/ The puzzle pieces fall into place, and the way to the conclusion and reveal is intensely dramatic.”

    ★★★★★

    Tønsbergs Blad, Norway

  • “The ominous atmosphere thickens and the temperature rises, slowly but surely. Solid as a rock, upright in the face of the storm, Wisting clings to his mission. The guilt attributed to him undermines and motivates [Wisting] at the same time, giving the author a renewed opportunity to demonstrate his irrefutable abilities to incorporate the often contradictory feelings at the center of a powerful and gripping story. ”

    Livres Hebdo, France

  • “A new mystery with William Wisting is always a great time. /…/ [A] skillful and fine novel, which knows how to get rid of the clichés to weave an effective, tense and very well-crafted narrative. /…/ An ideal series for the summer. ”

    Page des Libraires, France

Author
Photo: Anton Soggiu Jørn Lier Horst
Published
2019
Genre
  • Crime
Pages
366
Reading material

Norwegian edition

Rights sold

Canada, Simon & Schuster / Scribner

Czech Republic, Zlin

Denmark, Modtryk

Estonia, Eesti Raamat

Finland, Otava

France, Gallimard

Germany, Piper

Iceland, Ugla

Japan, Shogakukan

Netherlands, Bruna

Norway, Bonnier Norsk

Poland, Smak Slowa

Portugal, Dom Quixote

Slovakia, Premedia

Sweden, Wahlström & Widstrand

UK, Michael Joseph

Ukraine, Nora-Druk

US, Simon & Schuster / Scribner

Film rights sold

Norway, Cinenord

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