The Katharina Code (William Wisting #12) by Jørn Lier Horst

Description from Goodreads:

"Twenty-four years ago Katharina Haugen went missing.

All she left behind was her husband Martin and a mysterious string of numbers scribbled on a piece of paper.

Every year on October 9th Chief Inspector William Wisting takes out the files to the case he was never able to solve. Stares at the code he was never able to crack. And visits the husband he was never able to help.

But now Martin Haugen is missing too.

As Wisting prepares to investigate another missing person's case he's visited by a detective from Oslo. Adrian Stiller is convinced Martin's involved in another disappearance of a young woman and asks Wisting to close the net around Martin.

But is Wisting playing cat and mouse with a dangerous killer or a grief-stricken husband who cannot lay the past to rest?"

📚📚📚📚📚📚

A bit of a slow burner

I’ve had this one sitting on the dusty virtual shelf of my Kindle since 2018, so it was definitely time to finally see what the fuss was about! This was actually my first time reading anything by Jørn Lier Horst and while I can see why he’s a big name in Scandi noir, I’m left feeling a little bit middle of the road about it all. 

The story follows William Wisting as he revisits a cold case from twenty-four years ago involving a woman named Katharina who went missing, leaving behind a mysterious code. I really liked the premise and Wisting himself is a refreshing character - he’s a decent, stable man without the usual messy personal life or dark secrets you often get with fictional detectives. The procedural side of things felt very authentic too, which makes sense given the author’s background as a police officer.

However, I did struggle a bit with the pacing. It felt quite slow to get going and there were times when the level of detail about Norwegian street names or every single mundane door knock felt a bit like a slog. It’s definitely more of a "thinking person's" mystery than a fast-paced thriller. While the atmosphere was spot on, the "code" itself didn't feel as central to the solution as I'd hoped and the ending didn't quite have the emotional punch I was looking for.

It's a solid, well-written police procedural that kept me curious enough to finish, but it didn't completely blow me away. If you enjoy a very methodical, slow-burning mystery, you’ll likely enjoy this more than I did.

Many thanks to the author, Penguin UK - Michael Joseph and NetGalley for enabling me to read and, eventually, share my thoughts of this book.

📚📚📚📚📚📚