Birger Baug, Straf (2008)

Norsk krimidebut.

Det bedste ved denne krimi, som foregår i Oslo er absolut plottet. I 1982 udsætter en flok skoledrenge en klassekammerat for grov mobning. Mange år senere sker der en række dødsfald. Er der en sammenhæng?

En udmærket plot-idé, men personerne virker ikke særlig vedkommende, sproget er ikke videre originalt (i hvert fald ikke i oversættelse), og det tog mig adskillige dage at komme igennem de 250 sider. Personerne bliver simpelt hen ikke så levende for mig, at det interesserer mig, hvad der sker med dem.

Slutningen: tja, forfatteren tilføjer spænding med et lille twist, men det virkede nu mere påklistret end sandsynligt, og morderens motivation forekom mig også noget søgt.

Birger Baug, Punishment.
This Norwegian crime debut from 2008 has not been translated into English.

A brief review:
The best part of this crime novel, which takes place in Oslo, is the plot. In 1982 a group of schoolboys subject a classmate to cruel bullying. Many years later some deaths occur among this group. Is there a connection?

Good idea, but the characters do not seem very engaging, the language is not really original (at least not in translation), and it took me several days to get through 250 pages in my own language! The persons never seemed so real to me that I cared what happened to them.

The ending: well, the author adds excitement through a twist, but it was not that convincing, and the murderer´s motivation seemed a bit far out as well.

My judgment: a mediocre reading experience.