Cold Hearts cover art

Cold Hearts

Varg Veum

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About this listen

On a frosty January day in Bergen, private detective Varg Veum is visited by a prostitute. Her friend Margrethe has disappeared and hasn't been seen for days. Before her disappearance, something had unsettled her: she'd turned away a customer and returned to the neighbourhood in terror.

Shortly after taking the case, Veum is confronted with a brutal, uneasy reality. He soon finds the first body - and it won't be the last either. His investigation leads him into a dark subculture where corrupted idealism has had deadly consequences.

©2013 Gunnar Staalesen (P)2017 Audible, Ltd International Mystery & Crime Mystery Police Procedural Fiction Crime Suspense

Critic reviews

"Cold Hearts is top-tier Scandinavian crime fiction; straightforward dialogue drives the plot, and tough but sympathetic Veum is equally comfortable in a fistfight, proving for secrets behind Bergen's closed doors, or examining crime's sociological roots." (Booklist)
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Always a good story ,sharp observation and a distressingly believable portrait of people Addictive hard to turn off

deep

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I like Gunnar Staalesens stories which tend to take their inspiration from real-life situations that most people don't see. This book was possibly a bit further away than usual from the lives of mere mortals with some very unpleasant characters but nevertheless it moved along. Colin Mace's narration is pretty good but as usual with these books, it is sometimes a bit hard to follow the unfamiliar names and places.

Good Scandi Noir

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Staalesen's writing is, as always, evocative, atmospheric and enthralling. In 'Cold Hearts' a young prostitute, Maggi, goes missing from the red light district, despite having a pair of vicious 'protectors'. Her friend and fellow prostitute, Hege, seeks out Varg, commissioning him to find her. Maggi, it seems, had recently turned down a 'trick' and the girl who'd taken her place had received a brutal beating. Varg takes on the case, opening it to find a can of the darkest worms inside. What follows is a sad and harrowing tale of the consequences of twisted idealism, misplaced trust, and the vulnerability of the most vulnerable. Colin Mace's narration is excellent.

Gripping!

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