The Katharina Code cover art

The Katharina Code

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The Katharina Code

By: Jørn Lier Horst, Anne Bruce - translator
Narrated by: Tim McInnerny
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About this listen

Penguin presents the audiobook edition of The Katharina Code by Jørn Lier Horst, read by Tim McInnerny.

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 persons 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?

Set between the icy streets and dark forests of Norway, The Katharina Code is a heart-stopping story of one man's obsession with his coldest case.

 Crime Thrillers Fiction Genre Fiction Police Procedural Psychological Suspense Thriller & Suspense Crime Mystery Thriller Disappearance Exciting Heartfelt Marriage

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Critic reviews

A good Nordic police procedural with well-drawn characters
A well-crafted, atmospheric, character-driven thriller- I couldn't put it down!
Jørn Lier Horst is one of the most brilliantly understated crime novelists writing today (Joan Smith)
Up there with the best of the Nordic crime writers (Marcel Berlin)
The Katharina Code is the best and most ingenious novel that Jørn Lier Horst has written thus far (Tvedestrandsposten)
If you haven't already, introduce yourself to Norway's Chief Inspector William Wisting - you'll warm to him even though his patch can get pretty cold (Jon Wise)
Jørn Lier Horst only gets better and better . . . The Katharina Code is a beautiful crime fiction story (Stavanger Aftenblad)
The Katharina Code vibrates with anticipation all the way to the finish (Dagbladet)
The author has employed literary devices one only rarely finds in a crime novel. And he's succeeded marvellously (Tvedestrandsposten)
With The Katharina Code Jørn Lier Horst again delivers an excellent crime novel with a credible plot . . . All that remains is to declare that Jørn Lier Horst impresses again (Østlands-Posten)
All stars
Most relevant
I have really enjoyed all the William Wisting stories until now! I have to say that Tim McInnerny's narration was terrible at best, it thoroughly ruined The Katharina Code.

Saul Reichlin brings William Wisting to life, I'm afraid Tim McInnerny made William Wisting and all the other characters dull and down right boring. I've just cancelled my pre-order for The Cabin, The Cold Case Quartet, Book 2 until I know who the narrator will be and if it's Tim Mcinnerney, I will buy the book instead

Where's Saul Reichlin?

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Although a great fan of Nordic-Noir tv series, have seen Wisting, this was my first delve in to the novels of Jørn Lier Horst. A former Norwegian police officer himself, he has written a fascinating, gently paced atmospheric tale; and it's a pleasure to have a detective with no hang-ups, no fraught family life, no dark secrets and no conflicts with his colleagues.
Every year on the 9th October, the Chief Inspector hauls out old case files, hoping to finally get a break, see what he missed in the unresolved investigation that became known as the Katharina Code Case. Katharina Haugen disappeared, leaving her husband, flowers on a table, a strangely regimentally packed suitcase, and a seemingly random grid of numbers scribbled on a note. The coded message, baffled all, even expert deciphers. Then on the 24th anniversary of her disappearance, a second cold case surfaces. Advances in DNA & fingerprinting testing produce new evidence linking Katharina's husband Martin to the ramson note for a Nadia Krogh who disappeared two years prior to her. There the ransom for this apparent kidnapping victim, a teenage heiress was paid but never collected and her body never found.
Stiller, an Oslo detective re-opens this older perplexing missing person investigation, and enlists Wisting's help, since he's maintained cordial contact with the suspect. Wisting’s journalist daughter Line, is also persuaded to bring the forgotten crime again into the publics eye with a series of podcasts - very 21st century. It's on a fishing trip to a remote cabin, that Wisting, whose mind constantly goes over the details of his case, finally sees the significance in the packed suitcase and the Katharina code, it's a road map, the numbers are road signs!
As the remaining three novels in the The Cold Case Quartet, have been translated, are available on Audible, I now have them in my Wish List.

The numbers are signs!

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Narration was good given the story. It was completely obvious what had happened from about halfway through. Little suspense and not a thriller

So slow and obvious

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His books just get better and better. This one was another beautifully written book! Keep them coming!

Masterpiece

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...in the story. One would have to say, also, that this is competently, but, somehow, not very charismatically, read by Tim McInnerny. Previous titles by this author have been read by Saul Reichlin, who is much better. Can’t quite quantify how, but listen to samples of both & see if you agree!

In the end, not much suspense

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