Cold Hearts — Gunnar Staalesen

On a frosty January day in Bergen, private detective Varg Veum is visited by a prostitute whose friend has disappeared. Before her disappearance, something had unsettled her: she'd turned away a customer and returned to the neighborhood in terror. Shortly after taking the case, Veum 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. "Veum can skillfully dole out violence, but the essentially humane detective prefers methods that involve dialogue and deduction, investigation and intellect- a welcome contrast to many in his line of work."--Publishers Weekly Sept. 9, 2013 "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*, Nov. 1, 2013