A man, an old man, 79 years old, actually, was murdered, striped, and displayed in a shop window, under minors 20 C°. Who was the murderer and why was he/she so brutal?
It is a gruesome scene at the beginning of the book ‘The man in the window’, written by a Norwegian author K. O. Dahl. It is a quite well knitted but easy reading crime fiction. 79 years old Reidar Folke Jespersen had a very busy day. First he watched his 54 years old wife Ingrid went to the usual route to meet her lover Eyolf for a Friday afternoon sex exchange. Then he went to meet his two brothers Arvid and Emmanuel and refused to sale off their antique shop to Hermann Kirkenær couple. Later, he phoned his wife and interrupted them in the middle of their action. In the evening he called young actress Gro Hege Wyller to act for his past. He quarrelled with his business associate Jonny Stokmo. The old man was restless and a little craze.
The following morning, Reidar’s naked body was found in his shop window, frozen. Who was the killer and why he was killed? The detectives Gunnarstranda and Frolich began a meticulous investigation.
Everyone had motive. For example, his brothers, along with his son Karsten could have killed him for the sale. The taxi driver who drove the actress to Reidar’s office was jealously watching from outside and stalked Reidar all the way around to his home. The wife or her lover? They were highly suspected, of course. The book is well plotted and twisted as well. Reidar’s life, past and current, tears up layer by layer with the plot.
Actually it reminded me of some old English detective/mystery stories. Let people talk and then the killer would be caught nonetheless.
Social or historical background is always presentable for plotting stories, which this one certainly has, a background of WWII, that enables the author to interwoven or twist plots much further. War doesn’t only destroy people but it also ruins individual’s soul.
A good reading, this book, has certain level of satisfaction for crime fiction lovers.