cover image Satellite People

Satellite People

Hans Olav Lahlum, trans. from the Norwegian by Kari Dickson. Pan (IPG, dist. ), $14.95 trade paper (384p) ISBN 978-1-4472-3277-3

Set in Oslo in 1969, Lahum’s outstanding second mystery featuring Insp. Kolbjørn “K2” Kristiansen and Patricia Borchmann (after The Human Flies) pays homage to Agatha Christie. Merciless multimillionaire Magdalon Schelderup dies during a dinner party at his Oslo home, surrounded by 10 of his “nearest and dearest,” each of whom could be his killer. K2 plunges into a sequence of interviews with the six women and four men, who range from Schelderup’s 60ish ex-wife, Ingrid, to Maria Irene, his 18-year-old daughter by his second wife. K2 becomes obsessed with Maria Irene, who happens to resemble Patricia, his enigmatic assistant. Over working suppers with Patricia, K2 shows that he’s not the urbane Archie Goodwin he might fancy himself—nor is stiletto-tongued Patricia the genial Nero Wolfe–like genius she claims to be. The intricate plot, which has its roots in the Nazi occupation of Norway, builds to a shocking conclusion. In an afterword, Lahum cites Conan Doyle and Georges Simenon as other influences. (Nov.)