(reviewed by Ann Onymous )
Retired Detective Asbjørn Krag and his police colleague Keller are trying to solve the mystery of the disappearance of Abbot Montrose. But with no photographs, no one really knows what the Abbot looks like. He may have been kidnapped or
murdered but with no ransom note and no body…who knows what happened that night in his bloodied library?
The main antagonist seems quite guilty, later quite innocent, but why then would he attempt to escape? What do the flowers from the Abbot’s garden mean? Who is the woman in the photograph? What does the death of the ‘crazy professor’ have to do with the Abbot’s disappearance? The further you read, the more questions you have. But even though Keller may literally vanish, Krag is here.
”The more complicated a thing is,“ said Krag, “the simpler the solution must be. Once you have found the right thread, any knot may be unraveled smoothly.”
I enjoyed this clever, well-written book. There are plenty of twists and turns in the Gilded Peacock Hotel where room #6 is right next door to room #333. But the main character, Krag and his approach to solving the mystery keeps shifting as much as the corridors within the building.
Norwegian journalist Sven Elvestad wrote under the pen name Stein Riverton. The Riverton Prize (Norwegian: Rivertonprisen) is a literature award given annually to the best Norwegian crime story (novel, short story, play, original screenplay).
This book comes to us from Kazabo Publishing, intent on bringing ‘classic’ works to modern audiences by presenting respected international authors translated into English. The book challenges the contemporary reader and is definitely an Underrated Read. What a gift to have treasures from the past unburied and brought to more readers.
