Where Roses Never Die

Varg Veum

By: Gunnar Staalesen

Narrated by: Colin Mace

Length: 8 hrs and 26 mins

Publisher's summary

September 1977. Mette Misvãr, a three-year-old girl, disappears without trace from the sandpit outside her home.

Her tiny, close middle-class community in the tranquil suburb of Nordas is devastated, but their enquiries and the police produce nothing. Curtains twitch, suspicions are raised, but Mette is never found.

Almost 25 years later, as the expiry date for the statute of limitations draws near, Mette's mother approaches PI Varg Veum in a last, desperate attempt to find out what happened to her daughter. As Veum starts to dig, he uncovers an intricate web of secrets, lies and shocking events that have been methodically concealed.

When another brutal incident takes place, a pattern begins to emerge.

Chilling, shocking and full of extraordinary twists and turns, Where Roses Never Die reaffirms Gunnar Staalesen as one of the world's foremost thriller writers.

©2016 Gunnar Staalesen (P)2016 Audible, Ltd

Recommended, but with a caveat

Would you consider the audio edition of Where Roses Never Die to be better than the print version?

No, though not because of the reader, who was fine.

Any additional comments?

Many, many Norwegian names to keep straight. Should you choose to listen to this book, be sure to have a print version to hand, or take notes as each character is introduced.

Dark and misty

The story line here was a bit tough to follow due to the unfamiliar names of the characters but worth the effort. The pacing was a bit ponderous and certainly dark. Yet the book was impactful and delivered a strong emotional impact. A good read.

Good plot

Solid plot, but the investigative process was really rather repetitive and boring, more realistic, but overly realistic can get boring, it picks up about halfway into the story

Well written, tragic tale

This story features two cases, separated by time but still bonded together by the thinnest of links. I thoroughly enjoyed the twists and turns, and especially the resolution.

Great writer!

I'm so happy to find Staalesen. His books are very well written. The plots are relatively complex and interesting. I always learn something from the topics he selects as the story foundations. He's my new fav mystery writer.

I have

A soft spot for pretty much all scandavian mystery authors. Really liked Staalesen. Look forward to more

Satisfying

I really like this narrator and story. In fact, this is round 2 for this book because I liked it so much. The characters are well formed, explained, and carried out. I hate it when characters are introduced and then not followed up on! I relate to the narrator/investigator's human frailty here and his need to get it together after an emotional experience. Great book, story, narrator!

prepare your aquavit!

A compelling read. love the different lifestyle in Norway. show start with a big finish.

Decent story

This book kept me intertwined while I worked around the house. It was a mystery and had some interesting turns. The writing and narration were good. The story was not novel.

compelling, well-told story

Even though this book apparently is the 18th in this series, I had never heard of the author nor series prior to reading this volume in this series. Starting this late in the series is usually not what I like to do nor what is ideal in terms of getting a clear picture of the background of the various people involved, especially the main character who definitely is not without his issues.
This story is interesting weaving the case of a disappearance of a little girl nearly 25 years ago along with a present case of a jewelry heist.
The story is well-told and the private investigators, despite his flaws, does a great job of pulling the old strings together.
I am fairly certain that I will be checking out other books in this series.