We Shall Inherit the Wind

Varg Veum

By: Gunnar Staalesen

Narrated by: Colin Mace

It's 1998. Varg Veum sits by the hospital bedside of his long-term girlfriend, Karin, whose life-threatening injuries provide a deeply painful reminder of the mistakes he's made.

Investigating the seemingly innocent disappearance of a wind-farm inspector, Varg Veum is thrust into one of the most challenging cases of his career, riddled with conflicts, environmental terrorism, religious fanaticism, unsolved mysteries and dubious business ethics. Then the first body appears - tied to a cross, facing the mouth of the fjord.

In a chilling, timeless story of love, revenge and desire - deftly interwoven with contemporary issues, in a stunning plot that will leave you gripped to the final page - We Shall Inherit the Wind shows Staalesen at his most thrilling, thought-provoking best.

One of the fathers of Nordic Noir, Gunnar Staalesen was born in Bergen, Norway, in 1947. He made his debut at the age of 22 with Seasons of Innocence, and in 1977 he published the first book in the Varg Veum series.

He is the author of over 20 titles, which have been published in 24 countries and sold over four million copies. Twelve film adaptations of his Varg Veum crime novels have appeared since 2007, starring the popular Norwegian actor Trond Espen Seim. Staalesen, who has won three Golden Pistols (including the Prize of Honour), lives in Bergen with his wife.

©2015 Gunnar Staalesen (P)2015 Audible, Ltd

Critic reviews

"The Norwegian Chandler." (Jo Nesbo)
"The characters in the book are drawn with more nuances and more psychological insight than in most crime novels - there is generally something Ibsenian about this detective novel in which past sins play such an important part in the present." (Bergens Tidende)
"One of the finest Nordic novelists in the tradition of Henning Mankell." (Barry Forshaw, Independent)
"Staalesen's mastery of pacing enables him to develop his characters in a leisurely way without sacrificing tension and suspense." (Publishers Weekly)
"Gunnar Staalesen is one of my very favourite Scandinavian authors. Operating out of Bergen in Norway, his private eye, Varg Veum, is a complex but engaging anti-hero. Varg means 'wolf' in Norwegian, and this is a series with very sharp teeth Ian Rankin Gunnar Staalesen was writing suspenseful and socially conscious Nordic Noir long before any of today's Swedish crime writers had managed to put together a single book page...one of Norway's most skillful storytellers." (Johan Theorin)

Good but depressing

Murder mystery story on Norwegian shores. The main problem with this book is that the names, and thus the characters, are impossible to keep track of for an English speaker. Also, it is pretty depressing through the end. But the book is well written and the narrator is great.

Just a so-so story

Rather formulaic and cliched. Colin Mace did adequate job, a little in and out of accent.

Crazy about this series!

Hope the whole series will be put in audible form. Fantastic writing, protagonist and the reader is perfect casting.

Great book

Love the series. Wish their were more on Audible. Not too fast or too slow. Just right

Better if a English speaking Norwegian.

Would you consider the audio edition of We Shall Inherit the Wind to be better than the print version?

No

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

Not exactly the edge

Did the narration match the pace of the story?

Not really. Norwegian is a melodic language and the narrator is not melodic.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No

Any additional comments?

This story deserved a better narration. Mace is competent but unenthusiastic. The pace would do with some better pace.

it was just OK, nothing special

The idea of centering the action on an island is an oldie but a goodie, and using the local and international politics of a wind farm could be interesting, but all-in-all, I found it rather average. I'm not dissatisfied, but I don't think I'll continue in the series.

Thin, very thin

Perhaps I should have read Staalesen's earlier Varg Veum novels, but other readers started with this one and had no trouble.
The story wasn't very eventful. The characters were poorly drawn; I didn't feel I knew much about them. Even Veum was a bit shallow.
I finally gave up.