Omg talk about a roller coaster read wow this book kept me on the edge of my seat threw out I just couldn't put it down this writer keeps you hooked and once your hooked your not letting go I found this book thrilling the characters were fantastic and well thought out and the little clues all the way threw keep you guessing until the end this book stays with you long after you close the book this book is well worth the read I promise you wont be disappointed

I am a fan of Scandinavian noir but I found this book slow and a difficult read. Hence I was unable to finish it.

Thank you to Netgalley, the Publisher and the author for the opportunity to read this book in return for my honest opinion.

I liked the cover of this book and was hoping I would like the book just as much. I am a fan of Norweigan mysteries and police procedurals, so I had high hopes; I did not love this book but I did enjoy this book. I felt perhaps the translation was a bit clunky at times but the overall story was good. This book sometimes felt a little too full of details and it did make he book drag on a bit. There were some great plot twists and I liked the ending.

All in all, I look forward to reading more books by this author.

Sleek, well-constructed thriller cum detective investigation. Good characters, good descriptions of place, more than competent ability to keep his characters visible and recognizable, and referrals to back-stories intriguing and well done (viz. Comme neige). Bikers (not so petty criminals), cops (investigators Stribolt and Vaage), former cops (Vilhelm Thygesen, left-wing lawyer, civilians (the dead woman). The walk-on parts are sudden, moving, and then over. I have bought the previous Thygesen in French because I’m keen to meet Thygesen again soon….

This was an interesting police procedural, set in Norway and Sweden. A body turns up in the garden of a shady lawyer and ex cop Vilhelm Thygesen. He calls the police and two Kripos DCIs, Vanja Vaage and Arve Stribolt. come to investigate. While more people die, the violence is not graphic and the two police inspectors work through clues painstakingly figuring out what happened. Since some of the bad guys are revealed early on, the mystery is how the two police inspectors solve the crime. I would call it a cerebral mystery. I thought that the translation was excellent.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for sending this book.

DNF - I really struggled to get into this one and sadly, I have no desire to continue reading it - I tried several times to continue with the read but each time it felt forced and I put the novel down again. To me, it just didn’t have that fluidity or atmosphere Nordic Noir usually carries. However, I think the cover is amazing!

Unfortunately, not every book can be for everyone and this one just wasn’t for me.

Unfortunately this didn't quite draw me in, despite being a huge fan of Scandi crime fiction - I think there were just too many character names that I kept losing track of, and the story itself didn't hugely interest me. Because I couldn't get into it I decided not to continue reading it.

I would say this is a good story lost in translation and cultural differences. A young woman in found dead and frozen in a man's yard and the Norwegian police try to find her killer. Interspersed with the actual detective work are random discussions regarding things that have no bearing on the case or the characters in the book. This, along with a translation that resulted in some ungainly sentences, made the story somewhat difficult to follow. On the other hand, some characters and situations weren't fully explained. Perhaps this is another victim of cultural differences? All that aside, it was an interesting and well thought out concept, it just suffered in presentation.

Nice job with the cover art, definitely eye-catching!

DNF. For me, this book was rather slow and I could not finish this. While this does read like a mystery novel from the start, I did not feel the kind of excitement that normally comes from wanting to know what happens next or how things unfold. I am a fan of all things Nordic, and the book definitely does a good job in providing the right atmosphere. But that was just about it for me.

A body! That's how it starts a frozen body in a garden. I was intrigued! The cover of this book remind me of the "Encino Man" movie. This book feels like it was translated from a different language and the book had it's good moments, the story started great for me. But I was a little lost in the middle of the book. I just lost interest in finding out what would happen next and I'm not sure if it was because I feel like the translation part of the book is not coming through to me or not. I think this author is very skilled at writing a great thriller but I didn't get it in this book. This book in the end did not catch me as much as the cover did. * I received this book from Netgalley and this is my honest review*

3.5 stars

It all begins with a body.

Vilhelm Thygesen is a lawyer who used to be a cop so when he finds a frozen young woman in his garden, he knows the drill. One phone call brings DCI’s Arve Stribolt & Vanja Vaage to his door & they’d love nothing better than to nail him for the crime. Twenty-five years ago he left the force in disgrace after being charged with murder.

Meanwhile, Terje Kykkelsrud & Oystein Strand meet up at an abandoned cabin outside Oslo. Strand is keen to celebrate his release from prison with every substance he can get his hands on but Terje has something a little more serious on his mind. Both belong to the Seven Samurai MC & apparently there’s a rat in their midst.

MP Gerhard Ryland is in a spot of trouble. Someone is blackmailing him & unless he comes up with a whack of cash, the media will hear of his ties to a young woman recently found dead in the garden of a notorious lawyer.

As Arve & Vanja struggle with the case, the story lines above play out in different spots in & around Oslo. Gradually they begin to weave together as hidden links & secret agendas are revealed. Events from each character’s past come back to haunt them & when another body appears, things only get more complicated for the cops.

This is definitely Scandi noir & those looking to be spoon fed will be disappointed. The reader is privy to everything that is happening as they travel with each character in alternate chapters. Still, the identity of the victim & why she was murdered came as a shock when all was said & done.

Of all the characters, I found Vilhelm the most interesting. He’s a world weary guy who’s tried to pick up the pieces from his past & live a quiet life. You get the feeling he actually enjoys his frequent sparring sessions with Vanja. But there’s something elusive about him that makes you wonder if he knows more than he’s telling.

My only quibble is some of the dialogue was difficult to understand. I read a lot of translations & expect to run into idioms/phrases that are unfamiliar & miss a bit of subtext. But there were whole sections, particularly during the initial meeting between Strand & Terje, where I had no clue what they were saying. Despite translation by the amazing Don Bartlett, I couldn’t grasp what they were talking about & it was only later that I could look back & understand what transpired.

It’s still an intricate & well plotted story that keeps you guessing. There are some unpredictable little twists along the way & I enjoyed how all the pieces finally fit together. Kudos to those responsible for creating such a striking cover. It certainly caught my eye.

It's not often I DNF a book, but I just could not connect with The Frozen Woman at all. And I usually love my Scandinavian crime fiction, but for some reason this one did not hit the mark for me. I think the translation was a little disjointed, which meant the story didn't flow for me.

For readers looking for your next Nordic Noir book then this is it, fantastic storytelling with rounded believable characters, can't wait to read the next one. Highly recommended.

The frozen woman by Jon michelet.
In the depths of a Norwegian winter Vilhelm Thygesen discovers a frozen young woman in his garden. She has been stabbed to death. A well-known left-wing lawyer and no friend of the police, Thygesen is now sixty-three, given to wearing designer clothes and taking life easy. Stribolt and Vaage, the police officers assigned to the case, assume the victim was a drug courier from Eastern Europe. Shortly afterwards a young motorcyclist belonging to a biker gang once represented by Thygesen is killed in a motorcycle accident. His bike has been tampered with. The police set out to establish the connection between the frozen woman, the awkward customer who found her body and the bikers who are terrorising the neighbourhood.
This was a good read with good characters. A little slow in places. 3*. Netgalley and Oldcastle books.

This book was all I hoped for and more. I highly recommend this book to everyone. Loved the writing, loved the characters and loved the story.

I was attracted to the title which was enticing. The cover page was attractive and the reviews gave the impression that it would be another Stieg Larsson. But I was rather disappointed when I continue reading.
The beginning started off very well with beautiful language that enthrall and captivates you. It was pleasant and easy reading. But then it gets distorted like its being written by a different person! I had to make an effort to continue to the end. I find the storyline boring. It didn't incite any interest and was rather tedious.
The style of the writer is not my cup of tea. I might give his next book another chance, but I would not recommend this book to my friends.

This book started off well and I was intrigued to read more, however the more I read, the more confused I became with all the different Norwegian names. I did finish it, but to my mind it was not my favourite book, but it was interesting.

I really liked Jon's way of telling a story. He made it seem real and his characters were very life like. Vilhelm Thygesen is a former cop and lawyer that was disbarred living off his inherited property discovers a frozen woman on his property. Stribolt and Vagge are the inspectors from Kripos that are the ones interrogating Thygesen. Stribolt wants to arrest him while Vagge, who comes on nasty but isn't, doesn't.

They have a hard time identifying the body of the woman until they put a sketch of her in the paper. This get several balls rolling. It involves a biker group, an artist who likes taking pictures of people on the train, and an oil mogul being blackmailed. More people are killed as a result of this woman's death. Finally people look at the picture in the paper and realize who she's is.

This seems more realistic than some of the other police procedures that I've read. The characters seem to act mote like real live people in my book. I highly recommend this book.

Thank you Net Galley. I started this book with a lot of enthusiasm but found it hard to read. Any excuse to put it down. The premise is not bad but the execution is poor. I think some editing would also benefit it.

Good story! Looking forward to reading more by this author. Highly recommend!