The Katharina Code

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Listen to a sample

What to expect

Penguin presents the audiobook edition of The Katharina Code by Jørn Lier Horst, read by Tim McInnerny.

Twenty-four years ago Katharina Haugen went missing. All she left behind was her husband Martin and a mysterious string of numbers scribbled on a piece of paper.

Every year on October 9th Chief Inspector William Wisting takes out the files to the case he was never able to solve. Stares at the code he was never able to crack. And visits the husband he was never able to help.

But now Martin Haugen is missing too.

As Wisting prepares to investigate another missing persons case he's visited by a detective from Oslo. Adrian Stiller is convinced Martin's involved in another disappearance of a young woman and asks Wisting to close the net around Martin.

But is Wisting playing cat and mouse with a dangerous killer or a grief-stricken husband who cannot lay the past to rest?

Set between the icy streets and dark forests of Norway, The Katharina Code is a heart-stopping story of one man's obsession with his coldest case.

Critics Review

  • A good Nordic police procedural with well-drawn characters

    Choice Magazine
  • A well-crafted, atmospheric, character-driven thriller– I couldn’t put it down!

    Alex Dahl, author of The Boy At The Door
  • Jørn Lier Horst is one of the most brilliantly understated crime novelists writing today

    Sunday Times
  • Up there with the best of the Nordic crime writers

    The Times
  • The Katharina Code is the best and most ingenious novel that Jørn Lier Horst has written thus far

    Norway
  • If you haven’t already, introduce yourself to Norway’s Chief Inspector William Wisting – you’ll warm to him even though his patch can get pretty cold

    Sunday Sport

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