Orenda
August 26, 2025
Reviewed by Barbara Fister
Kari Voss is a psychologist who consults with the Oslo Police and, when she isn’t working, deals with enough personal trauma that she could use a psychologist herself. After her husband died, she had to raise her son Vetle as a single parent, until he was kidnapped on his ninth birthday, and not returned even after a hefty ransom was paid. Now she pours herself into her work as a specialist in interpreting body language, so successfully that she’s called a “human lie detector.” Her skills are called on when two girls, teens who were close friends of Vetle’s, are murdered brutally at a summer cottage outside the small village of Son, and Jesper, the friend who was the last person to see him before he vanished, is the prime suspect.
In the first of what promises to be a new series, Son is an intense psychological thriller by two veteran crime writers from France and Norway, collaborating seamlessly. As the plot unfolds, we learn more about the two girls, a popular pair who are planning a Halloween party for dozens of friends without any parents around. Jesper, the son of two wealthy but emotionally cold parents, has become a minor drug dealer who is happy to give them a taste of Molly, hoping some of their popularity will rub off on him. We also learn about the girls’ families as Kari Voss tries to find out what she can about the fate of the teens who were once so close to her missing son.
The police are eager to make a prosecution quickly, and Ramona Norum, Kari’s friend and the detective on the case, feels pressured to wrap up the investigation, particularly once Jesper confesses to the crime. All of the evidence supports his guilt, but Kari, who knows memories are malleable and confessions can be faulty, has her doubts.
We follow along as Kari probes the parents and siblings of the victims and the accused, uncovering lies as she goes – though many of the secrets being hoarded turn out to be unrelated to the murders. She’s also beginning to unravel, after too many sleepless nights and friction with her friend Ramona and vocal concerns of her father, the retired former chief of Olso police. When she reports having been followed and run off the road by someone, her judgment is questioned. But eventually she is able to figure out who actually murdered the two girls, and what led to the crime.
The tension is high, as are emotions, with nearly all of the characters appearing to be on the verge of nervous breakdowns. While the denouement may be a relief from the relentless pace, the authors have something else in mind, tossing in not just one but two twists in the final pages, setting a hook for a sequel. The authors, who have mapped out at least three more investigations for Kari Voss, have proven themselves a talented team with a protagonist who clearly has more investigations ahead of her.