Stigma: The BREATHTAKING new instalment in the No. 1 bestselling Blix & Ramm series…

Stigma is the tense new novel in the Blix and Ramm series by Thomas Enger and Jorn Lier Horst, and this is one of my favourite series in the crime fiction market right now. Following on from what happened in the previous book in the series, Blix is still in prison, still reeling from past events, after he went after his daughter’s killer. And it isn’t good news if you’re a former police officer, and you get a prison sentence. You know instantly you’ll be a target for your fellow inmates. He and Emma have both gone through a lot in this series. Word gets to Blix that convicted killer, Walter Kroos, has escaped from a German prison, and Blix’s friend, journalist Emma Ramm, is on the case trying to locate him, and the pair once again team up, as it is revealed that Walter may be heading to Norway.Thomas Enger and Jorn Lier Horst have created a really intriguing case with Walter Kroos. There is a lot of history here and it is horrific to read about. As they revisit the past, I sort of found myself feeling sorry for Walter. You can see he is a little bit of an outsider, but he soon finds himself head over heels in love with a young girl called Samantha, who is tipped to become a big star. He meets Samantha when his family visits a campsite in Norway for a holiday. But this is where things start to go wrong for Walter, and you can begin to see the person who he becomes today.It is really interesting to see how Emma and Blix go about their investigation to track Walter down, particularly as Blix is in prison, and this adds to the tension, even more so as Blix shouldn’t be getting involved in this case, and this could make his position even more precarious. It could also make his situation worse with both the police and his fellow inmates. It is so interesting to see how Blix goes about trying to get answers as to where Walter might be. The danger also increases for Emma, the closer she gets to finding out where Walter is, and it seems that there is far more going on here than what first meets the eye. It becomes Emma’s mission to find out the truth, despite the threat of danger.It is a smooth flow with the transition between Emma’s point of view and Blix’s, and the chapters told from each of their perspectives, keeps the pace flying forward. I wanted to know what they were both going to do next to track down Walter.Once again Thomas Enger and Jorn Lier Horst have come up with an exciting, and an exhilarating read for this series. I really do not know where this series is going to go next with that ending, and I hope it means there is another book to come. I highly, highly recommend this series if you haven’t had the chance to read it yet.

I just finished the collection of this author's book and enjoyed each one. However, the ending of this 4th one was just cut off rather abrupt. I wanted to know what happened to the amazing detective who lost his daughter. He could have been murdered too. I think he did what he had to do as a matter of life of death yet he got punished for it. It so extremely unfair, you could say there is no justice in this world. I wonder if there will be a 5th book to finish the story, it seems unfinished.

Stigma is the fourth instalment in the Blix and Ramm series by the Nordic Noir dream team Enger & Horst, and their magnificent translator Megan Turney. Time really does fly when you’re having fun! I’d say it could be read as a standalone if you really want to, but this series is truly fantastic so I would advise to just start at the beginning.Stigma differs from its predecessors in that we start off with one of our two protagonists incarcerated following the events of the last book. You can put a police officer in prison, but he never really stops being a police officer, so before long, Blix is up to his eyeballs in an investigation, or two, or three. Or are these all connected and is this just one big jumble of an investigation waiting for Blix and Ramm to unravel?Like with the earlier books in this series, I fell for Stigma hook, line and sinker. I was almost literally glued to my Kobo, having to force myself to put it down and get some sleep. I did work out a few things but that never impacted my enjoyment, nor the adrenalin I felt racing through my body, cos for every reveal I saw coming, there was one that caught me by surprise.Stigma has a strong sense of setting. I thoroughly enjoyed the prison scenes, I do love a prison setting. For one, it’s about as locked-room as you can get, and secondly, in this case, it was fascinating to follow Blix as he’s trying to find his feet in this hostile environment. Meanwhile, Emma Ramm’s part of the story takes care of the atmospheric, quite moody Nordic setting I’ve come to expect from this writer’s duo. A small Norwegian village with a forest and a lake, a dark history and a missing person, I mean, sign me up any day of the week!Stigma was everything I expected it to be, and that’s saying something: my expectations never really were all that realistic. It was an action-packed and suspenseful ride, atmospheric and fast-paced, and I can’t wait to find out what happens next (that epilogue is just mean!). Stigma confirms this series top spot in my Nordic ranking, which, again, is saying something cos I’m a huge Nordic literature fan! I can only agree with Will Dean: this is contemporary Scandinavian fiction at its best. Highly recommended.

What can I say about this the final book in this series, It's got everything you would expect from these brilliant authors, keeping me engrossed right up to the last page.It is a great ending to the story of Blix and Ramm, which I have followed loyally and with great pleasure. This book leaves you wanting even more about this unlikely pair of crime solvers. A world weary policeman and a young journalist out to make a name for herself.I'm sorry that there might not be other books in this series. Put simply, there should be. More please about the next stage in their lives and what they do next.Whatever they decide will be worth reading about.

Stigma is book 4 in the Blix and Ramm series and with Blix currently in prison serving a sentence for murder, he is not having a great time, especially as he put a lot of the other inmates in there. He is also helping out Ramm who is investigating the escape of a convicted killer.This was another great instalment of this brilliant series with a well-crafted puzzle of a story that slowly unfolds up to a cracker of an ending.

More Blix tricks, Emma Ramm in more jams, a cliffhanger at the end. What happens? I certainly hope there's a NEXT book in the series which will tell us!

I loved the fast pace stories running concurrently alongside each other. The threads were gently drawn together for a very exciting climax.I’m going to miss Alexander Blix.

Found the book interesting , at times complicated, but that just me . Loved the story line and all the different twists and turns, Would recommend without hesitation .