Sometimes you have to hit the archives and just dig through.

48. The Hunting Dogs – Jorn Lier Horst

You totally screwed up the evidence in this murder, Wisting. The lead investigator has to be responsible and since Wisting is a decent dude, of course he understands that. However, also because he’s a decent dude, he’s going to get to the truth even if he has to use a football, which I just now realized with my American brain was a soccer ball and my mental picture of him breaking into the police station was in fact wrong. It makes so much more sense if that ball can roll and does not just have to be thrown perfectly. Sheesh.

Anyway, a convicted murderer wants to clear his name after he gets out of prison…even though he totally did it…because he knows, and has a very solid argument that he’s right, that the police tampered with the evidence. He even knows who and that it’s not Wisting, which was decent of him to say. But, Wisting gets suspended and is not allowed to be an officer while being investigated, which is why he has to break into the police station to get files and ask police personnel to do stuff they’re not supposed to like get old paper visitor logs to help him figure it out. He also enlists his journalist daughter Line, who is way cooler in this book than I usually find her, and a retired forensic tech who I really liked even though he’s not in there much. Nerd.

He’s doing all of this alongside a new murder which has some weird connections to the older case dude was convicted of murder for and also alongside a new kidnapping which parallels the older murder. I totally understand why The Hunting Dogs won mystery novel awards based on how all of these are connected and established and also I love the importance of a Walkman. Cassettes and old school investigation and forensics for the win. Really though.

 

My own Wisting does not think he’s contaminated any evidence of anything. He’s on the up and up.