The Katharina Code

Set between the icy streets and dark forests of Norway, a heart-stopping story of one man’s obsession with his coldest case, by “one of the most brilliantly understated crime novelists writing today” (The Sunday Times, London).

Katharina went missing twenty-four years ago. Each year on the anniversary of her disappearance, Chief Inspector William Wisting rereads her files, searching for the answer he could never find; the code he could never solve. And he visits Katharina’s husband, Martin Haugen, the brokenhearted man he could never help.

Until now.

This year is different. Another woman is missing under similar circumstances. But so is Katharina’s husband. Wisting has to find him, but is he rescuing a dear old friend or playing a deadly game with a killer?

A brilliantly understated crime novel that examines the long-term costs of lying to ourselves and each other through an atmospheric psychological game of cat-and-mouse.

Jørn Lier Horst worked as a police officer and head of investigations before becoming a full-time writer, establishing himself as one of the most successful authors to come out of Scandinavia. He writes engaging and intelligent crime novels that offer an uncommonly detailed and realistic insight into the way serious crimes are investigated, as well as how both police and press work. His books have sold over two million copies in his native Norway alone and he’s published in twenty-six languages. His literary awards include the Norwegian Booksellers’ Prize, the Riverton Prize (Golden Revolver), the Scandinavian Glass Key, and the prestigious Martin Beck Award.

ISBN: 9781668076071
Format: Paperback
Pages: 416
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Published: January 21, 2025

“Compelling, original, and suspenseful. The Katharina Code grabs on at page and never lets go!”
— KATHY REICHS, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Temperance Brennan Bones series “Horst, a former Norwegian police detective, is often compared to Sweden's Henning Mankell for his moody, sweeping crime dramas.”
— The New York Times “It's impossible to resist the allure of this superbly crisp suspense about the tangled lives of the people left behind when two women go missing. I was immediately drawn into the police procedural and emotionally invested in the layered characters, each trying to crack the code to their own sense of resolution and justice. With ping ponging dialogue and perfectly placed cliffhangers, The Katharina Code amps up the tension as it barrels toward the final shocking reveals. A powerful must read.”
— SAMANTHA M. BAILEY, USA TODAY, Amazon Charts, and #1 national bestselling author of A Friend in the Dark “How lucky we are to have mastermind storyteller Jørn Lier Horst on North American shelves. The Katharina Code is icy Nordic noir at its best: twisty, gripping, and with a dark ache of a cold case that won't let its protagonist go.”
— ROZ NAY, bestselling author of The Offing“Spare prose, elegant structure, and a masterful layering of secrets and suspense. Brilliant!”
— DANIEL KALLA, bestselling author of High Society and The Darkness in the Light“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.”
— The Sunday Times“Up there with the best of the Nordic crime writers.”
— The Times