It's here! Browse the 2024 Penguin Christmas gift guide
The Katharina Code

The Katharina Code

You loved Wallander, now meet Wisting.

Summary

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. Atmospheric, gripping and suspenseful; this is Nordic Noir at its very best.

You loved Wallander, now meet Wisting . . .

'Horst, a former Norwegian police detective, is often compared to Sweden's Henning Mankell for his moody, sweeping crime dramas' NEW YORK TIMES
___________

Katharina went missing twenty-four years ago.

Each year on the anniversary of her disappearance Chief Inspector William Wisting visits her husband, the man he could never help.

He re-reads her files, searching for the answer he could never find.

The code he could never solve.

Until now.

This year is going to be different.

Another woman is missing.

And so is Katharina's husband.


Wisting has to find him, but is he rescuing a dear friend, or playing a deadly game?

___________

SOON TO BE A MAJOR TV SERIES FROM THE PRODUCERS BEHIND WALLANDER AND THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO

2018 Nordic Noir Thriller of the Year, Winner of the prestigious Petrona Award for Best Scandinavian Crime Novel & Longlisted for the CWA International Dagger Award

'Up there with the best of the Nordic crime writers' The Times

Jørn Lier Horst is one of the most brilliantly understated crime novelists writing today'
The Sunday Times

'
A well-crafted, atmospheric, character-driven thriller- I couldn't put it down!'
Alex Dahl, author of The Boy At The Door

Reviews

  • A good Nordic police procedural with well-drawn characters
    Choice Magazine

About the author

Jørn Lier Horst

Jørn Lier Horst worked as a police officer and head of investigations before becoming a full-time writer, and has established himself as one of the most successful authors to come out of Scandinavia. His books have sold over three million copies in his native Norway alone, been No. 1 international bestsellers, and he’s published in more than forty countries around the world. In 2024, he was awarded the prestigious Finnish Whodunnit Society’s Honorary Award for excellence in foreign crime fiction.

The Wisting TV adaptation, produced by the team behind Wallander and The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, was a hit series. The first three series are available to stream on BBC4.
Learn More

More in this series

Sign up to the Penguin Newsletter

For the latest books, recommendations, author interviews and more