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    Norwegian by Night
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    Norwegian by Night
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    Norwegian by Night
    Ebook348 pages6 hours

    Norwegian by Night

    By Derek B. Miller

    4/5

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    About this ebook

    WINNER OF THE 2013 CWA JOHN CREASEY DAGGER FOR BEST NEW CRIME WRITER OF THE YEAR

    Sheldon Horowitz — 82 years old, impatient, and unreasonable — is staying with his granddaughter’s family in Norway when he disappears with a stranger’s child. Sheldon is an ex-Marine, and he feels responsible for his son’s death in Vietnam. Recently widowed and bereft, he talks to the ghosts of his past constantly.

    To Norway’s cops, Sheldon is just an old man who is coming undone at the end of a long and hard life. But Sheldon is clear in his own mind. He’d heard the boy’s eastern European mother being murdered, and he’s determined to protect the child from the killer and his Balkan gang. With an endearing combination of dexterity and daring, Sheldon manages to elude the police in what is hostile, foreign territory for him. But what he doesn’t know is that the police and the gang both know where he’s heading.

    Norwegian by Night is the last adventure of a man coming to terms with the tragedy of his own life as he tries to save another’s. It combines laconic, deadpan humour, moral seriousness, visceral grief, and narrative tension in a remarkable way. An extraordinary debut, featuring a memorable hero.

    PRAISE FOR DEREK B. MILLER

    ‘… utterly compelling.’ The Sunday Age

    ‘Humane, blackly funny, heart-breaking, full of believable people and with a touching, magnificent hero in Sheldon, this is one of the best books I've read this year. Verdict: brilliant’ The Herald Sun

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherScribe Publications
    Release dateJul 25, 2012
    ISBN9781921942808
    Unavailable
    Norwegian by Night
    Author

    Derek B. Miller

    Derek B. Miller is an American novelist, who worked in international affairs before turning to writing full-time. He is the author of five previous novels, all highly acclaimed: Norwegian by Night, The Girl in Green, American by Day, Radio Life and Quiet Time (an Audible Original). His work has been shortlisted for many awards, with Norwegian by Night winning the CWA John Creasey Dagger Award for best first crime novel, an eDunnit Award and the Goldsboro Last Laugh Award. How to Find Your Way in the Dark was a Finalist for the National Jewish Book Award and a New York Times best mystery of 2021.  Derek B. Miller is a graduate of Sarah Lawrence College (BA), Georgetown (MA) and he earned his Ph.D. summa cum laude in international relations from The Graduate Institute in Geneva with post-graduate work at Oxford. He is currently connected to numerous peace and security research and policy centers in North America, Europe and Africa, and he worked with the United Nations for over a decade. He has lived abroad for over twenty-five years in Israel, the United Kingdom, Hungary, Switzerland, Norway and Spain.

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    Reviews for Norwegian by Night

    4/5

    320 ratings38 reviews

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    • 4/5
      Murder mystery in modern Oslo. Kosovar bad guys, police chief heroine and displaced New York Jew still dealing with Korean War experiences and the loss of his son in Vietnam. Humorous yet original mystery with small Albanian boy caught in the middle.
    • 4/5
      Better than average mystery fiction, though a bit disjointed with flashbacks planted in the midst of present action. Not sure why it's called an "Sigrid Ødegård Mystery" when she is such a minor character who did not even solve the crime. Mostly well-written, with some interesting scenes and characters, but not as compelling as I first expected.
    • 4/5
      Norwegian by Night by Derek B. Miller is about an aging cantankerous American-Jewish widower who has been transplanted to Norway and becomes involved in a hate crime. When a stranger murders the immigrant woman who lives upstairs, Sheldon shelters, protects and escapes with her son, fearing the boy is in danger as well. Haunted by his experiences as a Marine sniper in the Korean War and by his son’s death in Vietnam, Sheldon sometimes has difficulty in deciding what is real and what is not. He believes that that the Koreans are still after him, but he also knows that he is this little boy’s one chance as his mother’s killer is trying to hunt them both down.I loved this book, the story was captivating and Sheldon was a unique and sympathetic character. He is so strongly drawn that many of the other characters seem to fade into the background by comparison which mostly was alright as Sheldon was more than able to carry the story. I did however enjoy the scenes that involved the police detectives Sigrid and Petter and would love to read more about them. Derek B. Miller’s first novel, Norwegian By Night is a blend of styles from police procedural to a literary work that examines the emotional toil of aging, to a war story that combines memory and loss, and a stream of consciousness story that puts the reader firmly into the head of Sheldon Horowitz. Some of these styles work better than others, but the author’s clever use of humour, wit and compassion make this an original story of redemption.
    • 4/5
      One of the funniest books I've read in years. And it's a thriller! Sheldon is a Jewish grandfather and ex-Marine sniper in his 80s who goes to live with his granddaughter and her Norwegian husband in Norway. Witnessing a brutal attack by a Balkan immigrant warlord, he becomes the caretaker of small Balkan boy who doesn't speak, and whom the attacker wants back. Sheldon may or may not be suffering from dementia, but he's still got moves, and he and the boy go on the run. The humor is sardonic and laugh-out-loud funny, especially if you're "of a certain age". The ruminations on age, family, memory and dementia, cultural assimilation and the evolution of Europe are the icing on the cake of this funny and literary thriller. I've loved the cover of this book for years and glad I finally read it. You will be to.
    • 4/5
      Well that was unusual. I read fairly widely in this genre, but that was the first book about an 82 year old Jewish veteran of the Korean war taking on a war criminal from Kosovo in Norway.

      As much a meditation on parenting, being Jewish in America, grief, war, and regret as a plot-driven thriller. Sheldon Horowitz is a flawed hero for all ages. Sadly, I'm not holding my breath for the sequel.
    • 4/5
      There’s nobody going to accuse this guy of plagiarism. Imagine coming up with an idea for a novel…. Let’s see, it’s going to combine Jews, the Korean and Vietnam wars, the KLA and dementia. Where shall I set it? Ah yes – Norway.What I admired most of all about this novel was the quirkily intelligent writing style. It constantly teases and surprises without losing focus. The storyline was good, but simpler than an out-and-out thriller might have been. The end, when it came, felt abrupt. Perhaps the main message that came out of it for me was that dementia – exactly the right amount of dementia – makes you pretty much invincible.
    • 5/5
      Sheldon is an elderly Korean War Marine now living in Oslo with his grand daughter and her husband. When the woman who lives upstairs appears at his door with her young son, Sheldon depends on his old military training to save the boy from his violent father.
    • 4/5
      Listened to this book on Audible and it was a great read.
    • 5/5
      An utterly surprising and wonderful thriller with an unexpected and not necessarily likeable protagonist.
    • 5/5
      Fantastic!
    • 4/5
      Ambitious first novel succeeds with a quirky story, finely formed characters and writing rich with interest and meaning. Slow to read but worthwhile for it.
    • 4/5
      This is our April 2017 book group selection and I have to admit that I was a skeptic....yet another book about a grumpy old man. There have been a lot of them lately: [A Man Called Ove], [The Little Paris Bookshop], [The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Frye], [Major Pettigrew's Last Stand].....see what I mean?Somehow, this one is different...I really liked it. Sheldon (aka Donny) the obligatory grumpy old man main character is 82 yrs. old, recently widowed, and has emigrated to Norway from NYC to be his adult granddaughter, Rhea, his only surviving relative. Saul is a veteran of the Korean War where he served as a Marine sniper....or perhaps he was a clerk?...He was not terribly forthcoming with his family on that point.Rhea's father, Saul, was Sheldon's only son and a casualty of the Viet Nam war. A death for which Sheldon feels responsible because he applied WWII & Korean War sensibilities in Saul's upbringing, thus his fatal service in Viet Nam.Shortly after we meet Sheldon, he is drawn into a situation where he witnesses a murder in his own home and becomes responsible for a 7 yr. old boy which he cannot communicate. Sensing that organized crime is involved and the boy is in danger, Sheldon sets off with the boy to protect him from the killer(s).The result is an improbably odyssey through the Norwegian northwoods where Sheldon's depth of character is revealed. There is humor, suspense, and tension as the drama unfolds. I give it 4 stars.
    • 4/5
      A most affecting literary suspense novel, with important universal themes such as grief, parent-child relations, revenge, violence, and guilt. Sheldon, an elderly Jewish watch repairman, has been displaced from New York City to Oslo to join his daughter and her Norwegian husband, following the death of his wife and the news that his grand daughter is pregnant. His late wife and now his grand daughter believed he is suffering from dementia, but there's much evidence to contradict that assumption, although he does have visions of people and situations from his past. After a Serbian woman is murdered in Sheldon's bedroom while he hides in the closet with her son, he flees with the boy to escape from the violence and the unknowns of the situation. Although the story is told primarily in the third person from Sheldon's perspective, the narrative shifts occasionally to what is happening to his grand daughter, the police inspector who is trying to find the murderer, and the Kosovan perpetrators. The strength of the novel derives from the power of the back stories of Sheldon, his Korean War experience, and his relationship with his son. Sheldon's guilt for his perceived responsibility for his own wartime activities, as well as for his son's death in Vietnam, are combined with his acute grief over the many losses he has experienced. Although this is a page-turner that we want to rush through for its suspense, it is a book to savor and remember.
    • 3/5
      The Read Across Rhode Island selection for 2015. A macho, yet thoughtful, thriller concerning soldiers, fathers and sons, genocide, and wars across the 20th century. Definitely a page turner.
    • 4/5
      A fabulous read - a most unexpected storyline, not a run-of-the-mill murder story.
    • 4/5
      A poignant, witty, and thought-provoking story of an elderly Ametican in Norway who, while falling into dementia, must protect a young boy from his mother's murderer. Yep. Very intriguing plot, mostly narrated from the point of view of the protagonist whose mind slips between the very real responsibility of protecting a child and his internal life of memories of his own son's life and death. A very good read, which attempts to illuminate the way dementia may blend past and present.
    • 5/5
      First Line: It is summer and luminous. When you're in your eighties and a widower, the last thing you want to do is to move from your home in New York City to a new place with your granddaughter and her Norwegian husband in Oslo, Norway. But as Sheldon Horowitz knows, sometimes the last thing you want to do is the only thing you can do. He's lonely and wants to be with his granddaughter. His granddaughter has seen signs of dementia in her beloved grandfather and wants to keep him close to her. What neither one of them could possibly predict is an act of incredible violence that leaves a little motherless boy in old Sheldon Horowitz's care. Now the old man and the little boy are on the run from everyone who's chasing them, and we can only pray that the killer isn't the one who finds this odd pair first.This is a book that defies categorization. It's part thriller, part police procedural, part road trip, part commentary on aging/relationships/dementia-- and it has flashes of comedy throughout. When I began reading this book, I was worried about Korean War veteran Sheldon Horowitz because I was remembering when my own grandfather lived with me. By the time I finished reading Norwegian By Night, I had a big smile on my face and wished that we could all be as demented as Derek B. Miller's main character.This is a book that has so much to say-- and it manages to say everything in a rather concise manner. What this debut novelist says in 300 pages, most other writers would take at least twice the space. Miller never lets his foot off the gas-- this tale moves swiftly and surely from beginning to end. If you're the type of reader who wants a fast-paced book that starts at Point A and leads directly to Point B, you might want to give Norwegian By Night a miss. From time to time, the narrative wanders off onto dark alleys and narrow country lanes, as Sheldon visits the Korean and Vietnam Wars, memories of his wife and son... and as we learn a bit about the background of the silent little boy Sheldon is trying to keep safe. These diversions add a richness to the story that it cannot live without; they are the life's blood of Miller's characters. It takes an incredible amount of skill to be able to introduce these flashbacks and themes and not have them slow down the pace of the story, and Miller accomplishes it with ease.The element of the chase keeps the story's pace flowing quickly, while those diversions add dimension to both characterization and to the themes of aging and regret that run throughout the book. And when the action gets too scary or one of the themes gets too dark, Sheldon Horowitz is there to say or do something that will make us laugh. This book fed my mind on so many levels! It's been a long time since I've finished a book with such a huge smile on my face, wanting to invite a character home to live with me. Should we all be as crazy as Sheldon!
    • 5/5
      The main character of this delightful book is a marvelous creation. Cranky, opinionated, and remorseful, 82-year-old Sheldon Horowitz is also insightful and funny. Part of the wonder of this book is the way that Miller was able to weave imaginary conversations with people long-dead with issues arising from geopolitical conflicts to create a story full of marvelous descriptions, humor, and a strong narrative drive.
    • 3/5
      One of my favorite reviewers tagged "Norwegian By Night" as an A+ so I had very high expectations. After reading it, I felt it was good, nothing special, a 3.0 stars, and I'll be less inclined to jump on this reviewer's "sure things" in the near future. The story is about an 82 year old Jew who is persuaded to move from New York to live with his grand-daughter and her new husband in Norway. She believes the old man is demented, it soon becomes quite clear that he is not. There is a murder and as a consequence the old man is on the run with a seven year old boy who is being pursued by the killer. But the story has more to do with the old man's guilt over the death of his own son years ago. And then I thought, haven't I read this book before, several times before? There is a chase, the cops are the third team of involved characters but there really isn't a lot of tension in the story, at least for me. There is some clever dialog, and of course the old man has all the best one-liners. And then somewhat inconsistent with the story up to that point, there is quite a bit of blood and dead bodies in the last few pages. Can't recommend it.
    • 5/5
      I read this while vacationing in Norway and highly recommend it. A great first novel from a writer that I hope to read more of in the future. The story centers around a American woman married to a Norwegian, who decides to move her widowed grandfather (a war veteran) from the U.S. to Oslo to live with her and her husband. It is a tough adjustment for the grandfather, who comes into his own when a crime occurs in their apartment complex and he rescues a young immigrant boy from a dangerous situation. The flashbacks (or are they fantasies) the grandfather has about his time in the military give the story a very interesting twist. A great read! (The fact that I visited the very neighborhood where much of the story takes place just added to the reading experience...the author did a great job of creating the atmosphere of the immigrant community.)
    • 5/5
      this book is funny which is a surprise looking at the synopsis. I so enjoyed the old main character. Nothing to lose he just does what he thinks is right to make up for the loss of his son.When he tries to get rid of the tractor, I was laughing out loud.Great book.
    • 4/5
      Sheldon is an arm's length from his granddaughter, Rhea, and her new husband, Lars, who is just now taking a long pull on his own beer and is looking so cheerful, so kind, so peppy, that Sheldon wants to take the hot dog from his hand and insert it up his nose. Rhea, who looks oddly pale today, would not respond well to this, and it might condemn Sheldon to further socializing excursions ("so you can adjust"), and in a world filled with fairness Sheldon would not deserve them—nor Lars the hot-dog maneuver. but it had been Rhea's idea to move them from New York to Norway, and Sheldon—widowed old, impatient, impertinent—saw in Lars's countenance a suppressed desire to gloat.None of which was fair.This book was an absolute delete to read, filled with quirky, lovable characters and a plot that kept me turning pages late into the night. Sheldon Horowitz is a Korean War veteran who is haunted by memories of the war and the role he played in encouraging his son to fight in the Vietnam War, where his son was killed. Rhea, however, wonders how much of his angst is real and how much is fueled by the onset of dementia. When Sheldon witnesses domestic violence, he impulsively offers succor to a young boy, setting off a chain of events that involves a murder, Balkan paramilitary violence, and a slightly concussed female police chief. Fast paced, humorous, and filled with loving relationships slightly off-kilter, I loved this story by debut novelist, Derek Miller.
    • 5/5
      I chose this novel because it appeared on the Best List of 2013 in the UK's Guardian newspaper. No need to reiterate the story as it is reviewed by others. Sheldon is a complex 82 year old using all his life experiences to save a small boy who is being pursued by some very unpleasant people. The author tells the story pretty much through Sheldon's thoughts. He has a slight case of dementia so sometimes things are a bit fuzzy for him but he is determined to do what is necessary to keep this boy safe. Sheldon is a crusty, old but caring guy who has had a good deal of life's experiences thrown his way. He seems to be steely on the outside but has a very good handle on life and his place in it. He is a loyal, loving guy with alot of life's guilt regarding his choices. The author does a good job of making you laugh when he thinks he is conversing with his dead friends for advice, and then putting you on edge when the "bad" people show up and yes the end will make you cry but also glad you had the chance to spend a few days with Sheldon Horowitz! Good read.
    • 5/5
      I have recently come to seek out the crime thrillers from Scandinavian authors. I had thought Stieg Larsson was the only one, but boy was I wrong! So imagine my surprise to find out that Derek B. Miller, author of Norwegian by Night, is an American and this is a debut novel. Friends, I am telling you, don't miss this!Sheldon Horowitz is an 82 year old Jewish American who has just moved to Oslo after the death of his beloved wife. His granddaughter Rhea has previously married an Oslo native and now resides there. She convinces her grandfather not to remain alone in New York City by revealing that she and her husband are expecting Sheldon's great grandchild. Sheldon was too young to fight in WWII, but he was profoundly shaped by patriotic emotions as he watched his older brother go off to war. He also was scarred by the horrors that emerged from the anti-Semitic attitudes of the Nazis, not to mention the apathy of the non-Jewish Europeans who did nothing to stop the slaughter of millions of Jews. When the Korean War broke out, Sheldon signed up and served his country with extraordinary bravery, though he did not see it as such, and kept his medals hidden from his wife, downplaying his war service if it ever came up. Rhea's father, the Horowitz' only son had been killed in Afghanistan shortly before Rhea was born.A lot of this background information comes to us via Sheldon's thoughts and reminiscences, and he is hilarious. His expressions are rich with Jewish humor and self-deprecation, but his love and tenderness for his family as well as a strong sense of what is right and wrong comes through clearly. So when he is home alone in Oslo and hears yet another huge fight between the couple upstairs, he goes to his front door to peer out when he hears footsteps clattering down the stairs. Amazingly it is the woman and he is shocked to see that she stops right at his door, looking back up the stairs and then out toward the street. "Run!" he shouts silently in his head, but when she doesn't he remembers the apathetic Europeans of the WWII era who did not open their doors when the Nazis came for their Jewish neighbors. Sheldon opens the door and the woman and a child rush in. They do not speak the same language, but Sheldon knows they must hide. Too soon a very angry man is pounding on the door. Sheldon hides the boy and himself but the woman makes it known that she will go talk to her husband. When the noise stops, Sheldon realizes that the man may come back for the boy and that they must get away and hide til he figures out what to do next.The story is told not only from Sheldon's perspective, but from that of the police investigators, Rhea and her husband, and even the killers. Talk about an action-filled book! Sheldon's military training from the Korean War days kicks in and he and the boy are one step ahead of both the cops and the killers til the last page of the book. A poignant and moving story about aging, heroism and family, as well as a crime thriller. Really a good read, so let's be watching for Derek B. Miller's next work, whatever it might be! In the meantime, get Norwegian by Night and enjoy this novel!
    • 4/5
      I'm not sure how I feel about this book, but there is no denying that it is very well-written and very memorable, although the subject matter, about war and war crimes, is very hard to read about. These crimes get described in the course of an exciting story about Sheldon, a Jewish American 82-year-old Korean War veteran living with his daughter in Oslo. He witnesses domestic violence while peering through the door to his daughter's apartment, and decides to take a stand and try to hide the woman and her young son. All goes terribly wrong when the violent man returns, and Sheldon and the boy end up fleeing for their lives. The boy is Albanian and cannot understand Sheldon, and Sheldon cannot speak Norwegian. Sheldon may or may not have dementia, but he has a plan, and it makes for some very funny moments as they make their way to hoped-for safety. The characters are excellently drawn and the reader is rooting for them all the way. The war crime recollections are told through the memories of Sheldon and the Kosovan father of the boy. A very different kind of story, well told.
    • 5/5
      This is a deeply moving and memorable novel draped around a classic thriller scaffolding, a novel that goes far beyond the scaffolding to examine issues of guilt, parenthood, Jewishness, war, age, manliness, and on and on and on. The basic structure is simple: witnesses to a horrible crime must flee the killers, and the police. That is made far more compelling by the fact that the witnesses are a very old man and a very young boy, and that both are foreigners with no common language, and with no knowledge of the language of the country in which they find themselves. Add in a charming young couple who are involuntarily involved, a truly horrifying chief villain with a shivery henchman, a likeable woman chief inspector, and some almost farcical side villains, and it all ticks along very nicely.What adds the extra dimension is the central character, and his struggle with himself. Sheldon Horowitz is an 82-year old widowed Jewish watchmaker from New York, who has settled in Norway with his granddaughter (his only surviving relative) and her pleasant Norwegian husband. As the novel gets underway, Sheldon may or may not be suffering from dementia, may or may not have benn a military hero, and may or may not have pressured his son into actions that led to that son's death. Whatever he is, he is entirely clear about one thing -- he doesn't like Norway -- and he has no compunction about sharing that with his downtrodden granddaughter. He is also very funny, very perceptive, and, as we discover, very resourceful.Through a series of circumstances Sheldon becomes the protector of a small boy from the Balkans who heard his mother's murder, and who is very much wanted by his mother's killer. Sheldon realizes that the murderer will be looking for them both, and that the police may well be doing the same. He heads off cross country with the boy, and along the way unravels many mysteries about himself. The suspense is strong in both stories -- will they escape? and what is the truth about Sheldon? It makes for a terrific novel. Add in a good deal of humor -- not ha-ha humor, except for Sheldon -- and a wonderful touch for characterization, and you have a really wonderful read. Like many other reviewers, I look forward to Mr. Miller's next novel.
    • 5/5
      Sheldon Horowitz's wife Mabel kept telling him in her last months that he had dementia. He certainly often confuses the past with the present, and sometimes it is hard to work out whether snippets of the past really happened or whether Sheldon just wanted them to happen that way.His trek through Norway to what he sees as safety with a seven year old whose language he can't speak has a really cinematic quality; by that I mean I think this story would make a great film.Sheldon lives with a lot of guilt. He couldn't tell Mabel, or anyone else what he did in the Korean War. He told her he had a clerk's job in the Marines, and he hid from her the medals he brought back. Similarly he feels responsible for his son Saul's death in the Vietnam war, believing he goaded him into a second tour of duty.There's a lot to like about NORWEGIAN BY NIGHT. There's humour, but also some pretty serious assessment of the impact of war on those who fight as well as those left behind.
    • 5/5
      Sort of mesmerizing. Thriller? Yes. A meditation on aging, war, death? Yes. An insight into Eastern European enmity? Certainly. It all worked for me.
    • 4/5
      Norwegian by Night. Derek B. Miller. 2012. OMG Jim would have loved the subtle ethnic humor in this book! Sheldon Horowitz, a widowed, Jewish Korean War vet and watch repairer has moved to Oslo to be with his granddaughter. Sheldon opens the door one morning to see the woman who lives upstairs and her young son running for their lives. He manages to save the little boy but the mother is killed as she tries to give Sheldon time to save her son. Sheldon decides to take the boy to his daughter’s summer house. Sheldon visits with his dead son, and his deal comrades from the war and uses his sniper training to save the boy. I agree with the NYT: “…the brains of a literary novel and the boy of a thriller. This is one of the best books I’ve read in ages.
    • 5/5
      This story took me by surprise, it was an unexpected thriller. Sheldon Horowitz was a Marine sniper in the Korean War who has recently lost his wife at 82. He decides to leave New York to live with his granddaughter Rhea and her husband Lars, in Norway. About as far as he can get from his former life.Norway is difficult for Sheldon to adjust to. Although, he loves his granddaughter and her husband, he misses his old life in New York, his wife of many years, Mabel and the son he lost in the Vietnam War, Saul. But, the most frightening thing is the dementia that is slowly taking hold. In his mind, the memories of his former life are crisp and so real that he loses track of what’s real and what’s not. One day while alone in the apartment, he opens the door to a woman and her child to get them away from a very dangerous man. He has to save the young boy and they set off going across the country being chased by the bad guys, the police and his family. Excellent book and highly recommended..