Martin Baldysz

The Silence Beneath

Stille grender

Sunnmøre, on the Norwegian west coast, Autumn 1902. The body of Hedda Fosen — the daughter of a wealthy landowner — is found brutally murdered in the remote valley of Mardalen.

Johan Ryer, a newly appointed senior constable from Ålesund, is sent to investigate. His unlikely assistant? His outspoken and fiercely independent sister, Sonja.

Cradled between fjords and mountains lies a tight-lipped village where what goes unsaid weighs heavier than what’s spoken. Powerful forces clash beneath the surface — and something dark has been set loose.

We follow the unconventional investigator duo Johan and Sonja Ryer — he precise, gentle and detail-oriented; she intuitive, bold, and unimpressed by authority. A classic murder mystery in a historical setting — featuring strong characters, quiet suspense, and the peculiar unease that only a remote Norwegian fjord village can hold.

This is the gripping start to a new historical mystery series, introducing brother-and-sister sleuths Johan and Sonja Ryer.

‘A gripping crime novel that stands out for its setting, plot, characters and prose. A refreshing new voice in Norwegian crime fiction.’

Author Geir Tangen

Stille grender is a magical story. […] I’m already looking forward to the next book in the series.’

Tine Sundal

‘I read with eagerness to the last page. I want to be part of the game […] I was genuinely excited to see how it would end, and I am genuinely looking forward to the next book about the investigators Ryer.’

Framtida
Photo: Helle Frogner

Martin Baldysz debuted with the novel Winter Crawings (Vintertrang) in 2013, and is also the author of the historical series Breaking Waves (Brenninger), with 16 books published so far. In 2022, his novel The Cairns was published to critical acclaim. Martin owns a farm in western Norway, where he lives with his author wife and two children.
The Silence Beneath is the first book in his new historical crime series.