A cliché detective-thriller set within Norway, I’m Travelling Alone is a mixed bag of good and bad tropes. Even though it seemed to be generally well-received, I had a hard time enjoying this lengthy read. It felt like an insult that such an unoriginal, complicated thing could ever be printed and praised.
The plot follows a homicide investigations group that has recently reassembled. Their latest goal is to stop a serial killer that targets and hangs young girls, the first of which is found in a forest, adorned with a travel tag stating, ‘I’m travelling alone.’
Bjork, for lack of a nicer way of putting it, does not seem to have a grasp on how to write meaningful characters. Emotions are shallow and often flip-flop several times within scenes, leading to a complete absence of consistency. Moreover, the writing is both edgy and cringe-worthy. The two main protagonists, Mia Krüger and Holger Munch, are quite unlikeable due to their shoe-horned wit and sarcasm that regularly detracts from the tension.
Constant quips amidst a plot that takes itself way too seriously, whilst having a string of hollow red herrings and conspiracies about religion, just make this lengthy book feel like a waste of time. The cherry on top? There are suggestions of romantic tension between a teenage boy and his female teacher at one point, for seemingly no reason beyond, ‘Goodness, there has to be a romantic subplot somewhere in all of this!’
Even though the book frequently jumps between characters and chapters are typically only half a dozen pages in length, this book is hard to enjoy. The repetitive dialogue, pacing, and baffling twists make the story unsatisfying right until its half-hearted conclusion. Not a recommendation from me.
Leave a Reply