Staff Review: The Land of Dreams

The Land of Dreams by Vidar Sundstøl

The Land of Dreams is an engaging mystery set in the Lake Superior area of Minnesota. The story involves a U.S. Forest Service police officer name Lance Hansen who discovers a Norwegian tourist bludgeoned to death near the shore of the lake. Eirik Nylund,  a detective from Norway, and the FBI become involved in the case. At the same time, Hansen, who is quite an expert on the genealogy and history of the region, investigates a murder that happened 100 years ago in the same spot. The author vividly describes the beauty of Lake Superior and seems well-versed on the region, due in part to the fact that he lived for two years on the north shore of Lake Superior. This sense of place was what made me want to keep reading the book nonstop. You can tell the author is passionate about the area from the detailed descriptions that he gives. Whenever I read something, I want to feel that the author deeply cares about what he has written and you can tell the writer has put great thought into his work. This book is the first part of a trilogy called The Minnesota Trilogy, (the library has several copies of this first book in our system, hint, hint) so I hope the library orders the second installment when it’s released in October. It’s one of those books that makes you wonder what is going to happen next. So if you like crime/suspense stories with some vividly written scenery, then try out this book.

-Garo K., Central Library