GUNNAR STAALESEN was born in Bergen, Norway in 1947. He made his debut at the age of twenty-two with Seasons of Innocence and in 1977 he published the first book in the Varg Veum series. He is the author of over 20 titles, which have been published in 24 countries and sold over two million copies. Twelve film adaptations of his Varg Veum crime novels have appeared since 2007, starring the popular Norwegian actor Trond Epsen Seim. Staalesen, who has twice won Norway's top crime prize, the Golden Pistol, lives in Bergen with his wife.

On a frosty January day in Bergen, private detective Varg Veum is visited by a prostitute whose friend has disappeared. Before her disappearance, something had unsettled her: she'd turned away a customer and returned to the neighborhood in terror. Shortly after taking the case, Veum finds the first body - and it won't be the last either. His investigation leads him into a dark subculture where corrupted idealism has had deadly consequences. "Veum can skillfully dole out violence, but the essentially humane detective prefers methods that involve dialogue and deduction, investigation and intellect- a welcome contrast to many in his line of work."--Publishers Weekly Sept. 9, 2013 "Cold Hearts is top-tier Scandinavian crime fiction; straightforward dialogue drives the plot, and tough but sympathetic Veum is equally comfortable in a fistfight, proving for secrets behind Bergen's closed doors, or examining crime's sociological roots."--Booklist*, Nov. 1, 2013