LAUNCHING 27TH APRIL:
THROUGH THREE ROOMS
A new translation by Lucy Moffatt
With an introduction by Nils Nordberg
“A vile crime is being planned,” he said.
“And heaven knows, it may even have been executed.”
When an old schoolfriend whisks private detective, Asbjørn Krag away by train to an isolated snow-covered manor house, his curiosity is aroused.
John Aakerholm, a wealthy landowner with peculiar tastes, refuses to disclose why he is utterly terrified. Every evening at midnight he retires to bed, locking himself within three different chambers - and access is strictly forbidden.
When a shocking murder takes place, Krag must use his sharp wit and skills to uncover the killer before he strikes again….
A brilliantly ingenious story, Through Three Rooms amply displays Elvestad’s gift for storytelling and style. Available in English for the very first time, this book will delight fans of vintage crime fiction.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sven Elvestad (1884-1934) was born Kristoffer Elvestad Svendsen and also wrote under the pseudonym Stein Riverton. During a golden age for Norwegian crime fiction, Elvestad reigned supreme as the King of Crime in northern Europe. He wrote close to 100 books, with several published in as many as 17 languages. His masterpiece The Iron Chariot, published in 1909, anticipated by 16 years a twist later used by Agatha Christie in The Murder of Roger Ackroyd.
Elvestad became an international celebrity. With a tall and distinct appearance, as well as a passion for food, drink and tobacco, he was popular with painters and cartoonists. He changed his name after being caught embezzling from his employer as a young man and took up a second career as a journalist. He was the first foreign journalist to interview Adolf Hitler and often played a colourful part in his own stories, once spending a day in a circus lion’s cage.
Although reprints of his books have been few and far between in the years since, his pseudonym inspired the name of the Norwegian Crime Writers’ Association, Rivertonklubben, the Riverton Club, a society for the cultivation and improvement of crime writing. A special honorary Riverton prize is reserved for distinguished service for Norwegiancrime fiction. There is also an honorary international Riverton prize which is given out occasionally, among its recipients are PD James, Maj Sjöwall and Henning Mankell.
Kabaty Press’s edition of Through Three Rooms will bring the father of Norwegian crime fiction to a new generation. Originally published in 1915 in Norwegian, there has never been an English translation of Through Three Rooms – until now.
Hardcover 978-83-966166-3-0 RRP £24.99
Paperback ISBN 978-83-966166-2-3 RRP £12.99
eBook ISBN 978-83-966166-4-7 RRP £2.99
Both paperback and hardcover editions 6"x8" and 140 pages
Available from 27th April 2023 at www.kabatypress.com, online and to order in most bookstores
ABOUT THIS EDITION
PRAISE FOR THROUGH THREE ROOMS
“(A)n entertaining country house mystery novella…(t)he pace is fast and the story an enjoyable example of the traditional murder mystery.”
Martin Edwards, novelist and author of The Life of Crime
“(A) brisk, pacey and thoroughly entertaining page-turner by one of crime fiction's unsung heroes. It's a good old-fashioned thriller that benefits immeasurably from a concise, skilful translation, and is well worth rediscovering.”
Tom Mead, author of Death and the Conjuror
“Like the expert marksmanship displayed in this story, Riverton shows excellent aim in picking off our (genre-trained) assumptions about the mystery enclosed. Fortunately police detective Asbjørn Krag, Norway's answer to Sherlock Holmes, is not so dazzled by the 'inexplicable and the mysterious' in this country house murder mystery.”
Kate Jackson, author of How to Survive a Classic Crime Novel and www.crossexaminingcrime.com
