Discover Well-Read Black Girl Books and the projects reshaping publishing →

Book Summary and Reviews of The Fourth Man by K. O. Dahl

The Fourth Man by K. O. Dahl

The Fourth Man

by K. O. Dahl

  • Critics' Consensus (0):
  • Published:
  • Mar 2008, 288 pages
  • Rate this book

About this book

Book Summary

In the course of a routine police raid, Detective Inspector Frank Frølich of the Oslo Police saves the life of Elizabeth Faremo, a dark-haired beauty with mysterious eyes who was inadvertently caught in the crossfire. Some weeks later, Frølich coincidentally runs into her again---but their ensuing affair is no accident.

By the time he learns that she is no stranger---but rather the sister of a wanted member of a larceny gang---it is already too late.

In the middle of the night, Frølich receives a call that a young guard has been killed in the course of an attempted break-in. Scrambling to respond, he realizes that Elizabeth is no longer in his bed. And all at once, Frølich’s life has changed. In a turn of events cryptic, erotic, and complex, he finds himself a prime murder suspect and under the watch of his doubting colleagues.

Led through the dark underworld of Oslo and his own soul, Frølich---suspended from the force, blindly in love, and on the hunt for some hint of truth in a vortex of darkness and lies---must find out if he is being used . . . before his life unravels beyond repair.

Please be aware that this discussion may contain spoilers!

See what our members are saying about this book in our Community Forum.

What are you reading this week? And what did you think of last week’s books? (4/23/2026)
After reading London Falling I was in the mood for a lighter read. From my TBR list I chose The Very Long Strange Life of Issac Dahl by Bart Yates. It was an entertaining memoir of a man reflecting on his past life. For the May's1000 Books to Read: The Little Red Chairs by Edna O'Brian.To fully u...
-Lynne_G

Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $60 for 12 months or $20 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

Reviews

Media Reviews

"The entertaining if overstuffed plot is undermined at times by Frank's strange lack of reaction to Elisabeth's death and an unprofessional approach to forensic evidence relevant to the twist ending. Still...an exciting read." - Publishers Weekly.

"The mystery is there, and the plot's twists and turns demonstrate why Dahl has won the coveted Martin Beck Award and several other crime fiction awards." - Library Journal.

This information about The Fourth Man was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.

Reader Reviews

Click here and be the first to review this book!

Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $60 for 12 months or $20 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

More Information

Apparently Kjell Ola Dahl has attained cult status in his home country of Norway for his psychological thrillers ever since his first novel, Deadly Investments, was published in 1993, but this is the first of his books to be published in the USA. The Fourth Man was published in the UK in 2007 where The Man in the Window will be published in 2008.

More Author Information

Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $60 for 12 months or $20 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

Read-Alikes

Read-Alikes Full readalike results are for members only

If you liked The Fourth Man, try these:

  • Zeitoun jacket

    Zeitoun

    by Dave Eggers

    Published 2010

    About this book

    The true story of one family, caught between America’s two biggest policy disasters: the war on terror and the response to Hurricane Katrina.

  • The City of Falling Angels jacket

    The City of Falling Angels

    by John Berendt

    Published 2006

    About this book

    The author of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil returns after more than a decade to give us an intimate look at the "magic, mystery, and decadence" of the city of Venice and its inhabitants.

  • The Worst Hard Time jacket

    The Worst Hard Time

    by Timothy Egan

    Published 2006

    About this book

    As only great history can, Egan's book captures the very voice of the times: its grit, pathos, and abiding courage.

We have 4 read-alikes for The Fourth Man, but non-members are limited to three results. Join free to see the complete list of recommendations.
Search read-alikes
How we choose read-alikes
Membership Advantages
  • Reviews
  • "Beyond the Book" articles
  • Free books to read and review (US only)
  • Find books by time period, setting & theme
  • Read-alike suggestions by book and author
  • Book club discussions
  • and much more!
  • Just $60 for 12 months or $20 for 3 months.
  • More about membership!

BookBrowse Book Club

Book Jacket
When No One Else Will
by Amanda Skenandore
1940s Chicago nurse risks everything at an illegal women’s clinic during a high-profile trial of courage and sisterhood.

Members Recommend

  • Book Jacket
    The Jellyfish Problem
    by Tessa Yang
    A marine biologist rescues a Maine island menaced by a giant glowing jellyfish in this inventive debut.
  • Book Jacket
    Look What You Made Me Do
    by John Lanchester
    A propulsive tale of intergenerational tension and revenge from the Booker Prize nominee.
  • Book Jacket
    Dangerous, Dirty, Violent, and Young
    by Zayd Ayers Dohrn
    Son of Weather Underground radicals recounts life on the run and decades of revolutionary struggle.
Who Said...

I have always imagined that paradise will be a kind of library

Click Here to find out who said this, as well as discovering other famous literary quotes!

Book
Trivia
  • Book Trivia

    Can you name the title?

    Test your book knowledge with our daily trivia challenge!

Wordplay

Solve this clue:

Q S, S

and be entered to win..

Your guide toexceptional          books

BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.