Jacob Juul goes from being a retired, moonshine-selling priest to a widower, grandfather, and murderer in just a couple of days.
Now, he has a dead debt collector in the booze stash in his shed that he has to get rid of and a criminal conspiracy he must save himself and little Isabella Donnatina from. Luckily, a lifelong career in the Church of Norway has prepared him to face most situations with calmness and optimism. As Jacob himself says: “It’s incredible what experiences through more than 40 years of visiting private homes to plan christenings, weddings, and funerals can teach you.”
A tragicomic noir from deep in the Norwegian forest that went straight to the bestseller list when published.
The sequel, Till Death Do Us Part will be published Autumn 2024.
This is a humorous novel with clever dialogue, observations, and use of metaphors. It gives me associations to Arto Paasilinna’s books, where hysterical and funny situations arise.
Bokbloggeren
Refractory novel about a retired priest who becomes a murderer on page one. If you’ve seen the Cohen brothers’ movie “Fargo,” you might have an idea of the solution to the priest’s problems. Recommended.
NRK
Through this glorious chaos of literally bloody seriousness, the important things in life still emerge (….) about values and what one spends time on.
Bømlonytt
To those of you who enjoy the whimsical, the bizarre, the odd, and the crafty. To those who like stories that take all kinds of twists and turns into the unexpected, the morbid, and the absurd… I’ve found just the crime novel for you!
Goodreads
As soon as I started reading, I was captivated by the pace, characters, humor, and universe in general. “Now, here’s a movie, I thought, and I want to make it.” I was no less convinced when I got to the end, when I was both moved and emotional.
Producer Finn Gjerdrum, Paradox
Wintery action and solid portrayals […] had me laughing out loud on several occasions…
Birøkteren
I’ve never read such an absurd Christmas story – and never been so thoroughly entertained.
Per Straarup, owner and publisher, Straarup & Co
The moonshining priest Jacob Juul is like a Clint Eastwood character with a shotgun and a priest’s robe. A Prayer for Jacob Juul is a wonderfully quirky, entertaining, and exciting story. This novel begs to be made into a movie!
Publisher Håkon Kolmannskog, Samlaget
The novel’s greatest strength is the main character, a retired priest who doesn’t stop to think twice before he shoots down a debt collector at his farmyard and who then handles the incident with stoic gallows humor. This rather simple but entertaining narrative contains a fascinating and well-developed character portrayal that makes the novel – even with all its improbable fabrications – quite believable.
Martin Ingebrigtsen, Editor at Samlaget
A wonderfully crooked and unconventional crime story with its own morality. We know from the very beginning who the killer is, but from there it picks up speed into a hilarious and grotesque story that also contains touching elements.
Krimifan
