The famous crime writer and forensic specialist Kurt Aust is Danish by birth, now living in Norway and writing in Norwegian. He became widely known in Europe after the publication of his first book “Judgment Day” (1999), awarded with the prize “For Best Debut.” With this book, the writer launches a criminal series from medieval times, which also includes the novel “Second to God,” awarded the prestigious Norwegian Riverton prize and the literary prize “Glass Key” as the best Scandinavian detective of 2003. The series is linked not only by time and place, but also by its main characters—Danish professor Thomas Buberger and his student, the Norwegian Petter Hortten.
In the novel “Second to God,” the heroes once again have to investigate a series of mysterious poisonings and mystical deaths that occur during a secret trip by a papal nuncio through Lutheran Norway. At that time, young Petter was responsible for the safety of the Pope’s envoy and his safe return to Copenhagen.