Jørn Lier Horst


Jørn Lier Horst is a Norwegian author of crime fiction and a former Senior Investigating Officer at Vestfold police district. His books have been published in over 40 countries and have sold more than ten million copies.
Horst made his writing debut in 2004 with Key Witness, based on a true murder story. The detective character in his crime novels is William Wisting, and a television series based on the series premiered in 2019.
Together with Thomas Enger, he writes the thriller series about policeman Alexander Blix and news blogger Emma Ramm.
He has also written children's books, including a series named Clue and books about Detective Agency No. 2.
WWW jlhorst.com

Personal life

Horst was born in Bamble, Telemark, the younger of two brothers. His parents were Oddvar and Hildur Lier Olsen. In 1995 he married Beate Horst and now uses her surname. They live in Stavern with their two children.

William Wisting series

  1. Key Witness
  2. Disappearance of Felicia
  3. When the Sea Calms
  4. The Only One
  5. The Night Man - translated into English July 2022
  6. Dregs - translated into English by Anne Bruce, 2011
  7. Closed for Winter - translated into English 2013
  8. The Hunting Dogs - translated into English 2014
  9. The Caveman - translated into English 2015
  10. Ordeal - translated into English 2016
  11. When It Grows Dark - translated into English 2016
  12. The Katharina Code - translated into English 2018
  13. The Cabin - translated into English 2019
  14. The Inner Darkness - translated into English 2020
  15. A Question of Guilt - translated into English 2021
  16. Snow Fall - translated into English 2023
  17. The Traitor - translated into English 2024
  18. The Lake - translated into English 2025

Blix/Ramm series

  1. Death Deserved - translated into English 2019
  2. Smoke Screen - translated into English 2020
  3. Unhinged - translated into English 2021
  4. Stigma - translated into English 2023
  5. Victim - translated into English 2024

Children's books

Detective Agency no. 2 series
  1. Operasjon Tordensky
  2. Operasjon Mørkemann
  3. Operasjon Solnedgang
  4. Operasjon Påskelilje
  5. Operasjon Sommerøya
  6. Operasjon Vindkast
  7. Operasjon Bronseplass
  8. Jakten på Kaptein Kroghs gull
  9. Operasjon Plastpose
  10. Operasjon Sirkus
  11. Jakten på Jungelens Dronning
  12. Operasjon Spøkelse
  13. Operasjon Sjørøver
  14. Jakten på Tyven-tyven
  15. Operasjon Mumie
  16. Detektivhåndboken
  17. Operasjon Skipsvrak
  18. Jakten på slottets hemmelighet
  19. Operasjon Skrotnisse
  20. Operasjon Svartskog
  21. Jakten på Trollmannens bok
  22. Operasjon Radius
  23. Operasjon Lurifaks
  24. Jakten på den siste dinosauren
  25. Operasjon Rød sløyfe
  26. Dekkoperasjon
  27. Jakten på enhjørningen
  28. Operasjon Heksegryte
  29. Operasjon Ninja
  30. Jakten på Campingkongen
  31. Operasjon Gulltann
  32. Jakten på den magiske julebyen
  33. Operasjon Fartsstripe
  34. Jakten på Vikingskatten
  35. Operasjon Fangejakt
Clue series
  1. Salamandergåten
  2. Maltsergåten
  3. Undervannsgåten
  4. Gravrøvergåten
  5. Libertygåten
  6. Esmeraldgåten
  7. Rivertongåten
  8. Hodeskallegåten
  9. Ulvehundgåten
  10. Sjøormgåten
  11. Einsteingåten
  12. Triangelgåten
  13. ''Smuglerhuset''

Film, TV, and Stage

The TV series Wisting premiered on Viaplay in 2019, with Sven Nordin starring as Chief Inspector William Wisting.
The first four books in the CLUE series were adapted into the film CLUE: The Maltese Mystery in 2021 by Maipo Film. The movie was nominated for an Amanda Award in the category of Best Children's Film. Some of the books in the Detective Agency No. 2 series were adapted into films by Filmkameratene. In the fall of 2021, Riksteateret premiered the play Detective Agency No. 2 – Operation Theater, based on an original script by Horst.
Horst is also affiliated with the production company Novemberfilm, where he has been involved in several documentary productions, including The Marianne Mystery.
Horst frequently appears as an expert commentator on crime cases for outlets such as VG and serves as a regular crime commentator on Crimewatch on TV2 Norway.
In the autumn of 2022, Horst took part in the celebrity version of the reality program The Traitors. In 2023 Horst participated in the fourth season of Masked Singer Norway, disguised as The Magician.
As a playwright, Horst has written several family productions for Teater Ibsen and Riksteateret.

Awards and honours

2010 The Riverton Prize shortlist for Dregs
2011 The Riverton Prize shortlist for Closed for Winter
2011 The Norwegian Booksellers' Prize for Closed for Winter
2011 Vestfold Literature Prize
2012 The Riverton Prize for The Hunting Dogs
2012 Ark’s Children's Book award shortlist for The Salamander mystery
2013 The Norwegian Booksellers' Prize shortlist for The Hunting dogs
2013 The Glass Key award for The Hunting Dogs
2013 The Norwegian Booksellers' Prize shortlist for The Caveman
2016 The Petrona award for The Caveman
2014 The Martin Beck Award for The Hunting Dogs
2015 Ark’s Book of the Year shortlist for Ordeal
2016 The Avid Reader Award shortlist for The Riverton Mystery
2016 Special Award for Excellence in Crime Fiction Writing
2016 The Petrona award for The Caveman
2017 The Avid Reader Award shortlist for The Wolfhound Mystery
2017 BOK365 Book of the Year shortlist for The Katharina code
2017 CWA International Dagger longlist for When it grows dark
2018 Grand Prix de Littérature Policière shortlist for The Hunting dogs
2018 BOK365 Book of the Year shortlist for The Cabin
2018 The Nordic Noir Thriller of the Year Award for Dregs
2019 Grand Prix de Littérature Policière shortlist for The Caveman
2019 CWA International Dagger longlist for The Katharina Code
2019 The Norwegian Silver Knife award shortlist for The Cabin
2019 BOK365 Book of the Year shortlist for The Inner Darkness
2019 The Petrona award for The Katharina Code
2020 The Edgar Award shortlist for The Wisting tv-series
2020 CWA International Dagger longlist for The Cabin
2020 The Petrona award shortlist for The Cabin
2021 Prix du Bureau des Lecteurs shortlist for Ordeal
2021 Vrij Nederland’s Thriller of the Year shortlist for The Katharina Code
2021 The Petrona Award shortlist for Death Deserved
2021 The Norwegian Beech Noir Award shortlist for A Question of Guilt
2023 The Norwegian Beech Noir Award shortlist for The Traitor
2023 The Alf Prøysen's honorary award for the bestselling series The Detective Agency No. 2
2023 Chosen as writer of the year by Aftenposten Junior
2024 Winner of The Finnish Whodunnit Society's honorary award for Excellence in Foreign Crime Writing
2024 The Riverton Prize shortlist for Victim
2024 The Petrona Award shortlist for Snow Fall
2024 The Riverton Prize shortlist for The Lake
2025 The Norwegian Silver Knife award shortlist for The Lake
2025 Winner of The Norwegian Beech Noir Award for The Lake