It seems to me to be almost a crime in
itself to set even a small part of a crime
novel in so lovely a country as Norway,
and especially since the magic of its
beauty - particularly inland, away from
the fjords - and the friendliness of its
people have held me enchanted over the
years.

Since I have done so, however, I wish to
dedicate this book to Norway and the
Norwegians, it being now no longer
necessary to include in our Litany the old
prayer: 'From the fury of the Norsemen,
good Lord, deliver us.'

London, 1960
J.B.