The world-famous tenor James Medina has come to Oslo to perform in Tosca at the new opera house. During the break the beautiful Katja Henning visits Medina in his dressing room. She has been hired to excite him to the brink of explosion before he returns to the stage to perform with maximum intensity during the grand finale when shots will be fired in front of a trembling audience. As the shots fall, the blood spurting from Medina’s throat turns out to be frighteningly authentic.

In the chaos that erupts after the assassination, a fire breaks out, and Katja is saved by opera journalist Tom Hartmann. Later Hartmann is contacted by Medina’s manager and old friend, who offers to invest in Hartmann’s financially pressed opera magazine if Hartmann agrees to dedicate the next issues to celebrate the deceased star.

Hartmann travels to Vienna to write about Medina’s life. Sensing something sinister about the man in the next seat. Hartmann decides to follow him, thereby setting in motion a series of dramatic events.

Suspenseful, entertaining and packed with acute observations of life behind the opera scenes,  Deadly Applause is an astonishingly assured crime debut.

Praise for DEADLY APPLAUSE:

“A fresh and lively story of murder and power games on and off the opera stage.”  Dagbladet

“Øystein Wiik writes astonishingly well.”  Aftenposten

”… devious murder methods, whitewashing, trafficking and tragic human stories woven together into one powerful story … Wiik obviously knows the opera scene and brings the reader straight into the book with his knowledge and spicy descriptions … Those who didn’t know opera could be suspenseful should definitely get this book.”  Saltenposten

“Wiik has a juicy style of writing that fits well with the genre. His intimate knowledge of opera and opera houses contribute to moving the story and suspense forward.”
Østlandets blad
5/6 stars

“terrifyingly good … almost everything is extreme in this story, but still insidiously plausible. The cause is Wiik’s inspired craft, because DEADLY APPLAUSE is quite simply a wonderfully well told story … Wiik keeps track of past and present, numerous layers and diverging and converging events in a way that makes DEADLY APPLAUSE a veritable pageturner.”  Klassisk Magasin

“Opera crime not only for those with a special interest. A playful and lively suspense novel.”  Adresseavisen

“well-composed crime entertainment”  Hamar Arbeiderblad

“Lethal applause by Øystein Wiik is a brilliant debut. An original plot, passed on in a good and exciting way, with vibrant portrayals of the characters, and a string of actions that could have been taken from an opera libretto of excellent quality. […] Holds the suspense until the final act.” Krimikiosk

“An exciting cat-and-mouse game begins and captivates the reader from the very first page.” Nachtlichter – Das beste der Stadt  Hannover

“Wiik is an opera singer and describes both singing techniques and life behind the scenes thoroughly. The final showdown practically begs for film adaptation.” Münstersche Zeitung

“The Norwegian Øystein Wiik – actor, composer and opera singer – has written an intense debut crime novel that keeps the suspense going until the last page – also for those who don’t care for opera.”
RBB – Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg

“The author has also spun an astonishing web of different events and destinies. It’s exciting, crafty, and so cleverly executed that you’re really not able to put the book down. It’s definitely a publication worth recommending, also for those with no experience with opera.”
Hysterika.de

“In Lethal applausehe makes great use of his inside knowledge from the industry. He knows exactly what he’s writing about, and that also makes the novel a little textbook in music history and the world of opera.”
Der Nordschleswiger