Narrative Non-fiction2025 · 416 pp
The Unlikely Serial Killer
Simen Sætre
In The Unlikely Serial Killer, one of Norway's leading feature journalists, Simen Sætre, delivers the first comprehensive, investigative account of Norway's most talked-about serial killer. In 1983, Arnfinn Nesset was convicted of poisoning and killing 22 elderly people at the nursing home he managed in the small town, Orkdal. Nesset is not only the worst serial killer in Norway, but he also regularly appear on lists of the worst serial killers in the world. Yet today, fifty years later, the case has never been explained or never truly solved.
When Adresseavisen revisited the case in 2002, they concluded that “no one has solved the Arnfinn Nesset riddle.” Despite years of speculation, the mystery remains: what could have driven a respected nursing home director to commit such horrific crimes?
During the investigation, Nesset confessed, describing an eerie “urge to kill” that triggered physical symptoms like sweating and heart palpitations. He even claimed responsibility for far more deaths than he could realistically have committed. But before the trial, he retracted every confession, stating he had been pressured during interrogations and felt he had no choice but to comply.
Perhaps most baffling of all, Nesset was convicted entirely on circumstantial evidence. He was found in possession of the poison used but claimed it was intended to euthanize a dog. No technical or forensic evidence ever proved his involvement in the 22 murders.
While researching the book, Sætre has had access to all the investigation documents of the Nesset case. This is material that the public has not had access to before, and which brings new insight into the case and puts it in a different light. This is not just true crime — this is an attempt to finally solve one of the most enduring riddles in Scandinavian criminal history.
«The book is exceptionally well-written, and the author demonstrates a writing style and capacity for reflection not all too often seen in documentary literature [...]. The Unlikely Serial Killer has become an exceedingly successful book. And at times, it's as thrilling as a crime novel. Documentary literature doesn't get much better than this.»Adresseavisen, six/six stars
«It's superbly done. The Unlikely Serial Killer is, all in all, exceptionally well handled, and confirms Simen Sætre's position as one of our foremost writers of documentary literature.»Morgenbladet
Investigative journalism meets true crime 
