“A small-time drug dealer is found battered to death on the outskirts of the Norwegian capital, Oslo. A young Dutchman, walking aimlessly in central Oslo covered in blood, is taken into custody but refuses to talk. When he is informed that the woman who discovered the body, Karen Borg, is a lawyer, he demands her as his defender, although her specialty is civil, not criminal, law. A couple of days later, Hansa Larsen, a lawyer of the shadiest kind, is found shot to death. Soon police officers HÅkon Sand and Hanne Wilhelmsen establish a link between the two killings. They also find a coded message hidden in the murdered lawyer’s apartment. Their maverick colleague in the drugs squad, Billy T., reports that a recent rumor in the drug underworld involves drug-dealing lawyers. Now the reason why the young Dutchman insisted on having Karen Borg as a defender slowly dawns on them: since she was the one to find and report the body, she is the only Oslo lawyer that cannot be implicated in the crime. As the officers investigate, they uncover a massive network of corruption leading to the highest levels of government. As their lives are threatened, Hanne and her colleagues must find the killer and, in the process, bring the lies and deception out into the open.”
My thoughts:
I felt as though the book started out kind of slow, and then I got invested in the mystery/whodunnit aspect of the story midway through. Then near the end I felt like I wanted to stop reading again. I think maybe part of my issue was that this is the first book in the series so there was a lot of introducing characters and their backstories, without really going into depth with each one. The changing in perspectives from one character to another in very sudden transitions was a bit confusing at times as well. One reviewer on Goodreads did say that Anne Holt’s definitely improved over time, and I really want to read 1222, so I am thinking I will stick with the series for now, even though I wasn’t totally satisfied with this book and probably only would give it a 3/5. However… 1222 is number eight in the series… I think I may just skip right ahead and read that one instead of reading all in order. Which is kind of crazy for me, I like things in order!!! But I’m dying to read about this:
“1222 is the story of how a small group of people find themselves stuck in a hotel during an apocalyptic snow storm. Following a dramatic train derailment at Finse, the conflict between the survivors escalates while a furious hurricane threatens the unprotected village. Nobody is there to help, and there is no way out of the inferno for the survivors hiding out. On the first night at the hotel, a man is found shot and murdered. The victim is Cato Hammer, a priest known nation-wide for his ability – and desire – to get in the papers. Hanne Wilhelmsen, retired Inspector at the Oslo Police, is drawn into a race against time, a murderer, and the worst storm in the Norwegian alps on record. She loses the first round. Soon, another one of God’s servants is murdered, when an icicle cuts through his body”
APOCALYPTIC SNOWSTORM!! I am really drawn to apocalyptic settings… for some reason…
Have you read any Anne Holt? What are your thoughts?
Living and Reading With Alana 