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A review by rkw25
1222 by Anne Holt
4.0
Randomly researching books about place one day, I read a brief description of this book and was intrigued by the description of the 'detective'--Norwegian, wheelchair-bound, lesbian, no longer working--and the place--northern Norway where a train has derailed and the occupants are accommodated in a nearby hotel 1222 meters above sea level while a hurricane-force storm rages. I have been listening lately to radio plays from BBC about detective Annika from Norway and the wit and brilliance of the women are much the same, as is the writing full of streams of thought from the main characters.
Hanne from the book has withdrawn into a smaller and smaller world since her days on the Oslo police force and basically sees only her partner Nefis, their 3-year-old daughter, and their housekeeper at home. To be thrust into a large group of people, dependent on others, is her worst nightmare. But a murder and then a second (both clergymen) draws the best out of her and out of the group that rises to leadership--the hotel manager, two local men, and a doctor. The secondary characters are well drawn, with enough of them to add variety without needing a character listing at the front of the book. Chapter headings raise the threat of storm and emotions as they describe the Beaufort (wind) scale.
This book is the eighth in the Hanne Wilhelmsen series and appears to have been the first translated into English. If you plan to read the whole series, you may not want to start here as some spoilers from previous books appear. But I found it very readable as a stand-alone book and really atmospheric as well as a good puzzle.
Hanne from the book has withdrawn into a smaller and smaller world since her days on the Oslo police force and basically sees only her partner Nefis, their 3-year-old daughter, and their housekeeper at home. To be thrust into a large group of people, dependent on others, is her worst nightmare. But a murder and then a second (both clergymen) draws the best out of her and out of the group that rises to leadership--the hotel manager, two local men, and a doctor. The secondary characters are well drawn, with enough of them to add variety without needing a character listing at the front of the book. Chapter headings raise the threat of storm and emotions as they describe the Beaufort (wind) scale.
This book is the eighth in the Hanne Wilhelmsen series and appears to have been the first translated into English. If you plan to read the whole series, you may not want to start here as some spoilers from previous books appear. But I found it very readable as a stand-alone book and really atmospheric as well as a good puzzle.