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A review by mg_in_md_
The Lion's Mouth by Anne Holt
4.0
To be reviewed
This review is based on the FirstReads copy I won. This is the second book in the Hanne Wilhelmsen series that I've read. While I haven't read the series in order, I thoroughly enjoyed both of the books I've read so far and will definitely seek out others as they become available in English. Originally published in Norway in the mid-1990s, the plot could have been ripped from today's headlines. The story begins with a locked door mystery -- the Norwegian Prime Minister is found dead in her office. Her death recalls the real 1986 assassination of Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme, which puts enormous pressure on the police to find the killer and motive. The police must step carefully to determine whether this was a personal attack or act of terrorism (domestic or international) that could be part of a broader plan targeting other world leaders.
In this installment, Hanne is largely absent from the early part of the story -- she is on leave in California, so her partner Billy T. is put in charge of the case. Despite the distance, however, Hanne cannot be kept on the sidelines and finds a way to lend her expertise to the investigation, virtually at first and later in person. Since the case centered more on Billy T., it was fairly easy to dive into the story, although I did find myself wishing I had a little more of the backstory for him and the other characters. I liked the characters and pacing of the story, which made several twists and turns along the way and offered unique insights to Norwegian politics at the highest levels of government. As the case unfolds, Billy T. and Hanne unearth tragic secrets from the Prime Minister's past that seem to have some bearing on the current crisis. He and Hanne must tread carefully as they put the pieces of the puzzles together on perhaps the most sensitive case of either of their careers. The case is not resolved until the last few pages and the reader will be left as off balance as the police officers who slowly realize what happened in that locked room. The author's past experience working in the Oslo Police Department, and working as a lawyer and later Norway's Minister of Justice enhanced the storytelling and added realistic touches to the plot. I'm so grateful to the FirstReads giveaways program for giving me the chance to read another installment in this excellent series -- thank you!
(Also, this book was one I used for the 2016 Book Riot Read Harder Challenge; category: read a book about politics in your country or another (fiction or non-fiction). Since I started this one in late 2015 but finished it in early 2016, I'm only counting this as partial credit and plan to read a second book that fits this category before 2016 is done :))
This review is based on the FirstReads copy I won. This is the second book in the Hanne Wilhelmsen series that I've read. While I haven't read the series in order, I thoroughly enjoyed both of the books I've read so far and will definitely seek out others as they become available in English. Originally published in Norway in the mid-1990s, the plot could have been ripped from today's headlines. The story begins with a locked door mystery -- the Norwegian Prime Minister is found dead in her office. Her death recalls the real 1986 assassination of Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme, which puts enormous pressure on the police to find the killer and motive. The police must step carefully to determine whether this was a personal attack or act of terrorism (domestic or international) that could be part of a broader plan targeting other world leaders.
In this installment, Hanne is largely absent from the early part of the story -- she is on leave in California, so her partner Billy T. is put in charge of the case. Despite the distance, however, Hanne cannot be kept on the sidelines and finds a way to lend her expertise to the investigation, virtually at first and later in person. Since the case centered more on Billy T., it was fairly easy to dive into the story, although I did find myself wishing I had a little more of the backstory for him and the other characters. I liked the characters and pacing of the story, which made several twists and turns along the way and offered unique insights to Norwegian politics at the highest levels of government. As the case unfolds, Billy T. and Hanne unearth tragic secrets from the Prime Minister's past that seem to have some bearing on the current crisis. He and Hanne must tread carefully as they put the pieces of the puzzles together on perhaps the most sensitive case of either of their careers. The case is not resolved until the last few pages and the reader will be left as off balance as the police officers who slowly realize what happened in that locked room. The author's past experience working in the Oslo Police Department, and working as a lawyer and later Norway's Minister of Justice enhanced the storytelling and added realistic touches to the plot. I'm so grateful to the FirstReads giveaways program for giving me the chance to read another installment in this excellent series -- thank you!
(Also, this book was one I used for the 2016 Book Riot Read Harder Challenge; category: read a book about politics in your country or another (fiction or non-fiction). Since I started this one in late 2015 but finished it in early 2016, I'm only counting this as partial credit and plan to read a second book that fits this category before 2016 is done :))