Scandinavian Crime Fiction | Book Chatter

1222
By Anne Holt
(Scribner, Paperback, 9781451634723, August 2012, 352pp.)

The Short of It:

A mystery that will hold you captive. Preferably, under a blanket with a cup of something warm to keep you company.

The Rest of It:

During what is quite possibly the worst snowstorm ever, a train on its way to Bergen, Norway derails at a point about 1222 meters above sea level. The passengers are taken to a nearby hotel where they are given food and shelter but they find themselves trapped as the weather continues to worsen.

One of the passengers, Hanne Wilhelmsen, a retired police investigator notices something odd. That the passenger/s from the private rail car are nowhere to be seen. She hears from the other guests that they were taken to a different section of the hotel. Who are they? Why are they being kept separate from the other guests?

As if things could get any worse, a body is discovered. First one, then two. Since Hanne is the only person with any kind of investigative experience, she is enlisted to help solve the crime even though she has no desire to do so. Years ago she was paralyzed from the waist down by a bullet to the spine making it somewhat difficult to get around but her observation skills if anything improved, making her the perfect storyteller for this “locked door” mystery.

This is the 8th book in the Wilhelmsen series but the first for me and I never felt lost or out of the loop. Holt manages to give you just enough of a back story to feel comfortable,without rehashing Hanne’s entire life. The pacing is pretty good too considering its limited setting. The personal observations of Hanne were both critical as well as entertaining and often times funny.

This was an enjoyable read. I don’t read mystery or crime fiction too often but this one was especially fun. Mainly because of the “locked door” nature of the story. Being trapped in a hotel with a bunch of strangers, stuck in a wheelchair with a killer running about, makes for good reading. I can’t deny it.

I take comfort in knowing that there are seven other books in the series for me to dip into. Also, my other love (Jo Nesbo) calls Holt the “godmother of modern Norwegian crime fiction.” I’d say that’s pretty impressive.

Source: Sent to me by the publisher.
Disclosure: This post contains Indiebound affiliate links.

The Redbreast
By Jo Nesbø
(Harper, Mass Market Paperback, 9780062068422, August 2011, 576pp.)

The Short of It:

Took a little time for the story to build but ended up being a rather satisfying read.

The Rest of It:

This will be short because my hand is a hurtin’!

This story is a mix of old and new and leaps back and forth in the telling. Part war story, part crime fiction. The war story involves the Norwegian’s fight against the Russians which leads up to the creation of a neo-Nazi movement in Oslo right around the turn of the 21st century.

In the present day, Officer Harry Hole accidentally shoots a secret service agent and is given a “promotion” which basically means that he is assigned to a glorified desk job. However, when he realizes that the shell casings from that day appear to be from a weapon that is no longer around, he digs deeper and what he finds goes all the way back to WWII.

The Redbreast is the third book in the series featuring Detective Harry Hole but it was not my first time meeting Harry. No, I started with book #5 The Devil’s Star and have been reading them out-of-order ever since. The books are wonderful but they have been translated out-of-order which makes it ~~difficult~~ impossible to read them in order. In fact, the first two books are not available anywhere so you make do with what you can get.

However, the evolution of Harry as a person is what keeps me reading and I don’t mind taking these trips back into his past to see how he started out. The latest books in the series seem tighter and more fast paced whereas the older books include quite a bit of set-up. The first half of The Redbreast was very slow and tedious for me, but once I passed the halfway mark I was in familiar territory and loving every minute.

Nesbo’s books contain a sophisticated air that I don’t normally detect in American crime fiction. The tone is a bit different and although I can’t quite put my finger on why, it works for me. If you enjoy well-written crime fiction, you cannot go wrong with this series. Even if you have to read them out-of-order.

Source: Purchased
Disclosure: This post contains Indiebound affiliate links.

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