Dead Joker

May 23, 2016
Edgar-finalist Holt’s powerful fifth Hanne Wilhelmsen novel (after The Lion’s Mouth) finds the Oslo chief inspector investigating the murder of Doris Flo Halvorsrud. The police suspect the culprit is her husband, Chief Public Prosecutor Sigurd Halvorsrud, who claims he was held at gunpoint and forced to watch as Ståle Salvesen—a businessmen he once investigated for insider dealing—beheaded his wife. Unfortunately for Sigurd, Ståle was seen jumping off the Staure Bridge the Monday before the murder. After Sigurd is released from jail, a journalist is decapitated and Sigurd’s fingerprints are found at the scene. Meanwhile, Hanne’s best friend and colleague, Billy T., faces down marriage and fatherhood, and her long-time live-in partner, Cecilie Vibe, battles cancer. Nuanced characters and a strong sense of place make for an immersive tale that packs an emotional punch and offers incisive commentary on the failings of the criminal justice system. Short chapters and a rapidly shifting perspective keep the pace swift despite a dizzyingly complex plot.

June 1, 2016
The murder of the Chief Public Prosecutor's wife sends shock waves through the Oslo law enforcement community as police officers and attorneys find themselves in unexpectedly uncomfortable roles.Sigurd Halvorsrud may be shaking with grief, but he can unhesitatingly name the intruder who beheaded his wife. It was Stale Salvesen, the disgraced CEO of Aurora Data, who presumably attacked Doris Flo Halvorsrud in revenge for the prosecutorial inquiries that drove his business into bankruptcy. The only problem with Halvorsrud's testimony is that according to several competing witnesses, Salvesen killed himself three days earlier by leaping from a bridge to the dark waters below. Without a corpse to establish Salvesen's death for certain, the Oslo police aren't quite sure how to handle the case. Chief Inspector Hanne Wilhelmsen places herself in a particularly awkward position when she interrupts an interrogation just as the Chief Public Prosecutor seems at the point of confessing to the murder himself, giving him a chance to calm down and think better of what he's saying. Naturally, her interference spells trouble for Hanne, but it's not the worst trouble she faces. Cecilie Vibe, her live-in partner of almost 20 years, has been diagnosed with a colon tumor, and everyone in the District Headquarters seems to have found out about it before the famously standoffish Hanne (Death of the Demon, 2013, etc.). Before she can close the book on her troublesome case, Hanne will quarrel with Cecilie, receive unexpected comfort from her old friend Billy T., establish an uneasy rapport with a murderous vigilante who targets child molesters, and face a second decapitation. Once again, Holt spices her procedural, whose irresistible setup isn't matched by its anticlimactic solution, with urgent news of her heroine's personal life that eventually eclipses the mystery.

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June 1, 2016
Hanne Wilhelmsen, chief investigator for the Oslo police, is dealing with a politically charged case. The chief prosecutor's wife has been murdered, decapitated by her own antique sword, with her husband's fingerprints all over it. The prosecutor offers up an alternative suspect, but it turns out he died a few weeks earlier. Nonetheless, Wilhelmsen doesn't really believe the prosecutor is guilty, but she and her deputy, Billy T., are having a hard time finding another suspect. Then a reporter is also decapitated, and the ante is upped dramatically. Meanwhile, Wilhelmsen's longtime partner at home has been diagnosed with cancer, and the combined stress of personal life and work is definitely taking its toll, all played out against a bleak Norwegian backdrop. The pacing is leisurely, especially for a Scandinavian thriller, but the character development is the main appeal here. This latest in Holt's long-running series remains an ideal read-alike for fans of Jo Nesb's Harry Hole and Karin Fossum's Inspector Sejer. Holt is Norway's former minister of justice.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)