What Never Happens

November 19, 2007
In this complex, at times slow-moving crime thriller from Norwegian author Holt, her second to appear in the U.S. (after What Is Mine
), Oslo husband-and-wife detectives Adam Stubo and Johanne Vik go up against an ingenious serial killer whose first victims are a talk show host whose tongue is cut out and a female politician crucified with a copy of the Koran placed in a delicate position. Despite the dramatic nature of the murders, Stubo finds few leads. It's not until Vik, trained as a profiler, uncovers a vital piece of information about the children of the talk show host that Stubo can begin to make headway. Are the killings random, part of a pattern or personal? As Stubo and Vik painstakingly work to uncover the truth, the author intersperses scenes from the viewpoints of the killer and potential victims. While this approach dilutes some of the suspense, it does mean readers get a rich picture of Norway's politics and culture on their way to a somewhat anticlimactic resolution.

Starred review from December 1, 2007
In her second Stubo and Vik investigation (What Is Mine, 2006), Holtproves herself worthy of being known as the Norwegian Henning Mankell, with a mystery that comes close to outshining even the best of Mankell's Kurt Wallander series. Adam Stubo and Johanne Vik are busy with their new baby and nine-year-old daughter, one of many fascinating secondary characters, and are only reluctantly drawn into the investigation of a serial killer who preys on celebrities. While Adam works his meticulous way through the scanty evidence at each crime scene, Johanne struggles to remember deeply repressed memories from her painful past training as an FBI profiler. Scattered throughout are brief vignettes featuring a nameless woman who just might be the killer Adam so desperately seeks. The exceptionally well-drawn characters, the revealing glimpses of Stubo and Vik's family life, and the precise details of a daunting police investigation combine to make What Never Happens an ideal read-alike for fans not only of the Wallander novels but also of Helene Tursten's Detective Inspector Irene Huss series and Jo Nesbo's new Harry Hole mystery, The Redbreast (2007). Essential for all mystery collections.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2007, American Library Association.)