Beyond the Truth

October 31, 2016
The quadruple homicide of shipping magnate Hermann Stahlberg; his wife, Turid; their elder son, Preben; and a publishing consultant with no apparent ties to the family kicks off Edgar-finalist Holt’s solid seventh Hanne Wilhelmsen novel to be published in the U.S. (after No Echo). Suspicion falls on Preben’s surviving siblings, Hermine and Carl-Christian, as they’ve been battling with Hermann and Preben for control of Norne Norway Shipping. But while the duo has motive, means, and opportunity, Hanne is convinced that the mysterious fourth victim is the key to solving the crime. Despite intense pressure from the public and her superiors to quickly close the case, the Oslo chief inspector launches her own investigation. Meanwhile, Hanne’s best friend and colleague, Billy T., fights temptation in the face of money problems. Realistically flawed characters, nuanced relationships, and thematically resonant subplots complement the central mystery, while Hanne’s housekeeper—an irreverent former prostitute—adds unexpected humor and heart.

October 15, 2016
Chief Inspector Hanne Wilhelmsen rings in the most wonderful time of the year by investigating a murderous assault on the clan connected with an Oslo shipping company.Think your family holiday gatherings are fraught? That's because you've never spent Christmas with Hermann Stahlberg, founder of Norne Norway Shipping. And now you've missed your chance, because someone entered the patriarch's home a few days before Christmas and shot Hermann, his wife, Turid, and their elder son, Preben. Knut Sidensvans, an electrician-turned-publishing consultant, has also joined the festivities and ended up equally dead just outside the door. Who could possibly be behind such wholesale slaughter? Fortunately for Hanne and her partner, Billy T., the remaining Stahlbergs are every one of them ripe suspects. Hermann's daughter, Hermine, evidently purchased a gun just a month ago. His younger son, Carl-Christian, has been fighting to claw back control of the family firm from his brother. Carl-Christian's wife, Mabelle, nee May Anita Olsen, is a world-class conniver with more ideas than scruples. Even Preben's widow, Jennifer Calvin Stahlberg, an Australian who doesn't speak a word of Norwegian, takes a lively interest in the fate of Norne Norway. Hanne's inquiries, in fact, reveal a family so deeply dysfunctional, so obsessed with hiding old secrets and hatching new ones, that it's no surprise when family members turn from accusing each other to confessing to murder themselves. The surprise is that Hanne doesn't believe them, and her skepticism is absolutely appropriate. The detection is labored, but the family of suspects is memorably monstrous, and Holt (No Echo, 2016, etc.) even finds time for a welcome and touching Christmas miracle. Ho, ho, ho.

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November 15, 2016
Hanne Wilhelmsen has a reputation, a good one for the most part. She is acknowledged as one of the foremost investigators in the Oslo Police Force, perhaps in all of Norway. However, she is known to be moody and eccentric. She has dealt with some horrific incidents over the years but is now settled in with her partner, Nefis, and their housekeeper, Mary, a reformed prostitute. This is the seventh book in the series (after 1222, 2011). The opening chapter goes from heartrending to horrific in a mere three pages. It is Christmastime, and four people have been shot dead at the home of a wealthy family known for its corporate infighting. There are plenty of motives within the family, but Hanne suspects there is an outside motive for the murders. Against all advice, she puts everything on the line in pursuit of the truth, and the portentous ending suggests that this time she may have gone too far. Perfect for fans of Scandinavian detectives and for those who appreciate Ann Cleeves' Vera Stanhope and other strong but flawed female protagonists.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)

July 1, 2016

In this seventh installment in the Hanne Wilhelmsen series from Edgar-nominated Holt, Norway's top-selling female crime writer, our redoubtable detective investigates a mass killing in the home of the Stahlbergs, who have made a bundle as shipping merchants. Three of the four victims are members of the squabbling family, while the fourth is a mediocre novelist who seems decidedly out of place. An open bottle of champagne suggests that before the murders there was cause for celebration, but of what?

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