In dust and ashes

Hanne Wilhelmsen #10

by Anne Holt

I 2001 omkommer tre år gamle Dina i en tragisk bilulykke. En tid senere dør Dinas mor under mystiske omstendigheter, og faren Jonas blir dømt for å ha drept henne.

I 2016 får Henrik Holme den gamle saken på bordet, og han forsøker å overbevise sin mentor Hanne Wilhelmsen om at Jonas muligens ble uskyldig dømt. Holme og Wilhelmsen oppdager at saken kan ha forbindelse med en eksentrisk bloggers selvmord og med kidnappingen av barnebarnet til en nyslått Eurojackpot-millionær. Nå kommer Hanne Wilhelmsen for alvor på banen.

Genres: Mystery, Crime, Fiction, Nordic Noir, Scandinavian Literature, Thriller, Mystery Thriller

386 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2016

About the author

Anne Holt was born in Larvik, grew up in Lillestrøm and Tromsø, and moved to Oslo in 1978. She graduated with a law degree from the University of Bergen in 1986, and went on to work for The Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK) and then the Oslo Police Department, earning her right to practice as a lawyer in Norway. In 1990 she returned to NRK, where she worked one year as a journalist and anchor woman for the news program Dagsrevyen.

Holt started her own law practice in 1994, and served as Minister of Justice in Cabinet Jagland for a short period from November 25, 1996 to February 4, 1997.

In 1993 Holt made her debut as a novelist with the crime novel Blind gudinne, featuring the lesbian police officer Hanne Wilhelmsen. The two novels Løvens gap (1997) and Uten ekko (2000) are co-authored with former state secretary Berit Reiss-Andersen.

Holt is one of the most successful crime novelists in Norway. She has been published in 25 countries.




Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Reviews

[Sharon · Rating 5 out of 5]

In Dust and Ashes. #10. Hanne Wilhelmsen FINAL. Anne Holt and Anne Bruce. iBook. 11/2017.

Really enjoyed reading this series book by book. Hanne’s professional and her private life. Many very quirky but good recurring characters. This book gives Henrik his spotlight and between Hanne and Hendrik again they search and search to get to the bottom of a couple of cold cases that no one thinks are worth their time except a retired cop. The personal and the politics of modern day Europe are addressed as usual. As they dig deeper things become more interesting and what on the surface seems a quiet read becomes more and more intricate, technical and things and events past and present begin to twist together. Very well constructed and written. Shame she has stopped this series. Personally I enjoy it better.....by far than Modus. Very good series and good reads.

[Liz · Rating 5 out of 5]

https://cavebookreviews.blogspot.com/

Even though I haven't read any of the previous books in the "Hanne Wilhelmsen" series, I immediately tuned into this final volume. Jonas Abrahmsen, the father of a three-year-old Dina, who was killed by a car when she was three, is free from prison where he served eight years for killing his wife, Anne. Ann Holt had me in the first few pages!

Hanne Wilhelmsen, a seasoned detective, works with Henrik Holme. Hanne works from her home and serves as Henrik's mentor. Even though Jonas did not fight the case against him for killing his wife, a retiring detective hands the case over to Henrik as he is leaving. He continues to have doubts about the guilt of Jonas and asks Henrik to give it a look.

Henrik and Hanne have just finished up a court case where 22 people are on trial for terrorism, and their desks are relatively clean. Henrik wants to look at the Jonas case, but Hanne calls him and asks him to get in touch with a detective who has a new death, the suicide an Islamophobic blogger who has recently been found out to be Iselin Havorn, a wealthy businesswoman.

Henrik and Hanne do not agree on which case to follow. Their initial research reveals possible connections, and from there AH weaves a non-stop reading delight. I often zone out with the small details of criminal stories, but not this one. I was focused at all times as if AH was telling me the story in my living room. IN DUST AND ASHES is a novel not to be missed, regardless of your genre likes and dislikes. AH makes the art of writing seem so effortless! Her story flows smoothly and with empathy for all the characters.

Thank you NetGalley and Scribner for the opportunity to read this ARC.

[Kathleen Gray · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm so sad this series is ending as it's one of my favorites. Yes it's another Norwegian noir but it's also among the best. The characters, Hanne- who is in every book- and Henrik- who is her featured "sidekick" n this one, are damaged, complex, and very real. Hanne, by the way, is a misanthrope which can make her seem unlikable but keep in mind that she wants to see justice. This time around, they're chasing two cold cases where things don't seem quite right. If you're like me, you might be a bit confused as to how a suicide and a murder of two quite different people in two different time frames connect but hold on and all will be clear. Holt infuses each novel with a good sense of Norway, which is a plus even if some things are unfamiliar. Thanks to Edelweiss for the ARC. I used to buy these novels at Heathrow and bring them back to the US- that they are only being published here as the series ends, well, take advantage of the availability and read them all!

[Bruce Hatton · Rating 5 out of 5]

With the right-wing terrorists they’d helped to apprehend in the previous novel Offline now on trial, Hanne Wilhelmsen and Henrik Holme begin investigating another cold case. Back in 2003 Jonas Abrahamsen was convicted of murdering his wife Anna; about two years after their young daughter Dina was killed in a road accident. However, the detective who ran the original investigation always believed the conviction was unsafe.
Whilst pursuing their investigation, Hanne and Henrik discover possible links between the cold case and the recent supposed suicide of an anti-Islamic blogger who co-owns a successful health-food company and the abduction of the grand-daughter of a man who has recently won the Lottery.
Once again, Anne Holt manages to painstakingly develop each separate thread of her narrative until merging them together in the final chapters. Hanne and Henrik form a highly unusual but extremely effective working partnership and following the ups and downs of their collaboration is a real joy.
This is possibly the best novel in the entire series and a masterclass in Nordic storytelling.

[The Library Lady · Rating 5 out of 5]

No!!!!
This is said to be the last Hanne book that Holt will write and I want MORE!

If you are a fan of the Lisbeth Salander books, read these. Far, far better in every way, especially in terms of believable characters.

[Gemma entre lecturas · Rating 4 out of 5]

La novela me enganchó, un thriller entre lecturas más densas, mi elección para despejar la mente y esta autora es una vieja conocida que nunca me deja indiferente, Anne Holt vuelve a darnos un final sorprendente que nos hace plantearnos las consecuencias de ciertos actos. No tiene compasión con el lector, nos pone en situaciones cuya injusticia oprime, su intriga está bien trazada siempre al servicio de los temas que de alguna forma la preocupan, porque siempre incide en ellos en sus novelas de una forma u otra.
 
¡Feliz lectura!


Más en mi blog

[Jeanette · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's ok. But it's too long for the plotting and the personality types too mundane for this length of intense study, IMHO. Once in awhile you have a real firecracker man or woman that demands that level of word count. But when you have anti-social, selfish and entirely self-involved at the core (even if they are in a wheelchair)- it's at least 100 pages too much of it.

Henrik comes into his own. But then again, this is a 30 year old straight man who has never slept with a woman and has finally decided to get his adam's apple reduced. And has his own minimal human contact problems too, despite being at heart a very "nice" guy. And he is. But his copy is about 50 pages too long.

Also there is immense redundancy. The phrase "neat and tidy" had to appear at least 75 times in this book, for instance.

Now the good stuff. For the first half it kept my interest and I didn't understand Anna'a murder. So I was intrigued by Jonas having spent that time in prison and his aftermath. (8 years and he is out- how nice of them in Norway. Gssssh!)

But the second half (or after they deciphered the fact that both cases were connected)! It was just about a 2 star at the most. And don't we readers always know the crimes are connected? I knew who did the deeds or had impact within both cases at about the 70% mark. Throughout all that interviewing to past doctors, neighbors, relatives etc.- it just became a slog. For about 50 pages there, I almost DNF. The "sorry" hopping within the Henrik and Hanne infighting (don't hurt MY FEELINGS AGAIN) didn't help the whole either. I almost considered the entire book a 2 star within that aspect being given such page length.

But then I thought about how it captured Jonas's sorrow. And also how it played some tricks with temperatures and candles and I decided to round it up. 2.5 stars rounded to 3 for the culmination of where a Hanne personality usually comes to reside and snark after reaching age 60. You sure know how and what she is, but I'm not sure I incline to "visit" her anymore.

This was one of my favorite authors and I'm disappointed. I wanted Hanne to have so much more wit than she has now and some friends possibly? And I am also more than dismayed at the politico she infused in this book too. Very trite and immensely simplistic (of course that capitalist product is a dupe and anyone who wants to keep their own traditions is anti-muslim) are only two examples. Plus she has two sets of married lesbians and makes them into somewhat of a cliche, I think. How do you do that??

For instance, here in this book- she makes Hanne's wife Nefis into nearly a cipher person. Silent in the background and just a "good little wifie" who takes her folded chair into the trunk and out again and runs to get the beverages. Good God, I thought they were supposed to be enlightened or liberated or empowered within same sex marriages. Here we have two awful ones. Hanne is more a tyrant than a spouse.

1222 this definitely was not.

You know, I hated the last few paragraphs so much that maybe it is a 2. Well, the first half was good enough plus. But in the end and full effect. Meh!

[Åse Nielsen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fortsettelse med terror og høyreekstremisme, og et generelt Norge som er rasister. Men hovedkarakteren har nå blitt så sær. Når Norges største Internett troll, som er konspirasjonsteoretisker, rasist og alt mulig, dør (halleluja) er Hanne Wilhelmsen fast bestemt på at det IKKE var selvmord, og skal komme til bunns på hva som skjedde. I tillegg skal sidechicken med vannhode bli mer og mer kul og flink.

[Madison · Rating 4 out of 5]

We started really strong and around the halfway point it was losing me. I still enjoyed it, I actually really like Hanne and Henrik. The ending was interesting? to say the least? I think I get what Holt was going for but it’s also a BOLD move to end your series like that in my opinion.

[Renita D'Silva · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fast paced and brilliant

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

Coming very late to this series of detective novels – this is the last of ten – I’m naturally not au fait with what’s gone on previously in the career of the wheelchair-bound character, Hanne Wilhelmsen. Nor am I the best judge as to how this ranks with the rest of the series.

Hanne is a peculiar woman with little desire to have contact with real people, apart from her immediate family. The younger cold case detective Henrik Holme is her link to the outside world, yet while she respects his extraordinary attention to detail – which usually helps bring their cases to a close – she treats him in a very offhand way for the most part. There’s often not much here to make the reader warm to her.

Holme himself is an oddity, full of tics such as tapping, and scratching his nose, and having to sit on his hands because they won’t stay still. He’s also an outsider, finding it difficult to bridge the gap between his solitary life and having a relationship with a woman.

The book focuses on two cases, neither of them cold case in any real sense. In one, a man was imprisoned for killing his wife nearly two years after their young daughter was accidentally killed by a passing car. This happened nearly twenty years ago. A retiring detective who worked on the case has always felt there was something not quite right about the result, even though a huge amount of work was done on it.

In the other, a notorious anti-Muslim blogger has committed suicide after her identity was revealed to the public. The two cases appear to have no connection, and there shouldn’t be any reason to re-open either of them, but Hanne and Henrik suspect all is not as it seems.

Holt is clever at sliding over the coincidences that might disrupt our reading of her plot, and she holds our attention to the end. The endless wintriness of Norwegian weather never fails to make itself noticed, so it comes as a surprise to find that children in a day-care facility are left outside in their buggies to sleep because it is only five degrees below zero (!) Holt, who isn’t above taking the mickey out of her own story, notes later that such an idea is seen as absurd by the world media when it becomes widely known.

Elsewhere she has Hanne thinking that the solutions to the cases sound ‘like a novel. A terribly bad novel that no one would want to read.’ Holt, of course, knows this isn’t a terribly bad novel, and it’s not as dark as some other recent Scandinavian thrillers have been. In fact, in spite of the oddities of the two detectives, I might have to go back and read some of the others in the series.

[Hannelore Cheney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you Netgalley and Scribner for the eARC.
This is the 10th and final book in the Hanne Wilhelmsen series - unfortunately. I really hope Anne Holt starts a new series with Henrik Holme as the main character, with maybe the occasional mention of Hanne, so we can get updated on how she's doing!
In 2001, a little 3-year old girl is hit by a car and killed. Her father Jonas and mother Anne are devastated and the marriage collapses. When Anne dies from a gunshot wound not too long after, Jonas is convicted of her murder.
In 2016, Jonas is out of jail, but still a walking shadow of the man he used to be. When he is fired from his job, he has basically hit rock bottom and decides to get back at life by making a horrifying decision.
Henrik has been made aware of the case and decides to investigate - perhaps Jonas didn't kill Anne? At the same time a famous anonymous Islamaphobic blogger seems to have committed suicide after being 'outed'. Hanne believes she was murdered and both her and Henrik decide they'll delve into both cases and discover they're probably related.
This was my favorite in the series, so well written with such insight into the different characters. The mystery is a nail biter, but it's Jonas' deep sorrow, Henrik's tics and foibles (OCD with a bit of Turretts?), Hanne's avoidance of intimacy with the outside world and the people who live in it, that made the book alive for me. There are some very tense and uncomfortable scenes, as well as interesting peeks into life in Norway - all in all a book that's hard to put down. I loved it!

[Britt-Marie Kullin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Betyg: 4 av 5.

Det finns många exempel på bra norska kriminalromanförfattare, och Anne Holt är definitivt en av dom.

Jag har läst flera böcker tidigare av henne, och här är länkar till mina recensioner av några av dom senaste böckerna, Sudden Death, och Flimmer, som hon skrev tillsammans med sin bror, Even Holt, och så Offline, Död i skugga, Frukta inte, och 1222 över havet, som hon har skrivit ensam.

Anne Holt levererar alltid bra, tycker jag. Kanske inte en av mina allra största favoriter inom deckargenren, men i alla fall snäppet under. Och så var det även med den här boken, för boken är spännande, välskriven, gripande, bra, och inte helt förutsägbar.

Så jag rekommenderar den.

[Miki Jacobs · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have several Anne Holt books in my to be read pile, but this was the first I've actually read. I have been missing out big time!
Hanne and Henrik stumble across two separate cases, one appears to suicide and the other, an old case where the husband was convicted of his soon to be ex wife's murder. The husband, Jonas, has recently been released from prison and bumps into one of the original investigating policemen and simply says that he knew he was innocent before leaving. The policemam, who has felt uneasy about the conviction over the years approaches Henrik to look at the original investigation.....
I loved the way the story twists and turns and you feel the dots joining so that you can see the overall picture. A great read.

[Mario · Rating 4 out of 5]

The last in the Hanne Wilhelmsen series. I’ve found all these books to be either good or very good (with the exception of the rather contrived 1222).

Like many others I’m sorry to reach the end of the series but on reflection I think it was the right time to draw it to a conclusion. The excellent Hanne and Billy T. relationship had run its course in the previous book and while I liked the addition of Henrik Holme I didn’t feel that character had sufficient scope to develop long term.

This story links two crimes, one that took place 12 years ago and a more recent murder. Interwoven within the main story is a road traffic death of a 3 year old child, which her father was never able to forgive himself for not preventing. So much so that when he is falsely accused of the earlier crime his guilt prevents him from arguing fully against it, as if it were a punishment for his negligence.

A good read which developed well, had interesting relationships and a few twists. I felt the story was a little complex at times, however, with the same characters featuring in the historical story and present day. So much so that I had to pause to get things straight every so often.

All in all three and a half stars. I finally plumped for 4 because of a good ending.

Looking forward to starting the Selma Falck series.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have really enjoyed the Hanne Wilhelmsen series and although this is called the final instalment, I hope that some day she might appear again.
Two seemingly unrelated cases come to the attention of Hanne and Henrik. One a murder that looks increasingly more like a suicide and a suicide that is looking more like cold blooded murder.
Jonas has been released from prison where he has spent 8 years for the murder of his wife. He has always said he is innocent and the detective on the case back then has had a change of heart and agrees there might have been a miscarriage of justice. As he has retired he passes the file onto detective Henrik Holme, Hannes side kick and legs. Wheelchair bound Hanne soon is involved in looking into the suicide of a well known blogger who had vastly upsetting views on racism, and it isn’t too long before a connection is found between the two cases. In the meantime Jonas is just going through the motions, his 3 year old daughter was tragically killed in 2001, not long after, his marriage was in the process of being dissolved when his wife killed herself. Then he does something rash and it’s almost too late for all involved.

I loved the character of Henrik Holme, he is shy, unsure, awkward and has an array of nervous ticks that Hanne overlooks. His character would make for great television.

[Essi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jotain 2-3 tähteä? En tiedä onko koskaan fiksua aloittaa jonkin (dekkari-)sarjan lukeminen 10. osasta, mutta nyt niin kävi. Kirjassa viitattiin taajaan rikoksia selvittävän kaksikon, Hannen ja Henrikin aiempiin vaiheisiin, ja luulenpa että kirjassa myös paljastettiin ratkaisuja aiemmista kirjoista.
Itse rikokset olivat ihan jännittäviä, kuten myös niiden ratkaisut, mutta jotenkin en vain syttynyt yhtään Hannen ja Henrikin hahmoista, mikä kyllä veti ihan tehokkaasti sai minut ajattelemaan, etten luultavasti tule lukemaan enempää tätä Hanne Wilhelmsen -sarjaa. Vähemmälläkin kyllä tuli selväksi, että Hanne on aika äkäinen ja hänen on vaikea näyttää tunteita muille, ja että Henrik on neuroottinen ja epävarma.

[Iamthesword · Rating 4 out of 5]

The last volume in a 10 volume series - so naturally the first one too read... But it worked quite well and I really enjoyed it. Apart from some minor issues where a plotpoint felt a bit unnatural (more like being there because a crime novel needs this kind of twists), I liked the story that kept me engaged all through the book. But the best part are the characters: They are very detailled and felt very much like real people. And interesting ones, too. I'd like to see them solve another case in the future - or the past, if we stick to the logic of the series...

[blauschrift · Rating 4 out of 5]

Die letzten 100 Seiten am Stück gelesen. Gefühlt ohne zu blinzeln, dafür mit Dauerherzrasen.

[Alessandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ultima avventura di Hanne: un caso che ne incrocia altri due. Lei ed Herik Holme riusciranno a risolverli nonostante mille difficoltà. Ma la soluzione del caso e la ritrovata innocenza di uno degli indagati per omicidio arriveranno troppo tardi per evitare un finale tragico. Intenso.

[Erica · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am sorry.. I couldnt read this one

[Suzan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is very reminiscent of a favorite thriller author of mine, Jo Nesbo, albeit a bit slower. Intricate plot, fascinating characters, well done setting; all the hallmarks of a great book. I was up until 3am finishing it. Warning, plot involves dying 3 year old children and discussions of suicide.

[Bridget Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hanne Wilhelmsen is a smart detective. Anne Holt portrays the difficulty of the work, that can seem futile and chaotic. In several of her books the reader learns more than Hanne does and can make reasonable assumptions about the resolution.

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I might be biased, because I read an abysmally bad crime novel just before this one. I can't really say why I gave it 5 stars: The mystery isn't crazy smart. There are a lot of coincidences to make this work, people sometimes act a bit stupid.
But these are seemingly real people having normal conversations, solving a crime that has a motive I can understand and perpetrators I can feel for and hate. It's a good, entertaining book, and I just loved the detectives in it. The last page makes you shake your head, not because the ending is bad, but because you have come to care for these people and can't believe this is what Anne Holt leaves you with. It's a good crime novel, because it doesn't try to wow you with blood and bears and false friends, but instead wants to talk about people and their relationships.
I enjoyed it immensely, and as the best holiday crime novel on my vacation, it gets 5 stars. Finito.

[Marjorie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have said many times that I really do not like the Scandi Noir genre of fiction. In general I love a good crime novel and I have narrowed down why Scandi Noir just doesn't float my boat - there is a propensity for a scattergun approach to introducing characters and scenarios and then three quarters of the way through the author suddenly realises they have to tie everything together and it becomes garbled and frenzied whilst strange deductive leaps are made to get us to the finale.

I am thrilled to report that Anne Holt does not resort to this tactic and I loved this book. Despite having never read any of the Hanne Wilhelmson story arc previously the character is fully-formed on the page and I quickly became engrossed in this tale. There are 3 main storylines:

Jonas Abrahmsen lost his young daughter Dina to a road accident. The anguish of which led to the dissolution of his marriage and him ultimately being jailed for the murder of his wife at New Year. Now he has been released and the arresting officer bumps into him at a service station shortly before his retirement. This is the one case that haunts him as he is not sure the right person was convicted.

Iselin Havorn has been exposed as the extremist behind the Tyrfing blogs. An activist for what can only be described as ethnic cleansing she has been in exile for 3 weeks in her flat before committing suicide.

Christel Bengtson has acheived fame as a blogger and is now making a splash as an actress. She had a daughter whilst still in high school but her father has provided her with love and support and they share a home. Happy in their family unit live is good until Bengt Bengtson wins the Eurolottery and Hedda is kidnapped.

Whilst some aspects of the story were obvious from fairly early on there are enough twists and turns to make you keep reading despite thinking you have it all figured out. The three strands are woven together through Hanne and Henrik Holme, her police officer support from a previous case, who are investigating cold cases. Did Jonas kill his wife? Was Iselin Havorn a suicide? Are things much deeper and darker than we suspect - well, this is Scandi Noir so the answer has to be yes.

A genuine page turner and a book which I read with a surprising amount of enjoyment. Thank you Ms Holt for breaking my loathing of your genre!

I RECEIVED A FREE COPY OF THIS BOOK FROM READERS FIRST IN EXCHANGE FOR AN HONEST REVIEW.

[Helen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hanne and Henrik unofficially look at two cases, one current involving an Islamophobic blogger whose identity had been made public and who apparently has taken her own life, and one old case of murder which is preying on the mind of a policeman about to retire who has a feeling that a miscarriage of justice may have taken place. Hanne has doubts about the suicide, Henrik about the murder. Meanwhile the life of the man convicted of the murder, now free, unravels. The cases turn out to be connected, and are finally solved, but of course there is no "happy ever after" for the victim of the miscarriage of justice, who has finally embarked on his own terrible venture.
This is described as the finale to the Hanne series, but it didn't feel like it at the end, at which the focus is very much on Henrik. I think I was expecting a different kind of ending, given this author's track record with some of her characters in other books and with the "finale" blurb in mind. The very last sentence perhaps rescues this from the saddest outcome, but stories involving bad things happening to small children are not comfortable reading. There are one or two odd proof-reading slips where characters' names are mixed up. The plot is good and the kidnapping story is tense, as the motive is understandable to us the readers who know what has pushed Jonas over the edge but unclear to everyone else. Everyone has a little piece of the jigsaw and nobody is able to put the pieces together. Good (but, is it really the end of this series?)

[WHPL Reference]

Find it at the West Hempstead Public Library http://encore.alisweb.org/iii/encore/...

[Elizabeth Ann Cyrus · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have given this book three stars because it isn't the authors fault. The book is part of a long series, which I was not aware of. Because of this I felt I could follow the book and always felt I was missing out on something. The characters referred to other cases and impacts from other cases, leaving me feeling unsure what was going on. Sometime I would question if it was relevant to this book.
However, I am sure if I had read the other books and new more about the characters the book would have flowed better. It was a good story line and it does make you wonder. If you had lost everything dear to you would you give up? or would you fight to find out the truth.
Interesting read and I may read the other books in the series.

[Ulla · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anne Holt har varit en av mina favoritförfattare från början. Jag var jätte ledsen när hon blev skjuten och jag trodde det var slut nu.
Men tack och lov, så var inte fallet. I "Offline" fick hon en ny arbetskamrat, Henrik Holme, som är helt underbar.
"I Stoft och Aska" är en helt fantastisk deckare!!!

[Ken Fredette · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought Anne Holt couldn't out do herself but I was stupefied after I finished reading this book. Hanne and Henrik really out did themselves in this book. I want to blab all about it but I won't just read it. I had tears of happiness. See if you do.