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Hanne Wilhelmsen #7
Sannheten Bortenfor
From internationally bestselling and award-winning author Anne Holt—hailed as “the godmother of Norwegian crime fiction” by Jo Nesbø—the exciting seventh installment in the Hanne Wilhelmsen series in which the brilliant female detective investigates a mass killing in the luxurious home of one of Oslo’s wealthiest families.
Shortly before Christmas, Hanne Wilhelmsen, Chief Inspector of the Norwegian Police, is called to the scene of multiple murders. Four people are found shot dead at the home of the wealthy Stahlberg shipping merchants and notorious for family disputes and lawsuits. Three of the dead are members of the family, and the fourth victim is an undistinguished author, seemingly out of place. A bottle of champagne had been opened but not drunk. What was the cause for celebration?
As Hanne and her long-time police partner, Billy T., investigate, they unearth many motives for the murders; each surviving member of the Stahlberg family had good reason to want the victims dead. But Hanne doesn’t believe that the full story has been revealed, and she concentrates her efforts on discovering why the author was at the home of one of Oslo’s richest families. As Hanne draws closer to the truth, she will once again risk everything for justice. But this time, will she pay the ultimate price?
Shortly before Christmas, Hanne Wilhelmsen, Chief Inspector of the Norwegian Police, is called to the scene of multiple murders. Four people are found shot dead at the home of the wealthy Stahlberg shipping merchants and notorious for family disputes and lawsuits. Three of the dead are members of the family, and the fourth victim is an undistinguished author, seemingly out of place. A bottle of champagne had been opened but not drunk. What was the cause for celebration?
As Hanne and her long-time police partner, Billy T., investigate, they unearth many motives for the murders; each surviving member of the Stahlberg family had good reason to want the victims dead. But Hanne doesn’t believe that the full story has been revealed, and she concentrates her efforts on discovering why the author was at the home of one of Oslo’s richest families. As Hanne draws closer to the truth, she will once again risk everything for justice. But this time, will she pay the ultimate price?
Unknown Binding
First published January 1, 2003
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About the author
Anne Holt
57 books642 followersAnne 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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 129 reviews
February 23, 2017
Hanne is Hanne in this one- to the nth degree. She's obstinate, crabby, sarcastic more times than not, negative and suspicious, and even more self-involved and self-isolating at core than in your "average" Anne Holt Hanne Wihlemsen novel. This is novel #7. They have been translated out of order and some of the earlier were mediocre. And to be honest, before I give my reaction to reading this book, I have to add that I really don't think these are stand-alone. Because, like a Montalbano or a Gamache or especially like a Brunetti, the novel is as much about the core family and character situation as it is about the "case". In this novel, more so than most of those.
So as I started Anne Holt reads with her first English language winner of renown #1222! It's only now that I understand some of the underpinnings in that one. And why I also thought so many of the earlier were more than lacking? Despite the descriptive writing and the finely drawn characters, perhaps. And Oslo too. Oslo is also core to the frame within these books. Norwegian greeting and leaving address, sensibility, bluntness, morose assumption, living arrangements, moral codes most prevalent, all kinds of other "pace" issues- all with Scandinavian flavor. Believe me, there is little apologizing or excusing oneself as in the Japanese "sense" of language greeting.
Well, it is truly a 3 star, but I made it 4 for the enjoyment. There are gobs of suspects. And I mean gobs. With 4 people murdered at once, all kinds of associations could have been the cause. And it is also Christmas time. And Hanne's life partner Nefi has insured that it isn't going to be an isolated Christmas, either. Family and friends! Just what Hanne likes? Not.
So this blood bath happens a few days before Christmas and with 2 different guns in the mix. 3 people from one family and a stranger at their doorstep.
It's complicated. It jumps immensely from one set of coppers to another set of witnesses, to yet others in between. And during all of this narrator change- all we know for sure is that Hanne is going through a 42 year old awakening to what and who she truly is. Her father has just died, as well. And her brother and nephew also get involved within these days of "festival".
We have drug addicts, and we have drunks, and we have a mangy and decrepit nasty mongrel dog. Those all feature in this too. The dog actually opens and closes the entire novel.
It is NOT easy read. Not because of the style of language at all. But because of the context and content. You will need a cognitive map to keep all the two teams of players on their bases. And who is that way out there in left field? And who is sitting in the grandstand watching?
The solve is something that happens in the last 10 pages. And we all know that Hanne in age is in a wheel chair. We know that from #1222. And that her and Billy are the prime psyche team from the first book onward- so where is he here? Perhaps those of you who want a great Christie type ingenuous solve with all kinds of back clues that lead to it- will not particularly like this novel. NOT AT ALL.
Because these Anne Holt Hanne are all in the connections and the slow and fierce character developments. And the mores of that place and space. Much more than they are about the mystery or the perp.
Get ready for a heavy snowfall, jumping through a hole in the iced up lake, the usual copper conscience frenzy to take the pay off or not, the constant descriptions of what people smell like (every one of these novels has dozens of body order stench particulars and that almost made me lose another whole star on this one) and of course- the miserable and rude Hanne. Christmas making her jolly for an hour or two? Read it and see. And I am NOT exaggerating on the body smell quotient in these. These feature bathing or non-bathing as much as some other series feature food, luncheon or dinner fare. Holt's people seem to eat little and bathe even less.
But first start with a much younger Hanne, IMHO. If you read this latter translated without a base they will seem wandering in the wilderness to any plotting. Just my opinion.
3.5 rounded up. Why? Because Hanne FINALLY gets an atom of a clue about Hanne. The why of the Hanne and why of all the people Hanne has hurt and rejected. They are quite the crowd.
So as I started Anne Holt reads with her first English language winner of renown #1222! It's only now that I understand some of the underpinnings in that one. And why I also thought so many of the earlier were more than lacking? Despite the descriptive writing and the finely drawn characters, perhaps. And Oslo too. Oslo is also core to the frame within these books. Norwegian greeting and leaving address, sensibility, bluntness, morose assumption, living arrangements, moral codes most prevalent, all kinds of other "pace" issues- all with Scandinavian flavor. Believe me, there is little apologizing or excusing oneself as in the Japanese "sense" of language greeting.
Well, it is truly a 3 star, but I made it 4 for the enjoyment. There are gobs of suspects. And I mean gobs. With 4 people murdered at once, all kinds of associations could have been the cause. And it is also Christmas time. And Hanne's life partner Nefi has insured that it isn't going to be an isolated Christmas, either. Family and friends! Just what Hanne likes? Not.
So this blood bath happens a few days before Christmas and with 2 different guns in the mix. 3 people from one family and a stranger at their doorstep.
It's complicated. It jumps immensely from one set of coppers to another set of witnesses, to yet others in between. And during all of this narrator change- all we know for sure is that Hanne is going through a 42 year old awakening to what and who she truly is. Her father has just died, as well. And her brother and nephew also get involved within these days of "festival".
We have drug addicts, and we have drunks, and we have a mangy and decrepit nasty mongrel dog. Those all feature in this too. The dog actually opens and closes the entire novel.
It is NOT easy read. Not because of the style of language at all. But because of the context and content. You will need a cognitive map to keep all the two teams of players on their bases. And who is that way out there in left field? And who is sitting in the grandstand watching?
The solve is something that happens in the last 10 pages. And we all know that Hanne in age is in a wheel chair. We know that from #1222. And that her and Billy are the prime psyche team from the first book onward- so where is he here? Perhaps those of you who want a great Christie type ingenuous solve with all kinds of back clues that lead to it- will not particularly like this novel. NOT AT ALL.
Because these Anne Holt Hanne are all in the connections and the slow and fierce character developments. And the mores of that place and space. Much more than they are about the mystery or the perp.
Get ready for a heavy snowfall, jumping through a hole in the iced up lake, the usual copper conscience frenzy to take the pay off or not, the constant descriptions of what people smell like (every one of these novels has dozens of body order stench particulars and that almost made me lose another whole star on this one) and of course- the miserable and rude Hanne. Christmas making her jolly for an hour or two? Read it and see. And I am NOT exaggerating on the body smell quotient in these. These feature bathing or non-bathing as much as some other series feature food, luncheon or dinner fare. Holt's people seem to eat little and bathe even less.
But first start with a much younger Hanne, IMHO. If you read this latter translated without a base they will seem wandering in the wilderness to any plotting. Just my opinion.
3.5 rounded up. Why? Because Hanne FINALLY gets an atom of a clue about Hanne. The why of the Hanne and why of all the people Hanne has hurt and rejected. They are quite the crowd.
September 20, 2016
Wow, I finished Beyond the Truth by Anne Holt and I don't want to give anything away about Hanne Wilhelnsen but if there's to be a next book I want to read it now. Anne Holt knows how to keep you interested.
December 16, 2016
This book started out in a promising way and I was intrigued, but not far in, it began to drag badly, and it started to feel like work to read it. I forced myself to finish, but, even at the end, when the mystery was finally revealed, my reaction was, "meh".
It wasn't terrible, and I would read it in the airport waiting for a plane if there was nothing else to read, but it wouldn't be my choice. In my opinion, this could have been a better book if much of the nonessential had been edited out. Wading through all this excess made it feel like a struggle to follow the plot, and I was never quite clear about who was who. The protagonist, Hanne, was interesting, and I did relate to her, but the various police officers, officials, and lawyers all kind of blended together.
I was quite put off by the lack of compassion toward the dog.
"The animal was limping badly. Along his left flank, a wound glistened in the light from the street lamp; pus and bacteria had eaten their way deep into the flesh." It also said that his ear was partly torn off. He was starving, freezing, and injured, and had been for months, but there was never even the least concern for him, only fear and disgust. Desperate to survive, at the end, he injures himself further trying to get out of the cold and dies in an empty cellar. This is a pretty grim way to end a book. Are animals really treated so inhumanely in Norway? It seemed very cold hearted to me and I'm sure it affected my overall impression of this book.
I expect a book of this genre to lure me in and keep me eagerly reading on. I expect fast-paced action and a clever plot with unique and multidimensional characters. This book disappointed on all these levels.
Note: I received a copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
It wasn't terrible, and I would read it in the airport waiting for a plane if there was nothing else to read, but it wouldn't be my choice. In my opinion, this could have been a better book if much of the nonessential had been edited out. Wading through all this excess made it feel like a struggle to follow the plot, and I was never quite clear about who was who. The protagonist, Hanne, was interesting, and I did relate to her, but the various police officers, officials, and lawyers all kind of blended together.
I was quite put off by the lack of compassion toward the dog.
"The animal was limping badly. Along his left flank, a wound glistened in the light from the street lamp; pus and bacteria had eaten their way deep into the flesh." It also said that his ear was partly torn off. He was starving, freezing, and injured, and had been for months, but there was never even the least concern for him, only fear and disgust. Desperate to survive, at the end, he injures himself further trying to get out of the cold and dies in an empty cellar. This is a pretty grim way to end a book. Are animals really treated so inhumanely in Norway? It seemed very cold hearted to me and I'm sure it affected my overall impression of this book.
I expect a book of this genre to lure me in and keep me eagerly reading on. I expect fast-paced action and a clever plot with unique and multidimensional characters. This book disappointed on all these levels.
Note: I received a copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
January 9, 2017
3 stars
Although this book was well written, I had a difficult time with it. Hanne didn’t make a lot of sense in it. She was moody, uncommunicative and downright morose.
The parts of the book when someone else was speaking, or describing a situation unrelated to Hanne, the book was very good. We start with the murders of three family members and their guest. As the book progresses, we discover that the murdered parents were nasty, especially the father. A huge family, suspicion immediately falls on the brother and sister of the murdered son. The police and prosecutor are pushing for their arrest so hard it gets Hanne’s hackles up. She wonders about the fourth unrelated victim.
After much arguing, it all comes together. The murderer is a real surprise.
Thank you to Netgalley and Scribner for allowing me the opportunity to read this book.
Although this book was well written, I had a difficult time with it. Hanne didn’t make a lot of sense in it. She was moody, uncommunicative and downright morose.
The parts of the book when someone else was speaking, or describing a situation unrelated to Hanne, the book was very good. We start with the murders of three family members and their guest. As the book progresses, we discover that the murdered parents were nasty, especially the father. A huge family, suspicion immediately falls on the brother and sister of the murdered son. The police and prosecutor are pushing for their arrest so hard it gets Hanne’s hackles up. She wonders about the fourth unrelated victim.
After much arguing, it all comes together. The murderer is a real surprise.
Thank you to Netgalley and Scribner for allowing me the opportunity to read this book.
January 2, 2017
There are nothing but glowing reports on the dust jacket of this book. And I've read most if not all of the Scandanavian crime writers. Holt does nothing for me. The language seemed stilted, and I'm guessing this is translating the work from Norwegian to English, but it went beyond that in terms of obvious cultural differences and the way people engage with each other. The most enjoyable thing in reading the book, for me, was that I was matched to the December day by day timeline as I read it. I've already ordered all of her books from the library. I'll muddle through, but at the moment, without much hope for improvement.
September 4, 2020
In questo romanzo Hanne sembra più riflessiva, meno impetuosa, quasi "equilibrata". Merito della strana famiglia composta da Nefis e Marry probabilmente. Il caso su cui indagare è un quadruplo omicidio,con dei colpevoli già scritti all'apparenza: l'unica a dubitarne è proprio Hanne. Come sempre, avrà ragione. Peccato per la trama: lenta all'inizio, diventa quasi vertiginosa in poche pagine che danno un'accelerata pazzesca verso un finale imprevisto. Ammetto che ho dovuto rileggere qualche pagina perchè avevo perso il filo.
April 6, 2019
Hanne is at her most dysfunctional at times in this one. Cranky and secretive and it does make you wonder at times, especially how she has managed to continue and grow in her new relationship wth Nefis. But that may be my only quibble here. The story is messy in a good way, not a tied up with a bow puzzle like many mysteries but all over the place and mixed up with the personalities of the police who really are interesting.
November 2, 2016
Beyond The Truth – The Queen of Scandi Noir Returns
Beyond The Truth is the latest in Anne Holt’s Hanne Wilhelmsen Series and it is plain to see why even Jo Nesbo considers her to the Godmother of Norwegian crime. Anne Holt shows how dark things can get in Scandinavian Noir and it is easy to see why she is the bestselling female crime writer.
The off-beat Chief Inspector Hanne Wilhelmsen and her friend and deputy Billy T are summoned to a murder of four people a couple of days before Christmas. Four dead bodies, a dog that has feasted on a body, three of the four are a wealthy family and the other is a writer and editor. With no seeming connections between the writer and the wealthy family, things are as clear as mud to the team.
There seems so much evidence a conviction should be straight forward according to the Head of CID and the case will be closed by New Year and they can all go back to the festivities. With so much bad blood in the family to narrow down a shortlist is not an easy task. As Hanne Wilhelmsen digs deeper in to the case her colleagues become more exasperated by her odd behaviour and not sharing information with them.
Hanne Wilhelmsen is convinced that there is something bigger that is being concealed by the lies of the family, and that the police are being distracted by those lies. As Hanne untangles a very bitter and complex family history, she will risk everything to uncover the truth and more importantly find the killer.
Anne Holt knows how to draw a reader in to her style of police procedural thriller, she uses a clever blend of the off-beat, interspersed with some social commentary. Even though the book has a complex and at times perplexing narrative, the reader is hooked, because you need Hanne to find the truth, whatever it may be.
A stunning thriller, Beyond The Truth shows why Anne Holt is a thriller writer of the highest order.
Beyond The Truth is the latest in Anne Holt’s Hanne Wilhelmsen Series and it is plain to see why even Jo Nesbo considers her to the Godmother of Norwegian crime. Anne Holt shows how dark things can get in Scandinavian Noir and it is easy to see why she is the bestselling female crime writer.
The off-beat Chief Inspector Hanne Wilhelmsen and her friend and deputy Billy T are summoned to a murder of four people a couple of days before Christmas. Four dead bodies, a dog that has feasted on a body, three of the four are a wealthy family and the other is a writer and editor. With no seeming connections between the writer and the wealthy family, things are as clear as mud to the team.
There seems so much evidence a conviction should be straight forward according to the Head of CID and the case will be closed by New Year and they can all go back to the festivities. With so much bad blood in the family to narrow down a shortlist is not an easy task. As Hanne Wilhelmsen digs deeper in to the case her colleagues become more exasperated by her odd behaviour and not sharing information with them.
Hanne Wilhelmsen is convinced that there is something bigger that is being concealed by the lies of the family, and that the police are being distracted by those lies. As Hanne untangles a very bitter and complex family history, she will risk everything to uncover the truth and more importantly find the killer.
Anne Holt knows how to draw a reader in to her style of police procedural thriller, she uses a clever blend of the off-beat, interspersed with some social commentary. Even though the book has a complex and at times perplexing narrative, the reader is hooked, because you need Hanne to find the truth, whatever it may be.
A stunning thriller, Beyond The Truth shows why Anne Holt is a thriller writer of the highest order.
July 21, 2019
Hanne Wilhelmsen and her Oslo police colleagues must solve the murders of three members of a prominent family, and a man who may or may not have been an invited guest. All but Wilhelmsen are convinced of the identity of the perpertrators and the motive. Surely the most stubborn, go-it-alone law officer I've encountered in my reading, Hanne refuses to accept the verdict of her fellows. She relies on her powers of intuition and deduction and dogged patience to crack the case. It seemed to this reader that she could have benefitted from those powers on the home front. in the final scene, Hanne Wilhelmsen casts off her customary caution, and marches alone to confront the killer she knows is waiting for her. Would she really?
March 1, 2018
It took a while to unravel, and our heroine stuck to her 'left field' viewpoint. It brings a smile to see the characters age so well.
August 12, 2018
This would easily have been 5* from me BUT at one point she spelt her own character's name wrong and it blew it for me...so sloppy when this happens AND that nobody picks it up, either.
I'd had a break from reading her stories for quite a long time as they weren't coming down in price then this one dropped a bit so I ordered it quick !!
I'd missed the characters as they're such a very mixed bunch yet all so likeable in their own ways. Plus I've always preferred the Hanne series to the Johanne one. We learn a lot more about Hanne's early life in this story which I found interesting.
I liked the addition of a dog in this story though I wished he'd been better treated, poor old thing....
For some odd reason, all the street names in this book are written with a space in them, which in all her other books they haven't been...Carl Berners plass she'd usually write Carl Bernersplass. This happened to every single one and I preferred the usual way of reading them. I found this line was a totally confusing one to read, though perhaps it's just me, but I read and re-read and read it out loud and it still sent my brain into a spin, "Not a single soul in the entire police force was unconvinced that the four victims in Eckersbergs gate had been dispatched by one of the Stahlbergs"..... I just couldn't make sense of it !! Some of the actual story featuring Mabelle and Carl-Christian I found a little baffling at times as well.....all these wills and who inherits and who doesn't was definitely more than a little confusing in places.
One character was called Hermine all the way through but THEN morphed into Hermione right at the end which is where I docked a star. Aside from that crashing error I only spotted one set of dropped speechmarks and one apostrophe mistake so that was it, which wasn't bad going at all.
I'd had a break from reading her stories for quite a long time as they weren't coming down in price then this one dropped a bit so I ordered it quick !!
I'd missed the characters as they're such a very mixed bunch yet all so likeable in their own ways. Plus I've always preferred the Hanne series to the Johanne one. We learn a lot more about Hanne's early life in this story which I found interesting.
I liked the addition of a dog in this story though I wished he'd been better treated, poor old thing....
For some odd reason, all the street names in this book are written with a space in them, which in all her other books they haven't been...Carl Berners plass she'd usually write Carl Bernersplass. This happened to every single one and I preferred the usual way of reading them. I found this line was a totally confusing one to read, though perhaps it's just me, but I read and re-read and read it out loud and it still sent my brain into a spin, "Not a single soul in the entire police force was unconvinced that the four victims in Eckersbergs gate had been dispatched by one of the Stahlbergs"..... I just couldn't make sense of it !! Some of the actual story featuring Mabelle and Carl-Christian I found a little baffling at times as well.....all these wills and who inherits and who doesn't was definitely more than a little confusing in places.
One character was called Hermine all the way through but THEN morphed into Hermione right at the end which is where I docked a star. Aside from that crashing error I only spotted one set of dropped speechmarks and one apostrophe mistake so that was it, which wasn't bad going at all.
July 26, 2021
This is the seventh of ten books making up the complete Hanne Wilhelmsen series.
As with the others the story is partly made made up of a crime mystery and partly involves the life story of Hanne, her relationship with her partner and her one and only friend Billy T. Hanne is a complicated character. She’s stubborn, possessive, certainly not a team player and is fiercely protective of her personal life. In the previous books there are only small snippets of her life story. In this one though there are the beginnings of an explanation into what makes her how she is. In parts of the story Hanne narrates her panic about what opening up might reveal. Although her work colleagues find her cold the reader has a much more sympathetic view of her because of this.
The crime mystery is about an inter family dispute that appears to result in four murders. It is enjoyable, had plenty to make it interesting and I did not get near to guessing the outcome. However it is the way the two stories intertwined that lifted it to four stars for me.
The series itself needs to be read in order as, although they can be stand alone stories, they don’t have the same feel about them without knowing the past relationship twists and tensions.
Unfortunately the publishers decided to translate and print book 8 into English before the others. At the time I found it rather disappointing but now I can understand that I missed so much of the earlier background.
As with the others the story is partly made made up of a crime mystery and partly involves the life story of Hanne, her relationship with her partner and her one and only friend Billy T. Hanne is a complicated character. She’s stubborn, possessive, certainly not a team player and is fiercely protective of her personal life. In the previous books there are only small snippets of her life story. In this one though there are the beginnings of an explanation into what makes her how she is. In parts of the story Hanne narrates her panic about what opening up might reveal. Although her work colleagues find her cold the reader has a much more sympathetic view of her because of this.
The crime mystery is about an inter family dispute that appears to result in four murders. It is enjoyable, had plenty to make it interesting and I did not get near to guessing the outcome. However it is the way the two stories intertwined that lifted it to four stars for me.
The series itself needs to be read in order as, although they can be stand alone stories, they don’t have the same feel about them without knowing the past relationship twists and tensions.
Unfortunately the publishers decided to translate and print book 8 into English before the others. At the time I found it rather disappointing but now I can understand that I missed so much of the earlier background.
August 20, 2018
When three members of a wealthy family and an apparent stranger are murdered and mutilated during Christmas week, Hanne Wilhelmsen and her team wrestle with their preconceived notions and personal dramas to find evidence that the family's remaining black sheep members are the obvious suspects. Of course, Hanne- being the sullen, opinionated, self-absorbed bitch that she is- feels that the stranger's unexplained presence merits more investigation than the DA and superintendent consider the best use of limited resources in a high profile case that demands quick closure.
I found the shifting focus of scenes and character perspectives added to the tension and suspense that Anne Holt aimed for. Unlike a previous book of this series which I read, this book followed a logical and highly suspenseful line of inquiry with a solution that was always discernible by a close reader (admittedly, it took me a while to catch on). This, coupled with a shocking and powerful ending, would make me take a chance on any Hanne Wilhelmsen crime stories in the future.
I found the shifting focus of scenes and character perspectives added to the tension and suspense that Anne Holt aimed for. Unlike a previous book of this series which I read, this book followed a logical and highly suspenseful line of inquiry with a solution that was always discernible by a close reader (admittedly, it took me a while to catch on). This, coupled with a shocking and powerful ending, would make me take a chance on any Hanne Wilhelmsen crime stories in the future.
July 2, 2019
It took me a minute to realize that Beyond the Truth is the seventh in the detective Hanna Wilhelmsen series, which I had not read. I still chose to read it but eventually became aware that I should have started with the first book of the series. There is so much focus on the recurring characters that it really is beneficial for the reader to be familiar with their backgrounds. As for the mystery, I didn't find it intriguing enough until the last fifty pages or so. I can see why the series has a fan base, but this book didn't appeal to me. The characters are too grim and a little too mean for my tastes.
June 18, 2017
I really enjoyed this book. It's a crime novel that's gritty without being too violent. The main character Hanne Wilhemsen, is a Chief Inspector in the Norway police. She's a great creation, I'm going to read some more in this series. Police procedures and politics has never been so interesting. Hanne's personal life is part of the story, but it's not a boring soapy element.
April 19, 2024
Veelbelovend begin, maar gaandeweg vervalt het verhaal in geharrewar over verschillende personages die elk hun redenen hebben om de moord te kunnen plegen. Het einde was onbevredigend en onduidelijk. Enkel Inspecteur Hanne Willemsen zelf houdt het verhaal recht.
January 6, 2019
Hanne Wilhelmson rides again. This smart complex series adds another to the string. Three members of a rich family along with a seeming stranger are murdered in the family's home. More red herrings and motives than you keep track of and great new characters.
September 8, 2019
Not the best book to start this series on!
March 4, 2017
It is a high-profile quadruple murder investigation conducted by Chief Detective Inspector Wilhelmsen and her team. A few days before Christmas, Hermann Stahlberg, founder of Norne Norway Shipping, his wife, Turid, their elder son, Preben, and a fourth individual who cannot be identified immediately have been killed. It appears as if the killings interrupted a celebration--the champagne is uncorked but not yet poured. Only Wilhelmsen is troubled by the presence of the fourth victim. Others are looking at the remaining Stahlbergs as suspects.
Investigation reveals a dysfunctional family obsessed with hiding old secrets (some almost a cliche in Scandi noir ) and hatching new ones.
There was a lot of the Chief Detective Inspector's personal history that helps the reader to understand more about her that hasn't been explained before in this series. However, her memories didn't really add much to this book. Although the investigation is wrapped up in ten days it still seems slow paced, and at times it is a question as to who is more dysfunctional, the Stahlbergs or the police.
Investigation reveals a dysfunctional family obsessed with hiding old secrets (some almost a cliche in Scandi noir ) and hatching new ones.
There was a lot of the Chief Detective Inspector's personal history that helps the reader to understand more about her that hasn't been explained before in this series. However, her memories didn't really add much to this book. Although the investigation is wrapped up in ten days it still seems slow paced, and at times it is a question as to who is more dysfunctional, the Stahlbergs or the police.
October 17, 2021
I will stand by this: Hanne Wilhelmsen is a very solid crime protagonist. Even better, there is development and conflict, which I enjoy. I can imagine that the interpersonal stuff gets annoying if you aren't familiar with the previous books and don't read them in order, but that is quickly remedied. It's not literary magic, but very solid entertainment. I mean, I read Anne Holts novel at a speed of one per day - so clearly, she's doing something that works for me.
November 30, 2016
I love these Scandinavian novels, but I always have the hardest times with the names. They always slow me down. And this was no exception, no fault of the author, just the fault of me the reader not being used to different cultures.
My only complaint about this book was that the crime was wrapped up and the suspects arrested so early. Everything pointed to them. It was too easy and I sort of became bored with the whole thing until the ending. Then there was a huge plot twist. However, the plot twist alleged to at the beginning was so forgotten with everything else that by that time, I was just kind of over it. I think being interrupted so many times during the holiday weekend may have added to that frustration for me. There was a lot going on in this book. And I can tell you that the main family was certainly cray cray. I guess having all that money can do that to you. However, for the most part, it was a good read and I think that if I had read it in just a day or two as opposed to six, I would have liked it a lot better.
Huge thanks to Scribner for approving my request and to Net Galley for providing me with a free e-galley in exchange for an honest review.
My only complaint about this book was that the crime was wrapped up and the suspects arrested so early. Everything pointed to them. It was too easy and I sort of became bored with the whole thing until the ending. Then there was a huge plot twist. However, the plot twist alleged to at the beginning was so forgotten with everything else that by that time, I was just kind of over it. I think being interrupted so many times during the holiday weekend may have added to that frustration for me. There was a lot going on in this book. And I can tell you that the main family was certainly cray cray. I guess having all that money can do that to you. However, for the most part, it was a good read and I think that if I had read it in just a day or two as opposed to six, I would have liked it a lot better.
Huge thanks to Scribner for approving my request and to Net Galley for providing me with a free e-galley in exchange for an honest review.
December 22, 2018
Secondo libro della Holt che leggo dopo Quota 1222... ma ancora non mi sento del tutto conquistata da questa autrice. La scrittura mi piace, così come il personaggio scontroso e difficile di Hanne, qui ben delineato nella sua intima lotta contro demoni e storie di una infanzia solitaria di bambina 'diversa', che si porta ben celati nel profondo dell'anima.
Ciò che invece ancora non mi ha convinta è l'architettura del romanzo, che ho trovato un po' macchinosa e leggermente tirata per le lunghe fino all'inevitabile colpo di scena finale e soluzione del caso. Sarà anche che sto invecchiando e quando mi trovo circondata da molti personaggi rischio di confondermi e di perdere il filo :)
Quindi un romanzo non eccelso ma godibile che ha avuto il pregio di farmi conoscere meglio il lato umano della sua protagonista, motivo per cui darò alla Holt altre chances leggendomi in futuro altri suoi libri.
Ciò che invece ancora non mi ha convinta è l'architettura del romanzo, che ho trovato un po' macchinosa e leggermente tirata per le lunghe fino all'inevitabile colpo di scena finale e soluzione del caso. Sarà anche che sto invecchiando e quando mi trovo circondata da molti personaggi rischio di confondermi e di perdere il filo :)
Quindi un romanzo non eccelso ma godibile che ha avuto il pregio di farmi conoscere meglio il lato umano della sua protagonista, motivo per cui darò alla Holt altre chances leggendomi in futuro altri suoi libri.
November 14, 2023
Muy buena historia.
No conocía a la autora y me sorprendió gratamente, tiene un estilo directo y simple para narrar, no hay muchos detalles o descripciones, sólo lo justo para ambientar el momento o suceso.
Poco antes de Navidad, un grotesco asesinato múltiple en uno de los barrios más acomodados de Oslo tiene a la opinión pública en vilo. ¿Ha sido una tragedia familiar? La inspectora Hanne Wilhelmsen no lo cree. Hay demasiados cabos sueltos. ¿Quién es la cuarta víctima? ¿Y qué hacía con los Stahlberg, la famosa estirpe de armadores?
Un final brillante, donde todo cierra y ningún cabo queda suelto
No conocía a la autora y me sorprendió gratamente, tiene un estilo directo y simple para narrar, no hay muchos detalles o descripciones, sólo lo justo para ambientar el momento o suceso.
Poco antes de Navidad, un grotesco asesinato múltiple en uno de los barrios más acomodados de Oslo tiene a la opinión pública en vilo. ¿Ha sido una tragedia familiar? La inspectora Hanne Wilhelmsen no lo cree. Hay demasiados cabos sueltos. ¿Quién es la cuarta víctima? ¿Y qué hacía con los Stahlberg, la famosa estirpe de armadores?
Un final brillante, donde todo cierra y ningún cabo queda suelto
July 24, 2020
I’ve tried a few of Anne Holt’s books and I’m not really a fan. It may be the translation but I read or listen to a lot of Scandi books and this is he only author that doesn’t gel with me. I find the writing awkward. I’m skipping to the end to see whodunnit, too many books, too little time
February 13, 2017
Complex. Did not solve until end without a great deal of clues. Too much time spent on other suspects. I'm sorry I read it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 5, 2022
Too many characters, too much back story to make this a great read.
Read this again...and feel the same....not sure I got 'the point.'
Read this again...and feel the same....not sure I got 'the point.'
March 5, 2022
Chief Inspector Hanne Wilhelmsen is one of my favorite detectives. Bisexual, forty-ish, the most competent detective in Norway if not in Europe, she thinks and over-thinks all her cases. This time she has her mind full as there are four victims, three from the same family and one outsider, all shot with two different weapons. The Stahlberg family was very, very rich but, as so often happens with rich families, highly dysfunctional as well. All the better for Hanne to get involved with. As usual, her homelife is a bit of an afterthought; she spends more time with her one-time-only lover and colleague, the massive Billy T who is still in love with her though he has fostered several children with different women, only some of them his wives. Billy T helps keep Hanne on an even keel through much of the mystery, but, fortunately for us readers, not entirely on an even keel and not for all of the mystery. Recovered from the death of her longtime partner, Cecilie, Hanne is now living with Nefis from somewhere in Europe who apparently loves Hanne but cannot pronounce her name properly: rather than “Hahneh,” she keeps calling her “Hannah.” Hanne doesn’t really mind. The case proceeds swiftly, as complex as it is, and over a Christmas holiday as well. With her usual aversion to children, Hanne lets the holiday slide by, much to the consternation of Nefis and their friends. Hanne never takes her nose from the scent of the perpetrator and, even with the reluctant support of her superiors (as in all Nordic noir they are incompetent). Slowly, and with much meditation over the evidence, she ponders the mysteries of the crimes. Oddly enough, perhaps to the consternation of fans who want the solution to come purely from Hanne’s mind, the key piece of evidence comes from a rookie cop who over-extends his duties and finds the evidence comically, and mostly alone. The ending comes a bit rapidly, but not surprisingly and Hanne may or may not survive. We will find out in later volumes whether she continues living after a serious mistake. I for one hope she does as Holt enjoys her character and so do we. This is really good stuff. Try it.
November 5, 2024
Hanne W #6. Året har blivit 2002, Hanne bor med Nefis o Marry, o arbetar närmst med Silje Sorensen o Billy T. Polisjuristen Ann-Mari Skar (p???) är också aktiv, i en snurrig cirkus 7-8 intensiva juldygn, från 20-28 december. Ett fyrdubbelt mord hos rika redar-familjen Stahlberg orsakar febril aktivitet. Uppnystandet av det gamla paret o den skjutna sonens bakgrund, leder till klassisk arvstvist som gentemot de överlevande 2 syskonen: vapen i kassaskåp, drogmissbruk, pengar , olika varianter av testamenten dyker upp huxflux.
Hanne tror dock det fjärde, malplacerade offret - nån slags frilans skribent Knut Sidensvans, var mer intressant - o det blir en intressekonflikt när alla andra julstressen poliskollegor hellre vill godta syskonens skuld (som skyler nån slags incest…?) - än att nysta i den där sidensvans.
Stökig story, alla är antingen hjärtliga vänner , eller ovänner, folk jobbar i nån slags dygnet runt-dimma, o Hanne see nästan syner, när hon som vanligt hipp hopp bara tänker hr lösningen helt solo.
Rätt svag o tillkrånglad story.
Trots den överraskande slutet - polischefen Jens Bundteland skulle haft intresse av att tysta nån granne, o den där frilans sidensvans, som besökt fel lögenhet (?) - det är alldeles för krystat, när lösning måste hafsas ihop efter 300 sidor.
Lite irriterande när man läst Presidentens Val, vilket gör att man också inser Hanne W:s status, o vad som här händer.
Nja….
Hanne tror dock det fjärde, malplacerade offret - nån slags frilans skribent Knut Sidensvans, var mer intressant - o det blir en intressekonflikt när alla andra julstressen poliskollegor hellre vill godta syskonens skuld (som skyler nån slags incest…?) - än att nysta i den där sidensvans.
Stökig story, alla är antingen hjärtliga vänner , eller ovänner, folk jobbar i nån slags dygnet runt-dimma, o Hanne see nästan syner, när hon som vanligt hipp hopp bara tänker hr lösningen helt solo.
Rätt svag o tillkrånglad story.
Trots den överraskande slutet - polischefen Jens Bundteland skulle haft intresse av att tysta nån granne, o den där frilans sidensvans, som besökt fel lögenhet (?) - det är alldeles för krystat, när lösning måste hafsas ihop efter 300 sidor.
Lite irriterande när man läst Presidentens Val, vilket gör att man också inser Hanne W:s status, o vad som här händer.
Nja….
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 17, 2018
Il punto forte di questo romanzo è il personaggio della protagonista, con il suo carattere così difficile - scontrosa, asociale, diversa, e con quella sua famiglia così particolare. L’autrice spende molte pagine a descrivercela, i suoi problemi personali, la sua vita domestica, le difficoltà con i colleghi. I romanzi polizieschi hanno molti detective tormentati come lei, sempre suo punto di venir licenziati, sempre sopra le righe, ma capaci di vedere le cose da un punto di vista diverso che inevitabilmente li porterà a trovare la soluzione dei loro casi prima degli altri - anche se nella maggior parte dei casi si tratta di investigatori uomini, mentre in questo caso si parla di una donna.
E il suo caso è interessante e complicato da risolvere, e purtroppo la narrazione, a mio avviso troppo frammentaria, lo rende in molti punti difficile da decifrare e seguire. Per buona parte del romanzo non succede molto e non si vedono progressi, poi troppe cose accadono senza che se ne veda un collegamento e con troppi personaggi e situazioni che ne fanno perdere il filo, fino all’imprevedibile soluzione finale. Non fosse per questo difetto che lo rendono un po’ ostico, avrebbe una bella trama, e per questo gli assegno comunque 3 stelle sulla fiducia sperando che gli altri episodi della serie siano più chiari e semplici da seguire.
E il suo caso è interessante e complicato da risolvere, e purtroppo la narrazione, a mio avviso troppo frammentaria, lo rende in molti punti difficile da decifrare e seguire. Per buona parte del romanzo non succede molto e non si vedono progressi, poi troppe cose accadono senza che se ne veda un collegamento e con troppi personaggi e situazioni che ne fanno perdere il filo, fino all’imprevedibile soluzione finale. Non fosse per questo difetto che lo rendono un po’ ostico, avrebbe una bella trama, e per questo gli assegno comunque 3 stelle sulla fiducia sperando che gli altri episodi della serie siano più chiari e semplici da seguire.
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