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mg_in_md_'s review against another edition
4.0
To be reviewed
This review is based on the FirstReads copy I won. This is the second book in the Hanne Wilhelmsen series that I've read. While I haven't read the series in order, I thoroughly enjoyed both of the books I've read so far and will definitely seek out others as they become available in English. Originally published in Norway in the mid-1990s, the plot could have been ripped from today's headlines. The story begins with a locked door mystery -- the Norwegian Prime Minister is found dead in her office. Her death recalls the real 1986 assassination of Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme, which puts enormous pressure on the police to find the killer and motive. The police must step carefully to determine whether this was a personal attack or act of terrorism (domestic or international) that could be part of a broader plan targeting other world leaders.
In this installment, Hanne is largely absent from the early part of the story -- she is on leave in California, so her partner Billy T. is put in charge of the case. Despite the distance, however, Hanne cannot be kept on the sidelines and finds a way to lend her expertise to the investigation, virtually at first and later in person. Since the case centered more on Billy T., it was fairly easy to dive into the story, although I did find myself wishing I had a little more of the backstory for him and the other characters. I liked the characters and pacing of the story, which made several twists and turns along the way and offered unique insights to Norwegian politics at the highest levels of government. As the case unfolds, Billy T. and Hanne unearth tragic secrets from the Prime Minister's past that seem to have some bearing on the current crisis. He and Hanne must tread carefully as they put the pieces of the puzzles together on perhaps the most sensitive case of either of their careers. The case is not resolved until the last few pages and the reader will be left as off balance as the police officers who slowly realize what happened in that locked room. The author's past experience working in the Oslo Police Department, and working as a lawyer and later Norway's Minister of Justice enhanced the storytelling and added realistic touches to the plot. I'm so grateful to the FirstReads giveaways program for giving me the chance to read another installment in this excellent series -- thank you!
(Also, this book was one I used for the 2016 Book Riot Read Harder Challenge; category: read a book about politics in your country or another (fiction or non-fiction). Since I started this one in late 2015 but finished it in early 2016, I'm only counting this as partial credit and plan to read a second book that fits this category before 2016 is done :))
This review is based on the FirstReads copy I won. This is the second book in the Hanne Wilhelmsen series that I've read. While I haven't read the series in order, I thoroughly enjoyed both of the books I've read so far and will definitely seek out others as they become available in English. Originally published in Norway in the mid-1990s, the plot could have been ripped from today's headlines. The story begins with a locked door mystery -- the Norwegian Prime Minister is found dead in her office. Her death recalls the real 1986 assassination of Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme, which puts enormous pressure on the police to find the killer and motive. The police must step carefully to determine whether this was a personal attack or act of terrorism (domestic or international) that could be part of a broader plan targeting other world leaders.
In this installment, Hanne is largely absent from the early part of the story -- she is on leave in California, so her partner Billy T. is put in charge of the case. Despite the distance, however, Hanne cannot be kept on the sidelines and finds a way to lend her expertise to the investigation, virtually at first and later in person. Since the case centered more on Billy T., it was fairly easy to dive into the story, although I did find myself wishing I had a little more of the backstory for him and the other characters. I liked the characters and pacing of the story, which made several twists and turns along the way and offered unique insights to Norwegian politics at the highest levels of government. As the case unfolds, Billy T. and Hanne unearth tragic secrets from the Prime Minister's past that seem to have some bearing on the current crisis. He and Hanne must tread carefully as they put the pieces of the puzzles together on perhaps the most sensitive case of either of their careers. The case is not resolved until the last few pages and the reader will be left as off balance as the police officers who slowly realize what happened in that locked room. The author's past experience working in the Oslo Police Department, and working as a lawyer and later Norway's Minister of Justice enhanced the storytelling and added realistic touches to the plot. I'm so grateful to the FirstReads giveaways program for giving me the chance to read another installment in this excellent series -- thank you!
(Also, this book was one I used for the 2016 Book Riot Read Harder Challenge; category: read a book about politics in your country or another (fiction or non-fiction). Since I started this one in late 2015 but finished it in early 2016, I'm only counting this as partial credit and plan to read a second book that fits this category before 2016 is done :))
kcfromaustcrime's review against another edition
4.0
The Hanne Wilhelmsen series from Norwegian author Anne Holt is fabulous, even if it is being translated out of sequence. Which means in THE LION'S MOUTH, Wilhelmsen, who doesn't make an appearance until later in the novel and is not the central investigator anyway, is also walking around. In the novels already made available to many of us she's in a wheelchair permanently. Allowing for the slight confusion that could cause, these books work well as you can, worse comes to worse, approach them as standalones if necessary, although obviously character introduction and development always works better when you start at the beginning.
The main protagonist of this book, Billy T is a slightly unusual Norwegian policeman, what with his complicated personal life, skinhead / punk style looks and dress sense, a love of Opera and his sons. He's also one of the very few cops (and people for that matter) who share affection and respect with Wilhelmsen. When she eventually does make an appearance in the novel - having moved to the US with her partner, she finds herself staying with Billy T, and it's obvious that these two outsiders are both good friends, and like minded investigators.
Which is just as well as the plot here is complicated without being complex. The locked room assassination of the Norwegian Prime Minister means that motive becomes particularly important, as method is not immediately obvious. Whether or not her shooting is politically motivated and even then from within her own ranks, or those opposed is not straightforward as there are a number of other complications. It's particularly sobering that this novel, originally published in 1997, also expands on the possibility of a neo-Nazi plot to murder leading figures in Norway. Other complications are more personal and much closer to home.
Where the plot has particular credence though is in the background, infighting and intrigue occurring within political circles. Given that Holt has, in the past, held the position of Minister for Justice and for this and one of her other earlier novels, credit is shared with former State Secretary Berit Reiss-Anderson, it would seem reasonable to assume that these aspects are written from a position of both knowledge and experience.
That doesn't however, overwhelm in terms of motive, and the background of the Prime Minister and her family is trawled through, as is that of her childhood friend, Supreme Court Judge Benjamin Grinde. Aside from him being the last known person to visit the Prime Minister's Office before she was killed, his position as Chair of a Commission looking into a the increase of young baby deaths around 1965 also has implications for them all.
Holt is not afraid to write strong characters with unpleasant edges that aren't sanded down and don't apologise for what they are. Here she's combined them into a plot that looks at the rights and wrongs of society and the possible implications of power, corruption and nepotism. All of which made for a really engaging read.
https://www.austcrimefiction.org/review/review-lions-mouth-anne-holt
The main protagonist of this book, Billy T is a slightly unusual Norwegian policeman, what with his complicated personal life, skinhead / punk style looks and dress sense, a love of Opera and his sons. He's also one of the very few cops (and people for that matter) who share affection and respect with Wilhelmsen. When she eventually does make an appearance in the novel - having moved to the US with her partner, she finds herself staying with Billy T, and it's obvious that these two outsiders are both good friends, and like minded investigators.
Which is just as well as the plot here is complicated without being complex. The locked room assassination of the Norwegian Prime Minister means that motive becomes particularly important, as method is not immediately obvious. Whether or not her shooting is politically motivated and even then from within her own ranks, or those opposed is not straightforward as there are a number of other complications. It's particularly sobering that this novel, originally published in 1997, also expands on the possibility of a neo-Nazi plot to murder leading figures in Norway. Other complications are more personal and much closer to home.
Where the plot has particular credence though is in the background, infighting and intrigue occurring within political circles. Given that Holt has, in the past, held the position of Minister for Justice and for this and one of her other earlier novels, credit is shared with former State Secretary Berit Reiss-Anderson, it would seem reasonable to assume that these aspects are written from a position of both knowledge and experience.
That doesn't however, overwhelm in terms of motive, and the background of the Prime Minister and her family is trawled through, as is that of her childhood friend, Supreme Court Judge Benjamin Grinde. Aside from him being the last known person to visit the Prime Minister's Office before she was killed, his position as Chair of a Commission looking into a the increase of young baby deaths around 1965 also has implications for them all.
Holt is not afraid to write strong characters with unpleasant edges that aren't sanded down and don't apologise for what they are. Here she's combined them into a plot that looks at the rights and wrongs of society and the possible implications of power, corruption and nepotism. All of which made for a really engaging read.
https://www.austcrimefiction.org/review/review-lions-mouth-anne-holt
timeswary's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
kimmkoning's review against another edition
3.0
I would like to thank Netgalley, the publisher and the author for granting me a copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.
This is my first Anne Holt novel. For the last three years or so, I have been introduced to Scandinavian noir and I have quickly fallen in love with these cool thrillers and mysteries. I had not heard of Anne Holt but the moment I saw this book on Netgalley I knew I wanted to read it.
From the opening of this book, I was intrigued. I love locked room mysteries and I do like political intrigue and this book opens with both. For all intents, it looked like I was in for another enjoyable read. But as I read on, I was disappointed. The premise of this book was brilliant and the characterisations of each character was done very well. But this story quickly became clunky and confusing to me. There seemed to be too many characters for me to keep interested. I didn't particularly like the main investigator, Billy T, either. I have never taken more than a day or two to finish a Scandinavian mystery/thriller but I took weeks to finish this story. As for the political intrigue, the politics of this books seemed a little too dry for my own tastes.
I'm in two minds on this review. The characterisations were well-written and there were definite moments that grabbed me but ultimately there were fewer page-turner moments for me. This left the plot feeling clunky with too many dry political details and too many characters, and muddied what should have been a really good read. I give this book a sober 3 stars.
This is my first Anne Holt novel. For the last three years or so, I have been introduced to Scandinavian noir and I have quickly fallen in love with these cool thrillers and mysteries. I had not heard of Anne Holt but the moment I saw this book on Netgalley I knew I wanted to read it.
From the opening of this book, I was intrigued. I love locked room mysteries and I do like political intrigue and this book opens with both. For all intents, it looked like I was in for another enjoyable read. But as I read on, I was disappointed. The premise of this book was brilliant and the characterisations of each character was done very well. But this story quickly became clunky and confusing to me. There seemed to be too many characters for me to keep interested. I didn't particularly like the main investigator, Billy T, either. I have never taken more than a day or two to finish a Scandinavian mystery/thriller but I took weeks to finish this story. As for the political intrigue, the politics of this books seemed a little too dry for my own tastes.
I'm in two minds on this review. The characterisations were well-written and there were definite moments that grabbed me but ultimately there were fewer page-turner moments for me. This left the plot feeling clunky with too many dry political details and too many characters, and muddied what should have been a really good read. I give this book a sober 3 stars.
oblivione's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
marite's review against another edition
3.0
Ujevn, denne her. Skyldes det at det er to forfattere? Flotte beskrivelser av bl.a. Politihuset kontra nærmest revyaktige dialoger. Billy T. er det vanskelig å tro på som fungerende i det moderne arbeidsliv. Løsningen på krimgåten er overraskende, men lite troverdig. Romanen er 24 år gammel, og derfor en smule datert for en nåtidig leser (det har skjedd en god del i denne tidsperioden), men samtidig et uhyggelig forvarsel om 22. juli, i og med at det skjer fæle ting i regjeringskvartalet.
inamerata's review against another edition
3.0
A decent mystery with some sweet moments, but this isn't my fave. The politics could be dry, and there just wasn't enough Hanne overall. Knowing what's coming, I may skim or outright skip the next two novels and just imagine whatever explanation for the interim.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Suicide, and Murder
Moderate: Death of parent, Child death, Xenophobia, Infidelity, and Homophobia
Minor: Racism, Antisemitism, Pregnancy, Fatphobia, and Adult/minor relationship
trineeg's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
caseythecanadianlesbrarian's review against another edition
3.0
This kept me guessing until the end! On the one hand, this was a pretty interesting foray into Norwegian politics, medical scandals, and infidelity. On the other hand, it didn't have nearly enough of Hanne. Also I think I like the previous audiobook narrator more!