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A review by categj
1222 by Anne Holt
2.0
I'm always on the lookout for a good mystery - mystery books are my comfort read ever since I found Agatha Christie when I was twelve or thirteen.
Lately, I been sampling Scandinavian authors, but haven't yet found a favourite. So when I saw a copy 1222 by Anne Holt (a very popular Norwegian writer) in the bargain book shelf at my local bookstore, I snapped it up to give it a try.
Holt's set up of the story in promising. A wild winter storm, derails a train and strands hundreds of passengers, including, ex-police inspector, Hanne Wilhelmsen, a misfit teenager, several members of a religious group, a Muslim couple, a racist journalist and a mysterious isolated, group of people, rumoured to be members of the royal family. Rescuers transport the passengers to a hotel, located high in the Norwegian mountains 1222 metres above sea level.
Initially, the travellers are optimistic and relieved to be ensconced in the warm mountain hotel where they can safely wait out the raging blizzard before searchers can reach them and take them home.
When one of the passengers is found murdered, Hanne is recruited to take charge of the matter. Irritable and anti-social, the ex-police inspector grudgingly begins to piece together the case.
Even though I was intrigued by the sardonic ex-police inspector with her extraordinary powers of observation and excellent memory, and I found Holt's writing style flowed well and was easy to read, I was disappointed with this novel.
It is impossible for the reader to attempt to solve the case as they must rely solely on Hanne to reveal any information, which she does not. Several times, Hanne thinks to herself that she has figured out a piece to the puzzle, but that is all that we find out. Hanne gives no real ideas about what she is thinking and the actions of other characters do not give any clues either. Many characters act suspiciously, but that suspicion is neither explained nor elaborated upon and are often forgotten. There are many devices that mystery authors use to provide the reader with information that can lead to guesses and assumptions, but Holt does not use any of them.
I had no sense of “who-dunnit” while reading this novel, no clue of the motive for the crime and the “twist” of the mysterious guests added nothing to the suspense of the tale but was just another frustrating detail. There was no sense of “sleuthing” in this book, no clever deductions, no feeling of eliminating suspects, no stunning detective work in bringing the murderer to light. There was little excitement and no sense of danger conveyed in this story — the unveiling of the culprit was flat and disappointing.
Needless to say, I won’t read another “Hanne Wilhelmsen novel” anytime soon.
Lately, I been sampling Scandinavian authors, but haven't yet found a favourite. So when I saw a copy 1222 by Anne Holt (a very popular Norwegian writer) in the bargain book shelf at my local bookstore, I snapped it up to give it a try.
Holt's set up of the story in promising. A wild winter storm, derails a train and strands hundreds of passengers, including, ex-police inspector, Hanne Wilhelmsen, a misfit teenager, several members of a religious group, a Muslim couple, a racist journalist and a mysterious isolated, group of people, rumoured to be members of the royal family. Rescuers transport the passengers to a hotel, located high in the Norwegian mountains 1222 metres above sea level.
Initially, the travellers are optimistic and relieved to be ensconced in the warm mountain hotel where they can safely wait out the raging blizzard before searchers can reach them and take them home.
When one of the passengers is found murdered, Hanne is recruited to take charge of the matter. Irritable and anti-social, the ex-police inspector grudgingly begins to piece together the case.
Even though I was intrigued by the sardonic ex-police inspector with her extraordinary powers of observation and excellent memory, and I found Holt's writing style flowed well and was easy to read, I was disappointed with this novel.
It is impossible for the reader to attempt to solve the case as they must rely solely on Hanne to reveal any information, which she does not. Several times, Hanne thinks to herself that she has figured out a piece to the puzzle, but that is all that we find out. Hanne gives no real ideas about what she is thinking and the actions of other characters do not give any clues either. Many characters act suspiciously, but that suspicion is neither explained nor elaborated upon and are often forgotten. There are many devices that mystery authors use to provide the reader with information that can lead to guesses and assumptions, but Holt does not use any of them.
I had no sense of “who-dunnit” while reading this novel, no clue of the motive for the crime and the “twist” of the mysterious guests added nothing to the suspense of the tale but was just another frustrating detail. There was no sense of “sleuthing” in this book, no clever deductions, no feeling of eliminating suspects, no stunning detective work in bringing the murderer to light. There was little excitement and no sense of danger conveyed in this story — the unveiling of the culprit was flat and disappointing.
Needless to say, I won’t read another “Hanne Wilhelmsen novel” anytime soon.