The Mean Streets

What Never Happens

by Anne Holt

February 2008

Sneak Preview                                                           

What Never Happens is a brooding and intense crime novel. Oslo police Detective Inspector Adam Stubo is stymied by a series of gruesome murders – a talk show host is strangled, a powerful young Norwegian politician is crucified and a cantankerous literary critic is stabbed in the eye. And that’s just for starters! No progress is made in the investigation until Stubo’s wife, Johanne Vik, who is trained as an FBI profiler, takes an interest in the case. She discovers a connection between the murders currently taking place in Norway and a series of crimes she learned about years ago during an instructional lecture. If Vik is correct, the next victims will be a police officer and his or her family

Deftly plotted and with characters that are drawn with emotional depth, Holt also provides the reader with an intriguing picture of modern Norwegian society and politics. The killer’s motivation is both plausible and downright ingenious. Although the story is a bit lengthy and somewhat slow to develop, it’s still easy to see why the author has the reputation that she does. This is a story that will “stick” … and one that dares to be different. Now that’s what never happens!

Full Review to follow.

Also by Anne Holt … What is Mine (2006)

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