In the lion's mouth
The lion's mouth is the fourth book in Anne Holt's Hanne Wilhelmsen series following on from Blind goddess, Blessed are those who thirst, and Death of the demon (all previously reviewed on Bookhound). Lion's mouth was co-written with Berit Reiss-Andersen. Reiss-Andersen is a Norwegian lawyer, a former politician for the Norwegian Labour Party, and a board member of the Nobel Foundation (yes, as in the Nobel Prize). The lion's mouth is part political thriller, part a classic murder mystery; and, as such, I would guess that Reiss-Andersen was invaluable with the political material, and also with some of the legal procedural.
It may be partly because of the joint authorship but the story does seem to be a bit slow to get going, and although the political in-fighting was fascinating, it did seem to hold up the plot; but once it got on a roll, it turned into a very good novel indeed.
Hanne Wilhelmsen, the likeable Norwegian detective, is on a sabbatical in the United States. Her colleague, Billy-T, is struggling to present himself as the friendly face of the Oslo murder squad, but he is about to be thrown face-to-face with the Press when the Norwegian Prime Minister is found murdered in her office. What starts out as a classic locked room mystery becomes ever more complicated. What could be the motivation behind her death? Was it political jealousy, or something closer to home? And what could an East German spy ring, some dodgy pharmaceuticals and a long buried scandal have to do with it? Hanne returns to try to help out unofficially, but her instincts lead her in a confusing direction, and soon there will be more deaths....
I must admit that this wasn't one of my favourites in the series. It did take quite a while before it gripped me, although I admired the close plotting as the novel drew nearer the denouement, and there were a lot of clever strands within it. I wasn't entirely convinced by the plausibility, or indeed the possibility of the crime, or the "murderer"; but there was much to admire in this novel. Most of all it is here that Holt reminds us that behind the glare of publicity there are people with the normal frailties of humanity, and their own individual sadnesses. It's not the best in the Hanne Wilhelmsen series, but it's an engaging read, and another, more than decent police procedural from Holt.
 |
| The lion in front of the Norwegian Parliament building. Courtesy of Jim Reitz. |
Hanne Wilhelmsen, the likeable Norwegian detective, is on a sabbatical in the United States. Her colleague, Billy-T, is struggling to present himself as the friendly face of the Oslo murder squad, but he is about to be thrown face-to-face with the Press when the Norwegian Prime Minister is found murdered in her office. What starts out as a classic locked room mystery becomes ever more complicated. What could be the motivation behind her death? Was it political jealousy, or something closer to home? And what could an East German spy ring, some dodgy pharmaceuticals and a long buried scandal have to do with it? Hanne returns to try to help out unofficially, but her instincts lead her in a confusing direction, and soon there will be more deaths....
I must admit that this wasn't one of my favourites in the series. It did take quite a while before it gripped me, although I admired the close plotting as the novel drew nearer the denouement, and there were a lot of clever strands within it. I wasn't entirely convinced by the plausibility, or indeed the possibility of the crime, or the "murderer"; but there was much to admire in this novel. Most of all it is here that Holt reminds us that behind the glare of publicity there are people with the normal frailties of humanity, and their own individual sadnesses. It's not the best in the Hanne Wilhelmsen series, but it's an engaging read, and another, more than decent police procedural from Holt.
Comments