Dead Joker (Hanne Wilhelmsen) - Hardcover

"This latest in Holt s long-running series remains an ideal read-alikefor fans of Jo Nesbo s Harry Hole and Karin Fossum s Inspector Sejer."
Booklist"

Nuanced characters and a strong sense of place make for an immersive tale that packs an emotional punch and offers incisive commentary on the failings of the criminal justice system.
Publishers Weekly"

Praise forDead Joker "

Praise for the Hanne Wilhelmsen series:

"If you aren t familiar with her Hanne Wilhelmsen novels, it s okay to dive in with this one No. 7 but then do yourself a favor and binge-read the first six."
Entertainment Weekly"

Anne Holt is the godmother of modern Norwegian crime fiction.
Jo Nesbo"

It must be spooky in Scandinavia, but Holt, Norway s best-selling female crime writer and a former minister of justice, has a goofy streak that changes the tone of this beguiling book .I really loved this snowbound book.
Washington Post"

Holt proves a masterful plotter. Unexpected twists hold up to scrutiny, loose ends are tied up and the finale leaves readers wanting more.
Cleveland Plain Dealer"

Praise for Dead Joker

"Holt offers readers yet another dandy surprise ending."
--St. Louis Post-Dispatch

From Norway’s bestselling female crime writer, the fifth book in the Edgar-nominated mystery series featuring the whip-smart detective Hanne Wilhelmsen.

Chief Public Prosecutor Sigurd Halvorsrud’s wife is found brutally decapitated in front of the fireplace in the family living room. Her husband, who claims he witnessed the grisly murder and is himself covered in blood, immediately falls under suspicion, though he insists his wife’s killer was Ståle Salvesen, a businessman he’d prosecuted years before for insider dealing. Detective Inspector Hanne Wilhelmsen is called in to lead the investigation with her old colleague, Billy T. Despite the circumstantial evidence, Hanne is unconvinced of Sigurd Halvorsrud’s guilt—that is, until a witness says he saw Ståle Salvesen commit suicide by jumping off a bridge days before the murder took place. Then a journalist at one of Oslo’s largest newspapers is found beheaded. What links these two horrific crimes? The demands of the investigation soon clash with a terrible crisis in Hanne’s personal life: Cecilie, the woman she has lived with for almost twenty years, has fallen seriously ill and doesn’t have much time to live. With a savage killer on the loose, Hanne must ask herself: Is the truth worth chasing at all costs?