1222: a Hanne Wilhelmsen novel

*Starred Review* Since a shooting left her paralyzed, Hanne Wilhelmsen has lived a quiet life. She enjoys the solitude and rarely misses her former career as a police inspector, but that doesn't mean she's lost the skills that made her one of the best detectives on the force. Scandinavian author Holt kicks off a new series with a skillful riff on And Then There Were None that begins with a train wreck in the midst of a ferocious blizzard. Stuck near the top of a pass, at 1222 meters, the stranded passengers gather in a nearby lodge and rejoice over their timely rescue. But the mood darkens after the first body is found. With wheelchair access limited in the old-fashioned lodge, Hanne one of the passengers spends her time in the lobby, observing fellow passengers and only reluctantly becoming involved in speculation about a killer. Soon she's hooked, though, and in her own cantankerous way, she directs the staff and the few passengers she considers trustworthy to hunt down a culprit before anyone else falls victim to either the storm or the killer. Holt creatively combines the classic detective story and the Scandinavian thriller in a compelling way that should immediately pull in fans of both genres and keep them turning pages even as they shiver from the atmospheric descriptions of wind, cold, and snow. A must for all mystery fans.--Moyer, Jessica Copyright 2010 Booklist

Retired police detective Hanne Wilhelmsen makes her U.S. debut in Holt's intriguing reimagining of Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None, the eighth in a series that started with The Blind Goddess. On her way by train to Bergen from Oslo, Hanne survives a derailment during a blizzard and ends up with the rest of the passengers at the Finse 1222, an immense lodge nearby. With nearly 200 people snowed in, keeping the peace is imperative, so when the body of a popular priest is found, all eyes turn to Hanne, who let it slip that she used to be with the police. Less than thrilled to be interacting with anyone, let alone investigating a murder, Hanne suggests keeping the body on ice (literally) until rescuers arrive. Unfortunately, more bodies start appearing, and it gets harder to keep the guests from panicking. The plot lags in places, but the prickly Hanne is worth getting to know. (Dec.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

A passenger train derails and crashes in northern Norway in the middle of a blizzard, 1,222 meters above sea level. Almost 200 of the survivors seek refuge at a nearby vacant old hotel to await their eventual rescue from the secluded mountain retreat. The snowstorm intensifies, and the isolated passengers realize there's a killer among them as several corpses of their newfound companions begin to surface in the snowed-in hotel. As the death toll rises, wheelchair-bound Hanne Wilhelmsen, a cantankerously unsociable retired police inspector, grows increasingly inquisitive. Hanne employs her keen power of observation to take the lead and investigate her fellow passengers as the tension, distrust, and fear mount in their mountain hideaway. VERDICT Best-selling Norwegian author Holt (What Is Mine) channels her inner Agatha Christie to deliver a frigidly good whodunit as she introduces the first of a new mystery series. [See Prepub Alert, 6/13/11.]-Mary Todd Chesnut, Northern Kentucky Univ. Lib., Highland Heights (c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

What Is Mine, 2006, etc.) makes curmudgeonly Hanna the perfectly astringent guide to this nightmare whodunit out of Ellery Queen's The Siamese Twin Mystery and Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None.]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

*Starred Review* Since a shooting left her paralyzed, Hanne Wilhelmsen has lived a quiet life. She enjoys the solitude and rarely misses her former career as a police inspector, but that doesn't mean she's lost the skills that made her one of the best detectives on the force. Scandinavian author Holt kicks off a new series with a skillful riff on And Then There Were None that begins with a train wreck in the midst of a ferocious blizzard. Stuck near the top of a pass, at 1222 meters, the stranded passengers gather in a nearby lodge and rejoice over their timely rescue. But the mood darkens after the first body is found. With wheelchair access limited in the old-fashioned lodge, Hanne—one of the passengers—spends her time in the lobby, observing fellow passengers and only reluctantly becoming involved in speculation about a killer. Soon she's hooked, though, and in her own cantankerous way, she directs the staff and the few passengers she considers trustworthy to hunt down a culprit before anyone else falls victim to either the storm or the killer. Holt creatively combines the classic detective story and the Scandinavian thriller in a compelling way that should immediately pull in fans of both genres and keep them turning pages even as they shiver from the atmospheric descriptions of wind, cold, and snow. A must for all mystery fans. Copyright 2011 Booklist Reviews.

In the midst of a massive blizzard, a train steaming toward Norway's far north derails—1,222 meters above sea level. The good news: there's a grand old hotel nearby, mostly empty except for staff. The bad news: one of the passengers turns up dead. On hand is retired police inspector Hanne Wilhelmsen, paralyzed from a bullet in her spine, who reluctantly starts investigating. Holt, Norway's top crime writer and its minister of justice in 1996–97, has sold over five million copies of her books in Europe. She's released two books here, and the publisher seems to be hoping for a breakout with this first in a new series. Great to consider for thriller fans, especially those who can't get enough Scandinavian fare.

A passenger train derails and crashes in northern Norway in the middle of a blizzard, 1,222 meters above sea level. Almost 200 of the survivors seek refuge at a nearby vacant old hotel to await their eventual rescue from the secluded mountain retreat. The snowstorm intensifies, and the isolated passengers realize there's a killer among them as several corpses of their newfound companions begin to surface in the snowed-in hotel. As the death toll rises, wheelchair-bound Hanne Wilhelmsen, a cantankerously unsociable retired police inspector, grows increasingly inquisitive. Hanne employs her keen power of observation to take the lead and investigate her fellow passengers as the tension, distrust, and fear mount in their mountain hideaway. VERDICT Best-selling Norwegian author Holt (What Is Mine) channels her inner Agatha Christie to deliver a frigidly good whodunit as she introduces the first of a new mystery series. [See Prepub Alert, 6/13/11.]—Mary Todd Chesnut, Northern Kentucky Univ. Lib., Highland Heights

Wind speed annotations mark the chapter divisions of Anne Holt's 1222 (Scribner. 2012. 9781451634723. pap. $16; ebk. ISBN 9781451634884), which begins with the survivors of a train wreck taking shelter in a secluded ski lodge during a blizzard. Among their number are retired inspector Hanne Wilhelmsen, a mysterious group of passengers rumored to be royalty, and a killer. As the storm rages, building banks of snow against the windows and preventing any escape, the body count grows, forcing Hanne to pit her wits against a murderer hiding in plain sight. The feel of the cold and the force of the wind are palpable as Holt spins out her tautly paced and atmospheric mystery. (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Retired police detective Hanne Wilhelmsen makes her U.S. debut in Holt's intriguing reimagining of Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None, the eighth in a series that started with The Blind Goddess. On her way by train to Bergen from Oslo, Hanne survives a derailment during a blizzard and ends up with the rest of the passengers at the Finse 1222, an immense lodge nearby. With nearly 200 people snowed in, keeping the peace is imperative, so when the body of a popular priest is found, all eyes turn to Hanne, who let it slip that she used to be with the police. Less than thrilled to be interacting with anyone, let alone investigating a murder, Hanne suggests keeping the body on ice (literally) until rescuers arrive. Unfortunately, more bodies start appearing, and it gets harder to keep the guests from panicking. The plot lags in places, but the prickly Hanne is worth getting to know. (Dec.)