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Title: Death of the Demon

Subtitle: A Hanne Wilhelmsen Novel, Book 3

Author: Anne Holt

Narrator: Kate Reading

Format: Unabridged

Length: 9 hrs and 3 mins

Language: English

Release date: 06-18-13

Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 27 votes

Genres: Mysteries & Thrillers, Modern Detective

Publisher's Summary:

From Edgar Award finalist Anne Holt comes the captivating third book in the series featuring the brilliant and tough police inspector Hanne Wilhelmsen, who must investigate the grisly murder of an orphanage director.

In an orphanage outside Oslo, a 12-year-old boy is causing havoc. The institutions aging director, Agnes Vestavik, sees something chilling in Olavs eyes: sheer hatred. When Vestavik is found murdered, stabbed in the neck with a kitchen knife - with Olav nowhere to be found - the case goes to maverick investigator Hanne Wilhelmsen, recently promoted to superintendent in the Oslo police. Hanne suspects that Olav witnessed the murder and fled, and she orders an investigation of the orphanage staff. But Hanne is hopeless at delegating and sharing responsibilities. Only Hannes supreme deductive skills keep her on the job, but this is one case where her instincts are leading her astray.

Meanwhile,Olav makes his way to his once-unfit mothers apartment in central Oslo. When police finally catch up to him, Olav will lead them on a chase that will upend all of their assumptions. A dark and captivating new chapter in this brilliant, rollicking series, Death of the Demon examines that murky intersection between crime and justice.

Members Reviews:

What You Think is Apparent is Only Skin Deep.

This novel is the reason I read mysteries, especially Nordic ones. It has everything I love in a good whodunit - twists and turns, good characterization, no red herrings, and an ending that knocked my socks off.

It is the first novel I've read by Anne Holt but it is not the last. She may be the best Scandinavian mystery writer I've read, and I've read a lot. I also am impressed with the quality of Anne Bruce's seamless translation. The book had me in its grips throughout and I had a hard time getting to sleep because I didn't want to put it down.

The story both simple and complex. The director of a foster home in Oslo, Norway is found with a knife in her heart. Hanne Wilhelmsen, Chief Inspector, and her team are directed to solve the crime. Hanne is new at her job and is settling in but finding it difficult to delegate to others. The main suspects are the usual - the husband who stands to inherit everything, the lover who has been stealing from the dead woman, the employees of the foster home, and even the children who reside there. One child in particular, a twelve year old boy who has run away, is on the police radar.

The police very carefully interview all the possible suspects and the motives become more and more difficult to sort out? There are several people who could have benefited from the death but who had the opportunity to commit the crime? Is the solution an easy one or do the investigators need to dig deeper?

I found the novel easy to follow despite the number of characters in it. I especially enjoyed how the story of Olav Hakonsen, a twelve year-old boy in the foster home, along with his mother's first person narrative, are interspersed in the mystery. This is a fine example of how a great mystery should be constructed. Kudos to Ms. Holt!

Holt writes very well and is a good story-teller, hence 3 stars

Let me explain the Three-Star rating. Holt writes very well and is a good story-teller, hence 3 stars.