Chief Inspector Hanne Wilhelmsen rings in the most wonderful time of the year by investigating a murderous assault on the clan connected with an Oslo shipping company.Think your family holiday gatherings are fraught? Thats because youve never spent Christmas with Hermann Stahlberg, founder of Norne Norway Shipping. And now youve missed your chance, because someone entered the patriarchs home a few days before Christmas and shot Hermann, his wife, Turid, and their elder son, Preben. Knut Sidensvans, an electrician-turnedpublishing consultant, has also joined the festivities and ended up equally dead just outside the door. Who could possibly be behind such wholesale slaughter? Fortunately for Hanne and her partner, Billy T., the remaining Stahlbergs are every one of them ripe suspects. Hermanns daughter, Hermine, evidently purchased a gun just a month ago. His younger son, Carl-Christian, has been fighting to claw back control of the family firm from his brother. Carl-Christians wife, Mabelle, nee May Anita Olsen, is a world-class conniver with more ideas than scruples. Even Prebens widow, Jennifer Calvin Stahlberg, an Australian who doesnt speak a word of Norwegian, takes a lively interest in the fate of Norne Norway. Hannes inquiries, in fact, reveal a family so deeply dysfunctional, so obsessed with hiding old secrets and hatching new ones, that its no surprise when family members turn from accusing each other to confessing to murder themselves. The surprise is that Hanne doesnt believe them, and her skepticism is absolutely appropriate. The detection is labored, but the family of suspects is memorably monstrous, and Holt (No Echo, 2016, etc.) even finds time for a welcome and touching Christmas miracle. Ho, ho, ho. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

The quadruple homicide of shipping magnate Hermann Stahlberg; his wife, Turid; their elder son, Preben; and a publishing consultant with no apparent ties to the family kicks off Edgar-finalist Holt's solid seventh Hanne Wilhelmsen novel to be published in the U.S. (after No Echo). Suspicion falls on Preben's surviving siblings, Hermine and Carl-Christian, as they've been battling with Hermann and Preben for control of Norne Norway Shipping. But while the duo has motive, means, and opportunity, Hanne is convinced that the mysterious fourth victim is the key to solving the crime. Despite intense pressure from the public and her superiors to quickly close the case, the Oslo chief inspector launches her own investigation. Meanwhile, Hanne's best friend and colleague, Billy T., fights temptation in the face of money problems. Realistically flawed characters, nuanced relationships, and thematically resonant subplots complement the central mystery, while Hanne's housekeeper-an irreverent former prostitute-adds unexpected humor and heart. (Dec.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Hanne Wilhelmsen has a reputation, a good one for the most part. She is acknowledged as one of the foremost investigators in the Oslo Police Force, perhaps in all of Norway. However, she is known to be moody and eccentric. She has dealt with some horrific incidents over the years but is now settled in with her partner, Nefis, and their housekeeper, Mary, a reformed prostitute. This is the seventh book in the series (after 1222, 2011). The opening chapter goes from heartrending to horrific in a mere three pages. It is Christmastime, and four people have been shot dead at the home of a wealthy family known for its corporate infighting. There are plenty of motives within the family, but Hanne suspects there is an outside motive for the murders. Against all advice, she puts everything on the line in pursuit of the truth, and the portentous ending suggests that this time she may have gone too far. Perfect for fans of Scandinavian detectives and for those who appreciate Ann Cleeves' Vera Stanhope and other strong but flawed female protagonists.--Murphy, Jane Copyright 2016 Booklist