In Dust and Ashes - (Hanne Wilhelmsen Novel) by Anne Holt (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

The final nail-biting installment in the ten-part, award-winning Hanne Wilhelmsen series--bestselling in Norway and throughout Europe--from Scandinavia's most celebrated female crime writer, Anne Holt.

Police investigator Kjell Bonsaksen is a contented man in most areas of life, but for one mistake he made years ago that has rankled like a stone in his shoe ever since: in 2001, a two-year-old girl was killed by a speeding car while playing in the road in front of her home. The marriage of the toddler's grief-stricken parents dissolved in the wake of the accident, and not long thereafter, the girl's mother died under mysterious circumstances. The girl's father, Jonas, was convicted of his ex-wife's murder and sentenced to twelve years in prison. But Kjell Bonsaksen knew he was innocent.

Now it's 2016, and Kjell is looking forward to his retirement to the French countryside with his wife. An uncomfortable chance encounter with Jonas at a roadside gas station prompts him to dig out Jonas's case files for Detective Henrik Holme, the resident cold case prodigy. Henrik doesn't take long to convince his beloved mentor, Hanne Wilhelmsen, that Jonas was wrongly convicted for his ex-wife's murder. As their investigation evolves, Hanne and Henrik uncover eerie connections to the recent suicide of a right-wing extremist blogger whose fanatic ideologies seem incompatible with a desire to die.

Masterfully plotted, In Dust and Ashes is the outstanding finale to Anne Holt's award-winning, politically and socially conscious series, confirming Hanne Wilhelmsen as a character who will "get in your head--and stay there" (Entertainment Weekly).

Review Quotes

"A good old-fashioned murder mystery. Wherever Hanne shows up next, my advice is to follow that wheelchair."
--Marilyn Stasio, The New York Times Book Review

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

"Fast-paced and involving.... Holt knows psychology as well as she knows the ins and outs of police-work. She quickly draws the reader into the minds and lives of half a dozen disparate characters--none more interesting than Inspector Wilhelmsen herself... Holt's visions of societal and ethical decay are balanced by glimpses of great poignancy, human consolation and love."
--The Wall Street Journal

"Holt closes her series with one of its strongest entries, combining generous sensitivity to all with an unblinking portrait of [her] franchise sleuth." --Kirkus Reviews

"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

"There's no need to have read earlier installments to understand or relish the plot, in which apparently unrelated tragedies, the long ago death of a child, the suicide of a lesbian right-wing blogger, and the kidnapping of a lottery winner's grandchild, converge for a nerve-shredding climax. Nordic noir at its best." --AudioFile

"Wilhelmsen is as intuitive, and prickly, as ever, as Holt explores further the relationship between Wilhelmsen and Holme. For fans of Jo Nesbø, who has noted Holt's primacy in Norwegian crime fiction, and of the genre in general." --Booklist