Publisher's Weekly Review
Edgar-finalist Holt's stellar third Hanne Wilhelmsen novel (after 2012's Blessed Are Those Who Thirst) finds the Oslo police detective uncomfortable with her six-month-old promotion to chief inspector, a dully managerial position that's put her willy-nilly in the thick of the professional intrigue she deplores. Now faced with the murder of the formidable administrator of a foster children's group home, the detective must also confront her own troubling demons. Hanne's close friendship with her flamboyant assistant detective, Billy T., is making her question her values, while Cecilie, the partner with whom Hanne has shared her love and life since adolescence, wants the couple to have a child-a desire Hanne has denied for nearly 17 years. Holt also relentlessly explores the agonies of a mother unable to manage a monstrously brain-damaged 12-year-old boy-and the tragic ironies implicit in a society priding itself on cradle-to-grave welfare that condemns its most powerless and needy to inevitable disaster. (June) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Review
The murder of an Oslo foster home director points, inexplicably and disturbingly, to her latest charge. Olav Hkonsen has always been different from other children--capable of elaborate courtesies, yet prone to uncontrollable rages. By the time he was 3, his mother, Birgitte, was already afraid of him, and his diagnosis years later with Minimal Brain Dysfunction would have come as something of a relief if it hadn't prompted the social services authorities to take him away from her. When he joins the seven other children at the Spring Sunshine Foster Home, things instantly go wrong. Despite the best efforts of kindly caregiver Maren Kalsvik, he gets into a shouting match with a younger child, throws food across the room and hurls a string of obscenities at director Agnes Vestavik, who retaliates by keeping his loving, incapable mother from visiting him for a fortnight. The air is abruptly cleared by the discovery of Agnes' body, stabbed to death, and the news that Olav vanished into the night. Chief Inspector Hanne Wilhelmsen, who catches the case, focuses on ostensibly more likely suspects, from assistant director Terje Welby, who's been embezzling from the foster home's funds, to Agnes' unnamed lover, a used-car salesman who's been forging checks he's stolen from her checkbook. But a second violent death only muddies the waters further, and at any rate, none of the adults casts anything like the shadow of pitiable, monstrous Olav. Not the finest hour for Hanne (Blind Goddess, 2012, etc.) and her detective team, who are equally upstaged by the unforgettable 12-year-old at the heart of the matter.]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Hanne Wilhelmsen (Blessed Are Those Who Thirst, 2012) is back, having been recently promoted to chief investigator in Oslo's police department. Right out of the gate, a high-profile case monopolizes the squad's resources, leaving Hanne only a skeleton crew to investigate a foster-home director's perplexing murder. This is all the excuse Hanne needs to abandon her ill-fitting leadership role and dive into the investigation with her friend and colleague Billy T.'s small team. It's both concerning and intriguing that the foster home's most troubled child, Olav, disappeared on the night of the murder. But the director's failing marriage, new love, and a series of mysterious workplace betrayals also provide leads that demand attention. Hanne's humanizing personal troubles are less evident this time, replaced by the haunting portrait of a damaged family that even love can't keep from disaster. Always adept at balancing emotional narrative and strong suspense, Holt has crafted another must-read with this fascinating peek into a modern Sherlock's investigative mind.--Tran, Christine Copyright 2010 Booklist
