This is a very good Norwegian thriller. After a nasty derailment, train passengers are forced to remain in a isolated hotel for a few days while an incredible snow storm rages outside. And then the murders begin. Our main character is retired police inspector Hanne Wilhelsen, more unfriendly than ever now she’s in a wheelchair. She is, however, a born investigator and she can’t help herself; she must try to figure out who why what when, and whether the secret passenger protected by heavily armed men is relevant.
This is an absorbing read, referencing Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None. Holt is a brilliant observer of human nature in all its absurdities and there’s no better setting for that than a snowed in hotel where no one has the option of leaving. Really very good.
