Murder Central Book

Punishment (entitled What Is Mine in the US) is the first in the series which sees Detective Inspector Adam Stubo of the Oslo police pairing up with university lecturer and former FBI recruit, Johanne Vik. Already very successful in Europe, the first in this series is an absolutely enthralling novel which grasps the reader from the first few pages when a child in abducted and sets in motion a sinister sequence of abductions and murders which strikes fear into the heart of every parent in Norway. Chilling and clearly well planned, the perpetrator demonstrates almost ruthless ability to execute the campaign. When the first child, Emilie Selbu, is abducted on a short cut walking home from school, not even Adam Stubo can envisage the horrors of coming head to head with the twisted logic of someone so determined to oversee their sinister mission. With little progress and next to no clues, a frustrated Stubo turns to academic Johanne Vik in a last ditch bid to bring the final child home unharmed. Johanne Vik with a college degree from the US and her experience with the profilers of the FBI mean her knowledge is critical in processing the actions of a depraved lunatic. The obvious response of the media is that this is the work of a paedophile, but Johanne is well aware that matters might not be as simple.

The hand-written notes left with the bodies of the children that are returned all indicate the work of one perpetrator, who is intelligent enough to change his patterns of behaviour, striking on different days and in scattered locations throughout the country, with children of both sexes and random ages. Stubo and his team work through list after list, trying to find a connection between the children or parents, from their mutual acquaintances through to their history of employment. It is the notes which confirm their link, a detail unreleased to the media and when the first two returned children are determined to have died of unknown cause, the lethal perpetrator seems to have orchestrated the perfect murder. With two children returned dead and the fate of the first abducted child, nine-year-old Emilie, still up in the air, the stakes are increasing by the day. The hand-written notes all read, "Now you've got what you deserved", but just who is the chilling message aimed at? The child, the mother, society or the police? Anne Holt consciously keeps her readers aware of the race against time with a timeline on the occurrences and chilling glimpses into the mind of the perpetrator, from his own childhood memories to his day to day routine and obsessive cleanliness.

Whilst both of the leading characters are what might be termed as oddballs, I found their portrayals curiously engaging and highly realistic. Johanna Vik is a single mother sharing joint custody of her six-year-old mentally handicapped daughter, Kristiane and it is obvious that she finds coming to terms with her daughters disability a stumbling block. The child's father and her laid back ex-partner Isak is simply content to have a happy child, but for Johanne the inability to find a label which fits Kristiane's condition is something that she endlessly pursues. It is almost as if having a child with a developmental condition and the ensuing onerous demands was never part of the focused Johanne's life plan for she is a woman who looks ahead, works extremely hard and is unprepared for any hiccups along the way. Frequently irascible, she finds it difficult to manage the demands of motherhood with his research and university lecturing, quickly getting irritable whilst Isak takes everything in his stride. Her ability is, however, unquestionable and the internal discourse of Johanne brings readers closer to her feelings and provides an innate feel for her character. Sympathetic and sensitive Detective Inspector Adam Stubo is a man of fifty-four with a very long history, once on track for a shot at the top job in the NCIS, only for the tragic death a year and a half ago of his wife and only daughter to see him return to his Detective Inspector role. Sergeant Sigmund Berli who works alongside Stubo is often highly sceptical of his approach, making the role of Johanne an essential sounding board. The heated brainstorming sessions in which Stubo and Vik thrash out their theories, with sparks flying and tempers fraying is brilliantly portrayed, but with a curious connection quickly bonding the pair together.

Already engaged in a separate research project, Johanne is initially distant and inhospitable to the overtones of Stubo as he attempts to interest her in the bizarre case that is holding the country's media in its thrall. Her own young daughter fills Johanne with an instinct to shut out the nightmares of the serial killer on the loose, but the temptation to outsmart a perpetrator with a warped sense of justice is a tantalising prospect. Elderly Alvhild Sofienberg was once employed by the Norwegian correctional service with responsibility for preparing appeals for royal pardons. The heavily criticised sentencing of Aksel Seier has always fixated the elderly lady, convinced of his innocence and the disappearance of the case papers and his hushed up release some years later has stayed with her. Engaging Johanne as part of a research project that looks at media interest in high profile cases, within a week Johanne follows Aksel's trail to the US, intending to discover his side of the story and unexpected release. However the harsh treatment of Aksel by the Norwegian authorities has left him unaccustomed to friendly overtones and ambivalent to the interests of a woman who believes his story. When Johanne returns empty handed to Alvhild, she is tasked with one final mission in pursuit of uncovering the truth. As Johanne works both cases she has the romantic tension of her tie-up with Adam threatening to get in the way of proceedings.

The translation by Karl Dickson is excellent, flowing wonderfully and with a clear understanding of the parlance and colloquellisms that mark British English usage. Intelligent, insightful and thought-provoking with a clear focus on inviting the reader to ponder their own opinions and reflect on the behaviour of society, particularly attitudes to the mentally handicapped and the stigma that it brings, this is a stimulating novel. This is a series that I intend to follow and the clear familiarity of the author with the subject matter and the role of a psychological profiler to aid the police in the most sensitive cases was instrumental. Anne Holt's willingness to portray the heated debate between the styles of Stubo and Vik and their own beliefs, raising and ruling out ideas along the way makes for an involving read.

Punishment is a fast-paced and engrossing read, which replicates the intensity of a prolonged and high profile case and a novel that so enthralled and captivated me, that I raced through it, holding my breath most of the way. It is no wonder that Anne Holt is referred to as the "godmother of modern Norwegian crime fiction". Remarkably the part of this novel surrounding the miscarriage of justice of Aksel Seier was inspired by a true story and despite the connections between the two cases, of both Aksel Seier and the abductor stretching plausibility, this did not mar a remarkable reading experience.