PUNISHMENT

PUNISHMENT by Anne Holt. 

Punishment (What is Mine USA) is the first in a series of book featuring Joanne Vik and Adam Stubo

When Emilie doesn’t come home from school her father isn’t too worried. It’s not the first time since her mother’s death she has run away. It’s not until several hours later when he finds her school bag on the side of the road he calls the police and reports her missing. Detective Inspector Stubo, of Norway’s National Criminal Investigation Service is senior officer on the case.  With no leads in Emilie disappearance and two more missing children, Stubo decides to contact Johanne Vik a solicitor with a degree in psychology and former FBI profiler who has studied convicted sex offenders. 

Reluctant to get involved in a case involving missing children Vik is already juggling  a small child and job lecturing at the local university as well looking in to the 44 year old murder of an eight year old girl at the request of  dying woman Alvhild Sofienberg, whose job was preparing application for Royal Pardons. It was here that Alvhild came across Aksel Seier who was convicted and given a life sentence for the rape and murder of eight year old Hedvig Gasøy. Alvhild was convinced on Aksel’s innocents and starts to dig further. One day she arrives in to her office to find all the documents relating to the case have disappeared. Then she receives the most astonishing news. Eight years in to a life sentence Aksel Seier is released from prison without expiation.

When the bodies of the missing children start to turn up at their parents homes, and the pathologist can find no apparent cause of death, the case takes a twist causing Vik to wonder if the current murders are connected to Hedvig Gasøy.

I came across Anne Holt a Norwegian writer in my local bookshop. Her latest book ‘Fear Not’ promised ‘Holt is the queen of Scandinavian crime’. Readers of this blog know I am going through a crime phase so the blurb caught my attention. I headed to the library to pick up Punishment as it was the first book in the series and I like to read series in order.

Personally I loved the book apart from the fact that the victims were young kids.  There are several twists in the book that you don’t see coming. The ending is not an obvious one. The story jumps between the perspective of the different characters and between the sub-plots which can be a little annoying.  Over all the book is well worth the read and I will be looking for the other four books in the series.