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Odd Numbers

Hanne Wilhelmsen Book Nine

About The Book

When bombs explode at the Islamic Cooperation Council’s headquarters in Oslo, detective Hanne Wilhelmsen is on the case in the ninth installment of the award-winning series from Norway’s bestselling crime writer Anne Holt whose tenth and final book in the series Dust and Ashes will be published in May 2018—“Odd Numbers shows Holt’s storytelling at its finest” (Associated Press).

On an early April afternoon, a bomb goes off in the Islamic Cooperation Council’s offices in Oslo, killing twenty-three people. The Police and Security Service suspect an extremist organization to be responsible for the attack, a suspicion that grows stronger when threats of yet another, bigger explosion during the planned celebration of the Norwegian constitution reach the authorities.

As a special adviser on cold cases, Hanne Wilhelmsen has cut all of her official ties to the Security Service and lives contentedly—or at least as contentedly as someone like her can manage—in solitude with her partner Nesir and their young daughter. A small computer monitor is Hanne's only window to the outside until the day of the attacks, when her closed-off world is broken open. Hanne is approached by her long lost friend, Billy T., whose son Linus has undergone some disturbing changes recently. As the mood of the city darkens, Hanne tries to help Billy T. reach out to Linus and realizes that Oslo is up against forces far more terrible and menacing than ever before.

From “the godmother of Norwegian crime fiction” (Jo Nesbo), Odd Numbers is “prophetic” (Kirkus Reviews) and “outstanding…shedding a vital humane light on one of today’s most lethal social problems (Publishers Weekly, starred review).

About The Author

Photograph by Jo Michael

Anne Holt is Norway’s bestselling female crime writer. She was a journalist and news anchor and spent two years working for the Oslo Police Department before founding her own law firm and serving as Norway’s Minister for Justice in 1996 and 1997. Her first novel was published in 1993 and her books have been translated into over thirty languages and have sold more than 7 million copies. Her novel 1222 was nominated for an Edgar Award for Best Novel. She lives in Oslo with her family.

Product Details

  • Publisher: Scribner (June 6, 2017)
  • Length: 336 pages
  • ISBN13: 9781451634891

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Raves and Reviews

"An outrageously suspenseful novel that skillfully reflects the reality we now live in."
—Aftonbladet, Sweden

"[Anne Holt] once again proves why she is such a popular crime fiction author. She pinpoints the fears of contemporary society without oversimplifying."
Göteborgs-Posten, Sweden

"An irresistible combination of a heated race against time in the bomb story plot line, and a slower paced cold case story. I read it all in one sitting and luxuriate in how Holt cleverly ties all the threads together, brings her rich gallery of characters to life, and deals with the difficult issues of our time."
—Skånska Dagbladet, Sweden

"Anne Holt is back with a Hanne Wilhelmsen crime novel - and she delivers. /.../ It’s been a long time since I’ve read a more beautiful and elegant opening in a crime novel. /.../ With Offline, Holt presents a piece of high quality crime fiction art."
Verdens Gang, Norway

“A prophetic counterterrorist procedural whose bold central conceit is likely to grow more depressingly plausible with every passing week.”
Kirkus Reviews

“Outstanding . . . Holt sheds a vital humane light on one of today’s most lethal social problems.”
Publishers Weekly, starred review

Odd Numbers shows Holt’s storytelling at its finest.” Associated Press

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More books in this series: A Hanne Wilhelmsen Novel