Anne Holt’s characters and plots make her one of my favorites: fast-paced stories with a social conscience and a memorable lesbian detective.
Dead Joker is a downer. Hanne Wilhelmsen is going through personal and professional burnout, and it’s rough going. The book starts with a decapitation (most Holt books aren’t so gruesome at the beginning) and turns from murder to other disturbing crimes that could feel overwhelming, but Holt is so good at pacing and fleshing out her characters that I didn’t feel overburdened by everything in the story that could be too much. I know it’s hard to write something that proceeds at such a clip when it could have felt even heavier given the subject matter. Short chapters help, and spending time with all of her main characters over the length of a substantial book helps too.
Dead Joker is a police and legal procedural with a cast of characters who’ve developed over the series: Hakon and Karen the lawyers and Billy T. and Hanne the detectives. If you haven’t read earlier books in the series, you may not feel as invested in the characters, but on the other hand, this book summarizes lots of the earlier books as well so a new reader doesn’t miss out on crucial plot developments. Holt spends plenty of time with other characters too, and the decline of the prosecutor accused of murderer was very vivid. Other characters are a bit more of a mystery (Billy T.), but I assume he’ll take the lead in another book instead.
My review is a little vague to counterbalance the copy on the back of the book that gives away practically everything. This book is for fans of the series, most of all, and it feels like a sort of summing up of Hanne’s career in the police. It looks like there are just a three more books to be published in English: No Echo, Beyond the Truth, and Offline. I will track them down.
Dead Joker by Anne Holt, translated by Anne Bruce
Originally published as Død joker, 1999
This edition: Corvus, 2015
I bought my copy of the book
Ms. Wordopolis Reads 
I like Anne Holt’s books, too, Rebecca. Some of then are, indeed, harder to read than others, because they don’t ‘pull punches.’ Still, I think mostly they’re very nicely done. Thanks for your candid review.
You’re welcome, Margot. I’m reading the next one already, and thankfully it’s not gruesome from the get-go.
I’ve read 1222 and the first two Hanne books. Am about to read book three.
Hope you like them, Kathy. I tend to read her books in chunks, and they’re usually a little different in length/topic so I don’t get bored.
Rebecca, I am glad to hear that the cast of characters is still there at this point. Hakon and Karen and Billy T. Looking forward to reading more of the books. I hope I remember not to read the back of this book when I get to it.
Groovy! Hope you like them, Tracy. The next one, No Echo, is good so far as well. I don’t get to read much during the work week but will probably finish it over the weekend.
Gah! I hate when the back of the book gives everything away! Or worse, when I’m already reading the book and feel invested, but then I read the back and it has a spoiler that I haven’t reached yet!
It’s so frustrating!
[…] to depend on clues dropped in mysteriously from above instead of being uncovered organically. The last book was so good that any follow up would pale in comparison, but this one just didn’t do it for […]