Fear Not - Tapa blanda

This title introduces the "Johanne Vik" series from the reigning queen of Scandinavian crime writing, Anne Holt. The silent, snow-covered streets of Oslo are a perfect scene of Christmas tranquility. But over the tolling of bells for the last Sunday of Advent, a black note sounds. A boy's body washes up near the shoreline of the city's Aker Bridge. His corpse is bloated by the water, almost unrecognisable. Nobody has even bothered to report him missing. One week later, the bishop of Bergen is found stabbed to death on a deserted street. Eva Karin Lysgaard is a popular public figure, a sixty-two year-old grandmother: why was she on a lone errand in the deserted city, on the night before Christmas? Johanne Vik, criminal researcher and police profiler, is called in to untangle the motivation behind the bishop's murder. But with her husband at the head of this increasingly high-profile investigation, Vik's association with the case is under intense scrutiny. And why does Lysgaard's shocking death lead her towards the sad death of an unknown boy? It includes Jo Nesbo, Camilla Lackberg, and, Patricia Cornwell

"'Holt is Scandinavia's answer to Val McDermid, writing dark and unsettling crime with more than a little wire in its blood.' Evening Standard * '1222' - REVIEWS * 'Like a mash-up of Steig Larsson, Jeffery Deaver and Agatha Christie... The chilliest read you'll encounter all winter.' - Daily Mirror * 'Lively, unusual and persuasive. Holt writes with the command we have come to expect from the top Scandinavian writers.' - The Times * 'It's easy to see why Anne Holt, the former minister of justice in Norway and its bestselling female crime writer, is rapturously received in the rest of Europe. The crimes, the build up of tension, are superbly effective. Vivid and convincing.' - Guardian * 'Step aside, Stieg Larsson, Holt is the queen of Scandinavian crime thrillers.' - Red Magazine * 'Anne Holt reveals how truly dark it gets in Scandinavia' - VAL McDERMID"