The cover of this newly re-released thriller proclaims its author, Anne Holt, as the “Godmother of modern Norwegian crime fiction”.
Having never read anything by a Norwegian writer, let alone by any godmothers of crime fiction, I didn’t really have any expectations of The Blind Goddess.
Within a few pages, though, I was hooked.
While walking her dog on the outskirts of Oslo, lawyer Karen Borg stumbles across a bloody scene: a body, that of a local drug dealer, lying motionless, missing a face and with three holes in its chest.
Hours later, a young student is found wandering the city’s streets, covered in blood which is not his own.
He is taken into police custody and thrown into the holding cells, where he refuses to speak to anyone about anything, aside from demanding that Karen act as his defence lawyer.
Five days later, Hansa Larsen – a criminal lawyer with a far poorer reputation than the noble Karen – is also found dead.
Detective Inspector Hanne Wilhelmsen – the heroine of eight Anne Holt novels – soon uncovers a link between the two deaths: the deceased lawyer once defended the recently departed drug dealer.
She soon discovers a criminal conspiracy that stretches into Norway’s offices of power and – like any fictional detective worth her salt – she has to risk her life to crack the case.
Written in a bare, emotionless style, and with a decent-sized body count, The Blind Goddess thrills and chills in equal parts.
Author Anne is a former lawyer who, while writing the books for which she’s become famous, has also served as Norway’s minister of justice.
Her knowledge of the nitty-gritty of police cases and her experience in the corridors of power add real meat to this exhilarating crime caper.
Claire Rorke
The Blind Goddess
Anne Holt
Allen & Unwin
$36.99
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