1222 metres above sea level, train 601 from Oslo to Bergen careens off iced rails as the worst snowstorm in Norwegian history gathers force around it. Marooned in the high mountains with night falling and the temperature plummeting, its 269 passengers are forced to abandon their snowbound train and decamp to a centuries-old mountain hotel. They ought to be safe from the storm here, but as dawn breaks one of them will be found dead, murdered. With the storm showing no sign of abating, retired police inspector Hanne Wilhelmsen is asked to investigate. But Hanne has no wish to get involved. She has learned the hard way that truth comes at a price and sometimes that price just isn't worth paying. Her pursuit of truth and justice has cost her the love of her life, her career in the Oslo Police Department and her mobility: she is paralysed from the waist down by a bullet lodged in her spine. Trapped in a wheelchair, trapped by the killer within, trapped by the deadly storm outside, Hanne's growing unease is shared by everyone in the hotel. Should she investigate, or should she just wait for help to arrive? And all the time rumours swirl about a secret cargo carried by train 601. Why was the last carriage sealed? Why is the top floor of the hotel locked down? Who or what is being concealed? And, of course, what if the killer strikes again?
Review
'1222 is an homage to Agatha Christie's Miss Marple - or Miss Marple as a badass, paralysed Norwegian lesbian detective... Holt translates the classic locked room mystery into a modern thriller.' The Times 'Like a mash-up of Steig Larsson, Jeffery Deaver and Agatha Christie.' Daily Mirror 'Step aside, Stieg Larsson, Holt is the queen of Scandinavian crime thrillers.' Red 'Anne Holt is the latest crime writer to reveal how truly dark it gets in Scandinavia' Val McDermid 'A splendidly chilling read' The Observer 'If you haven't heard of Anne Holt, you soon will... A variation on the classic locked room mystery, Holt had capitalized on old-fashioned suspense to great effect' Daily Mail 'It's easy to see why Anne Holt, the former minister of justice in Norway and currently its bestselling female crime writer, is rapturously received in the rest of Europe - the build up of tension is slow but superbly effective. Holt's vivid depiction of claustrophobia, petty squabbles and mob hysteria is just as convincing as her evocation of the storm outside.' The Guardian
Review
"* 'Anne Holt is the latest crime writer to reveal how truly dark it gets in Scandinavia' - Val McDermid * 'A pleasure from start to finish... a dazzling and classic crime story and a brilliant thriller' - Bokavisen, Norway * 'A fascinating, extremely modern homage to the classic detective novel' - Der Spiegel, Germany * 'Holt updates the classic locked-room-mystery with such bravado that on the last page the reader can only give a deep sigh of contentment' - Aamulehti, Finland * 'A masterpiece in the genre, a real non-stop read' - Skanska Dagbladet, Sweden"