1222: A Hanne Wilhelmsen Novel by Anne Holt - Reviews, Discussion, Bookclubs, Lists

Dec 13, 2011 Luanne Ollivier rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I had never heard of Anne Holt before - she's described as Norway's #1 bestselling crime writer. After finishing her latest book 1222, I can see why - and I will be hunting down her backlist.

1222 features one of Holt's recurring characters - Hanne Wilhelmsen. Hanne is not a stereotypical protagonist. She's wheelchair bound, having been paralyzed from the waist down in a police shoot out four years ago. She's a lesbian, a loner and astute. Oh, and she really doesn't like people at all, even more...more I had never heard of Anne Holt before - she's described as Norway's #1 bestselling crime writer. After finishing her latest book 1222, I can see why - and I will be hunting down her backlist.

1222 features one of Holt's recurring characters - Hanne Wilhelmsen. Hanne is not a stereotypical protagonist. She's wheelchair bound, having been paralyzed from the waist down in a police shoot out four years ago. She's a lesbian, a loner and astute. Oh, and she really doesn't like people at all, even more so since her accident.

'It's having people close to me that I find difficult. I am interested in people, but I don't want people to be interested in me. A very taxing situation. At least it is if you surround yourself with friends and colleagues, and if you have to work in a team - as you do in the police. When I got shot and almost died, I ran out of strength. I was perfectly happy sitting there, all by myself."

Hanne is on a train to see a specialist about her paralysis. When the train derails in a snowstorm high above any settlement, the passengers are forced to take refuge in a hotel at the top of the mountain. Communication is cut off as the storm rages on. And someone else is full of rage as well - a clergy man is found shot. Hanne is recognized and reluctantly conscripted to the team that seems to be taking charge - a lawyer, a doctor, and the hotel manager. The storm is increasing in ferocity - and there's a murderer among them. And what about that extra car on the train - the one with armed guards?

I loved this book so much! The character of Hanne was different, not a by the numbers detective. She somewhat reminded me of Inger Ash Wolfe's Hazel Micallef character. Stubborn, sardonic, irascible and highly observant.

"Like other practised liars, he had stuck close to the truth. As a rule, it's the sensible thing to do, but Adrian had given me a piece of a jigsaw puzzle without realizing that I only needed a fragment of sky to sense the outline of the entire finished picture."

1222 has been likened to Agatha Christie's 'locked room' mysteries. The comparison is quite apt. Hanne herself notes "I thought about Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None. I immediately tried to dismiss the thought. And Then There were None is a story that doesn't exactly have a happy ending."

Each chapter has a clever title page listing the Beaufort Scale, a wind rating that starts at one and rises to 12, ratcheting up as the tension increases in the hotel.

I truly had no idea who the murderer was until the very end. The hotel is populated with many possibilities. Indeed, the various characters are half the fun of this read. Hanne's unveiling of the perpetrator at the end and her reasoning were right there before me the whole time, but I hadn't seen it.

This was a five star read for me - and a perfect read for a blustery winter day. Releases on December 27, 2011(less)

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Jan 08, 2013 Katy rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: fans of mysteries, suspense/thrillers, great writing

Recommended to Katy by: NetGalley

Shelves: ebook, net-galley, galley-for-review

Please note: I read and reviewed this book in Dec. 2011. Updating the formatting and adding a disclosure.

Disclosure: I received a free e-galley copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Genre: Mystery/Thriller/Suspense
Reading Level: Adult

My Synopsis: Hanne Wilhelmsen used to work for the police until a bullet severed her spine between the 10th and 11th vertebrae, leaving her paralyzed from the waist down. She is on a train to Bergen in the middle...more Please note: I read and reviewed this book in Dec. 2011. Updating the formatting and adding a disclosure.

Disclosure: I received a free e-galley copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Genre: Mystery/Thriller/Suspense
Reading Level: Adult

My Synopsis: Hanne Wilhelmsen used to work for the police until a bullet severed her spine between the 10th and 11th vertebrae, leaving her paralyzed from the waist down. She is on a train to Bergen in the middle of winter, on her way to see an American specialist because of health problems she has been experiencing, when the train is derailed. Fortunately they were only just past` the station and near to a hotel that was mostly empty at the time, and the only person killed in the wreck was the driver of the train. However, that first night, there is a murder. And another the second night. What is happening? Who is the killer? And what about the mysterious extra carriage at the end of the train – who is in it? Why is there an armed guard? Will Hanne overcome her self-imposed isolation and help find the answers?

My Thoughts: I really loved this book. Apparently it is an homage to Agatha Christie’s “And Then There Were None” (also known in some areas as “Ten Little Indians”). The plot moved quickly, and there were lots of bits of subtle humor interspersed among the tension and suspense. The characters were wonderfully portrayed – while discussing the book with my husband I commented that you know a writer is good if you become attracted to one of the characters simply based upon the description and characterization, and that person’s personality. Magnus Streng was one of my favorite characters – he was absolutely fascinating and if he were a real person, I’d love to meet him. Edit: I should point out I mentioned to someone that I had read only one book with a character to whom I had become strongly attracted, and that was this book and Magnus Streng. So, again, impressive. End Edit

I strongly recommend this book to people who enjoy a good mystery, suspense/thriller, or simply good writing – you won’t be disappointed – it is wonderful!(less)

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Oct 20, 2012 Matthew White rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A thriller with personality, 1222 entertains and progresses at a brisk pace, making it immensely readable. Unlike so many others in the genre, Holt blends the tried-and-true method of the location murder mystery with humour and wit which makes it a unique and worthy contemporary read.

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Jan 18, 2013 Elizabeth rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

How do you think a murder mystery would flow if the investigator was completely indifferent to the murder, the mystery and all the people who were trapped in a hotel with her? And it wasn't meant to be a comedy? It would drag on. Forever. The events in the book take place over three days, it felt like weeks. I suppose it's an ingenious way for the author to make the reader feel like one of those people trapped in a hotel wtih a whole bunch of strangers and nothing to do and all the exits blocked...more

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Jan 03, 2013 Cheryl A rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery

I've been relucant to jump on the Scandanvian mystery bandwagon as I really enjoy reading series in order to watch the characters develop. After hearing great things about this title, I decided to give it a try.

Hanne Wilhelmsen, a retired Inspector paralized in a shoot-out, is on her way to Bergen when her train derails. Fortunately, the train had just left the station at Finse, a mountain resort, and the passengers were able to seek shelter in the nearby hotel. As the passengers settle into to...more

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Oct 28, 2012 Lisa rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The first thing I thought when I read the blurb for 1222 was, “Oh! It’s a Norwegian And Then There Were None.” I love a good mystery, and a good locked room mystery? Even more fun. Put that locked room in a snowed-in resort high in the mountains? Love it.

The interesting thing about this is that Anne Holt’s detective, Hanne Wilhelmsen, is about as unpleasant a main character as you have read lately. She has good reason to be cranky — she’s been injured in a train wreck, she can’t get around the r...more

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Sep 13, 2012 Karo rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This was a cheap buy for my new kindle thingy, and something I would have got out of the library anyway, because I will always read Scandinavian crime, and I'm not ashamed to admit it.
Anne Holt is Norwegian, and her novel deals with exactly what you would expect from a Norwegian book: Lots of snow. Having just holidayed in a snowed-in country myself, it was the perfect read. The main character in 1222, ex-police inspector Hanne Wilhemsen, is one of the many people affected by a derailed train in...more This was a cheap buy for my new kindle thingy, and something I would have got out of the library anyway, because I will always read Scandinavian crime, and I'm not ashamed to admit it.
Anne Holt is Norwegian, and her novel deals with exactly what you would expect from a Norwegian book: Lots of snow. Having just holidayed in a snowed-in country myself, it was the perfect read. The main character in 1222, ex-police inspector Hanne Wilhemsen, is one of the many people affected by a derailed train in the worst snowstorm in Norwegian history and is evacuated to a mountain hotel. What seems like a close escape with only one victim quickly goes very wrong. The snowstorms cuts off any hope of rescue, and people get murdered.
It quickly dawned on me that it is one of the best settings for a murder mystery, since I had just attempted something very similar for NaNoWriMo. Anne Holt is a professional though, and her novel makes much more sense than mine.
Forced to stay in the hotel lobby, the wheelchair-bound Wilhemsen observes the growing panic and strange reactions in the group of survivors and tries to solve the murders. She is also puzzled by the secret and heavily-guarded compartment that the train was pulling, and its passengers, which most of the rescued suspect to be royalty. Wilhemsen has different ideas though, but she only realises right in the end how wrong everybody has been. This part of the story was a bit much for my taste: I actually laughed when the identity of the secret passengers was revealed. The actual murder story is solid, and makes sense in a Scandinavian crime way.
What raises this novel above attempts like mine are Holt's subtle observations of the cracks in the little mountain hotel community and Norwegian society as a whole: Here we have unsavoury church ministers versus just as unlikeable worldly demagogues, the occasional quiet foreigner vs. the bullying neo-nazi. In a closed environment, things will quickly boil over, and it makes for good reading.
1222 is nothing spectacular, and the ending is a bit over the top, but it keeps you reading, and quickly. (less)

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Aug 27, 2012 Jill rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This story is set in the middle of a raging February snowstorm in Norway. A train traveling from Oslo to Bergen derails near the railway station at Finse, which is 1222 meters above sea level, hence the title of the book.

The narrator is Hanne Wilhelmsen, a retired police inspector who has been paralyzed from the waist down since a shooting four years earlier and is now confined to a wheelchair. She lives a rather quiet, isolated life with her partner, Nefis, and their daughter, Ida. She was tra...more This story is set in the middle of a raging February snowstorm in Norway. A train traveling from Oslo to Bergen derails near the railway station at Finse, which is 1222 meters above sea level, hence the title of the book.

The narrator is Hanne Wilhelmsen, a retired police inspector who has been paralyzed from the waist down since a shooting four years earlier and is now confined to a wheelchair. She lives a rather quiet, isolated life with her partner, Nefis, and their daughter, Ida. She was traveling alone, however, to see a medical specialist, and was evacuated along with other survivors of the crash to the train station hotel. Altogether, there were 269 people on board, and at first, only the train driver died.

As the blizzard kicks up and the passengers become good and snowbound, the death count begins to climb as well. A few die from delayed traumatic injury, but there are also a couple of murders. Since Hanne is the only one with any police experience, she, along with a solicitor and a doctor, try to conduct an investigation and apprehend the killer before more people die.

Discussion: This is apparently the seventh installment in the Hanne Wilhelmsen series. It is the first to be published in the U.S. however. Even so, I had no trouble getting into the story. On the other hand, it sort of ends in medias res - the crime is solved, but all the other pending plot lines are simply dropped. I can only think that because it is a series, they will be picked up in some later book. As it was, however, it left me feeling quite bewildered and a bit robbed.

Evaluation: Holt does an excellent job in making you feel the bitter cold of the wind and the inexorable onslaught of endless snow. She also nicely chronicled the change in atmosphere as the days wore on among those who were trapped. I wasn’t all that taken with Hanne however, nor of any of those trapped along with her; in any event we didn’t get to know any of them all that well. Hanne makes plenty of asides about the Norwegian character and Norway’s social institutions, but some of it may seem puzzling to the American audience. There was also a bit of what I thought of as silliness to make the book more politically timely and internationally relevant. But really my biggest complaint is, as I stated in the Discussion, the story just stopped. In the middle of what was happening. Without carrying out the plotlines. Only the murder, which seemed only a minor subplot in view of the storm and the interaction of personalities confined to the lodge, was brought to a resolution. I was left dissatisfied.

Rating: 2.5/5
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Aug 23, 2012 TheBookSmugglers rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 7-rated-book

Originally reviewed on The Book Smugglers

As it was only the train driver who died, you couldn't call it a disaster. There were 269 people on board when the train, due to a meteorological phenomenon that I have not yet understood completely, came off the rails and missed the tunnel trhough Finsenut. A dead train driver comprises only 0.37 percent of this number of people. Given the circumstances, in other words, we were incredibly lucky.

So begins Hanne Wilhemsen's narrative in 1222, a story of sn...more

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Aug 17, 2012 Jennifer rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012, mystery

I love a good locked room mystery and this book has a great premise - 269 passengers from a derailed train are forced to seek shelter in a snowbound hotel in Norway during a blizzard of biblical proportions. I loved the descriptions of the storm, the use of the Beaufort scale at the start of each chapter, and the claustrophobic feeling of the snow piling higher than the windows as the tension mounts inside.

Fortunately for these folks, retired investigator Hanne Wilhelmsen is one of the passenger...more

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Jul 26, 2012 Margaret Sankey rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Read in Norwegian, this is one of the better Scandinavian crime series--devoid of serial killers and elaborate plots in favor of human behavior and procedural. Hanne Wilhelmsen, a detective retired after being paralyzed, is on the train to Bergen in the far north when it derails on icy tracks, stranding the 150 passengers at barely opened ski resort. As bodies pile up (accident, murder, heart attack, murder, injury), Hanne has to wheel through a trainload of straw figures (celebrity pastor, Norw...more

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Jul 26, 2012 Karen Gygli rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I was traveling through Scandinavia, so figured this would be the perfect read. The narrator, Hanne is a former cop who is on a trip to consult with doctors because she is paralyzed from the waist down and has some discomfort. On the way north, the train skids and crashes into a mountain tunnel. The people on the train are rescued and hunker down at a nearby hotel until the worst winter storm Norway has ever seen (and remember, this is NORWAY, people--NORTHERN NORWAY--and THEY are freaked out by...more

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Jul 13, 2012 Majanka rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery, thriller, suspense, read-2012

1222 is a novel written by Anne Holt, one of the most prolific and bestselling crime writers from Norway. While I had never heard of Anne Holt of her series about Hanne Wilhelmsen before, this book had me intrigued enough to check on her impressive backlist and credentials. While I won’t rule out reading more of her books, I’m not all too hyped. I can see why people enjoy her writing, I’m just not sure if it’s for me.

The book features protagonist Hanne Wilhelmsen, who isn’t your typical main cha...more 1222 is a novel written by Anne Holt, one of the most prolific and bestselling crime writers from Norway. While I had never heard of Anne Holt of her series about Hanne Wilhelmsen before, this book had me intrigued enough to check on her impressive backlist and credentials. While I won’t rule out reading more of her books, I’m not all too hyped. I can see why people enjoy her writing, I’m just not sure if it’s for me.

The book features protagonist Hanne Wilhelmsen, who isn’t your typical main character. She’s bound to a wheelchair because she’s paralyzed from the waist down, something which happened during a shooting approximately four years ago. On top of that, she uses her paralyzis to keep other people at a distance. While it was hard to like Hanne from the start, she gradually grew on me. She befriends a loner boy who reminds her of herself when she was younger, indicating she’s been a loner her entire life. She also befriends a doctor with dwarfism, but tends to stay away from “regular” people which I thought was strange. Why does she purposely go seek out people who are “different” as well? Notice how I use these terms here, I’m not trying to imply anything, but I find it odd the author chooses to stick those who are “different” together based solely on the fact they’re different. I’m not sure if I’m explaining myself well, but it seems like the only reason why Hanne befriended the doctor with dwarfism is just that – because he has dwarfism. Not because she likes his personality, thinks he’s a nice person or all that, but because he has dwarfism. I thought that was strangely judgemental and perhaps not a good call.

What I enjoyed most about this book was the setting. The descriptions add to the story without being overwhelming. I also liked Hanne’s personality simply because it was different, and she wasn’t a generic character. The plot itself is pretty straight-forward though. A train crashes and survivors are brought to a nearby hotel, where they stay the night. A snow storms comes and they’re stuck in there a little longer. A person is found murdered. Former inspector Hanne Wilhelmsen starts an investigation, helped by some of the people also on board of the train. Another murder happens.

The story is pretty straightforward for the first half of the book, but the author uses so many clichés that I had to keep myself from rolling my eyes at times. I had solved the murders way before the main character did, which isn’t a good sign. There’s also an additional mystery involving trained security who were present on the train and now keep the upper floor of the hotel to themselves. Who are they? Why were they on the train? The explanation at the end is confusing and far-fetched to say the least, and doesn’t add to the story.

I’ve heard some people rave about this book, while others are less than impressed. I like to keep the ball in the middle. The writing itself is solid, if not for the plot flaws and some of the obvious plot twists. The author knows her protagonist well, but fails to include much plot otherwise. The ending was a bit cheesy and difficult to understand, and I felt like it fell short. This book is the eight book in a series about detective Hanne Wilhelmsen, but reads well enough as a stand-alone. Perhaps if I’d read the previous books, I would’ve started to like the main character sooner, but to me, Hanne Wilhelmsen and her lonely, anti-hero personality never seemed the problem – the plot was. It was too obvious and see-through and let me feeling a tad bit disappointed. Good for a long road trip, or to read on a plane to Norway, or on a cold winter evening, but nothing world-changing.

1222 is a nice book for locked-room mysteries like “And Then There Were None” by Agatha Christie, except that it pales in comparison to this classic mystery novel. It’s a decent book with an interesting protagonist, but the plot is unconvincing. Read at your own risk.(less)

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Jul 11, 2012 Joanne rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

1222 is a fairly classic "closed room" mystery, set in rural Norway. The narrator, former police inspector Hanne Wilhelmsen, is a lonely and irascible woman who deliberately uses her paraplegic status to keep other human beings at a safe distance. When the train on which she's traveling crashes in the mountains, in the middle of a storm of historic (not to say biblical) proportions, she is forced back into her police investigator role to help solve two nasty murders. The first person narration w...more

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Jul 07, 2012 Shannon rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

1222 is a classic mystery with a Norwegian flavor. It tells the story of Hanne Wilhemsen, former police officer, and the other passengers of a train that is derailed 1,222 meters above sea level during a massive snowstorm. The passengers are trapped in the only hotel nearby and for each night they spend there, one murder is committed.

Hanne is paralyzed and in a wheelchair, so it was interesting to have a narrator who saw the scene and other characters from a very specific point of view. Hanne is...more

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Jun 24, 2012 Kevin rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Jun 09, 2012 Nona rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery, read-in-2012, from-library

I'm a sucker for a trapped-with-a-killer story, whether it be And Then There Were None or the movie Alien. 1222 gives us a premise that embraces this idea wholeheartedly: a train derails in an already isolated area of the country and the survivors, though they have found a nice hotel to gather in, are further isolated by a storm of increasing and incredible ferocity. There are a few people traveling in groups and a few people with a certain amount of notoriety, but mostly they are all strangers...more

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May 16, 2012 Kayeb rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Not even sure I can articulate what I most liked. Descriptions add to the scene, not overwhelm it, the main character unfolds gradually and becomes more likable,even as she comes to self perception that she is wasting her life away as she has been living....plot unfolded effectively.

1222 is the story of how a small group of people find themselves stuck in a hotel during an apocalyptic snow storm. Following a dramatic train derailment at Finse, the conflict between the survivors escalates while a...more

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May 09, 2012 Jeannie and Louis Rigod rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I had never read a book by this fine author until "1222." I will continue to read her work, when it is available in English, in the future.

This was a gripping tale of a former disabled Norwegian police officer. Hanne Wilhelmsen was shot on duty and is now paralyzed below the waist. On her way to a medical appointment in the dead of winter, her train derails. Not only is Hanne injured, quite dramatically, to my opinion, she is pressed back into 'service' when a murder occurs within the first twel...more

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Mar 12, 2012 Kathleen Hagen added it · review of another edition

1222: a Hanne Wilhelmsen novel, Book 8, (1st one available in English) by Anne Holt, a-minus, Narrated by Kate Reading, Produced by Blackstone Audio, Downloaded from audible.com.

Hanne Wilhelmsen is riding the train through northern Norway to see a specialist to see about gaining some mobility back. Hanne was a police woman until she was shot four years ago and paralyzed from the waist down. She uses a wheelchair. The train is full of passengers on the train for other reasons, priests going to so...more

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Feb 21, 2012 Marleen rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

1222 metres above sea level the train travelling from Oslo to Bergen derails during the start of the worst snow storm in Norwegian history. With the snow and freezing temperatures getting steadily worse, the 269 passengers have no hope of a quick rescue and no choice but to take refuge in centuries old mountain hotel close to the crash site.
The hotel has withstood anything nature could throw at it for hundreds of years and is well stocked so the passengers should be safe from the elements and in...more 1222 metres above sea level the train travelling from Oslo to Bergen derails during the start of the worst snow storm in Norwegian history. With the snow and freezing temperatures getting steadily worse, the 269 passengers have no hope of a quick rescue and no choice but to take refuge in centuries old mountain hotel close to the crash site.
The hotel has withstood anything nature could throw at it for hundreds of years and is well stocked so the passengers should be safe from the elements and in no risk of food or water shortages. The safe-haven feels less save after the first night in the hotel though when one of the passengers is found just outside the hotel, murdered.
Among the passengers is former police inspector Hanne Wilhelmsen. Retired from the police force since she ended up with a bullet lodged in her spine during her last case which left her paralysed from the waist down, Hanne has been leading an almost reclusive life. And when she’s asked to use the knowledge and training from her old career to investigate the murder she is very reluctant.
But with tension growing among the passengers, the storm outside showing no sign of lessening and no where to hide from the people around her, Hanne soon finds she’s looking into what exactly is going on around her, almost despite herself.
And the murder is only one of the mysteries Hanne is faced with. What exactly was the reason for the extra carriage added on to the train, why was it so heavily guarded and who exactly are the people hiding on the top floor of the hotel?
There are more then enough unanswered questions to keep Hanne occupied and very frustrated, because there’s always a chance that the murderer will strike again.

This was a very nice modern day variation on the traditional manor house mysteries. Locked in the hotel with nobody being able to come or go, the murderer has to be one of the people there. For any readers not immediately recognising the classical set-up of the story there is a nice reference to “little grey cells” towards the end of the book, and the solution to the mystery is revealed during a group meeting with Hanne taking the role of the story-book detective taking their time to target various suspects before revealing the actual murderer and the reasons behind the crime. There is some of the conceit we often find in the classical mysteries here as well; the reader is not given all the clues the story detective has access to. In this book that is due to Hanne being easily distracted and a little hard of hearing. But whereas Hanne is able to remember what she thought she had forgotten or missed, the reader doesn’t have that benefit.
While I enjoyed the mystery and the setting, I wasn’t as charmed by the main character. For me Hanne was a bit too anti-social and selfish as well as inconsistent. Her need to be alone and uninvolved didn’t quite fit with the interest she took in some of her fellow passengers and her constant observing and (internal) questioning of those around her and their motives.
However, I did find this a quick read and once I started the book I found that I needed to keep on turning the pages in order to find out what exactly was going on. The issues that caused me minor irritations at times weren’t big enough to stop me racing towards the revelations at the end of the story.
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Feb 15, 2012 Kathleen (Kat) Smith rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: contemporary-fiction, murder-mystery, supense-thriller-fiction

Described as Norway's #1 bestselling crime writer, Anne Holt had fashioned together a most intriguing story of deceit, mystery and murder. Her latest book, 1222, is written in a very unique fashion, eluding familiar concepts of strong writing and story telling. One example of this can be seen in her main character, Hanne Wilhelmsen.

Hanne is not your typical protagonist.

Having been paralyzed from the waist down in a police shoot out four years ago, she is wheel chair bound. As a lesbian, and a re...more

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Feb 07, 2012 KarenC rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to KarenC by: Edgar nomination list

Shelves: murder_mystery, scandinavian, edgar_nominees_2012, better_than_tv, bookmarks

Well presented stand alone, although it's the eigth installment in a series. Author took the time to develop her series character, Hanne Wilhelmsen, so she seemed real; a mature policewoman, retired due to a gunshot wound suffered on the job, now curmudgeonly, an introvert who prefers being left alone and who has not fully learned to deal with her disability. I was left with the impression that her life revolved around her disability and was nearly limited to her wheelchair, although she has a l...more Well presented stand alone, although it's the eigth installment in a series. Author took the time to develop her series character, Hanne Wilhelmsen, so she seemed real; a mature policewoman, retired due to a gunshot wound suffered on the job, now curmudgeonly, an introvert who prefers being left alone and who has not fully learned to deal with her disability. I was left with the impression that her life revolved around her disability and was nearly limited to her wheelchair, although she has a lesbian partner with whom she shares a little girl.
The story presents as a sort of locked-room mystery, since the participants are limited to the passengers from a stranded train. They are confined to a wing of a local hotel because of a blizzard raging through the mountains. This provided an interesting and different variation on the theme.
Overall, the book was well written and kept my interest. There were a few annoying points: (1) Hanne continually focuses on her physical disability, although she wants others to ignore it. (2) The author lets Hanne have a thought, or see a clue, but does not share with the reader, making it difficult for us to participate in the solution. (3) I got a little tired of the "I'd be sorry later" thoughts from Hanne as she let important or significant conversations slip away. (4) As the most experienced person in the group to try to solve the murders, Hanne tried not to accept any responsibility until the very end, although she directed her new companions to try to obtain information and to collaborate on a solution.
I applauded Hanne's strength for pursuing her own path, but hope her character will become stronger and more positive in future installments. She is sharp, smart and persistent, but would prefer to be ignored. I'm looking forward to reading the first novel in the series when it appears later this year (2012). Although she received a positive comment from fellow author Jo Nesbø, so far I prefer Nesbø's Harry Hole series to this one.(less)

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Jan 21, 2012 Richard rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Mystery lovers; people who like survivor stories, or strong women.

Recommended to Richard by: I read a review.

Okay, here is a translation from Norwegian to English that I enjoyed. This would be very easy to adapt to stage or screen since all action in the story starts with a train crash very near a mountain resort 1222 meters (4000 Feet) above sea level.

The story is held tightly to the survivors awaiting rescue in the large resort/train station named, appropriately 1222. Oh, yes, there is a storm raging outside that is worse than any other in known history, eventually blowing away lesser buildings and a...more

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Jan 02, 2012 Carol rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Carol by: publisher review?

Shelves: fiction

The premise of 1222 interested me from the start. I wish I knew where I heard about this book. I thought the main character, Hanne Wilhelmsen, an ex-police woman, paralyzed by a bullet, living a bland life in her wheelchair, sounded intriguing. I didn't realize at the outset that it was the eighth in a series from Norwegian author Anne Holt but the first to be translated into English. It can easily be read as a stand-alone but you probably will want to know more about that bullet and some other...more The premise of 1222 interested me from the start. I wish I knew where I heard about this book. I thought the main character, Hanne Wilhelmsen, an ex-police woman, paralyzed by a bullet, living a bland life in her wheelchair, sounded intriguing. I didn't realize at the outset that it was the eighth in a series from Norwegian author Anne Holt but the first to be translated into English. It can easily be read as a stand-alone but you probably will want to know more about that bullet and some other things about Hanne's personal life.

1222 is also billed as a locked room mystery of which I am a great fan. I think it qualifies as such in a looser sense than some I've read. The story starts quickly with a the derailment of the Oslo-Bergen train, caused by a patch of ice outside of one of many tunnels. The science of this is nicely explained though I'm still not certain I quite understand it. Fortunately for the passengers, only the driver is killed. Also fortunate for all is that the accident happens close to the Finse Station and an excellent hotel where the remaining passengers, including Hanne are offloaded for shelter. Good fortune runs out and the killing begins! As all are "locked in" by a raging snowstorm with no chance for rescue until it abates, you've got all the suspects and through Hanne's eyes must decide the who, what, and why.

I really liked the character Hanne Wilhelmsen and some of the other players in this mystery. The best of these are 15 year old Adrian described as "a petty criminal, a little shit" and a height challenged doctor named Magnus Streng who originally treats Hanna's gory injury in the train wreck. I think the story could have moved more quickly after it's" hit the ground running start" but I hung in there. I was not completely satisfied with the ending as I couldn't have predicted the killer from the clues. I loved that the title is taken from the location of the Finse Station, 1222 meters above sea level. I also really liked the use of The Beaufort Scale for Wind, beginning with 0 for Calm and ending with12 for Hurricane, as chapter headings with the promise of the increasing speed of impending disaster. Very clever.

All in all a pleasant read with great descriptions of the cold, bleak locale and some interesting introspection by the main character. The first in the Hanne Wilhelmsen series, Blind Goddess, comes to our shores June 2012. I just might pick this up. (less)

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Dec 18, 2011 Emma rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Why do I keep getting talked into reading books like these?

Yes, I get it, Hanne is an anti-hero. She hates people. She is extremely, antisocial, embittered and intolerant…… hmm BECAUSE she’s a wheelchair user!? (Ta-da! Makes sense now doesn’t it?) Despite being gay, disabled, married to a Muslim, she still finds room to be totally repellent and prejudiced towards someone with Dwarfism (i.e. the doctor Magnus Streng.)

I had to pick my jaw up off the floor when I read her characterisation of Streng...more Why do I keep getting talked into reading books like these?

Yes, I get it, Hanne is an anti-hero. She hates people. She is extremely, antisocial, embittered and intolerant…… hmm BECAUSE she’s a wheelchair user!? (Ta-da! Makes sense now doesn’t it?) Despite being gay, disabled, married to a Muslim, she still finds room to be totally repellent and prejudiced towards someone with Dwarfism (i.e. the doctor Magnus Streng.)

I had to pick my jaw up off the floor when I read her characterisation of Streng but thought perhaps there would be a realisation/revelation by the main character Hanne, later in the book, that Streng “is a human being too” (think Sesame Street). The only reason I kept reading this awful book was to see why she wrote stuff like this:

“I myself was taken care of by the dwarf. He couldn’t have been more than 140 centimetres tall. As if to compensate for this, he was exactly the same width. His head was too big for his body, and his arms were even shorter, comparatively speaking, than those I had seen in persons of restricted growth before. I tried not to stare.”
“As the little doctor moved through the room with an odd, rolling gait, the crowd parted before him like Moses parting the Red Sea…. His voice was surprisingly deep. I had expected some kind of helium voice, as if he were an entertainer at a children’s party. As it would be extremely impolite not to look at the doctor when he was speaking to me, and my closed eyes might suggest that I felt worse than I actually did, I opened them. ‘Magnus Streng,’ he said, taking my reluctant right hand in a thick, stubby paw. I mumbled my name and couldn’t help thinking that the doctor’s parents must have had a very particular sense of humour. Magnus. The Great One.” (There's more where that came from but it's too depressing to quote it all.)

My conclusion: WHAT. THE. F***?

So, she wants us to hate Hanne for being a bigot? Well, it worked. Except it’s more likely that Holt is actually a completely bigoted idiot. She can’t characterise disabled people to save herself. If you’re listening Holt, please do your research. We shouldn't have to read this dross.

Apart from the utterly weird characterisation of the dwarf, every other conceivable part of this book is just paint-by-numbers genre fare. Poor. Very poor. I'm afraid a one star review might be too good for it.
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Nov 26, 2011 Maxine McLister rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

At 1222 metres above sea level, the train to Oslo is derailed by icy tracks and the passengers are forced to move to a nearby hotel. Outside, the worst storm in Norwegian history rages while, inside, a murderer is at work.

1222, by Norwegian author Anne Holt, is a locked room mystery reminiscent of Agatha Christie's 'Then There Were None'. As the number of possible suspects dwindles, Hanne Wilhmson, once a police detective, now wheelchair bound, uses her considerable deductive skills with only th...more

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Mar 11, 2011 Marianne rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Anne Holt’s latest novel is “1222”. The numbers refer to the height above sea level of the town where this modern version of the classic crime story takes place. The story starts with a derailment just as the train leaves Finesnut on its journey from Olso to Bergen. Plenty of injuries, but the train driver is the lone casualty. Amongst the 269 passengers who are evacuated to the nearby century-old mountain hotel are self-indulgent teens, German tourists, a church group, a sports team, the unseen...more

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Jan 16, 2011 Sonia rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Back in November, I spent a day driving to various places for work, and so was listening to Radio 4 and there was an interview with Anne Holt who I had never heard of.

She is Norwegian, and they were talking about the sudden popularity of Scandinavian crime books, the fact that she seems pretty scathing about Norwegians in her books and her latest book that had just been translsated and was about to be released in the UK – 1222. I added it to my wishlist, and was delighted to get an Amazon remind...more Back in November, I spent a day driving to various places for work, and so was listening to Radio 4 and there was an interview with Anne Holt who I had never heard of.

She is Norwegian, and they were talking about the sudden popularity of Scandinavian crime books, the fact that she seems pretty scathing about Norwegians in her books and her latest book that had just been translsated and was about to be released in the UK – 1222. I added it to my wishlist, and was delighted to get an Amazon reminder of it, informing me that it was available on Kindle for the princely sum of £1. Result!

Anne Holt herself used to work for the Oslo Police Department and was in fact Norway’s Minister for Justice back in the 90s.

This is the most recent in her series of books featuring detective Hanne Wilhelmson, of which I believe there have been 8 books since 1993. She stressed that this story easily stood alone as a story, and I loved the sound of it, so thought i’d give it a go.

1222 refers to how many metres above sea level the highest station on the oslo to Bergen train route is. The story starts slap bang (no pun intended) in the train crashing just outside the station during a snowstorm.

Only the driver dies in the crash and all of the passengers are rescued and moved to a nearby hotel. There are just under 200 of them, including Hanne Wilhelmson. The snowstorm becomes worse, effectively cutting off any chance of rescue, the train being moved, and any communication with the rest of the world. And then, of course, there is the case of the mysterious ‘extra carriage’ on the train of which speculation is rife!

The passengers and hotel staff settle in for what looks like it could be a long stay, and all of their personalities etc start to come out. And then, in the morning, one of the most prolific passengers – a prolific football-loving priest – is found frozen dead outside in the snow and ice. But it wasn’t the cold that killed him, it was a bullet through the head. there is a murderer in their midst.

In the interview, Holt said that she wanted to write a story that had elements of the old Agatha Christie whodunnits where the detectives were in an isolated situation and had to use their own detecting skills without any help from technology, databases or a team.

Well, that’s certainly how it worked – it was pretty claustrophobic…the only thing that didn’t really work for me was the fact that there were supposedly a couple of hundred people there. The story obviously centred in on just a handful (there were probably about 15 main characters), and so there were tens of people supposedly ‘around’ that were completely uninvolved in the story but still in the isolated situation.

Because of the dramatic start, and the very descriptive narrative, the unfamiliar landscape and situation and the hints at what was to come, I felt extremely drawn in from the book right from the first few pages – and it didn’t let up! i really enjoyed it.

I must admit, there was a complete light bulb moment for me when I felt that I had worked out ‘whodunnit’, but at least you’re kept guessing and don’t have suspicions confirmed until right at the end. There was just one twist in the tale in the last couple of pages that was a bit superfluous, daft and made me groan – it could have done without that, and it added nothing to the story.

Apart from that – brilliant. Tense, different and well written. I’d give another Anne Holt book a go! (less)

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Dec 13, 2010 Boekenbuzz.nl rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Tijdens een zware sneeuwstorm ontspoort een trein bij het hoogstgelegen station in Noorwegen. De passagiers moeten noodgedwongen een onderkomen zoeken in Finse 1222, het plaatselijke hotel. Het zal enige tijd duren voor er hulp bij het dorp kan komen en de gasten zijn op elkaar aangewezen.

Al tijdens de eerste nacht in het hotel wordt er een mysterieuze moord gepleegd; slachtoffer is Cato Hammer, een beroemde televisiedominee. Op dat moment begint voor Hanne Wilhelmsen, voormalig politie-inspecte...more

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title link	preview: 1222: A Hanne Wilhelmsen Novel
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1222: A Hanne Wilhelmsen Novel (Hanne Wilhelmsen #8)

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