Death in Oslo

Vik & Stubø #3

by Anne Holt

When Helen Barclay becomes the first female US president, the whole world takes notice. And unfortunately for President Barclay, one man takes very particular notice. He knows her dark secret, buried for over 20 years. And not only does he have the power to destroy everything she's worked for, but he also has the ultimate motive.

Genres: Crime, Thriller, Mystery, Fiction, Scandinavian Literature, Nordic Noir, Novels

405 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

Anne Holt was born in Larvik, grew up in Lillestrøm and Tromsø, and moved to Oslo in 1978. She graduated with a law degree from the University of Bergen in 1986, and went on to work for The Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK) and then the Oslo Police Department, earning her right to practice as a lawyer in Norway. In 1990 she returned to NRK, where she worked one year as a journalist and anchor woman for the news program Dagsrevyen.

Holt started her own law practice in 1994, and served as Minister of Justice in Cabinet Jagland for a short period from November 25, 1996 to February 4, 1997.

In 1993 Holt made her debut as a novelist with the crime novel Blind gudinne, featuring the lesbian police officer Hanne Wilhelmsen. The two novels Løvens gap (1997) and Uten ekko (2000) are co-authored with former state secretary Berit Reiss-Andersen.

Holt is one of the most successful crime novelists in Norway. She has been published in 25 countries.




Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Reviews

[Gabriela Silva · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not the best book. Quite enjoyed the storyline.

[Emmapeel · Rating 1 out of 5]

L'autrice è avvocato. Non contenta, è diventata giornalista. Non contenta, Ministro della giustizia norvegese dal 1996 al '97. Non contenta, ha deciso di diventare una 'delle più importanti scrittrici di gialli scandinavi'. Spero che non si accontenti nemmeno di questo e si prepari a rapire e uccidere Condoleezza Rice, sposarne il vedovo e diventare il prossimo Presidente degli Stati Uniti d'America & Norvegia. Vi sembra inverosimile? E' solo perché non avete letto il suo ultimo libro. Dopo quello tutto il resto vi sembrerà perfettamente plausibile. E originale. E ben congegnato. E scritto meglio. Persino Vargas, sì.

[Serena.. Sery-ously? · Rating 1 out of 5]

Anne Holt, che tu sia condannata a passare l'eternità nel girone più infimo dell'inferno dei cattivi scrittori!
Vik, Stubo e compagnia bella: da bravi, mettetevi tutti in fila indiana in modo ordinato per facilitare l'operazione "Riempiamo di calci i personaggi stupidi ed irritanti". Johanne, tu per ultima, perchè ti sei meritata una doppia razione, se non tripla. Al momento non mi sembra che esista un personaggio più irritante di codesta donna, e giuro che ne ho beccati tantissimi nella mia lunga e onorata carriera di lettrice.
Qualcuno vuole spiegare alla Holt che NON è necessario presentare il cattivo a pag 3?! Se non si toglie questa brutta abitudine, 'sta qua..
Tralaltro, io non riesco ad afferrare il concetto: presidente rapito - - - -> terrorismo - - - -> ARABI. ._.
Come si permette xD Manco fosse americana..
E poi, non per fare la guastafeste eh, ma la tipa la trovano a pag 247. Il libro ne ha 430. (Arcani misteri di scrittori incompetenti.)
Credo che il libro sia posseduto da demoni: più andavo avanti e più la fine si allontanava, e diventava sempre più un miraggio..
18.50 € NON POSSO CREDERCI. BUTTATI, SPRECATI, SPRERPERATI PER UNA BOIATA SIMILE.
Mi vado a punire col il cilicio, va u.u
Visto che ci siamo, vi dedico una perla di saggezza della Holt:
Il lunedì precedente, Louise aveva preparato una cena di quattro portate con patè di foie gras, (MICA CAZZI) risotto ai tartufi veri (E MICA QUELLI TAROCCHI DA DISCOUNT EH!) e arrosto di cervo, frutto di una partita di caccia autunnale che, in verità, avrebbe dovuto essere riservato al cenone di Natale con i vicini. (Pag 14).
ORA.
La vicenda si svolge il 20 gennaio . Quindi una settimana prima era il 13 , giusto?! E che diamine, che si tiene il cervo per un altro anno perchè "riservato al cenone di Natale con i vicini"?? Ditemi se sono l'unica allibita.

[Maria · Rating 3 out of 5]

Vol 3 din serie pornește în același stil, ce părea să prevadă un roman plin de suspans și imbarligaturi, însă usor usor s-a desumflat. Imbarligatura a fost, dar pe toată durata lecturarii am simtit cum autoarea are ceva de împărțit cu Statele Unite și numai asa a găsit sa-si rezolve problemele. Am descoperit câteva fraze tendențioase la adresa americanilor, pe când norvegienii sunt ridicați in slavi... haide... las-o ca macane. În fine. Nu mi-a plăcut vol asta. M-a enervat si Inger. Se comporta ca o retardată si nu ca o persoana ce este catalogată cel mai bun profiler. Nu am aflat încă ce s-ar fi putut întâmpla intre ea si Warren pentru ca autoarea o lungeste aiurea. Ma plictisește felul asta de a fi al lui Inger. Adică te iubesc de nu mai pot, esti soțul meu, avem un copil împreună, dar ai limite... Nu ma întrebi nimic... niciodată... Cred ca detectivul o iubește prea mult... altfel, nu inteleg de ce accepta aceste amânări ale ei. La final, în ultima parte, ii spune, dar nu și noua... Si asta iarasi e enervant. Acum nici macar nu-mi mai doresc sa aflu. Da a fost victima, e ceva nasol, imi pot imagina orice, dar pe bune... prea mult.
A, m-a distrat felul în care a fost găsită dna presedinta. Serios? Cred ca fimiu se pricepea să scrie ceva mai interesant. Atât de anost si sters si nerealist. Dar v-am zis, n-are legatura cu povestea în sine, cred ca povestea a fost doar o acoperire de a trimite săgeți împotriva statului american.
Cartea se învârte în cercul asta politic, atât de corupt si fals, asa ca nu mi-a facut deloc plăcere să o citesc. Ii dau 3 stele. E slabuță povestea. Sau nu mi-a plăcut mie... nush. Cert este că m-a enervat. Voi face o pauză de la serie câteva zile... Cred.

[Louise · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book leaves many stones unturned. The plot is at times very exciting and high paced, but the ending is disappointing to say the least. If you are after an anticlimax, this is the book for you.

Throughout the book, Anne Holt hints that more or less all the characters have secrets vital to the story. You keep reading to find out what these secrets could possibly be and how they will fit in to what is essentially a well created plot. The problem is you never find out what the secrets are. The characters proceed to disclose their secrets to each other, but not to the reader as the chapter will inevitably end just when the juicy stuff is about to start.

I still enjoyed the book when I got over the initial irritation of being left in the dark. The story is good, feels up to date and it does keep you intrigued enough to keep turning the pages. The ending does let it down as does the amount of unanswered questions you are left pondering. I do not like cliff hangers when there is no prospect of finding out what happens next! If you are less of a nosy and impatient character than me, I would still recommend it for an easy read.

[Theunis Snyman · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this book because it was promoted as a locked room mystery and I just finished riding the tram and metro routes in Oslo on You Tube. The locked room element was quite good. But this book is not a mystery. There was no questioning of suspects or any clues. It is rather a political novel. I wouldn’t even call it a thriller. Not my kind of book at all. And in certain sections it becomes rather tedious. Just descriptions of what people are doing and saying. The only real suspense came in the last 10% of the book.

And I wish people will understand the difference between a closed circle mystery and a locked room mystery. A locked room mystery is where a crime is committed behind locked doors. It is also a generic term for any kind of impossible crime. A closed circle mystery is a story where all the suspects are together near the scene of the crime, for example in a country house or a train or a vacation resort. This book is not a closed circle mystery. Many of the characters don’t even meet each other.

And why do the investigators ot two different countries have to fight with each other instead of working peacefully together?

[Dana · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sorry, but I struggled with this book - and was so pleased to finish it - I was tempted to give up. We went from political intrigue to suggestion as to what was happening and why and by whom. It felt more like a filmscript than a novel. I couldn't engage with most of the characters and I'm not sure the author knew quite what she was trying to achieve. I am afraid I thought there were a lot of holes in this web. I'll stick to watching the series like Modus that she was involved in - though come to think of it that was a bit confusing too!!!

[Antonomasia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This 4-star rating: much like when I enjoy some cheesy action film that hasn't got very good reviews, this isn't a recommendation to discerning readers - but I did have a damn good time.

Which I needed. Overwhelmed by a succession of recent books in which I was finding significant quotes on almost every page, and about some of which I felt the urge to write several-thousand word reviews that may or may not ever be finished*, my brain desperately needed a break from so much bloody meaning and importance. Something verging on trashy was necessary, and this example turned out more fun than I expected.

The events of Death in Oslo would be very important if they had actually happened - as is the case with most crime fiction and thrillers - but discussing the book won't be. This one isn't the usual police procedural that Anne Holt writes, it's a political thriller: the first female president of the USA (of partly Norwegian descent) disappears whilst on a state visit to Oslo. The political thriller side of things was what I enjoyed so much: there was a larger cast of characters with close third-person narration than in the two earlier books, and nearly all of the focus was on events and conversations relating to the case, with very few scenes from the home life of the now-married Vik & Stubo. Lots of big exciting stuff happening yet no gore.

And (hurray!) Hanne Wilhelmsen - the protagonist of Holt's other series - appears in Death in Oslo. It was because I enjoyed 1222 that I got these V&S books in the first place. (And it was because of a now-defunct UCL Scandinavian Studies reading list found online that I read that, one of their two suggested samples of Nordic crime fiction.) In contrast to the anxious criminal psychologist Johanne Vik, Wilhelmsen, here on early retirement after injury in the line of duty, again appears to be a female version of the brilliant grumpy loner male detective, exactly the sort of heroine I want to read about in crime genre fiction.

There is a serious subtext to the novel as is the case with a lot of 'Nordic noir' - like the two earlier Vik & Stubo books, there's a theme of encroachment onto the Norwegian way of life by Americanised dangers and attitudes, things that some people feel only used to happen elsewhere. First it was children and child safety, second celebrities and their conduct, and in Death in Oslo, it's America's self-appointed role as world police post 9/11. (You don't exactly need to be well-informed to guess that the US agents try to take over the investigation and that the Norwegians resist that.)
And Anne Holt's way of writing a feminist crime novel is to put plenty of women in significant roles where they are respected, and for this not to be a big deal. This I like much better than the highlighting negatives approach (eg Liza Marklund, whom I'm not keen to read any time soon). And a conversation betwen Stubo and a senior American intends to highlight differing 'typical' attitudes to women among men of the same age: mysterious & irresistible v. usually easy to understand, and equal.

Holt makes a few nods to the meta / literary, but there are several silly blockbuster-movie aspects in Death in Oslo (which will irritate some, but it was just what I wanted). The chief baddie has elements of Bond villains, westernised Arab tycoons and Osama bin Laden. (It's the Siddhartha approach, used twice in this book, where a fictional character has things in common with a real life figure, but is shown to be a different person partly because they've met them.) Also how did Wilhelmsen end up living in Frogner [≈Belgravia]? And there's a really daft plot twist. Which made me burst out laughing when I accidentally saw a spoiler whilst scrolling past reviews on WorldCat. (There wasn't long to go before it appeared in the book, at least.) I liked the way it actually happened, and all the scenes resulting from it. Including the gathering of women in Hanne's flat, which on the basis of some of my other reviews, you might think I wouldn't like. But Hanne and Helen and Mary are all cool and they more than balanced out Johanne's fussiness. Having become a follower of the series, it was good to see some of the tension of the Vik / Warren Scifford business relieved at last. Good timing for that - it had been stretched until the reader got tired of it like Adam did, but not for too long.

For all that this book was rather fun, I still don't think the character of Johanne Vik fits together very well. If a writer creates a character who's a specialist in a field in which they themselves aren't, without doing a lot of research, the character may not ring true to readers who *have* studied the area. Okay, Vik is a criminal psychologist and academic rather than one on the therapeutic / counselling side, but despite being empathic and sensitive to people around her, she never thinks in psychological depth about her avoidance and outbursts (around her difficult time training in America when she was younger) and the effects on her husband. It's like she doesn't even know the terms or processes - yet she obviously must, given everything else she works out about other people. It's very hard to believe that as long as 15 years could pass without someone with her skills gaining more understanding of herself. And in general we hear very few of her thought processes, she simply comes up with ideas that often fit.

No longer thinking I'd jumped the gun in getting all of this series because it were cheap, I'm now looking forward to the next one a whole lot more - though more still to the Hanne Wilhelmsen books I haven't read yet.



* The Blazing World (finished), Ancillary Justice (not finished); City of Angels or the Overcoat of Doctor Freud (half read).

[Cristina Vlaicu · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mereu am afirmat despre mine ca sunt mare amatoare de cărți thriller/ mister/ politiste și tot ce am mai putea include in aceasta vasta categorie. Nu e un mister nici ca ma dau in vânt după autorii nordici care par un izvor nesecat de inspirație macabra.

Cartea Annei Holt aștepta de cel puțin un an prin biblioteca și speram sa mai răsfoiesc Eroare judiciara înainte de a ma apuca de Doamna președinta, dar a venit provocarea și nu am mai apucat. Îmi aminteam destul de puține informații despre cuplul Stubo&Vik, dar nu a fost nicio problema ca oricum abia au apărut.

Romanul de fata o are in plin plan pe prima președinta a Americi, care la doar câteva luni de când se afla in funcție decide ca prima sa vizita oficială intr-un alt stat sa fie in Norvegia (țara străbunilor săi). Planul nu merge tocmai ca pe roate deoarece președinta este rapita din propria camera de hotel, deși este păzită de Secret Service și FBI plus poliția din Oslo. Și uite așa începe o fuga contracronometru in care FBI și poliția Oslo își ascund informații, apar piste false și multe personaje cărora li se dedica multe pagini pentru un scop foarte mic.
Apar foarte multe personaje și durează mult pana înțelegi care este poza finala și ce implicare au in poveste. Cred ca acesta a fost cel mai mare minus al cartii, autoarea a dat prea mult context, s-a pierdut in detalii care nu au avut niciun impact real in poveste. Cei doi protagoniști Vik și Stubo apar puțin, accent pe relația usor disfuncționala dintre ei. mi-ar fi plăcut sa o văd pe Vik in acțiune, sa creeze un profil, ceva, orice!!! in schimb am văzut o soție secretoasa și măcar dacă descria secretul, dar am simțit ca nu am aflat nimic din experiența ei la Quantico (poate e in alt volum pe care nu l-am citit încă).

Deși era o poveste cu potențial, a părut ca avem niște povestiri sau side stories care pana la urma s-au unit spre final. Dar Holt m-a cam lăsat cu ochii in soare, mi-a dat multe informații fără rost ca la final sa nu-mi răspundă la toate întrebările.
Per total o poveste interesantă, nu ma descurajează in a mai citi ceva de aceasta autoare.

[Naomi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Holt's novels but gosh when they get close to the ending all logic flies out of the window, and an otherwise tautly written and gripping thriller turns into something so OTT it borders on campy.

The basic plot: an Arabic billionaire supervillain who secretly controls the world's financial markets and runs a world-wide secret crime organisation (basically Blofeld) plots to kidnap the first female president of the USA, so that when he hacks into and brings down a bunch of American TV channels, Americans wll riot and turn against each other rather than projecting their anger onto Muslims. This is his payback for the wave of Islamaphobia generated by 9/11. Because forget flying planes into buildings, the way to really hurt Americans is to deny them TV and cheap petrol. The plot is 90% "James Bond thriller" and 10% "totally insane campy nonsense."

But, oh, the coincidences used to explain everything! The President of the USA once had a fling with an Arab man and aborted his baby. That man's brother turns out to be ArabBlofeld's main henchman. (I guess it's supposed to be a satire on American moral values that when terrorists blackmail her by threatening to reveal that she had an abortion as a college student, she instantly cooperates with them rather than risk the secret getting out.)

Anyway ArabBlofeld blackmails the American President into leaving her hotel room with kidnappers, then stashes her tied up in an abandoned Oslo basement and leaves her to die. She's discovered and rescued - I love this - when the housekeeper goes into the basement to do laundry, and instead of a mice and Tide pods she finds the missing American President. Because sure a supervillian criminal mastermind wouldn't bother to check that his kidnap lair isn't also a hard as nails streetwalker-turned-superhero-housekeeper's laundry room. By massive coincidence, guess who is staying in that house? The criminal profiler investigating the President's disappearance! (And in an extra, extra coincidence, she's also the ex-girlfriend of the President's best friend, meaning they immediately become best mates.)

The majority of the book is a well-researched police procederal and socio-cultural exploration of political attitudes in the USA, Norway, and the Arab Gulf. The power plays between the various nationalistic factions are fascinating. But then Holt will throw something completely unexpected in. The President refuses to let the investigator report that she's been found because she wrongly believes her best friend and chief security advisor has betrayed her (by telling her what's engraved on a watch she gave him, because obviously that's not information they could possibly have discovered on their own, say by sending a beautiful woman to seduce him then take a peek at his watch when he's asleep) so she goes into hiding. In the same unprotected house ArabBlofeld chose as his kidnap lair. When her friend and advisor eventually finds her she pulls out a gun and shoots him dead, and everyone's like "huh the President of the United States just shot her own chief security advisor dead in cold blood, finecoolwhatever." Oh and there's a mid-book reveal that she once kinda sorta was partially responsible for the death of her adoptive daughter's birth mother when she discovered the adoption might not have been completely legal, and it only comes up because she's worried someone else might know about it. Then she rationalises that she hasn't told anyone so no one can possibly know, heaves a sigh of relief, and it's never mentioned again.

I hope all Holt's books are this accidentally hilarious.

[Jmm · Rating 5 out of 5]

Washington D. C., January 2005, Helen Lardahl Bentley takes the oath of office as the first female president of the United States. As the crowd cheers, President Bentley is thinking, "I got away with it . . . ."

In Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, businessman Abdallah al-Rahman is watching the inaugural event on television from his soundproof exercise room. To no one he says, "She actually thinks she got away with it!"

And in Oslo, Norway, watching the televised event, Hanne Wilhemsen speculates about the new president's spotless past to her friend, former FBI profiler Johanne Vik, and muses, "But there's always something . . . some little secret . . . ."

Thus begins Death in Oslo, Anne Holt's intricately plotted third entry in the Adam Stubo-Johanne Vik series. This fast-paced thriller with Machiavellian overtones really takes off when President Bentley, on her first official state visit to Norway, disappears from her locked and guarded hotel room in the middle of the night. Immediately, the security forces of both countries scramble to find the missing head of state before the unthinkable happens. The task is complicated by territorial tensions between the two national security forces and infighting within the FBI. When Warren Scifford, head of a much-resented specialized team within the FBI, arrives on the scene to take charge of the American investigation, he requests that his former student, Johanne Vik, be assigned from Norwegian Criminal Investigation Service to help him. But Johanne doesn't work for the NCIS so Scifford instead asks for Johanne's husband, Adam Stubo. But Johanne has her own secrets from the past regarding her former FBI mentor and threatens Adam that, if he accepts the assignment to work with Scifford, their marriage is over. Adam, however, cannot turn his back on duty and reluctantly reports to work, angry that Johanne has chosen not to confide in him about this man from her past. Everyone, it seems, has "some little secret."

Anne Holt is a master at creating chilling characters whose scariest quality is their immense patience in stalking their victims. The international scale of,Death in Oslo ups the ante for the consequences of failure in the eternal war of good versus evil. The ups and downs of Johanne's and Adam's domestic life provide an effective counterbalance to the international feuding between nations. This is definitely a suspense thriller you'll want to read, even if you haven't read the first two.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the third book in the series, and it's still going strong. A few short thoughts: The Vik/Stubo relationship started to annoy me, but thankfully the big secret was somewhat revealed. I liked the political spy angle but would have wished for a bit more concrete information on... well, anything and everything. I don't mind the somewhat ambiguous ending. And I love the amount and quality of female characters. I'm so picking up the hanne-series! The biggest issue I have is the suspension of disbelief: There are just too many coincidences needed that all connect the main character to the action. But it's still quite entertaining.

[Rocio · Rating 3 out of 5]

No acabó de engancharme:
Al principio del libro, cada capítulo parece que estés leyendo una novela distinta; cada uno con unos protagonistas diferentes.
A pesar de haber leído los libros anteriores, no entendí muy bien por qué Inger Johanne Vik está viviendo con Hanne Wilhelmsen (la protagonista de la otra serie de la autora)…
Para mi gusto, en la trama suceden algunas cosas difíciles de creer.

[Belinda Vlasbaard · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 sterren- Nederlandse paperback

Quote: de sneeuw lag kniediep over de langgerekte akkers. De kake bomen in het bosje in westelijke richting was beijzeld. Hier en daar braken de sneeuwschoenen door de grove sneeuwkorst heen, en even leek het erop dat hij zijn evenwicht zou verliezen. Al Muffe bleef staan en hapte naar adem.-

Quote: In een hoek van de kamer stond Kristin met haar hoofd tegen een hoekkast te ontkennen. Ze had haar kleren weer uitgetrokken. "De dame is verdwenen," neuriede ze. "Dum-di-rum-dum. De dame is zoek." Ze begon te huilen, stilletjes en ontroostbaar.-

Quote: En toen de Amerikaan onthutst achter hem aan strompelde over de platte stenen naar de glazen deuren van het schitterde paleis, dacht hij ineens voor het eerst: hoeveel Tom O'Reilly's heb je, Abdullah? Hoeveel van die mensen als ik bestaan eigenlijk?-

Het is nogsteeds onbekend wanneer president Bradley uit het hotel is verdwenen...
Voor zover de journaalredactie weet, is de Amerikaanse vicepresident....-


Staat op de cover; literaire thriller, maar het is bijna een combi van who-done-it en mysterie voor mij. Leest wel enorm makkelijk weg!

[Lina Kvizikevičiūtė · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gerai užmaizgytas kriminalinis romanas. Perskaitytas per vieną dieną paplūdimy. Galbūt ne viskas iki galo išpildytai pasibaigė, bet skaitymo malonumo neatėmė

[Costea Constantin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Comisarul Stubø se confruntă cu o situație-limită: președinta Americii este răpită în Oslo. Ne aflăm în pragul unui scandal diplomatic și al unei crize mondiale. Ingvar Stubø este însărcinat cu acest caz. I se cere să colaboreze cu omul președintei, profilerul FBI Scifford, un individ misterios care răsare de undeva din trecutul tulbure al lui Inger Johanne Vik, soția și coechipiera lui Stubø. Această apariție ajută oare la soluționarea dispariției sau complică și mai mult situația? Un remarcabil policier al zilelor noastre, care te ține cu sufletul la gură până la capăt. Fostul ministru al justiției din Norvegia, Anne Holt, scrie un roman polițist cu miză politică. Helen Lardahl Bentley, prima femeie președinte a Statelor Unite, tocmai a învins-o în alegeri pe Hillary Clinton. Face o vizită oficială în Norvegia, țară cu un potențial de risc extrem de mic, de altfel. Dar, în plină zi de sărbătoare națională a Norvegiei, președinta americană dispare fără urmă din camera ei de hotel, în ciuda maximei securități și a camerelor vigilente de luat vederi. Poliția norvegiană e în alertă, FBI-ul sosește de urgență la Oslo. Ca și Warren Scifford, subordonatul direct al președintei, agent al Serviciilor Secrete și profiler. Scifford cere să lucreze în echipă cu polițistul Yngvar Stubø, care, nu întâmplător, este colegul de muncă și soțul lui Inger Johanne Vik. Pe Warren îl leagă un trecut misterios de Inger Johanne, de pe vremea când aceasta era studentă în America. Dar problema crucială cu care se confruntă comisarul Stubø este cum să evite o criză mondială. Răpirea Președintei a zguduit o lume întreagă, bursa stă să se prăbușească, s-au deteriorat relațiile Americii cu Iranul și Arabia Saudită, dat fiind că în spatele dispariției se presupune a fi Al Qaida, iar națiunea americană e cuprinsă de o panică generală.
Anne Holt pune în mișcare o intrigă complexă și de mare finețe, ce leagă prin fire nevăzute nenumărate personaje din diverse colțuri ale lumii, abordând totodată problema terorismului arab împotriva Americii. Plină de suspans, povestea diabolică nu încetează să te surprindă de la prima până la ultima pagină a cărții.

[Lynda Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This fair races along and was very fast-paced and interesting although I felt a little bogged down around two-thirds in when it all got quite heavy with the political stuff.
It was interesting to see Hanne appear too in this story although we've also been handed a massive spoiler as well which made me sigh.........loudly. We're only about to have number 5 in her series released here and therefore it's spoilt that a little which is a shame as up till now I think I've preferred that series.
I missed hearing about Kristiane and her King of America as much in this one. She didn't feature anywhere near as much as she usually does and neither did Johanne either, really.
I wondered if this one used the same translator as Punishment as she once again went with English spelling as she did in that but not on the second book. There were some missed hyphens I spotted and again some added where they're not needed. I made mention of lever arch files in a previous book being referred to as arch lever files. This time they're lever arch lever files which made me smile !! Caste was also used instead of cast and mosaic when I think possibly prosaic would have worked.
It's a shame there's only one more in this particular series which I look forward to but in other ways think it's a pity there are no more to come. Hopefully Johanne and Adam may cross over into the other series from time to time.

[Patricia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Norwegian Noir. Some parts better than average, some parts tedious. The first female president of the United States disappears from her hotel room during a visit to Oslo. There are all sorts of red herrings and clashes between the FBI and the Norwegian police and a personal story concerning the two good guys Johanne and Adam who are part of the series. I didn't realise that this was the third book with Johanne and Adam but it stands alone. There are Middle Eastern players, one good and one very bad and the plot against the world is increasingly arcane and complicated.
But it all seems to hover around the revelation that the president of the United States had an abortion when she was 19 even though at one stage she points out that she ran on a pro-choice platform and didn't fear the information getting out.
But but but . . . my main objection centres around the end when the good guy with the gun turns up to kill the bad guy with the gun. This is gun free Norway but a woman who hates guns and is in a wheel chair as a result of a firearms injury happens to have a gun (!) and because the President is sheltering in the home of this woman the President borrows the gun and uses it to shoot to man who has plotted against her.

[Olivia Hill · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good story and well written. I was somewhat put off by the fact that Helen Barclay became the 44th president (who we now know is Obama) so it is dated. It might have been better to make her the 48th or something...The author mentions Bush so it dates the story. The Arab connection is original because there is a good guy and a bad guy to my relief. There is a kind of development in the story which makes it more like real life since the secret (which I won't give away) that needs to be hidden becomes a secret that may not need to be hidden. That was a real plus! The characters are realistic and I like the fact that the Norwegians stand up to the Americans even though they are in such a minority. The people who know their country best are the citizens. Nevertheless, it doesn't make the Americans out to be the bad guys either, also a relief. I hesitated when I read the first chapter as to whether I wanted to read it or not (because a woman was just elected president of the USA) but I went ahead and felt that I didn't waste my time after all. An enjoyable thriller with interesting real life events as filler.

[Helen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not sure why this has so many negative reviews here. The idea is an interesting one (the U.S. president disappears during an official visit to Norway) - must strike a chord with anyone who has ever been near or aware of what goes on when there is a presidential visit! It's an alternative, fictional history (instead of his 2nd term, George W. Bush has been defeated by a Democrat, a woman). Without going into too much detail about how the plot works out (who is behind the disappearance, who is pulling the strings and how) there is much food for thought here. (Oh, and reviewers who thought nothing violent could happen in Norway, perhaps you were wrong? speaking with the benefit of hindsight!) It's also the 3rd in the Vik/Stubo series, and in this one Johanne Vik continues to be rather irritating (demanding promises from her husband but refusing to explain anything - her secret, as far as it is eventually explained, does not seem to justify her behaviour). Wencke Bencke remains a vague threat but does not appear, apart from TV appearances, and while one strand of the Vik/Stubo story is resolved this is not.

[Sharon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Presidentens valg (Madam President/Death in Oslo. Stubo/Vik series book three. 2006/2016. iBook.
Third book and Stubo and Vik have a baby girl, they've moved and are attempting to cope with a new family. While still managing with Johanne's troubled special child by her relationship with Isaak. Then, although on leave, Stubo is pulled back to duty when the female American President visiting Oslo disappears. Johanne is still coping with post natal issues but eventually also becomes involved.
I love reading a series, enjoyed this excellent author's first series and look forward to more. Embarked on series two and imagine my delight as a reader when in book three many of the great characters from series one are in this book....pure reading bliss!
This read gives new thought to the term often heard today of "sleepers". How tucked into our societies are they and what happens when they are recruited, who can be groomed, then on to when they are activated. Food for thought in this book about past and present promises and deceit. Manipulation of / by media!
Very well built storyline. On to the next with pleasure....

[Thais · Rating 1 out of 5]

Un giallo un po'strampalato. Ho trovato noiosissime le (numerose) parti sul confronto polizia norvegese/americana, sempre uguali e che non risolvevano mai nulla.
Per il resto, storia un bel po'inverosimile. È vero, alla fine (quasi) tutto torna, tutti i personaggi che non si capiva cosa stessero lì a fare trovano il loro posto nella storia, però boh... alla fine tutte ste grandissime indagini, Fbi, Secret Service, spiegamento di forze norvegesi e americane, e poi chi risolve il caso? Nessuno, cioè, si risolve da solo. Anche i protagonisti non si capisce bene che ruolo abbiano, sembra che ci siano solo personaggi secondari.
Per carità, alla fine mi ha incuriosita e le ultime centocinquanta pagine le ho lette in frettissima, però non sono molto convinta. Direi che due stellette sono il voto giusto. Così così.
(per non parlare del titolo italiano...la porta chiusa? Ma quale porta?? Il titolo originale parlava dell'elezione del presidente...)

[Jenny · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not her best book. Some of the twists were astonishingly far-fetched. I was waiting for the reveal as to why the criminals had

- Attention: Spoiler Alert! -

deposited the president in Hanne Wilhelmsen's cellar, of all places. It was obvious to me that this couldn't be simply coincidence, especially as Johanne Vik, who is an expert on the US and whose husband is involved in the case as a counsellor, is also in the house. When it actually turned out to have been a mere coincidence after all, I was very taken aback. Also, Johanne's backstory was hardly so traumatic that she would act all hysterical whenever Adam inquired about it, to the point of threatening to divorce him; she seems like a reasonable woman otherwise.

Adding to those points, the English translation is abysmal, one time even referring to a dead man as smiling and raising his eyebrow when clearly the translator meant that he had done so before being shot and that his face was still wearing this expression.

[Rosemary · Rating 4 out of 5]

First of all, this is a "stay up all night, and the hell with the things to be done on the morrow" sort of book. Having read two of her previous titles featuring Vik and Stubo, I expected to encounter the tension between them concerning a mystery in the past of Johanne and her FBI instructor. What I did not expect was a kidnapping of the first woman President of the United States, nor did I ever suspect that a thread to another series by Holt would weave itself into this narrative. I would have to say that this series ( I was only able to obtain this title and the next from used book sellers in the U.K.) has offered me more to consider in the crime/ thriller genre than any of my previous explorations in the broad range of Scandinavian writers. I am on a quest, friends, to obtain more, even if that requires a trip to Norway.

[Elisabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book brings together the main female protagonists in both of Anne Holt's series -- Johannesburg Viking and Hanna Wilhelmsen.

It features a female US President, elected in 2004 (defeating George Washington Bush. (Published in 2006 but of course written earlier, it mentions Hillary Clinton but says "it's not her time yet. It might be her time when she's around 70." And it does not predict Barrack Obana at all.)

This plot has that president kidnapped while on a trip to Oslo. And a large plan to attack the US economy, headed by one person.

Fairly well done though overly dramatic and conspiratorial.

[Paul Hunnisett · Rating 3 out of 5]

In a series of books that are supposed to be crime thrillers, we have something that is more akin to a political spy thriller. Unlike the first two bombs in the series; there's no element of "whodunit" since we find out fairly early on. You also have to get past the basic premise of the plot - the kidnapping of the US president - which seems a little far fetched, but I was able to suspend disbelief.

It's enjoyable, but I think it's also the weakest of the three books in the series I've read so far. Good, but not great.

[Suzanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

So, Book 3 .. this again was a complete twist and turn from the beginning .. lots of initial chapters outlining the main players, and there are quite a few .. but I found that again such a strong storyline carried it along at a great pace. Loved the cliffhanger in the middle of the book. I also liked the introduction of the 'spin off' character and am very interested to see where they all lead.
Looking forward to reading Book 4 ..

[Connie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars! I picked this book up in the train station shop in Oslo. I've read other books by this Norwegian author so knew what I was getting. It turns out that the story takes place at the hotel where we were staying. A good read, somewhat predictable but nevertheless, enjoyable. The first female US president has traveled to Norway for her first overseas trip and then she disappears from the Hotel Opera.
Highly recommended!

[Simon · Rating 2 out of 5]

Do you like Marmite? I do, so I thought I would try this crime writer, so picked it up 'blind' in my local library, nothing to lose, didn't cost me anything. The premise of the book gave me hope, the first woman US president is kidnapped? in Norway but evidence is confusing as to how and why. But I got frustrated as I wanted the nitty gritty of the investigation, I got confused and wondered where the story was going and why !!! The characters got me annoyed by page 130 I gave up.

[Sherry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Surprises and twists. Not a spoiler to say that the new female president of the USA is kidnapped in Oslo, Norway. It appears to be a closed door mystery. Adam becomes involved as a liaison between the Norwegians and the FBI . A job he hates. Johanne is not involved for quite a while. Here are many twists and turns and the reader is slowly let into some of the answers. This was a book difficult to put down. Very well thought out. I highly recommend it.