About the Book
When former high-powered lawyer turned PI Selma Falck is shot and her oldest friend, a junior MP, is killed in a sniper attack, everyone – including the police – assume that Selma was the prime target.
But when two other people with connections to the MP are also found murdered, it becomes clear that there is a wider conspiracy at play.
As Selma sets out to avenge her friend’s death, and discover the truth behind the conspiracy, her own life is threatened once again. Only this time, the danger may be closer to home than she could possibly have realised…
Format: Hardcover (432 pages) Publisher: Corvus
Publication date: 4th November 2021 Genre: Crime, Literature in Translation
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My Review
A Memory For Murder (translated from the Norwegian by Anne Bruce) is the first book I’ve read by Anne Holt but, on the strength of this one, it certainly won’t be the last! Although it’s the third in the author’s Selma Falck series, I didn’t feel at a disadvantage from not having read the previous books. True, there are a few references to events in the earlier books (A Grave For Two and A Necessary Death) but if anything it made me even keener to read them at some point.
I really enjoyed getting to know Selma Falck, even if she’s described as being ‘seldom completely herself’. A former lawyer turned private investigator, she’s also been variously a world class handball player, a social media star and a (mostly reformed) gambling addict. She’s also a grandmother eager to be allowed a closer relationship with her grandson, and that forms a key part of her motivation for finding out exactly who was the target of the sniper attack – her or her friend? – who was responsible and why they did it.
Safe to say, there are plenty of twists and turns in a plot which encompasses stalking, government malpractice, contingency planning, adoption, child welfare policy, investigative journalism and much, much more. It might seem too many topics to cram into one book and still keep the plot moving along and the reader engaged, but Anne Holt manages it – and how! Frequently introducing new characters and different points of view shouldn’t work either, but it does; it’s just more people to either suspect or wonder how they fit into the story. Oh, and never has a round object or an emoji etched in dust been more chilling.
I thought A Memory For Murder was terrific and I simply raced through the pages, admiring the way the author brought all the different threads together to reveal a final picture that’s a good deal darker than you might have expected.
I received an advance review copy courtesy of Corvus and Readers First.
In three words: Gripping, clever, suspenseful
Try something similar: A Better Part of Valor by Gary Corbin
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About the Author
Anne Holt is Norway’s bestselling female crime writer. She spent two years working for the Oslo Police Department before founding her own law firm and serving as Norway’s Minster for Justice between 1996 and 1997. She is published in 30 languages with over 7 million copies of her books sold. (Photo/bio credit: Publisher author page)
Connect with Anne
Website | Goodreads
What Cathy Read Next... 
sounds like an interesting read.
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I think I’ve heard of her, but never read her. I’m getting more into good mystery novels so maybe this might be a good one to pick up.
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