A Grave for Two

This is the first volume in the Selma Falck series and it grabbed me straight away.
Selma is a lawyer, but because she has done some crooked things and relieved clients, in particular Jan Morell, of money, she is now faced with nothing and fights to prevent charges being brought against her. Jan Morell gives her a chance, but in return she has to find out why Jan's daughter, a gifted cross-country skier, gave a positive doping test. Selma soon realises that things are going wrong in the Norwegian cross-country skiing association. What's more, well-known personalities (athletes, but also members of the association) are being found dead. Who is behind it all? Selma gets support from a sports journalist. While Morell was more of a hindrance show more at the beginning, he proves to be a help towards the end.
Grippingly written, with many twists and turns. I will definitely continue with this series. show less

Selma Falck is a household name in Norway. Once an Olympian handball player, a general celebrity and chair of her own law-firm, Selma appears successful, happy and enviable. However, when a client discovers her worst secret, her house of cards collapses under its own weight. With a deal struck, Selma must uncover who is behind the possible sabotaging of the nation's best female cross-country skier, or lose everything she has ever worked for.

A twisting story of suspicion, revenge and fear, A Grave For Two weaves so many twisting threads that I found myself constantly flipping back to cross reference names and places. This Norwegian crime novel features fascinating characters and a lot of cross country skiing politics. The connections show more between the characters are intriguing, and the author does well to drag you into her tightening web.

The style is dark and a little grimy in it's honesty, something which seems to be popular in hardcore adult crime fiction. I physically gagged a few times, particularly in the chapter titled The Dough. I can see the appeal of unfiltered honest writing, but if you are looking for a fun escapist read to get you through the week, I don't think this is it. However, if you are looking for an intelligent read with relatable characters and a deeply screwed-up baddie, then this is the book for you.

A Grave For Two is not necessarily my cup of tea, but it was intriguing nonetheless. It takes some getting into, which may be a bit of an uphill struggle if you are as uninterested in the world of skiing as I am, but it's worthwhile for the final roundup of unveiled facts and characters confronted. show less

Ein klarer Fall – eigentlich. Kurz vor den olympischen Spielen wird die beste Skifahrerin Norwegens beim Doping erwischt, Zweifel sind ausgeschlossen. Doch ihr Vater Jan Morell, einer der reichsten und erfolgreichsten Männer Norwegens, und seine Tochter Hege beteuern ihre Unschuld. Er heuert Selma Falck an, eine erfolgreiche Anwältin, die dank ihm gerade den Tiefpunkt ihres Lebens erreicht hat, um zu beweisen, dass die Vorwürfe gegen Hege nicht der Wahrheit entsprechen. Wider Willen nimmt Selma den Auftrag in Form einer Wette an, denn es geht um ihr Überleben – aber nicht nur um ihres.

Was sich nach einer vergleichsweise geradlinigen, einfachen Geschichte anhört, entwickelt sich immer mehr in ein schwer zu durchschauendes show more Verwirrspiel, in dem es um Intrigen, Rache und Eigeninteressen geht und das nur zögerlich den Blick auf das Ganze freigibt. Neben des eigentlichen (eher unspektakulären) Falles und diversen Rückblicken auf das Leben verschiedener Personen, gibt es noch einen nackten Gefangenen sowie ein Drehbuch, dessen Sinn und Zweck sich erst gegen Ende offenbart – Handlungsstränge, die so überhaupt nicht zusammen zugehören scheinen. Dass es dennoch passt, ist der Autorin bei der Vielzahl von Verwicklungen hoch anzurechnen, auch wenn manche Erklärungen doch sehr ‚kunstvoll‘ und wenig überzeugend daherkamen.

Alles in allem ein solider aufgerundeter 3,5 Sterne-Krimi mit einer neuen interessanten Protagonistin, von der ich durchaus gerne mehr lesen würde. show less

Anne Holt’s crime novels have been great reads over the decades, although the publishing of her books here in the states has been somewhat uneven. Sadly for us fans, she recently ended both her long-running Hanne Wilhelmsen series, and her Vik and Stubo series, both police procedurals. So, it was with both great curiosity and some trepidation I approached this new crime novel ….

[A Grave for Two] is a crime novel set around the Norwegian national sport of cross country skiing. A young, dynamic female skier is compromised when a banned substance is found in her residence. Her father hires Selma Flack, a talented lawyer who has bottomed out completely due to a gambling habit, to investigate (more or less against her will). When a young show more male elite skier is found dead under suspicious circumstances, the plot—as they say—thickens.

Selma, living temporarily in a dive funded by her new boss, reluctantly takes on the investigation independent of law enforcement, but when needed she consults her best friend, a homeless, mentally ill, drug addict and former cop; and also reciprocally exchanges information with a young news reporter. I’m not sure I completely believe in lawyers-as-action-heroes (though I’ve read quite a few novels featuring them), but Holt does a good job avoiding much mention of law enforcement, who we understand to be doing their own investigation of the other skier’s murder.

I found this 450-page novel tough to get into at first; I’m not a skier and know very little about the sport or the kind of organizations around team sports. I also had to reread some when I thought I’d lost the thread, but the cause of that could be more the times in which we are living in than the fault of the writing. I liked her Selma Flack though: brilliant, resourceful and tough, with a quite an Achilles heel; but then Holt has always been fab at writing women. Despite my trepidation and challenges, I ultimately found this complex novel to be a well-thought out, detailed, interesting and satisfying read. show less

Mixed thoughts

It took me a while at first to get into ‘A grave for two’ Before reading this book I was aware that I’m not a fan of winter sports or detective/mystery novels, though I liked the cover and felt confident of the authors reputaion. It took me a while to really get into the book and begin to piece the plot together since theres a lot going on. The writing was good and able to keep me captivated, but at the same time, with this book being a slow burner it took so long to actually get into it, that by the time I did I wasn’t blown away, can’t say I’m glad I read ‘A grave for two’ nor can I see I’m disappointed I did. I probably wouldn’t recommend this book to a friend, mainly because it’s not as memorable show more as other books I have read. show less

A Grave for Two – Who knew Norway Could be this Dangerous

Anne Holt is Norway’s bestselling female crime writer and with A Grave for Two it is very easy to understand why. While still being part of the Scandi Noir genre, this is not as dark as some and most of the names are not tongue twisters.

Selma Falack’s life has come crashing down around her, she finds herself in a small apartment that even her cat does not like. She is about to be reported and lose her lawyers licence and is going nowhere fast. When her former client and the person responsible for her downfall rings her door and offers her away out of the predicament she is in, if he helps her. Jan Morell’s daughter, Hege, a champion cross-country skier all set for the show more Winter Olympics, but now she has been found to have broken the doping controls.

Jan challenges Selma to find out who has sabotaged Hege and get her back in to the running for the Olympic Games. If she does that, he will stop his investigation and not tell the world she embezzled money from him.

When a male skier whom Hege knows is found dead and his post-mortem shows there is a link between the cases. What Selma discovered was that there was a sinister web of corruption, lies and scandals in a highly competitive sport. It did not help that the Sport’s Federation had built a glass palace, sat high on a hill and everybody seemed to have their hands in the till. But the stories never came out, but it would be only a matter of time.

Seeming going nowhere Selma realises that she needs to see the bigger picture and who actually gains from the supper star athletes being banned. With the death of a photographer little does Selma realise how close she is to death herself.

Anne Holt likes to leave clues as to who the perpetrator may be while weaving an intricate thriller, whether you can solve the question of whodunnit before the reveal is the big question.

This for a Scandi noir thriller is a great read, her narrative is perfect, and the energy of her writing is second to none. There is not even a cliché in sight. show less

The first instalment in Anne Holt's new crime series featuring Selma Falck.

It is December 2017. In February 2018 the Winter Olympics will be held in PyeongChang in South Korea, and Norway is looking to confirm its position as top of the tree in cross country skiing. Hege Chin Morell is the key to this success, but now she has returned a positive test to a banned substance. Norway's team is yet to be finalised.

Selma Falck, once Norway's top lawyer, has become addicted to gambling. And worse, she has embezzled funds from her clients and particularly from Jan Morell. Now 50, Selma was also, in her day, a world class athlete. And she is also godmother to Norway's top male skier.

This novel features a very high level of complexity with show more several intersecting plot lines, plus a number of different narration techniques. To be honest, I found it pretty hard going, slow reading, for much of the time, but thankfully everything seemed to come together at the end. show less