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ridgewaygirl's review against another edition
4.0
This is Anne Holt's homage to Agatha Christie's style of murder mysteries, taken to modern Norway. Hanne Wilhelmsen is an ex-cop, a paraplegic traveling by train through the Norwegian mountains to Bergen to see a specialist. The train derails near an isolated holiday resort and the passengers are taken by snowmobile to the hotel to wait out the fierce winter storm that prevents them from being rescued. Sometime during that first night, a man is murdered and Hanne finds herself unwillingly heading up a quiet investigation, helped by the red cross worker who rescued her, a doctor and the hotel manager.
Holt excels at the character study and here she has plenty to work with. She remains true to the spirit of the genre, while creating a modern collection of people, who are on edge after surviving the crash and learning that a murderer is living among them. Holt even ends the story in a particularly Christie-like way, while retaining the its very modern setting.
I didn't look at her. Instead I met Geir Rugholmen's gaze. He was still standing on the table, his legs wide apart; he was strong, but there was an air of resignation about him. We were both thinking the same thing.
The people who were snowed in at Finse 1222 had begun to let go of their dignity. And only eighteen hours had passed since the accident.
Holt excels at the character study and here she has plenty to work with. She remains true to the spirit of the genre, while creating a modern collection of people, who are on edge after surviving the crash and learning that a murderer is living among them. Holt even ends the story in a particularly Christie-like way, while retaining the its very modern setting.
I didn't look at her. Instead I met Geir Rugholmen's gaze. He was still standing on the table, his legs wide apart; he was strong, but there was an air of resignation about him. We were both thinking the same thing.
The people who were snowed in at Finse 1222 had begun to let go of their dignity. And only eighteen hours had passed since the accident.
littletaiko's review against another edition
4.0
Really enjoyed 1222, a Scandinavian mystery with a memorable detective. A classic setting, where a large group of people are stranded somewhere, and one by one they die. Fortunately, one of the stranded people is a retired police inspector who while very unsociable, hasn't lost her eye for details. The characters and plot were interesting and the solution satisfying.
eswaller's review against another edition
3.0
I think I enjoy the characters and will likely read more but it was a bit predictable and plodded on a little too much for the story it had to tell.
books4biana's review against another edition
I have not read any of the other books in the Hanne Wilhelmsen series, this was my first. I was drawn to the vibrant blue cover.
A train derails in the icy mountains of Norway and the passengers are bustled off to a local inn. This is a secluded mountain town, fortunately with helpful residents and a hotel large enough to accommodate over 100 passengers.
Naturally, troubles get stirred. Mystery abounds. Will our grumpy, retired police detective rise to the occasion? She hesitates, tells people to Go Away. But they persist and now she's investigating a murder essentially in a locked room. Which one of her companions did this dastardly thing? Before long, another dead body is found. Will there be another?
I quickly thought of "And Then There Were None", the classic by Dame Agatha Christie. Oddly enough, so did Hanne. People are getting restless and some revolt happens, tempers rise, racism peaks, relationships bud, and Hanne's heart starts to melt a little.
A train derails in the icy mountains of Norway and the passengers are bustled off to a local inn. This is a secluded mountain town, fortunately with helpful residents and a hotel large enough to accommodate over 100 passengers.
Naturally, troubles get stirred. Mystery abounds. Will our grumpy, retired police detective rise to the occasion? She hesitates, tells people to Go Away. But they persist and now she's investigating a murder essentially in a locked room. Which one of her companions did this dastardly thing? Before long, another dead body is found. Will there be another?
I quickly thought of "And Then There Were None", the classic by Dame Agatha Christie. Oddly enough, so did Hanne. People are getting restless and some revolt happens, tempers rise, racism peaks, relationships bud, and Hanne's heart starts to melt a little.
carolpk's review against another edition
3.0
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.
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.
laurapk's review against another edition
4.0
Truly entertaining. Listen to the audio book version and it worked really well in audio format. I love the fact that we have a main character who is both lgbtq and disabled and the formidable adversary. The only complaint I had was that there were too many interruptions in the dialogue. Everybody interrupted everybody, and in audio format it becomes particularly annoying after a while. I also didn't enjoy the open-ended last scene. I assume for people that follow the series it was rewarding, but for someone jumping in the Middle with not many other translated books in the series available, it's more of a tease that will never be fulfilled.
colorfulleo92's review against another edition
3.0
It was entertaining enough but wasn't something I had a lot of excitement picking up. Think Anne Holt have better books then this and might read something else. Don't remember if I've read anymoee
alterego's review
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
elliemcc11's review against another edition
2.0
whilst I started off liking this book/story my interest wained half way through and I began not caring who committed what crime. I shall probably return to the author at some point and try a different book.