Customer Reviews

Punishment

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I recently picked up the title "Punishment" by Norwegian author Anne Holt, the first book in her so-called Vik/Stubų series. This is a Scandinavian interpretation of the whole "profiler" craze that has dominated television and crime novels for the past decade. The story revolves around researcher and psychologist Johanne Vik and Oslo police detective Adam Stubų, and their attempts to apprehend the perpetrator of a series of child-murders. As a researcher, Vik is also involved in clearing the name of a suspect who was railroaded into a conviction for the rape and murder of a child many decades ago.

The story is told from many perspectives: that of the murderer, whose chilling mission is slowly revealed through his sociopathic reactions; that of one of his child captives, who witnesses a series of his victims pass through her dismal prison; that of the police detective, whose relationship to his workmates is far from ideal; and most importantly, that of the reluctant profiler Vik, who is unwillingly pulled deeper and deeper into the case as the killer's list of victims grows.

My reaction is mixed. I felt that the writer was capable of better writing, and I was expecting much more from a book which bore the blurb "The International Bestseller." On the one hand the plot and some of the characterization were first-rate. Also Holt's sense of setting was excellent - she spent much time as a journalist in the US Northeast and brings it to life, and she also describes Norway in a compelling way. But on the other hand the book suffered from many distracting, often infuriating faults that I would scarcely expect from an author who already had 8 novels under her belt. Firstly, people's emotional reactions are portrayed as being somewhat perverse. This would not be a bad thing, but there is little character development supplied to help the reader understand the source of such odd reactions, such as the police detective wanting to embrace and kiss the corpse of one of the child victims. Another trait I found annoying was Holt's rather affected way of having one character start a conversation with another, without telling the reader who the other person is in the dialog until the next page. There were also many other needless distractions, like having a book group murmur with remorse over the manner of an author's suicide, which is then never revealed to the reader. Due to these and many other sins, either self-indulgent or immaturely crafted, the book comes off as average when it could have been brilliant.

Perhaps the most grievous defect is the length of the story arc in which the self-tortured Vik allows herself to be talked into helping Stubų. No ethical psychologist that I know would wait through three murders before agreeing to help stop the killing of defenseless children. Especially not one who, like Vik, is a mother. Holt is trying to show that her character has some internal demons that are holding her back, but since these are not dealt with other than by fleeting mention, it becomes very difficult to have any empathy in the reader's mind for Vik.

There is another title in this series in print, and apparently a translation of her third book coming out soon. I am on the fence about reading the next one. While there was a great deal of promise in this book, an author who is playing games with her readers after 8 novels is unlikely to change her ways.

I am an ardent fan of Scandinavian crime thrillers and there are many good authors to choose from: Karin Fossum, Arnaldur Indridason, Johan Theorin, Henning Mankell, Mari Jungstedt, and many more. I read "Punishment" under its other title "What is Mine" and enjoyed it. The story centers around the mysterious abductions of several young children, which sparks a frantic police investigation headed by Detective Adam Stubo, a 45-year-old widower. Stubo has a certain feel for the cases he handles, acting as much on his hunches and instincts as he does based on police procedures. His instincts tell him to solicit the services of Johanne Vik, a psychology professor at Oslo University. Vik is a single mom to a young child, Kristiane (who seems to have an undiagnosed psychological/neurological problem),and has a background in profiling, experience which she obtained whilst at school in the United States. Vik also happens to be working on a case to do with a much older crime involving the sexual assault and murder of a young child. The person convicted of the crime, Aksel Seier, was later released after serving nine years behind bars, and has since moved to the United States. The dying woman who has solicited Vik's services is convinced of Seier's innocence and wants Vik to help prove it.

Eventually Stubo and Vik's paths cross - partly prompted by the desperate situation as some of the abducted children turn up murdered and delivered to their parents. Apparently, there is a serial killer of children on the loose and Norway is in a panic. What makes the cases even more puzzling is the inability of the pathologist to pinpoint the exact cause of death. To complicate matters, one of the abducted children, nine-year-old Emilie Selbu, may possibly still be alive and it is left to Stubo and an initially reluctant Vik to connect the dots and race against time to solve the case, just as another victim is found.

Though the story gets mired in overly detailed descriptions at times, I felt the story was deftly plotted.The story is told from multiple perspectives and makes for a fascinating, if at times uneven read. There is an element of suspense throughout (though I confess I guessed a major revelation halfway through the book). The characters are credibly portrayed and well-developed - Stubo is a hardened cop who relies on his gut instincts to solve cases; Vik is a beautiful yet conflicted mom who struggles to balance her myriad roles; Seier is hard to define, a man who has tried to disconnect from his past yet finds himself haunted by it; and finally, the killer - what are the killer's motives and will the killer be found in time before it's too late? "What is Mine" is a strong debut from Anne Holt and I look forward to reading her follow-up novel featuring Stubo and Vik once again.