An eight-year-old girl is kidnapped walking home from school, sending the low-crime country of Norway into a tailspin.  On the heels of that atrocity, a five-year-old disappears only to be returned to his parents’ home days later, dead.  A serial child murderer is on the loose and detective Adam Stubo turns to former FBI agent, now lawyer Johanne Vik for a profile of the killer.  Together they race against the clock to find the kidnapper before another child turns up dead.

Originally written in Norwegian, this book is a fast-pace thriller with a twisting plot and intricate details.  In addition to the suspense, Anne Holt fills the pages with well-rounded characters, each with their own personal struggle.  Readers will empathize with Adam’s loss of his wife and Johanne’s attempts to successfully parent a mentally handicapped child.  Together they make the pages of this book come to life, and readers will have hard time putting it down until the very end.  However, while this is an enjoyable book, there are a few too many convenient coincidences in the final pages to satisfy typical readers of this genre. 

Perhaps most notable is that, unlike most thrillers, this story lacks graphic violence.  While many might be disturbed at the idea of a child serial killer, there is nothing bloody or gory about What Is Mine, which will appeal to a wide cross-section of readers. 

Reviewed by Joelle Charbonneau-Blanco
6/26/2006

Back to "H" - Review look-up by Author

Back to "W" - Review look-up by Title

Back to "4-Books" - Review look-up by Rating

Back to "Mystery / Suspense " - Review look-up by Genre