
Photo: Lars Eivind Bones
Anne Holt (b. 1958) is one of Scandinavia’s most successful crime writers with 10 million copies sold around the world. Holt is a former Minister of Justice, Police Attorney, lawyer (with her own firm), journalist, and TV news editor and anchor. Her novels are intelligent, accessible and suspenseful, with engaging and intriguing protagonists. Tight-knit crime plots are paired with a focus on relational drama. Anne Holt is the author of three very successful crime series: the Inger Johanne Vik series (five installments), the Hanne Wilhelmsen series (eleven installments) and now, most recently, the Selma Falck series (three installments).
Shortlisted for the Petrona Award (Best Scandinavian Crime Novel of the Year) UK – Furet / Værbitt A Necessary Death | 2021 |
Radio Bremen’s Crime Award Germany | 2021 |
Shortlisted for the Storytel Awards (Best Suspense) Sweden – En grav for to A Grave For Two | 2019 |
Shortlisted for a Lambda Literary Award (Best Lesbian Mystery) US – Offline Offline | 2018 |
Shortlisted for the Edgar Award (Best Novel) US – 1222 1222 | 2012 |
Shortlisted for the Shamus Award (Best Hardcover PI Novel) US – 1222 1222 | 2012 |
Shortlisted for the Macavity Award (Best Mystery Novel) US – 1222 1222 | 2012 |
The Great Calibre Award of Honor Poland | 2012 |
The Cappelen Prize Norway | 2001 |
The Norwegian Booksellers’ Prize Norway – Demonens død Death of the Demon | 1995 |
The Riverton Prize (Best Norwegian Crime Novel of the Year) Norway – Blind gudinne Blind Goddess | 1994 |
2020, Crime
2019, Crime
2018, Crime
2021, Crime
2016, Crime
2015, Crime
2007, Crime
2003, Crime
2000, Crime
1999, Crime
1997, Crime
1995, Crime
1994, Crime
1993, Crime
2012, Crime
2009, Crime
2006, Crime
2004, Crime
2001, Crime
The Norwegian booksellers’ association has announced a list of the most sold crime novels of 2023 so far, and Liza Marklund takes the No. 1 spot with The Polar Circle. Horst & Enger meanwhile is the most sold domestic authorship, featuring at the top with their Unhinged, followed by Smoke Screen and Death Deserved. Also on the list are Anne Holt’s The Eleventh Manuscript, Liza Marklund’s The Mire, Jørn Lier Horst’s The Traitor, Jo Nesbø’s Killing Moon, Lars Kepler’s The Spider, and Kristina Ohlsson’s Storm Watch.
This week’s bestseller lists in Norway have Jo Nesbø appear at the top of the paperback list, claiming the No. 1 spot with The Jealousy Man and Other Stories. Anne Holt comes in as No. 1 on the e-book list with The Eleventh Manuscript and makes an appearance at No. 2 on the paperback list with the same title.
The latest addition to the Detective Agency No. 2 series by Jørn Lier Horst & Hans Jørgen Sandnes, Operation Ninja, sails to No. 1 on the official bestseller list for children’s fiction.
Anne Holt’s The Eleventh Manuscript comes in at No. 1 on the official Norwegian bestseller list for paperback for the third consecutive week, followed by Hjorth & Rosenfeldt’s As You Sow at No. 2 and Katrine Engberg’s The Tenant at No. 3.
For the second consecutive week, Anne Holt’s The Eleventh Manuscript grabs the No. 1 spot on the official Norwegian bestseller list for paperbacks. The novels also claims the top position on the e-book list this week.
Jo Nesbø’s The Jealousy Man and Other Stories and Hjorth & Rosenfeldt’s As You Sow comes in at No. 2 and No. 3 respectively on the paperback list also this week.
Anne Holt’s The Eleventh Manuscript comes in at No. 1 on the official Norwegian bestseller list for paperback this week, followed by Jo Nesbø’s The Jealousy Man and Other Stories at No. 2 and Hjorth & Rosenfeldt’s As You Sow at No. 3.
The shortlist for the 2022 Riverton Prize has just been announced in Norway, and Heine Bakkeid’s St. Avenger and Anne Holt’s The Eleventh Manuscript are two out of five novels nominated for the prestigious crime writing award, annually given to the best Norwegian crime story.
St. Avenger is the fourth installment in Heine Bakkeid’s Thorkild Aske series, and as part of their motivation the award jury lauds the novel by saying : “This well-constructed and well-written crime novel hold us in a tight grip of fear and worry until the very end.”
The Eleventh Manuscript is the eleventh installment in Anne Holt’s Hanne Wilhelmsen series, and the award jury praises it in the following way: “Veteran author Anne Holt has rarely been as brilliant as she is here, with her old and wise hero Hanne Wilhelmsen as a somewhat reluctant protagonist of this extremely well-written suspense novel.”
The winner will be bestowed with the award on the 7th of April in The House of Literature in Oslo.
The Norwegian book industry publication BOK365 has released a list of the ten bestselling crime novels of 2021 and Jørn Lier Horst’s A Will to Serve comes in at No. 1, The Tenant by Danish author Katrine Engberg grabs the No. 3 spot and Anne Holt’s The Eleventh Manuscript claims No. 9.
Stefan Ahnhem’s The Final Nail continues to feature on the official Norwegian bestseller list and claims the No. 1 placement on the e-book list for the third consecutive week, while also grabbing No. 4 on the hardcover fiction list for the second week in a row. Anne Holt’s The Eleventh Manuscript keeps its No. 2 spot on the e-book list.
Stefan Ahnhem’s The Final Nail stays firmly put at at No. 1 on the official Norwegian bestseller list for e-books for the second consecutive week, and enters the hardcover fiction list at No. 4 this week. Anne Holt’s The Eleventh Manuscript joins Ahnhem on the e-book list, coming in at No. 2.
The Petrona Award’s jury has just presented its shortlist for the 2021 Petrona Award for ‘Best Scandinavian Crime Novel of the Year.’ The list of six nominees include Anne Holt with A Necessary Death, Jørn Lier Horst & Thomas Enger with Death Deserved, and Yrsa Sigurdardóttir with Gallows Rock.
The Judges have the following to say about each title:
“A pacy, absorbing thriller with a gutsy, complex main character.” – on Anne Holt’s A Necessary Death.
“The novel expertly fuses the writers’ individual styles, while showcasing their joint talent for writing credible and engaging characters, and creating a fast-paced, exciting plot.” – on Jørn Lier Horst & Thomas Enger’s Death Deserved.
“[The protagonists’] relationship provides readers with some lighter moments and occasional black humour, along with a frisson of mutual attraction. The novel’s intricate plot focuses on skewed morals and revenge.” – on Yrsa Sigurdardóttir’s Gallows Rock.
The winning title will be announced on Thursday 4 November, 2021.
A pandemic has swept the world. Hanne Wilhelmsen, long since retired from the police force, has already lived in self-imposed exile in her apartment for years. As Norway is shut down, she finally has the chance to reclaim her empty city.
At the same time, police officer Henrik Holme is struggling with a murder case that no one seems to care too much about. A woman has been found naked in the trunk of a car. The body is intact, apart from the face which has been beaten beyond recognition. No one has reported her missing. No one knows who she is. Holme must turn to his old mentor Hanne Wilhelmsen for help.
At the biggest publishing house in Norway, the young editor Ebba Braut is only four days into her new job when the pandemic hits with full force. From her cramped home office, she is assigned the task to hunt down a very valuable lost manuscript by one of the publisher’s best-selling authors. She too is forced to call on Hanne Wilhelmsen, who recently submitted her first crime novel without being especially interested in being edited.
The Eleventh Manuscript is a story about family secrets and deceit, about identity theft and fraud, about authors and the publishing industry, and about how “realistic fiction” can be life-threatening. Literally.
David Sundin makes another appearance at No. 1 on the official Swedish bestseller list for children’s books, placing first with The Book That Did Not Want To Be Read. The paperback list’s No. 1 meanwhile goes to Anne Holt’s A Necessary Death and the e-book No. 1 to Jens Lapidus’ The No-Go Zone.