During a snowstorm near a tunnel high in the Norwegian
mountains, a train crashes killing the driver and stranding
close to 300 passengers. Luckily, there is an isolated
train station with a large hotel complex nearby, Finse
1222, where the survivors and the injured are taken for
shelter.
But things aren't going well in the forced confinement. Not
only is a storm of epic proportions raging outside, but
inside people are turning up dead. When it's obvious two of
them were murdered, the small band of people trying to keep
the chaos under control turns to one of the survivors for
help. A difficult, unfriendly woman who's had a ski pole
driven through her thigh in the wreck, Hanne Wilhelmsen,
retired from the Oslo police, is also paralyzed from the
waist down after being shot on duty. Hanne may be short-
fused and uncompromising, but her mind is still sharp, as
the murderer soon finds out.
From the start, Hanne is not a very likable heroine, and
the large cast of characters (and potential murderers)
makes the various plot twists a bit confusing. Hanne's
backstory doesn't help much, and it takes some time for her
personality to improve. The plot is suspenseful enough to
keep readers turning the pages to solve the mystery of the
murderer's identity, but the abrupt ending was a bit
disconcerting.
A TRAIN ON ITS WAY to the northern reaches of Norway
derails during a massive blizzard, 1,222 meters above sea
level. The passengers abandon the train for a nearby hotel,
centuries-old and practically empty, except for the staff.
With plenty of food and shelter from the storm, the
passengers think they are safe, until one of them is found
dead the next morning.
With no sign of rescue, and the storm continuing to rage,
retired police inspector Hanne Wilhelmsen is asked to
investigate. Paralyzed by a bullet lodged in her spine,
Hanne has no desire to get involved. But she is slowly
coaxed back into her old habits as her curiosity and
natural talent for observation force her to take an
interest in the passengers and their secrets. When another
body turns up, Hanne realizes that time is running out, and
she must act fast before panic takes over. Complicating
things is the presence of a mysterious guest, who had
traveled in a private rail car at the end of the train and
was evacuated first to the top floor of the hotel. No one
knows who the guest is, or why armed guards are needed, but
it is making everyone uneasy. Hanne has her suspicions, but
she keeps them to herself.
Trapped in her wheelchair, trapped by the storm, and now
trapped with a killer, Hanne must fit the pieces of the
puzzle together before the killer strikes again.
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