Dead Joker

From Norways bestselling female crime writer, the fifth book in the Edgar-nominated mystery series featuring the whip-smart detective Hanne Wilhelmsen.Chief Public Prosecutor Sigurd Halvorsruds wife is found brutally decapitated in front of the fireplace in the family living room. Her husband, who claims he witnessed the grisly murder and is himself covered in blood, immediately falls under suspicion, though he insists his wifes killer was Stle Salvesen, a businessman hed prosecuted years before for insider dealing. Detective Inspector Hanne Wilhelmsen is called in to lead the investigation with her old colleague, Billy T. Despite the circumstantial evidence, Hanne is unconvinced of Sigurd Halvorsruds guiltthat is, until a witness says he saw Stle Salvesen commit suicide by jumping off a bridge days before the murder took place. Then a journalist at one of Oslos largest newspapers is found beheaded. What links these two horrific crimes? The demands of the investigation soon clash with a terrible crisis in Hannes personal life: Cecilie, the woman she has lived with for almost twenty years, has fallen seriously ill and doesnt have much time to live. With a savage killer on the loose, Hanne must ask herself: Is the truth worth chasing at all costs?