Holt, Anne 1958-

PERSONAL:

Born November 16, 1958, in Larvik, Norway; married Tine Kiaer, January 14, 2000; children: one.

CAREER:

Author, c. 1997—. Norwegian Minister of Justice, 1996-97; also a lawyer and journalist. Guest on television shows, including "Wiese," 1996, "Først & sist," 1998-2004, and "Store klassefesten, Den," 2000.

WRITINGS:

Mea culpa: En historie om kjærlighet (novel), Cappelen (Oslo, Norway), 1997.

What Is Mine (novel; originally published as Det som er mitt), translated by Kari Dickson, Warner Books (New York, NY), 2006.

Also author of novels Salige er de som tørster (title means "Blessed Are Those Who Thirst"), and Blind gudinne (title means "Blind Goddess").

ADAPTATIONS:

Salige er de som tørster was filmed for theatrical release in 1997, and Blind gudinne was filmed for television in 1997.

SIDELIGHTS:

What Is Mine is former Norwegian government official Anne Holt's first crime novel to be released in the United States. It traces the stories of Norwegian American psychology professor Johanne Vik, who formerly worked as an FBI profiler, and police inspector Adam Stubo. The two together become involved in the abduction and murders of several Norwegian children. When two of the children are delivered—dead—to their parents' homes, wrote Allison Block in her Booklist review, Vik and Stubo "join forces to stop the vengeful perpetrator before he strikes again."

Holt's two protagonists carry a significant amount of emotional and intellectual baggage into their investigation. Complicating Vik's inquiries is her professional interest in a convicted Norwegian child molester and murderer, Aksel Seier, now living in exile in the United States. Vik suspects that Seier was wrongly convicted, and visits him at his Cape Cod home in hopes of better understanding his story. At the same time, she has to deal with the fallout of her recent divorce and to care for her mentally-challenged six-year-old. For his part, Stubo is still recovering from the deaths of his wife and young child. The novel, declared a Publishers Weekly reviewer, "is a thoughtful, deeply disturbing exploration of a heinous crime." "Based on a true Norwegian murder case," a Kirkus Reviews contributor concluded, "Holt's work is cerebral, complicated and immensely rewarding."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Advocate, February 29, 2000, "Norwegian Nuptials," p. 18.

Nordic Business Report, June 10, 2002, "Norwegian Author and Partner Are Having a Baby."

Booklist, May 15, 2006, Allison Block, review of What Is Mine, p. 28.

Kirkus Reviews, May 15, 2006, review of What Is Mine, p. 485.

Library Journal, June 15, 2006, Mary Todd Chesnut, review of What Is Mine, p. 64.

Publishers Weekly, May 22, 2006, review of What Is Mine, p. 31.