Critics' Opinion:
Readers' rating:
Published Jun 2013
304 pages
Genre: Thrillers
Publication Information
One morning before school, two children find the naked bodies of five men hanging from the gym ceiling. The case leads detective Konrad Simonsen and his murder squad to the school janitor, who may know more about the killings than he is telling. Soon, Simonsen realizes that each of the five murdered men had a dark and terrible secret in common. And when Simonsen's own daughter is targeted, he must race to find the culprit before his whole world is destroyed.
Published in twenty countries around the world, with more than 150,000 copies sold in Denmark alone, this book introduces a brother and sister duo who have taken the thriller world by storm. Fast-paced, suspenseful, and brilliantly written, The Hanging is a stunning crime novel from Lotte and Soren Hammer, two Danish authors whose international fame is exploding.
"Starred Review. Everything works in this dark Scandinavian procedural - the intelligent and complex plot, the fallible lead, and the atmospheric prose." - Publishers Weekly
"[T]he Hammers have struck a chord with European readers, and The Hanging is seen as Denmark's answer to successful Swedish, Norwegian, and Icelandic crime fiction. U.S. crime lovers will likely want to stick a pin in Denmark on their crime-fiction maps." - Booklist
"This debut thriller by two Danish siblings unfolds in chapters that flit back and forth across the perspectives of the detectives and the vigilantes...This method, while illuminating detail and motive, adds confusion to the overly long tale...Further, in its central theme of violence against children and societal response to it, this novel attempts to instill an ethical depth that it ultimately cannot deliver. Still, some fans of Scandinavian crime fiction may be interested." - Library Journal
"Spectacular ... An outstanding writing achievement." - Vejle Amts Folkeblad
"One of the most ambitious Danish crime novels in ages." - Kristeligt Dagblad
"An extremely well-designed crime debut." - Jyllands-Posten
"Thought-provoking and a really good read." - Helsingor Dagblad
"An unfailing and genuine crime debut." - Politiken
"Enthralling, pacey, and intricately plotted, The Hanging kept me on the edge of my seat and illuminated a dark corner of Danish society." - Denise Hamilton, Edgar finalist, nationally bestselling author and editor of Los Angeles Noir
This information about The Hanging was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Lotte and Soren Hammer are siblings. The Hanging is the first in a series following Detective Konrad Simonsen and his team from the murder squad. They live in Frederiksværk, Denmark.
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