Helle And Death by Oskar Jensen (Audiobook)

 

A group of friends meet up ten years after leaving university. The destination is an isolated mansion belonging to the most successful member of the group, Anthony. On the first evening together Anthony breaks the news that he is terminally ill and is leaving each of them a bequest in his will. That evening the group are shocked when their host commits suicide, or has one of them murdered Anthony to access their bequest quicker? 

Helle And Death by Oskar Jensen is a classic snowed-in mystery. From the start the scene is set perfectly; an isolated mansion, mobile phones banned, weapons readily available and a mysterious host. 

The cast of characters are an unlikely group of friends, they were simply thrown together by the fact of their accommodation at university, had it been normal life they probably would not have known each other. Some of the group have been successful in life, others are still trying to make their mark. The host of the group has been the most successful, making his fortune as a tech entrepreneur. We learn early on that one of the group contributed to the tech that made Anthony his fortune but his contribution was never acknowledged. Is this a motive for what follows?

Each member of the party is a suspect in the possible murder. They all have the means and opportunity, and many of them also have a motive. Art Historian Torben Helle is the member of the group who investigates the possibility of murder, along with Ruth who is a police detective. The difficulty arises when they can't believe anyone in the group is actually capable of murder, no matter what their personal circumstances are.

The narrator does an excellent job at voicing Torben, particularly his struggles with the complexity of English idioms, quite a few of these do raise a smile. 

Twists and turns, false accusations, confessions and shock revelations keep you gripped and make it impossible to figure out who is responsible before the big reveal.

Helle And Death by Oskar Jensen will be published in hardback, ebook and audio format on 18th January 2024. My thanks to NetGalley and Profile Books Audio for a review copy.