Monopoly

The evening after a concert for an enthusiastic full house at Rockefeller, the vocalist Sally Hov is brutally knifed to death close to Tøyenbadet swimming baths. The hunt for her killer is led by Chief Inspector Rigmor Stark and her colleagues, and it takes them to shady sides of Oslo’s music scene, where some people are clearly willing to go far to acquire power and status for themselves. Rigmor is a PhD drop-out who uses mathematics and economic analyses as a method of investigation. She is spontaneous, unorthodox and a little too prone to take foolhardy risks. But most of all she is someone who thinks. Round the clock. And her methods give results: her investigations take her on from the music scene to organised crime and something that looks like corruption within the police’s own ranks. But the closer Rigmor gets to a solution, the more obvious it becomes that someone is following her every step very closely.

The book has been illustrated with photographs by May-Irene Aasen.

«Monopoly stands out as a thorough, well written debut, filled with energy and the joy of story telling. The black and white photos by May-Irene Aasen give a nice addition to the story. I demand a follow-up to this book.»VG (5/6 stars)

« …. this book is written with tons of energy and a twinkle in the eye. You will find none of that deadly seriousness that characterizes so much of Norwegian crime literature. Instead you will find observations and characteristics which made me laugh out loud. There are chapter headings that you could use as wall stickers (…) And Stensbak makes sure that the story’s many power hungry men get what they deserve, in a steady stream of intelligent harassment. It is impossible to resist the charm of this book.»Dagbladet

«… Helle Stensbak is definitely this year’s most original crime debutant. What she does is rather untraditional, and she does it with spirit and enthusiasm, eagerness and skill.»Hamar Arbeiderblad

«Monopoly is a different, fresh and slightly rough crime novel, with a splendid protagonist and a unique narrative voice.» Bokbloggeir.com (5/6 stars)

«Monopoly is an exciting crime debut.»Kamille