Solving a murder is no walk in the park: Helle’s Hound by Oskar Jensen #bookreview #HellesHound #NetGalley

A dead art historian.
Cold War skulduggery.
An extremely hungry dog.
Dame Charlotte Lazerton – eminent art historian and former mentor of Danish academic Torben Helle – is dead. To make it worse, she was found partially eaten by her own pet dog. While the Metropolitan police believe that she died of natural causes, Torben becomes convinced that Dame Charlotte was murdered, although as usual no-one pays any attention to him. That is, until he gains the confidence of a detective inspector who has watched one too many Nordic Noir dramas, and is ready to listen to any Scandinavian in an extremely woolly jumper.
Aided – often grudgingly – by his old friend Leyla, Torben soon realises that there are plenty of people who might have wanted Dame Charlotte dead, from her competitors for a prestigious academic chair, to old enemies from her time in intelligence during the Cold War. One thing is for sure: Torben Helle is woefully unqualified to catch a killer, and the killer knows it…
This witty murder mystery puts a modern spin on the classic Golden Age whodunnit. A must-read for fans of Agatha Christie, Richard Osman and Janice Hallett.

💛💛💛💛.5

Hi and welcome to my review of Helle’s Hound!

Torben Helle is back and what a treat it is! First of all, you needn’t have read Helle & Death to enjoy Helle’s Hound, the story stands alone and the various relationships are clear without any background. On the other hand, it was an excellent debut and you should read it anyway!

So, Torben Helle is back and this time, he introduces us to his former mentor, Dame Charlotte Lazerton, whom I immediately took a liking to. Quick wit and a sharp tongue under a proper English lady veneer, I was all: oh Dame Charlotte, we are going to have A BALL! And then she died. Yes, I could have known that by reading the blurb, but what’s a blurb between old friends, and that’s most certainly what Torben Helle feels like, so no, I didn’t pay attention.

Even though she doesn’t make it past the first few chapters, this is very much Dame Charlotte’s story, as Helle is convinced she didn’t have an accident and die, she was in fact murdered. And off he goes, combing through the Dame’s desk, inspecting her memoirs and stacks of other papers, sifting through possible suspects and plausible motives, trying to enlist help from old friends and a few select police officers.

I won’t spoil what ensues, suffice it to say that Helle’s Hound is another engrossing, clever and highly inventive murder mystery that takes all the classic Golden Age whodunnit elements into the 21st century, adding the most disarmingly charming protagonist and a healthy dose of wit to boot. I loved it and I can’t wait to find out what Torben gets up to next.

Helle’s Hound is out in digital formats, audio and hardcover on 30 January 2025, with the paperback to follow in October.

Massive thanks to Viper Books and NetGalley for the DRC. All opinions are my own.