Happy New Year everyone!

Today, I am foregoing my usual To Be Read Pile of the New Year in honour of the snow. Here in North Yorkshire we had a lot of snow which arrived in the early morning. At one point I woke my husband so he could see the snow and it was beautiful. I love the sound, or rather lack of sound made when snow lies on the ground. Everything is muffled and still.

Read my Review of Miss Smilla's Feeling for Snow

This year, I read a beautiful piece in Country Homes and Interiors written by a mindfulness author, who describes Twixmas as 'The Hush'. Routines are well by the wayside, relatives departed back to their homes, and this period is a time to rest, relax and recuperate from the seasonal festivities. A time to be quiet, read, jigsaw, walk, reflect on the passing year and plan for the future....or to do some of this things, or none at all. It is the 'hush' that gives us time to not be in a routine and do the things we fancy. For me, this was reading a Scandi-Noir crime book, picked up during our trip to Newcastle in 2024.

Heidi Amsinck is a new to me author, and I can already confirm that I have put the other 3 Jensen novels on my wish list. Set in Copenhagen, this was full of the snowy quietness I was clearly craving (and which was delivered with today's snow).

Dagbladet reporter Jensen discovers the body of a young, homeless man in the snow on her way to work. Stabbed in the street, he was seen with a cardboard sign saying 'Guilty' before he died and is the second such stabbing of a homeless person. When a third body is found, it would seem a serial killer is on the loose on the streets of Copenhagen. Jensen, with her ex-lover Henrik Jungerson and her young assistant Gustav set about tracking down the killer.

This is the first book in the Jensen series. I read a lot of this book believing I was actually reading the second in the series, as a lot of history has taken place between Jensen and Henrik and on discussing this with my lovely husband, realises this plot device works. Whenever we meet new friends, colleagues or acquaintances we don't their full history from cradle to grave, instead we learn a little, some events or people are alluded to, we ask questions and learn more. This is the case with Jensen, and part of me wonders if we will ever learn Hungerson and Jensen's full history, or if we have an Uncle Bryn and the fishing trip instance (a Gavin and Stacey reference right there!)

Jensen is a brilliant character. We find her demoralised and unengaged, forced to return to Denmark and the newspaper that is in danger of closing down. She is flat-sitting, and her personal life is a mess. Gradually, we see glimpses of the journalist she once was as she investigates Thomas' death on the streets of Copenhagen.

She is surrounded by a fascinating array of supporting characters, each worthy of a book of their own - a tough, uncompromising boss, a wealthy politician who has a soft spot for Jenson, a tough giant of a chauffeur, and Gustav, a young man who has been expelled from school for a reason we don't know, but who seems to have a sensible-ish head on his shoulders.

The crime itself is very engaging, bleak with a social comment and which has many layers, all waiting to be peeled back by Jensen and Henrik. Copenhagen remains a city I want to visit, the snow is beautiful and this Scandi crime has the right level of Noir.

Lat year, at the same time I was reading Miss Smilla's Feeling for Snow. Clearly I like my Twixmas to be all about crime and snow and something Scandinavian. This did not disappoint and was the perfect read for me. I finished it today and wanted to tell you all about it. A 5 Star read for me.