Death Angels: A Chief Inspector Erik Winter Novel [Paperback]

This crime story, which in one sense could be read as a formulaic `thrilla,' shows uncommon insight into the psychology of a confident, thirty-something homicide detective at the terrifying brink of self-awareness. Erik Winter is the hero of a popular series of Swedish crime novels by Åke Edwardson that are not yet very well-known in the U.S.

"Death Angels" is the first book in the Erik Winter series, although two of the subsequent books were previously published in English, but with a different translator. If you want to read the series chronologically, "Death Angels" is the place to start. And if the rest of the books are as compelling as this one, bring `em on.

The plot of "Death Angels" spins around some grotesque murders of teenage boys that are being committed in both Sweden and London. It makes for some intriguing give and take among investigators in both cities who decide to pool their resources. You're into the first murder right away, and I do mean right in the middle of it. Did I mention I couldn't do Winter's job?

One of the things I liked best about the book was Edwardson's depiction of the toll on the living that the homicide grind takes, not just on the families of the victims, but on the men and women who are working the case. The way they talk to each other, the camaraderie, the shorthand, the dark humor and odd bravado, all ring true. You could slap this up on a movie screen just as it is.

I liked Erik Winter right away. This detective is not one of those gnarled characters with a wise-acre attitude and hot temper. He's coolly elegant, keenly able, admired and envied by his colleagues in homicide. But he is exceptionally young to be their boss, and he's a complete enigma to them.

Turns out Winter is also an enigma to himself and to his family, which makes him an excellent character for Edwardson to build a string of crime novels on. How can you not like a guy who says of soccer, "I could have been something, but I wasn't injured often enough." Or, my absolute favorite, when Winter passes by his sister's house, noticing the lights aren't on, and says to himself, "Nobody's home, you can call tonight." For somebody who works that hard to keep his distance from people who want to get inside his head, he turns out to have terrific intuition for drilling right into the brains of criminals.

The supporting characters are great. One bizarre twist involves a young detective, about to become a father, who gets thrust into the world of illicit porn to track down some clues, and you get a real sense of the destabilizing threat that this kind of work involves, and how weird and sometimes touching the coping mechanisms can get to be. I don't want to give away any more of it, but Edwardson does his homework when it comes to character development. The case painfully affects Winter, too, and with good reason.

I got caught up right away in the icy-clear language of the saga. Everything that had to do with Swedish half-darkness and sunlight and the penetration of the cold and the intense awareness of any hint of spring -- all that is wonderfully evocative in tone. I could feel Scandinavia in my bones. And music's really important to the story, both indie rock and jazz. You'll pick up a tip or two.

Being a fan of Henning Mankell, I was excited to read this author's work, especially because he's been compared favorably to Mankell. But this book just didn't hold up for me. I found the character of Erik Winter to be rather stilted and mannered, and I was much more intrigued by Steve Macdonald, the police officer in London. This wasn't a terrible book, but the characters are a little too cardboard cutout for me, the mood is not as atmospheric or as nuanced as I like, and the plot twists were not that numerous and were somewhat predictable. I find the work by the Icelandic author Arnaldur Indridason to be far preferable.

For those of us given peeks into this amazing writer's character of Detective Winter before, here, at long last (I don't read Sewdish, German or other languages!!!)is the opening story and it does not disappoint, not one line, not one character. It's a thrill ride, intelligent, surprising and, with plenty of twists, keeps you on the edge of your seat.
I won't spoil it for you with a precis - just get this and ENJOY!
Mankell watch out, there's someone better (or at least as compelling!).

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