- Hardcover: 320 pages
- Publisher: Soho Crime (July 1 2003)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 156947303X
- ISBN-13: 978-1569473030
- Product Dimensions: 20.2 x 12.9 x 3.3 cm
- Shipping Weight: 458 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #1,062,318 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
This intriguing police procedural from Swedish author Tursten, the first in a new series, augurs well for the future exploits of its heroine, a sympathetic 40-something detective attempting to juggle a demanding job and her family life. Irene Huss of the Violent Crimes Unit plunges into a complex and high-stakes investigation when Richard von Knecht, one of G"teborg's leading citizens and a Trump-like tycoon, apparently takes a suicidal plunge off his apartment balcony, practically before the eyes of his wife and son. Evidence that von Knecht was murdered soon surfaces, and a sensitive inquiry into the life and background of the victim begins. After someone bombs Von Knecht's offices, claiming two lives, Huss and her colleagues find themselves delving into Sweden's seamy underworld of drug dealers and motorcycle gangs. Remarkably, there's little about the mystery, the characters' personalities and motivations or the police approach to solving the crimes that couldn't easily be transposed to a contemporary American setting. Huss herself is an entirely plausible creation-smart, competent, but fallible-and the exchanges between the various police officers with whom she works help define them as three-dimensional as well. Through solid, patient police work, the good guys catch the murderer, whose identity, while not a total surprise, provides a nice narrative twist.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
Goteborg, Sweden, is the setting for this first in a promising series starring Irene Huss, detective inspector in a police force not yet comfortable with women officers. When the apparent suicide of a businessman turns out to be murder, Huss and her colleagues follow a tangled trail that takes them from the haunts of the ostentatiously wealthy to the underworld of drug-dealing biker gangs. The mystery itself is mostly routine, but the overview of Swedish society, its liberal foundation cracked by racism, drugs, and a new wave of vicious crime, forms a compelling backdrop for the story, drawing on the same tensions that fuel Henning Mankell's Kurt Wallander series. Wallander is considerably more world weary than Huss, but the younger feminist investigator brings her own set of complexities to the table, as she feels her own family endangered by the same forces that threaten society. Translator Murray's feel for nuance, notable in his renderings of several Mankell novels, is equally evident here. Another winner in what is becoming a golden age of European procedurals. Bill Ott
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
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Most helpful customer reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
2.0 out of 5 stars
Here's a mystery, how did this get published?,
By Timothy and Virginia Kennedy (Atlanta, Georgia United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Detective Inspector Huss (Hardcover)
I purchased this book after a glowing review on NPR. Big mistake. Perhaps it is the translation, but there are, no joke, 2 or 3 exclamation marks per page! The writing is stilted and filled with stereotypes. The central mystery lacks any major surprises and Tursten even fails to capture the omnipresent chill of a Swedish winter. If you want to try some international crime fiction, try the excellent 'Shape of Water' by Camilleri or 'A Very Long Engagement' by Japrisot.
5.0 out of 5 stars
fine Swedish police procedural,
By
This review is from: Detective Inspector Huss (Paperback)
Financial mogul Richard von Knecht jumps off Goteborg, Sweden apartment balcony. Suicide seems obvious, but some counter evidence quickly surfaces that murder may have occurred. Irene Huss of the Violent Crimes Unit investigates the von Knecht death with a word of caution that the victim is connected to the Swedish elite.Rather quickly Huss and her competent team trace von Knecht's life into the criminal underground of drug dealing and motorcycle gangs. Not long afterwards, the case turns deadly again when a bomb blows up Von Knecht's business office, killing two people. Huss and her squad struggle with finding the specific motive though in some way she knows that von Knecht's underworld and business connections have crossed at a fatal junction making her worry that more killings will follow if they do not stop the unknown perpetrator now. Ironically, the reader can figure out who the culprit is rather quickly, but that does not interfere with a fine Swedish police procedural. Huss is a delightful protagonist struggling to make it in a world in which male domination is not limited to the men's room. The police force, especially those who work with the heroine, are a wonderful group as their verbal exchanges and professional investigation make for a fine read for sub-genre fans who also can look forward to future translations of Detective Huss' caseload. Harriet Klausner
5.0 out of 5 stars
Very exciting!,
By A Customer
This review is from: Detective Inspector Huss (Hardcover)
I liked this book because it is so interesting and exciting. The story is fascinating and I couldn't put the book away, once I'd started to read. You meet a lot of interesting people, both among the suspects and the policeforce. The plot is very different and unpredictable. I highly recommend this book!
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