søndag den 15. februar 2009

Inger Frimansson, Skyggen i vandet (2006)

- oversat fra svensk, (Skuggan i vattnet 2005) - inverted mystery
Advarsel: Da denne bog er en fortsættelse af Frimanssons krimi-debut, "Godnat, min elskede", kan det ikke rigtigt lade sig gøre at skrive noget om plottet, uden at komme ind på, hvad der er foregået i den første bog.

Ved bogens begyndelse møder vi Jill Kylén og Tor Assarsson, som er på ferie sammen i Norge. Jill nyder sejlturen til Lofoten, ser en kaskelothval (sperm whale), mens Tor sidder indendørs, kold og søsyg. Tors kone forsvandt for seks år siden, og hverken han eller politiet aner, hvad der blev af hende. Jill er hans kones bedste veninde, og hun gør sit bedste for at ruske lidt op i ægtemanden.

Læseren ved imidlertid lige fra begyndelsen, at Berit blev myrdet af sin gamle klassekammerat, Justine, som blev udsat for grov mobning, bl.a. af Berit og Jill. Det er altså denne viden om morderen, samt hendes opvækst og personlighed, der skal drive handlingen fremad, men det tager sin tid, før der for alvor begynder at ske noget.

Ligesom Sjöwall og Wahlöös første krimi, Roseanna, udspiller handlingen i denne bog sig omkring Stockholm og sluserne ved "Mälaran med det mørke vand". Et andet fælles træk er de mange triste menneskeskæbner. "Skyggen i vandet" vrimler med ensomme og triste mennesker, skuffede, grædende, onde og skyldige mennesker, mennesker som oplever mishandling, død og ulykker, og man mærker ikke meget til deres gode sider. Bogen er altså i høj grad en mørk, psykologisk thriller og ikke en krimi, selv om den fik prisen for bedste svenske krimi i 2005.

Inger Frimansson har et bedre sprog og er sikrere i sine personkarakteristikker end Ingrid Hedström, men selv om der kommer nogenlunde gang i spændingen efter de første hundrede sider, er den langt fra så helstøbt som Kerstin Ekmans krimi om det sorte vand.

Inger Frimansson, The Shadow in the Water (2008)

Swedish thriller from 2005 - inverted mystery.

Warning: as this book is a sequel to Frimansson´s debut, "Good Night my Darling", it is not possible to write about the plot without spoiling the first book.

At the beginning we meet Jill Kylén and Tor Assarsson on holiday in Norway. Jill enjoys the Lofoten Islands and the sperm whales while Tor is sitting indoors, freezing and seasick. Tor´s wife disappeared six years earlier, and neither he nor the police has any idea what has happened. Jill is his wife´s best friend, and she does what she can to brighten up his life.

The reader knows from the outset that Berit was murdered by her old classmate, Justine, because of the gross bullying she was subjected to in school by the other girls. So this knowledge about the murderer, her background and personality is supposed to be the incentive of the story, but it takes some time before the action really begins.

Just like Sjöwall and Wahlöö´s first crime novel, Roseanna, the setting of this book is the area around Stockholm and the locks of "Mälaren with the dark water". Another similarity is the many dismal fates. "The Shadow in the Water" is practically swarming with lonely and sad people, disappointed, crying, evil and guilty people, people who experience maltreatment, death and accidents, and their good sides rarely surface. So this book is certainly a ´noir´ thriller and not a crime story, even though it won the prize for the best Swedish crime novel in 2005.

Inger Frimansson writes better and her characters seem more real than Ingrid Hedström´s, but even though this thriller is reasonably exciting after the first hundred pages or so, it is not of the same literary quality as Kerstik Ekman´s crime novel about the black water.

2 kommentarer:

Beth F sagde ...

This book and series is new to me. Sounds interesting. Since I started blogging I'm adding more books to my wish list than I could ever read in a lifetime!

Dorte H sagde ...

Yes, that is certainly the danger of it. Besides, I spend so much time reading & commenting on other people´s blogs instead of reading the blasted books :)

Now my holiday is over, I think I have to restrict my blogging a bit.