DJ´s Bait in the Box # 35

[This charming tin belongs to Elizabeth, Thoughts from an Evil Overlord]

The first in a not quite new British series which was made into a TV series some years ago.

“Minor who has run away from home?” Anna asked resignedly.
“Not so fast, young lady,” Brierly said reproachfully. “No, actually it is not a minor. The daughter in question was 22, and has not disappeared but is dead. And she has been so for a month. She had a car accident late one night and hit a concrete column. At Cranford Lane, near the airport.”

The Rules:
If you recognize the quotation, or if you think you are able to guess who wrote it, please post a comment. Just leave a hint, do not spoil the fun by giving too much away. The book will be reviewed on Friday as usual.

Gæt en bog # 35.
Den første i en ikke helt ny britisk serie, som blev oversat til dansk og endda vist på dansk TV for nogle år siden.

”Mindreårig der er løbet hjemmefra?” spurgte Anna resigneret.
”Nu ikke så hurtig, unge dame,” sagde Brierly bebrejdende. ”Nej, rent faktisk er der ikke nogen mindreårig. Den datter, det drejer sig om, var 22, og er ikke forsvundet, men død. Og det har hun været en måned. Hun kørte galt en sen aften og ramte en betonpille. På Cranford Lane, ude ved lufthavnen.”

Reglerne:
Hvis du kan genkende citatet, eller hvis du tror du kan gætte hvem forfatteren er, så læg venligst en kommentar. Skriv bare et hint til nye besøgende, lad være med at ødelægge fornøjelsen for andre. Bogen bliver anmeldt på fredag som sædvanlig.

A for Anemone

Jeg så denne bogstavleg hos Petunia i går og bestemte mig straks for at melde mig til.

Reglerne:
Hver uge får deltagerne et nyt bogstav. De skal så blogge om bogstavet i ord eller billeder.









I saw this alphabet game yesterday and immediately decided to try it.

The rules:
Every week we get a new letter to blog about in words or pictures.

Louise Penny, Still Life (2005)

[Denne serie er ikke oversat til dansk]

This Canadian novel is Louise Penny´s debut, and the first in the cozy Armand Gamache series.

The story takes place in the village of Three Pines. “Three Pines wasn´t on any tourist map, being too far off any main or even secondary road. Like Narnia, it was generally found unexpectedly and with a degree of surprise that such an elderly village should have been hiding in this valley all along. Anyone fortunate enough to find it once usually found their way back.”

But one day evil strikes in this little paradise, first when young hoodlums assault the queer owners of the local Bistro, later when 76-year-old Jane Neal, retired teacher and amateur painter, is killed. The villagers are shocked, and even more so when they realized their dear friend must have been murdered because she had decided to invite them all into her home for the first time ever.

No more about the plot, but Penny deserves much praise for a well-arranged plot teeming with old secrets and a number of rather convincing villagers, for better or worse.

The protagonist is Chief Inspector Armand Gamache, happily married, very successful in his career and a great judge of character. And here comes my only problem with Penny´s series: Gamache is simply too good, kind and forgiving to be true, and his nasty little piece of an agent, Yvette Nichols, is too stupid, unpleasant and persistently loathsome.

Will I read more? Yes, certainly – keeping my fingers crossed that one day Louise Penny will make Gamache as credible as her other characters.

See my review of the third in the series, The Cruellest Month.

The Red Shoes - Scene 1

I. Elvira Flake took a quiet stroll in the dark, rainy night. She ought to go to bed; it was late and she was in for another long day tomorrow. She needed to digest the official convention dinner plus she had several things to think through, and she preferred to do so before she crawled into her comfortable hotel bed. She was determined that she would make a decision before she returned home on Sunday: should she continue her well-paid, respectable life as the headmistress of Much Boredom Girls´ School in the vicinity of St Mary Neat, or should she plunge into her secret life here in London? Lots of pleasures and excitement, but absolutely no safety net.

------------------------------------

As I plan to publish this story in an anthology soon, I have taken the online version down.

Dorte Hummelshøj Jakobsen.

Impending Louise Penny

As I warned you beforehand, I am not ready for a review today, but of course you deserve the solution to Wednesday´s Bait in the Box.

The book in question is Louise Penny, Still Life, the author´s debut from 2005, and the first in the Armand Gamache series.


Tomorrow´s post: there may be news about The Red Shoes.

Jo Nesbø, Headhunterne (2008)

- mens vi venter på Harry Hole.

Hovedpersonen i Nesbøs enkeltstående krimi er Roger Brown, Norges bedste headhunter, og også en ganske dygtig kunsttyv. Hans velafprøvede koncept går ud på, at når han interviewer kandidater til sine topposter, fletter han nogle spørgsmål ind om, hvilken kunst de har på væggene. Det fungerer rigtig fint, indtil han møder en ny klient, hollænderen Clas Greve, som også er en mester indenfor sit felt.

Roger Brown som har alt, inklusiv en smuk, højtelsket hustru, men desværre også et stort overforbrug af penge, træffer nogle forkerte valg i sit forsøg på at redde økonomien og holde på hustruen, og selvfølgelig følger der en katastrofal nedtur.

Historien er for så vidt underholdende nok, men efter en række fremragende politikrimier med personligheden Harry Hole, virker Brown som lidt af en overfladisk letvægter. Der skal også trækkes et point fra for et par uoverbevisende detaljer: en ellers intelligent forbryder på flugt bruger sin mobil uden at tænke på, at den kan spores, og retsmedicineren står ikke ligefrem til forfremmelse.

Bogen kan på mange måder sammenlignes med Caroline Minuscule, Andrew Taylors debut fra 1982 om den charmerende svindler William Dougal, og de kommer begge indenfor kategorien ´hvem tager røven på hvem´.

Jo Nesbø, The Headhunters.
Norwegian art crime - while we are waiting for Harry Hole.

This stand-alone has not been translated into English yet. The main character Roger Brown, is Norway´s most successful headhunter, and also an efficient art thief. His concept is as follows: while interviewing the candidates for his top posts, he includes some questions about which paintings they have on their walls. Everything works very well until he meets a new client, the Dutchman Clas Greve, who is also an expert within his own field.

Roger Brown who has everything, including a beautiful, beloved wife, but unfortunately also a massive consumption of money, makes some wrong choices in his effort to keep his house and his wife. The down trip is inevitable.

The story is rather entertaining, but after a number of brilliant police procedurals with Harry Hole, Brown seems like a superficial lightweight. A point must also be deducted for a couple of unconvincing details: an otherwise brilliant criminal on the run uses his mobile phone without thinking of how easily it can be traced, and the forensic examiner is not exactly in for promotion.

In many ways the book may be compared to Caroline Minuscule, Andrew Taylor´s debut from 1982 with the charming conman William Dougal, and they both belong to the category ´who fools whom´.

DJ´s Bait in the Box # 34

[Denne bog er ikke oversat til dansk]

This debut is from a non-European country.

“Miss Jane Neal met her maker in the early morning mist of Thanksgiving Sunday. It was pretty much a surprise all round. Miss Neal´s was not a natural death, unless you´re of the belief everything happens as it´s supposed to. If so, for her seventy-six years Jane Neal had been walking towards this final moment when death met her in the brilliant maple woods on the verge of the village … She´d fallen spread-eagled, as though making angels in the bright and brittle leaves.”

The Rules:
If you recognize the quotation, or if you think you are able to guess who wrote it, please post a comment. Just leave a hint, do not spoil the fun by giving too much away. The book will be reviewed during the weekend (my life permitting).

Enid Blyton, Crime for Beginners

Sidste uge så jeg et dejligt blog-indlæg med en række skønne gamle De 5-bøger (min allerførste krimiserie). Jeg opdagede, at de svenske og norske havde samme illustrator, og lovede "Snowflakes in Rain" at bringe et billede af nogle af mine egne.

Fra venstre:
Fem på nye eventyr (norsk, 1958)
De 5 og kidnapperne (min ældste danske, 1964)
De 5 på skatteøen (den nyere danske serie, hvor personerne ligner skuespillerne, 1997).


Last week I saw a nice blog post with some great old books from Enid Blyton´s Five series (my very first crime fiction series). I promised "Snowflakes in Rain" that I would bring a photo of some of my own.

From left to right:
Fem på nye eventyr (Norwegian, 1958)
De 5 og kidnapperne (my oldest Danish copy, 1964)
De 5 på skatteøen (the new Danish series - the characters resemble the Danish actors, 1997).

The Red Shoes

I know, I know. I should be reading & reviewing. Honestly, I am. 100 pages more, and there will be a review for you.

But look at these delicious shoes – they are simply shouting for a story, aren´t they? (They are my daughter´s, but at least she let me take a picture).

Where might that story take place?
When?
Whom do they belong to?
Who are the main characters?
What is going to happen to them? (characters or shoes – that is entirely up to you)

Write a comment with your ideas for a story called The Red Shoes, and I shall try to include some of them in my next flash fiction story.

DJ´s Flash Fiction Workshop

I have just created a new blog, a workshop where I can publish my flash fiction stories ´secretly´ as literary magazines generally ask for unpublished texts.

If you would like to follow my stories, please send me an email and I will give you access to the blog. There are no obligations, of course, but I always appreciate the comments and feedback I get.

My mail address: do.hu.ja (at) mail.tele.dk

And of course you will find the first part of a story waiting for you: Sparrow Among Hawks.

Find Holger

Har du lagt mærke til, at i mange krimier figurerer der en original, en person (oftest mandlig), som på en eller anden måde er anderledes; et let offer som uundgåeligt havner på listen over mistænkte?

Her er et udvalg fra min 2009-liste:
Inger Frimansson, De nøgne kvinders ø: Udviklingshæmmede Adam

Camilla Läckberg, Stenhuggeren: Morgan, Aspergers syndrom

Karin Fossum, Se dig ikke tilbage: Raymond, mongol

Martin Edwards, The Coffin Trail: Barrie, Aspergers syndrom

Stieg Larssons trilogi; Lisbeth Salander med Asperger-træk.

Hvilke bøger har du læst, hvor en af de mistænkte er mentalt udviklingshæmmet?
Har du lagt mærke til, at Aspergers syndrom er ´kommet på mode´?

Odd Man out.
Have you noticed that in many crime stories there is an ´oddball´, a person (usually male) who is different somehow, an easy target who is almost inevitably one of the suspects?

From my own reading list of 2009:
Inger Frimansson, Island of the Naked Women: Adam, mentally retarded

Camilla Läckberg, The Stone Cutter: Morgan, Asperger´s Syndrome

Karin Fossum, Don´t Look Back: Raymond, Down´s Syndrome

Martin Edwards, The Coffin Trail: Barrie, Asperger´s Syndrome

Stieg Larsson´s trilogy: Lisbeth Salander, Asperger´s Syndrome

Which novels have you read where one of the suspects is mentally deficient somehow?
Have you noticed that Asperger´s Syndrome seems to be ´in´ these years?

"Awarded" and "Gifted"

It all began Tuesday, when Bernadette, Reactions to Reading sent a mail to tell me I had won Clare Langley-Hawthorne, Consequences of Sin.

Wednesday Norman, Crime Scraps told me I had won two books for my joint second place in his fiendish quizzes (an achievement I am quite proud of).

Today, Saturday, I received a mail from Beth Fish, telling me I had won Thomas Randall, Dreams of the Dead and New Stories from the South 2009 (a brand new anthology of short stories).

Besides, I have received no less than two blog awards today:

One Lovely Blog Award from Kerrie, Mysteries in Paradise








Splashed and Lovely Award from Margot, Confessions of a Mystery Writer (a blog I have only discovered recently - remember to take a look at her interesting and informative blog).

THANK YOU SO MUCH EVERYBODY
YOU HAVE MADE MY WEEK!

Inger Frimansson, De nøgne kvinders ø (2008)

Denne psykologiske thriller er den svenske forfatters niende bog.

Forfatteren Tobias Elmkvist vender tilbage til sit barndomshjem for at hjælpe sin far, som har været ude for en ulykke, med det lille, gammeldags landbrug. Det er ikke let at vende tilbage, og Tobias føler sig utilpas og kejtet sammen med sin bryske far, hans langt yngre kæreste Sabina, hendes udviklingshæmmede søn og den temmelig aggressive medhjælp, Hardy.

Bogens titel hentyder til Skamøen, den lille ø hvor Tobias´ far lader sine stude græsse om sommeren, men hvor man i gamle dage sejlede utugtige kvinder ud som straf, i hvert fald hvis man skal tro Hardy. Bogen byder på en fin skildring af miljøet i det nære samfund, hvor alle ved, hvad alle andre går og foretager sig, næsten før de selv har besluttet sig. Desuden antyder titlen et gennemgående tema i bogen: mænd, som føler sig forladt og svigtet af deres koner, og måske ønsker sig tilbage til en tid, hvor de ikke behøvede kæmpe for parforholdet, fordi kvinden var afhængig af sin forsørger.

I dette på mange måder dystre og truende miljø, befolket med stejle og temperamentsfulde personer, lægges der hurtigt op til drama. Tobias Elmkvist foretager sit første, ´lille´ fejltrin, vælger den dårligst tænkelige løsning på sine problemer og forsøger bagefter at vende tilbage til sin trygge forfattertilværelse i Stokholm, men snebolden er begyndt at rulle, og tilsyneladende er der ikke noget, som kan standse den uundgåelige nedtur.

Godt skruet sammen, men selv om man som læser ikke kan gætte præcist hvordan, står det hurtigt lidt for klart, at alt vil gå galt for Tobias. Desuden er den noget selvoptagne forfatter ikke ligefrem en hovedperson, læseren føler stor sympati for. Underholdende, men hurtigt læst spændingsroman af Frimanssons sædvanlige, dystopiske slags.

Inger Frimansson, Island of the Naked Women (2009).
This psychological thriller is the third book (out of nine) by the Swedish writer which has been translated into English.

The writer Tobias Elmkvist returns to his childhood home to help his father, who has had an accident, on his small, traditional farm. It is not easy to return to the country, and Tobias feels ill at ease and inadequate together with his blunt father, the father´s much younger partner, Sabina, her mentally handicapped son, and the oddly aggressive farmhand, Hardy.

The title of the book refers to “Shame Island” where Tobias´ father lets his cattle graze during the summer, but where immoral women were left in the past - if one is to believe Hardy. The book offers a fine depiction of the local environment where everybody knows everybody else´s business. Furthermore the title suggests a recurrent theme of the book: men who feel deserted by their wives and who may want to return to a time when they did not have to work for the relationship because women depended on their breadwinners.

In this quite sinister and threatening environment, populated by unyielding, temperamental characters, the scene is set for drama. Tobias Elmkvist makes his first ´small´ slip, chooses the worst solution to his problems and tries to return to his safe existence in Stockholm, but the snowball has begun gathering speed and nothing will stop his comedown.

Well turned out, but even though the reader may not be able to guess exactly how, it is soon clear that Tobias´ downfall is inevitable. Besides, the somewhat self-centred author is not exactly a character the reader feels sympathy for. An entertaining, but fast read of Frimansson´s usual dystopian kind.

Look here for a fine and thorough review in English: Maxine on EuroCrime

BBAW Friday - goals.

Goals for my blog - the very brief version:

1) what I love about my blog: first of all, I have found so many amazing book bloggers.
Second, I enjoy my crime fiction reading even more than before.

2) my overall aim: trying to bring great readers in touch with great books.

DJ´s Bait in the Box SPECIAL - the answers.

Here are the answers to Wednesday´s Bait in the Box:

1) Agatha Christie, A Caribbean Mystery, British.
Agatha Christie, Det caribiske mysterium, britisk.

2) Inger Frimansson, Island of the Naked Women, Swedish
Inger Frimansson, De nøgne kvinders ø, svensk.
Reviewed later today - anmeldes senere i dag!

3) Megan Abbott, Bury Me Deep, American. Ikke oversat.

4) Jo Nesbø, Nemesis, Norwegian.
Jo Nesbø, Sorgenfri, norsk.

5) Leah Giarratano, Black Ice, Australian. Ikke oversat.

BBAW Thursday

Book Blogger Appreciation Week:

Today we encourage you to blog about a book you read only because you discovered it on another book blog. Preferably, this will be a book you loved! You might also write a bit about the blog you discovered it on!

Back in July I wrote a post about all the new authors I had discovered because other bloggers had recommended them – and how much I had enjoyed all my finds.

So today I will only mention my most recent book blog find: Elizabeth Spann Craig, Pretty Is as Pretty Dies, American cozy mystery published in 2009. I think I discovered Elizabeth´s appealing and always well-written blog, Mystery Writing is Murder, through a comment she left on Martin Edwards´ Do You Write Under Your Own Name.

To be quite precise, I had been looking at the funny and pretty cover more than once before my daughter took one look at it and suggested I buy it. I did, and had the pleasure of reading a truly cozy mystery.


NB: last night I was tampering with my blog roll (adding yet another interesting blog), and suddenly I pressed the wrong button – losing the entire roll!
It will take me some days to dig you all up again, but if you are one of my crime fiction friend (I have my other blogs somewhere else) and think I may have forgotten you, just send me a comment and I will add you immediately.

DJ´s Bait in the Box SPECIAL

[The bait box: a variety of Danish ´cookies´ from DJ´s kitchen]

First, a warm welcome to a handful of new followers! My Bait in the Box has been a weekly feature (a guessing game) since January. Some weeks the quotation has been very easy, other weeks even addicted crime fiction fans have torn their hair out in sheer desperation.

So to give as many readers as possible a fair chance this week, here are five different quotations: an Australian, a British, an American, a Swedish and a Norwegian – all from crime novels (but not necessarily in this order). On Friday, I am going to post the correct answers and review one of the books.

1) Though really rural life was far from idyllic. People like Raymond were so ignorant. In the course of her duties in a country parish, NN had acquired quite a comprehensive knowledge of the facts of rural life. She had no urge to talk about them, far less to write about them – but she knew them. Plenty of sex, natural and unnatural. Rape, incest, perversions of all kinds. (Some kinds, indeed, that even the clever young men from Oxford who wrote books didn´t seem to have heard about.)

2) The screwdriver in his hand, the short yellow handle,
The screwdriver in his
hacking
hand.
How it sank like into butter, how it gurgled and broke
And was quiet.

3) Thrill parties every night over on Hussel Street. That tiny house, why, it´s 600 square feet of percolating, Wurlitzering sin. Those girls with their young skin, tight and glamorous, their rimy lungs and scratchy voices, one cheek flush and c´mon boys and the other, so accommodating, even with lil´ wrists and ankles stripped to pearly bone by sickness. They lay there on their daybed, men all standing over round, fingering pocket chains and hands curled about gin bottle necks.

4) In that moment the door to the bank opened, and two men, a tall and a short one, dressed in similar, dark boiler suits, quickly went into the bank. Stine Grette looked up. Harry looked at his own watch and started counting. The men rushed to the corner where Stine was sitting…
“Hello” the tall one said to Stine and put a black suitcase on the counter with a thump.

5) Seren ignored the sting of the fly sucking blood from her ankle. She pushed her lips into the salty skin of her knees, pressing the sobs back behind her teeth. This is the last night, she told herself. The last night with her back to the wall, shrunk into the corner, praying for morning. Whatever happened tonight, it would be the last time she slept with the lice scrabbling for purchase on her near-shaved scalp, and nesting in her pubic hair.

The Rules:
If you know the author or title, or if you can guess the time or place of one of these books, please leave a hint only – do not spoil the fun by giving away too much. You could also try to guess which nationality the quotations come from.


DJs Gæt en Bog SPECIAL # 33.

Først en varm velkomst til en håndfuld nye blog-læsere! "Gæt en bog" er en ugentlig gætteleg, jeg har kørt siden januar. Nogle uger har citaterne været lette, andre uger har selv forhærdede krimifans revet håret ud i ren desperation.

Så for at give så mange læsere som mulig en chance denne uge, bringer jeg fem forskellige citater: et australsk, et britisk, et amerikansk, et svensk og et norsk – alle fra krimiromaner (men ikke nødvendigvis i den samme rækkefølge). På fredag kommer de korrekte svar, og en anmeldelse af én af bøgerne.

1) Skønt tilværelsen på landet så sandelig var alt andet end den rene idyl. Folk som Raymond var fuldkommen uvidende om de faktiske forhold. Under sit mangeårige virke i et lille landsogn havde NN erhvervet en temmelig omfattende og konkret viden om tilværelsen på landet. Hun følte ingen trang til at tale om denne viden, og endnu mindre til at skrive om den – men hun vidste god besked. Masser af sex, både naturlig og unaturlig. Voldtægt, blodskam, perversiteter af enhver art. (Deriblandt også nogle, som selv de boglærde unge mænd fra Oxford ikke syntes at have hørt om.)

2) Skruetrækkeren i hans hånd, det korte gule skaft,
Skruetrækkeren i hans
Huggende
Hånd.
Hvordan den sank som i smør, hvordan det gurglede og knækkede
Og blev stille.

3) Øh, et godt citat på engelsk er nok bedre end en tåget oversættelse til dansk …

4) I samme øjeblik gik døren til bankfilialen op, og to mænd, en høj og en lille, klædt i ens, mørke kedeldragter, gik hurtigt ind i banken. Stine Grette så op. Harry kiggede på sit eget ur og begyndte at tælle. Mændene styrtede hen til hjørnet, hvor Stine sad. …
”Hej,” sagde den høje til Stine og gik hen og satte en sort kuffert på skranken med et dunk.”

5) Seren ignorede smerten fra fluen, som sugede blod fra hendes ankel. Hun pressede læberne mod den salte hud på sine knæ, mens hun klemte en hulken inde bag tænderne. Det her er den sidste aften, sagde hun til sig selv. Den sidste aften med muren mod ryggen, sammenkrøbet i hjørnet, mens hun bad om at det måtte blive morgen. Uanset hvad der skete i aften, ville det være sidste gang hun sov sammen med lusene, som rodede rundt efter bid på hendes næsten barberede hovedbund, og hyggede sig i hendes kønsbehåring.

Reglerne:
Hvis du kender forfatteren eller titlen, eller hvis du kan gætte periode eller sted for en eller flere af bøgerne, så læg venligst en kommentar. Skriv bare et hint – lad være med at ødelægge fornøjelsen for nye besøgende. Du kan også bare prøve at gætte, hvilket land hvert citat stammer fra.

Book Blogger Appreciation Week

The great BBAW week is here!

What I should have written yesterday if I had been up to blogging, was a post “thanking and spotlighting your favourite blogs that didn´t make the shortlists.”

I like the idea, and I have enjoyed several fine and generous recommendations of blogs on my round today (yes, I even came across my own blog once or twice – much appreciated!)

So here we go: MEET MY FAVOURITES!
1) take a look at the ever-growing blog roll here on DJ´s Krimiblog – sixty fantastic blogs, mainly crime-fiction related.

My all-time favourite is not a blog but my Crime and Mystery Fiction FriendFeed – where crime fiction fans meet. Warning: highly addictive!

2) my second blog roll is Scandinavian – a mix of crime & other genres, reviewed in a Scandinavian language.

3) my third blog roll is mainly British & American book blogs – not so much crime, but wonderful blogs nonetheless.

Camilla Läckberg, Stenhuggaren (2005)

Den tredje i serien om Patrik Hedström og Erica Falck – læst på svensk.

En hummerfisker får sit livs chok, da han haler hummertejnerne op uden for Fjällbacka: dagens sidste tejne indeholder liget af en lille pige.

Patrik og Erica har set frem til at nyde tilværelsen som en rigtig, lille familie, men Maja sover næsten aldrig, og Erica er tydeligvis på randen af en depression. Desuden viser det sig, at den døde pige er datter af en af Ericas bekendte, Charlotte, som har en baby på alder med Maja.

For Erica bliver dødsfaldet en lejlighed til at komme lidt hjemmefra og engagere sig i noget andet end sit eget, personlige babyhelvede: hun ser, at Charlotte har det værre end hende selv og virkelig trænger til hjælp. Charlotte er ganske vist omgivet af familie, men har alligevel hårdt brug for en udenforståendes sympati.

Som titlen antyder, er der en ældre sidehistorie om en stenhugger, en fattig men talentfuld ung mand, som forelsker sig i datteren af stenbruddets ejer, et grænseløst forkælet enebarn. Desværre er denne tråd lidt unuanceret, en romantisk historie med personer, som fremtræder irriterende sort-hvide.

Ud over det hyggelige gensyn med Patrik og Erica, leverer Läckberg dog i det store og hele en god krimihistorie med et spændende plot og et par solide overraskelser i de sidste kapitler.

Camilla Läckberg, The Stone Cutter (2009)
This is the third novel in her series about Patrik Hedström and Erica Falck. It should be on its way to English readers very soon.

A lobster fisherman gets the shock of his life when he pulls his lobster pots out of the water near Fjällbacka: the last pot contains the body of a little girl.

Patrik and Erica have been looking forward to being a real family, but newborn Maja hardly ever sleeps, and Erica is clearly on the verge of a depression. Furthermore it turns out that the dead girl is the daughter of one of Erica´s acquaintances, Charlotte, who has a baby the same age as Maja.

For Erica the death gives her an opportunity to get away from home and engage in something else than her own, personal baby hell: she can see that Charlotte fares worse than herself and really needs help. Charlotte may be surrounded by family, yet she really needs sympathy from a third party.

As the title suggest there is an older side story about a stone cutter, a poor but talented young man who falls in love with the daughter of the owner of the quarry, a hopelessly spoilt only child. Unfortunately this thread is a bit one-sided, a romantic story with characters who appear annoyingly black-and-white.

On the whole, Läckberg delivers an exciting crime story, however, including a cozy reunion with Patrik and Erica, plus some solid surprises in the final chapters.

A Nightly Burger II

See part I here.

The full story is for sale in DJ´s Daim Stories: Candied Crime

Elizabeth Spann Craig, Pretty is as Pretty Dies (2009)

[Denne underholdende krimi er desværre ikke oversat til dansk]

As the first novel in this American series is out of print, I had to settle for the second so this is my very first impression of Myrtle Clover, an octogenarian protagonist:

“An unwelcome glimpse of herself in a shiny, copper kitchen pot revealed an Einstein-like image scowling back at her. She patted down her wispy poof of hair into a semblance of order and squinted at the rooster clock hanging on her kitchen wall.”

Myrtle Clover is just one of many victims of Parke Stockard, busybody and pocket dictator, who seems to be taking over everything from the flower arrangements of the church to the columns of the Bradley Bugle. As if that isn´t enough, the woman openly flaunts her beauty! She shouldn´t have done that, and of course she does not live to regret it.

Myrtle, a retired teacher and the mother of the local police chief, may seem a tiny bit on the bossy side herself. Retirement in sleepy Bradley is so boring that she has to stick her nose in everything criminal going on, keen on beating her son to solving the murder - and proving she is not rest home material yet.

In an effort to keep Myrtle peacefully preoccupied, her son signs her up for voluntary work in the church. Furious, she pays back immediately by dragging out her large army of ceramic gnomes, displaying them in the front yard, a real eyesore to her son and daughter-in-law who live across the street.

If you like your mysteries cozy, you´ll love the small-town environment, laugh at the committee ladies and recognize their ridiculous squabbles along with Myrtle´s merciless murder-hunt.

A Nightly Burger I

”Are you a burger?”

My head nearly hit the roof beams. A little boy in pajamas, holding a threadbare, one-eyed teddy in his arms, materialized right behind me. Where on earth did he come from? And why hadn´t I heard him?

“Am I a what?”

“A burger! I thought p´raps you were burgering the house. Then I would have to wake up my daddy, wouldn´t I, and he would be SO cross!”

“Course I´m not a burglar. I´m … Well, I am working here.”

“Doing what?” He cocked his head and scrutinized me from head to foot while searching for something up his nose.

“Eh, that´s not so easy to explain.” I fiddled with the silverware and picked a few items which I put into my bag. If that boy had a proper mother she would surely see to it that he went to bed at night and stayed there!

Apparently he didn´t know when his company was unwanted. He climbed onto a chair so it was easier for him to see what I was doing in the top drawer of his parents´ antique bureau. “What are you going to do with them?”

“Oh, won´t you just shut up?”

”Why?” He didn´t look the least offended, just genuinely curious.

”Oh, because … well, because you´ll wake up your daddy, and he will be cross, won´t he?” A brilliant idea I had there. As you may have guessed, children are not really my thing. What did one do with them? Should I tie and gag him, or could I bump him on the head? Run off? Give up the whole blasted business for tonight?

He was quiet for a few moments, then he began whispering with his teddy. “Teddy says he thinks you are a teorist.”

“Of course I am not a terrorist, silly. What on earth makes you say that?” A drop of nervous sweat slowly trickled its way down my spine.

“Teddy says! Teddy says terrarists wear gloves and those tight things over their heads.” He held Teddy up in front of him as if trying to hide behind the ugly thing.

“Oh come off it. Where is my bomb if I am a terrorist?” I was quite impressed by my own logic in a tight spot. Perhaps I could still worm my way out of this fix.

To be continued on Saturday - my computer permitting.

World Wide Competition

CLOSED
When I have had 10,000 guests on my blog, I want to celebrate with a giveaway.
The current number is 9,630, and I expect the competition to end in around a week.

The Rules

New readers:
1) write a comment on my blog & leave your e-mail address (substitute @ with at) – 1 chance

2) begin following my blog – 1 chance

Older readers:
1) leave your e-mail address if you followed me before September – 2 chances

2) remind me if you have left comments before – 1 chance

Everybody:
3) blog or tweet about my competition (and tell me in a mail) – 1 chance

4) Guest no 10,000 – 2 chances (if you remember to leave a comment)


The Prize

European participants:
Choose between a new copy of Len Tyler, The Herring Seller´s Apprentice
Or an Amazon giftcard, value of 10 dollars, if you have read Tyler´s great mystery.

Participants outside Europe:
Win an Amazon giftcard of 10 dollars.

The competition has ended Tuesday evening: tomorrow I will draw a random winner who will be notified by e-mail.

DJ´s Bait in the Box # 32

[The cute box is a flickr photo]

I know, I know. This non-European crime story has not been translated into Danish, it is probably too new and totally unfair for my weekly game. But read the quotation, enjoy it, and if you can´t guess, wait and see what it is on Friday.

“Waking up in her pink satin sheets that morning, she´d mulled over spreading malevolent gossip about a local politician. While brushing her model-quality blonde hair, she´d concocted some nastiness for her unlucky neighbors. And, when driving her champagne-colored BMW convertible to church, she made a fateful, threatening phone call that started her day on its slippery slope.

If Parke had – for once – rejected her baser instincts, she´d still be happily dreaming up devilment this very day. If she´d only listened to the good Parke buried deep in the nether regions of her murky conscience. Or had second thoughts and remembered she was on her way to church. But she didn´t and the stage was set for murder in the sanctuary.”

The Rules:
If you recognize the quotation, or if you think you are able to guess who wrote it, please post a comment. Just leave a hint, do not spoil the fun by giving too much away. The book will be reviewed on Friday as usual.

Ævar Örn Josepsson, Uden synd (2008)

Dette er den islandske forfatters anden krimi, og den foregår i Reykjavik.

Jeg har virkelig givet Jósepssons bog en chance. Jeg har læst de første 100 sider, men nej, jeg tror stadig ikke på, at en halv-forsumpet alkoholiker får lov at sidde død i sin lejlighed i over et år. Manden har to voksne børn, en nabo som kigger ind af og til (for at nasse sig til sprut), og er aktiv som en slags frivillig elektriker i en kristen sekt. Nogen ville rent bogstaveligt have lugtet sig frem til liget efter nogle dage og uger. Desuden har hans fjernsyn kørt uafbrudt, og lyset har været tændt.

Hvem har betalt lys, varme og husleje? Hvem har hævet hans pension? Og så videre.

Men hvis personerne og plottet fængede, så havde jeg sikkert gladelig slugt den, selv om jeg aldrig har troet på denne præmis. Det gør de bare ikke. Medlemmerne af sekten er selvoptagne og vamle, politiet er vrantne, og mordet på den irriterende, drikkende, prækende Ólafur interesser mig ikke rigtigt. Det er bare for nemt at slå sådan en person ihjel, som ingen gør sig den ulejlighed at savne.

Som sidste udvej har jeg endda forsøgt at læse de sidste sider. Jeg skal nok lade være at røbe noget – lige bortset fra, at de var mere forvirrende end fængende.

Ævar Örn Jósepsson, Without Sin.
The works of this Icelandic author have not been translated into English. “Without Sin” is his second crime story.

I have really given this book a fair chance. I have read the first one hundred pages, but no, I still don´t believe that a half-seedy alcoholic could lie dead in his Reykjavik flat for more than a year. The victim has two adult children, a neighbour who visits him occasionally (to scrounge booze), and he does voluntary work for a Christian sect. Someone would certainly have ´smelled the rat´ after some days or weeks. Besides his TV and his light have been on all that time.

Who has paid for the light, heating, rent? Who has withdrawn his pension? Etc.

But if the characters and the plot were engaging, I would probably have read on, despite my incredibility. But they aren´t. The members of the sect are self-centred and repellent, the policemen are grumpy, and the murder of annoying, drinking, preaching Ólafur does not really interest me. It is too easy to kill someone off that no one is going to miss anyway.

As a last resort I even tried to read the last pages. I won´t spoil anything – apart from their leaving me more confused than thrilled.

Susan Hill, The Pure in the Heart (2005)

Warning: this lukewarm review may be seen as a spoiler!

This is volume two in the Serrailler series. Simon Serrailler is on one of his recurrent holidays in Venice to practice the art of drawing, harassed by the thought of Freya Graffham, his colleague who was killed by a serial killer when she – perhaps – was on the way to become more than a workmate to him. Serailler, the sensitive and artistic cop, is not good at close relationships, however.

At the beginning of the story Andy Gunton is released from prison, convinced that he has seen the last of that place, yet in a panic over returning to freedom after four predictable year, and soon after David Angus, a little schoolboy, is picked up by a stranger instead of the father of his classmate.

Initially, the plot seems promising, with appealing characters, but the last hundred pages or so were a disappointment as Hill spends so much time on Simon´s private problems (which are not even solved), cheating the reader of a satisfying solution to the main crime.

Susan Hill, De rene af hjertet (2009).
Advarsel: denne lunkne anmeldelse kan måske siges at indeholde en spoiler.

Bind to i serien om Simon Serrailler. Simon Serrailler er af sted på en af sine tilbagevendende ferier for at tegne i Venedig, plaget ved tanken om Freya Graffham, hans kollega, som blev dræbt af en seriemorder, netop som hun – måske – var på vej til at blive mere end en arbejdspartner for ham. Serrailler, som er den følsomme, kunstneriske strisser, har imidlertid ikke nemt ved at knytte sig til en kvinde.

Ved bogens start bliver Andy Gunton løsladt fra fængslet, overbevist om at det er for altid, men samtidig i panik over at skulle ud i verden efter fire forudsigelige og overskuelige år, og kort efter bliver David Angus, en lille skoledreng, samlet op af en fremmed i stedet for sin klassekammerats far.

Historien begynder lovende, med udmærkede personskildringer, men de sidste hundrede sider var efter min mening skuffende, fordi Hill bruger for meget plads på Simon Serraillers private problemer (som såmænd heller ikke bliver løst), og snyder læseren for en tilfredssluttende slutning.

Sunday´s Special - An Award!

Zombie Chicken Award.

Oh, an award! Thank you very much, Sherrie of “Just Books” for sending this cool and special award my way!

"The blogger who receives this award believes in the Tao of the zombie chicken-- excellence, grace, and persistence in all situations, even in the midst of a zombie apocalypse. These amazing bloggers regularly produce content so remarkable that their readers would brave a raving pack of zombie chickens just to be able to read their inspiring words. As a recipient of this world-renowned award, you now have the task of passing it on to at least 5 other worthy bloggers. Do not risk the wrath of the zombie chickens by choosing unwisely or not choosing at all."

Who would ever consider the wrath of the zombie chickens? Especially as I knew immediately where to send THIS ONE.

My five nominees

1) Tales from the 62 Bus
2) Chuffed of Glasgow
3) In Which Your Usually Laid Back Blogger Gets Irate
4) Sorry hen, it´s just ma wee snake
5) A Brief Photographic Interlude

(Do you think the zombie chicken will ever realize that I cheated just a wee bit?)

Salander Sunday

Film review: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Swedish DVD with Scandinavian subtitles.

An elderly man receives a mysterious parcel – a white flower in a frame. Immediately afterwards we meet Mikael Blomkvist in court where he receives his sentence for fraud and slandering, and next we see Lisbeth Salander in front of her computer, worming her way into Blomkvist´s life.

The first Stieg Larsson film has begun, and everybody leans back in the couch with mugs of coffee and plenty of candy on the table.

My husband´s opinion: Lisbeth Salander is a victim and she is tough, but she does not come across as someone with Asperger´s Syndrome. (He certainly has a point).

My opinion: a film version which is fairly loyal to Stieg Larsson´s story. Teeming with fine actors – an entertaining and appealing film, especially the scenes from Vanger´s little empire in Hedeby.

[And of course we watched it Saturday – but don´t tell anyone my news is old]


Salander-søndag.
Film-anmeldelse: Mænd som hader kvinder. Svensk DVD med skandinaviske undertekster.

En ældre mand modtager en mystisk pakke – en indrammet hvid blomst. Straks efter ser vi Mikael Blomkvist i retten, hvor han modtager sin dom for bagvaskelse, og derefter dukker Lisbeth Salander op foran sin computer, hvor hun er ved at hacke sig ind på Blomkvists liv.

Den første Stieg Larsson-film er begyndt, og vi læner os alle tilbage i sofaen med kaffe og masser af slik på bordet.

Min mands mening: Lisbeth Salander er et offer, og hun er skrap, men hun fremstår ikke som én med Aspergers syndrom. (Og det har han ret i).

Min mening: en film-version som er forholdsvis loyal over for Stieg Larssons historie. Den vrimler med gode skuespillerpræstationer – en underholdende og tiltalende film, især scenerne fra Vangers lille imperium i Hedeby.

[Og selvfølgelig så vi den lørdag aften – men lad være med at fortælle nogen, at jeg udsender gammelt nyt]

Ngaio Marsh, Death in a White Tie (1938)

This cozy mystery is a fine example of the Golden Age of crime (the 1920s and 30s). Though written by a New Zealander, the setting is London, and the novel gives a fine sense of the environment and the period.

To be totally honest, I reread this novel as part of a competition to win a book. On the other hand, why shouldn´t I, as I enjoyed reading Mrs Marsh´s mysteries years ago and own several of them.

The first lines which should give you an impression of the environment and the period:

“Roderick,” said Lady Alleyn, looking at her son over the top of her spectacles, “I am coming out.”

“Out?” repeated Chief Detective-Inspector Alleyn vaguely. “Out where, mama? Out of what?”

“Out in the world. Out of retirement. Out into the season. Out. Dear me,” she added confusedly, “how absurd a word becomes if one says it repeatedly. Out.”

Like Lord Peter Wimsey, Detective Inspector Alleyn of Scotland Yard is a handsome and charming, noble investigator, and he seems quite taken by the painter Agatha Troy. (Not quite his class, and as she has been involved in a criminal case, she is too proud to marry him, Dear Reader).

Alleyn is engaged in a case of blackmail among the upper circles in London at a time when scandals mattered. Soon the dead body of one of Alleyn´s friends appears in a taxi, however, making him even more determined to solve the case.

This 7th Alleyn story is vintage Marsh – strongly recommended for lovers of the classic, cozy mystery.

Ngaio Marsh, Døden i kjole og hvidt (1969).
Denne krimi, som først blev udgivet i 1938, er et fint eksempel på kriminalromanens guldalder (1920erne og 1930erne). Selv om forfatteren er New Zealænder, udspiller serien sig i London, og romanen giver et udmærket indblik i perioden og miljøet.

For at være ærlig, genlæste jeg den i et forsøg på at vinde en bog. På den anden side, hvorfor skulle jeg lade være, eftersom jeg nød Alleyn-serien meget, da jeg var yngre.

Ligesom Lord Peter Wimsey, er inspector Alleyn fra Scotland Yard en smuk og charmerende adelig detektiv, og han er stærkt interesseret i maleren Agatha Troy. (Hun er ikke helt af hans egen klasse, og eftersom hun har været indblandet i en kriminalsag, er hun for stolt til at gifte sig med ham).

Alleyn bliver engageret i en sag om pengeafpresning blandt de bedre kredse i London på en tid, hvor skandaler virkelig betød noget. Og snart efter bliver liget af en af Alleyns personlige venner fundet på bagsædet af en taxi, og naturligvis er han endnu mere opsat på at opklare sagen.

Den syvende Alleyn-krimi er en klassisk Ngaio Marsh – anbefales for tilhængere af den traditionelle, ´britiske´ hyggekrimi.

Karin Fossum, Se dig ikke tilbage (1999)

Denne krimi er Fossums tredje i serien om Konrad Sejer.

Seks-årige Ragnhild forsvinder på den korte vej mellem veninden Marthes hus og sit eget hjem. Det viser sig, at den underlige Raymond (som er mongol) har taget hende med hjem for at vise hende sine kaniner.

Kort efter finder politiet liget af en nøgen teenagepige ved en sø i netop samme bygd ”hvor vandet bare stod alt for stille.” Annie Holland var dygtig, vellidt og en rigtig sportspige, men familie, kæreste og venner har alle bemærket, at hun har forandret sig for nylig.

Konrad Sejer, kriminalbetjenten med de grå hår og den gamle hund Kollberg får ansvar for sagen sammen med den unge, uerfarne Jacob Skarre. De forstår hurtigt, at forbryderen skal søges i Annies nærmiljø, men det tager nogle runder før de sidder med nøglen til Annies hemmelighed og hendes død.

Karin Fossum har skrevet en veltilrettelagt, spændende politikrimi med et tiltalende, vedkommende makkerpar, man som læser glæder sig til at møde igen. Men samtidig er bogen en flot thriller om den stille bygd, som hurtigt bliver præget af mistænksomhed og frygt.

Krimi plus thriller af høj karat – Karin Fossum i fin form.


Karin Fossum, Don´t Look Back (2002)
Even though this novel is the third in the series, it is the first in English.

Six-year-old Ragnhild disappears on the short distance between her friend Marthe´s house and her own home. It turns out that the odd, young Raymond (who has Down´s Syndrome) has brought her home to show her his rabbits.

Soon after the police find the body of a naked teenage girl at a lake in the same village “where the water stood far too still” Annie Holland was a well liked, industrious sports girl, but family, boyfriend and friends had all noticed a marked change in her during her last year.

Konrad Sejer, the inspector with the grey hair and the old dog Kollberg, investigates the case together with young, inexperienced Jacob Skarre. They soon realize that the perpetrator must belong to Annie´s neighbourhood, but it takes some rounds until they have the key to Annie´s secret and her death.

Karin Fossum has written a well-planned, exciting police procedural with an appealing couple one looks forward to meeting again. At the same time the novel is a fine thriller about the quiet village which is soon ridden by suspicion and fear.

Crime cum thriller of high quality - Karin Fossum in great shape!

A Herring Seller´s Joke

[Murder? Oh, no, just your´s truly fixing her husband´s reading glasses]

I did not know before reading L.C. Tyler´s debut that he has lived in Denmark. He has, and he certainly remembers a thing or two.

In Tyler´s debut Elsie Thirkettle, the rather special literary agent, claims: “Danish sales won´t bring in much money. Scarcely worth my time to set the deal up. But they seem to think that that gloomy, brooding sod Fairfax will appeal to the Nordic reader.”

And the author Ethelred Tressider answers: “I wonder what they will call it in Danish,” … “Hr Fairfax´ fornemmelser for Datoer, possibly.”

Did you get the joke?

DJ´s Bait in the Box # 31

This crime novel/thriller is the third in the series, but the first which was translated into English. Do you remember this one?

He scratched his head. His hair was disheveled, and grew in thick clumps straight up from his head like the leaves of a pineapple. Now it looked even worse.

“I can drive you up there,” he said. “There´s room for the carriage in the back.”

Ragnhild thought for a moment. She stared up Skiferbakken, which was long and steep. The man pulled on the handbrake and glanced in the back of the van.

“Mama´s waiting for me,” Ragnhild said. A bell seemed to ring in the back of her mind, but she couldn´t remember what it was for.

“You´ll get home sooner if I drive you,” he said.

That decided it. Ragnhild was a practical little girl. She wheeled the carriage behind the van and the man hopped out. He opened the back door and lifted the carriage in with one hand.

The Rules:
If you recognize the quotation, or if you think you are able to guess who wrote it, please post a comment. Just leave a hint, do not spoil the fun by giving too much away. The book will be reviewed on Friday as usual.

Gæt en bog # 31.
Denne krimi/thriller er den tredje i serien. Kan du huske den?

Så kløede han sig i hovedet, hans hår var filtret, det voksede lige op i vejret i tykke totter ligesom bladene på en ananas. Nu blev det endnu værre.

- Jeg kan godt køre dig derop, sagde han så. – Der er plads til vognen bagi.

Ragnhild tænkte sig om et stykke tid. Hun stirrede op ad Skiferbakken, der var lang og anstrengende. Han trak håndbremsen og kiggede om bag i bilen.

- Mor venter på mig, sagde Ragnhild.

Der var noget, der ringede langt omme i baghovedet, men hun kunne ikke komme på det.
- Du kommer hurtigere hjem, hvis jeg kører dig, sagde han så.

Det afgjorde sagen. Ragnhild var en praktisk anlagt lille pige, hun trillede vognen om bag bilen, og chaufføren hoppede ud. Han åbnede bagdøren og løftede vognen ind med én hånd, og bagefter løftede han Ragnhild ind.

Reglerne:
Hvis du kan genkende citatet, eller hvis du tror du kan gætte hvem forfatteren er, så læg venligst en kommentar. Skriv bare et hint til nye besøgende, lad være med at ødelægge fornøjelsen for andre. Bogen bliver anmeldt på fredag som sædvanlig.

Agatha Christie, Sleeping Murder (1976)

This cosy mystery begins when young, newly married Gwenda Reed from New Zealand is house hunting in Britain. Before long she has bought the perfect village idyl and is busy decorating and gardening. But why does she feel she knows the house far too well? Gwenda grows scared and insecure but does not understand anything until she meets Miss Marple after a frightening theatre experience. A line from The Duchess of Malfi makes her remember a childhood experience which has been forgotten for eighteen years.

“´And then it happened – like a bolt from the blue – when he said those words - ´ She repeated them in a low, quivering voice: ´Cover her face – mine eyes dazzle – she died young.´

´Again I stood there on the stairs looking through the banister down the hall, and I saw her lying there. With her arms extended – dead.´”

Miss Marple explains to her that she must have stayed in the house as a child and fears that the murder which begins to resurface in Gwenda´s memory has really taken place. The young couple are ready to embark on a murder hunt, but is it such a good idea to try to solve a case where the murderer has felt safe for many years? Miss Marple makes up her mind to stay close just in case …

This may be Miss Marple´s last case, but the appealing old woman is in great shape. This is cozy crime with a good plot, interesting characters and a characteristic, British village environment. So there were many good reasons to pick this one up in the library – perhaps also because I feel indebted to Agatha Christie for the first part of my little story “The Visitor.”

Agatha Christie, Hun døde ung. Miss Marples sidste sag (1976)
Denne hyggelige og stemningsfulde krimi begynder med at unge, nygifte Gwenda Reed er på jagt efter det perfekte hus. Inden længe har hun købt den helt rigtige landsby-idyl og er i fuld gang med at indrette hus og have. Men hvordan kan det være, hun hele tiden føler, hun kender det hele lidt for godt? Gwenda bliver bange og usikker, men forstår ingenting, før hun møder Miss Marple efter en uhyggelig teateroplevelse. En replik fra Hertuginden af Malfi får hende til at huske en barndomsoplevelse, som har været gemt godt væk i atten år.

”´Og så kom det – som et lyn fra en klar himmel – da han sagde de ord -´ Hun gentog dem med sagte, dirrende stemme: ´Tildæk hendes ansigt – mine øjne blændes – hun døde ung.´

´Jeg stod igen dér på trappen og så gennem gelænderet ned i hall´en, og jeg så hende ligge dér. Med udbredte arme – død.´”

Miss Marple forklarer hende, at hun må have opholdt sig i huset som barn, og frygter at det mord, der så småt begynder at dukke op i Gwendas hukommelse, virkelig har fundet sted. Det unge par er straks klar til at kaste sig ud i en forbryderjagt, men er det nu så klogt at give sig til at opklare en sag, når morderen i mange år har følt sig sikker? Miss Marple beslutter sig i hvert fald for at holde sig lige i nærheden for en sikkerheds skyld.

Denne bog er måske nok Miss Marples sidste sag, men den hyggelige, gamle dame er absolut i topform. Dette er hyggekrimi med et godt plot, levende personer og et karakteristisk, britisk landsbymiljø. Derfor røg den med i tasken under mit seneste biblioteksbesøg – og måske også fordi jeg vedkender mig, at bogen inspirerede mig til første del af min egen historie: ”Gæsten.”