Denne danske krimi er den anden i Dan Sommerdahl-serien. Jeg læste den første, Dybt at falde, for et par år siden og husker ikke så meget andet, end at det var en udmærket krimidebut.Ursula, en midaldrende efterskolelærer, er bogstavelig talt i den syvende himmel, fordi hun har mødt den flotte, unge Jakob Heurlin, og efter fem berusende måneder møder han op med forlovelsesring og et godt, gammeldags frieri.
Desværre forsvinder Jakob snart efter ud i den blå luft med sine gyldne krøller og hele Ursulas samlede formue.
Dan Sommerdahls datter er en af Ursulas yndlingselever, og hun og Ursulas egen datter rotter sig sammen og får Dan til at påtage sig opgaven med at finde Jakob, da Ursula nægter at gå til politiet og røbe sin ydmygelse over at være blevet narret.
Anna Grue har skabt et interessant plot med en højst charmerende ægteskabssvindler og en Jehovas Vidner-lignende sekt, som sætter et voldsomt præg på sine medlemmer, også længe efter de er udstødte og erklæret ´døde´. Personerne er også meget nuancerede og troværdige.
Samspillet (eller manglen på samme) mellem de formodede venner Dan og kriminalkommissær Flemming Torp irriterer derimod en smule. Jeg synes ærlig talt, Dan, som sidder med alle de gode kort på hånden i form af en dejlig kone, en sød datter og et velfungerende firma, skulle være gammel nok til at glemme sin fjollede rivaliseren, der får ham til at lege ensom ulv og fare af sted på vilde missioner, som om han intet havde at miste.
Men trods denne ene fejl er Judaskysset rigtig god underholdning i et udmærket sprog, så jeg rækker nok ud efter treeren på hylden inden længe.
Anna Grue, The Judas Kiss.
This Danish crime novel is the second in the Dan Sommerdahl series. It has not been translated into English yet, but I think it has a fair chance.
Having met young, handsome Jakob Heurlin, Ursula, a middle-aged boarding school teacher, is in the seventh heaven, and after five incredible months he appears with an engagement ring and a good, old-fashioned proposal.
Unfortunately, Jakob soon vanishes in thin air with his golden curls and Ursula´s fortune.
The private investigator Dan Sommerdahl´s daughter is one of Ursula´s favourite students, and she and Ursula´s own daughter gang up and force Dan to undertake the case of finding Jakob as Ursula refuses to go to the police and reveal her humiliation.
The plot with the very charming marriage swindler and a Jehova Witnesses-alike sect is highly interesting, just as the characters are nuanced and credible. The cooperation (or lack of it) between the supposed friends Dan and Detective Chief Inspector Flemming Torp is a bit annoying, however. In my humble opinion Dan who has a nice wife, a loving daughter and a well-established company should be old enough to put aside his foolish rivalry which makes him run off like a lone wolf on wild missions as if he had nothing to lose.
Despite this minor flaw The Judas Kiss is fine and well-written entertainment so I am probably going to read the third book in the series before long.
Scandinavian Reading Challenge # 3
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6 kommentarer:
Sounds very tempting! Let us hope you are right and this series is translated into English (in the right order, even).
Thanks for the review and putting this author on the radar.
Dorte - This does sound like a good book, even if you're not exactly thrilled with Dan's behavior. I must try and work a little harder on my Danish so I can read it. I'm not ready for a full-length novel yet : ).
Maxine: they *should* translate some of our best female writers, not the silly hype.
Margot: this author is probably not too difficult to read and her books are not as long as some I could mention.
Sounds like a good read but what a strange cover, I'm not too sure I like it and yet don't know why it doesn't appeal. What do you think Dorte?
I read this one (and number 1 and 3 in the series as well) and I agree more or less with what you said´. I think Anna Grue writes well, but I don't think that the first Dan Sommerdahl mystery was her debut. I know I've read some of her other mysteries before I read the first Dan Sommerdahl. I will check which ones I liked - perhaps there was only two, and I remember I disliked one of them.
Tracy: if you study the background, it seems to be a man kissing a woman, but I agree that the scene in the foreground seems unpleasant.
Louise: I just checked it and you are right, she wrote what seems to be two stand-alones before the Dan Sommerdahl series (plus some non-fiction). Please tell me if one of the first is a book I should read.
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