Bogen er den fjerde i den svenske serie om kriminalinspektør Anders Knutas og journalisten Johan Berg på Gotland.Den succesrige kunsthandler Egon Wallin har netop sikret sig en udstilling af en lovende ung kunstners værker, men samtidig har han åbenbart lagt planer om at sælge sit galleri på Gotland og forsvinde i al ubemærkethed.
En anden vigtig person, morderen, lægger også ambitiøse planer, og snart hænger liget af Wallin til offentlig beskuelse i en af Gotlands middelalderbyporte.
Knutas og hans team kommer på overarbejde, og inden længe opdager de tråde til det homoseksuelle miljø i Stockholm, men der er også en forbindelse til den afdøde maler Niels Dardel og hans mesterværk, ”Den døende dandy.”
Jungstedt har altid været god til at skildre det gotlandske miljø, og kunstnertråden er interessant og velfortalt, men i modsætning til sin noget tamme debut har hun nu også fået styr på krimiplottet og serverer et godt og spændende stykke politiarbejde. Selv om bogen ikke er uden svagheder i slutspurten, er den helt klart hendes bedste værk indtil videre.
Bogen er lånt på biblioteket.
Mari Jungstedt, The Killer´s Art (2010).
The novel is the fourth in the Swedish series about Inspector Anders Knutas and the journalist Johan Berg on Gotland.
The successful art dealer Egon Wallin has just arranged an exhibition by a promising young painter, but in secret he has sold his gallery on Gotland and planned to run off with the money afterwards. The murderer is also busy scheming, however, and soon the body of Wallin is hanging very publicly from one of Gotland´s medieval town gates.
Knutas and his team discover a connection to the homosexual environment in Stockholm, but there are also links to the late painter Niels Dardel and his masterpiece, “the dying dandy”.
One of Jungstedt´s strong points has always been the lively description of the environment on Gotland, and the art crime plot is interesting and well-written, but contrary to her somewhat tame debut, she also handles the police work and the plot really well this time. There are a few weaknesses in the ending, but this novel is clearly her best work so far.
The book is a library book. See Maxine´s thorough EuroCrime review of The Killer´s Art.
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7 kommentarer:
Yes, I'd agree. It's a good mystery with plenty of red herrings. She's also able to build on the characters who she introduced in the previous books.
It's not as dark as the English cover would lead you to believe, but also not as "girly" as the pink one!
Does sound like a great mystery. Always enjoy books where there are red herrings to keep you guessing.
Mason
Thoughts in Progress
This sounds like a good read. I've always liked art crime books that handle the art part of the equation well!
It sounds like a good one, but that pink cover still has be shaking my head.
Oh, wow, now I see what you mean about the pink! The UK edition is a very dark pink sunset, with sinister overtones. This one, definitely girly pink...how inappropriate. I am glad you enjoyed this one, Dorte, I think it is the best one in the series so far.
All of these will soon be in English as US Publishers on the hunt for the next Stieg Larsson.
Tim: I am glad you also enjoyed it.
Mason: this author is part of a Scandinavian trend called "femikrimi" (female and/or feminine crime novels), but while the first was chicklit with poor policework, this one is a proper whodunnit.
Belle: the art plot is really good indeed, and the Danish and Swedish titles refer to a real painting, "The Dying Dandy". Sadly, I couldn´t find a picture (or at least not one I dared *borrow*).
Beth: I think it is downright foolish, especially as this book is her most solid crime novel so far.
Maxine: it is ghastly, isn´t it? But I had seen YOUR review so I had to give the content a chance ;D
Patti: well, they won´t find Stieg Larsson in this one which is not nearly as fast paced, but then her books may be more realistic than his.
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