Denne politikrimi er en svensk debut, lånt på biblioteket.Som tidligere nævnt er starten lovende, og beskrivelsen af skærgårdsmiljøet er fin og interessant.
Hovedefterforskeren er den sympatiske kriminalinspektør Thomas Andreasson, som mistede sin familie for et år siden. Han stammer selv fra øen Sandhamn, og han får hjælp med sagen fra Nora Linde, hans bedste barndomsven, som stadig bor på Sandhamn med mand og to børn. Thomas og Nora udgør et udmærket makkerpar, og måske passer de bedre sammen end Nora og den dominerende læge Henrik.
Andre anmeldere har sammenlignet bogen med Camilla Läckberg og Mari Jungstedts krimier, og hvis de dermed tænker på let sommerunderholdning, hvor detektivparrets privatliv fylder mindst lige så meget som plottet, er der noget om det. Svagheden er nok især, at forfatteren forsøger at holde spændingskurven oppe ved hele tiden at servere nye lig i stedet for at byde på solidt og interessant politiarbejde.
Men til en eftermiddag i solen (hvad for en sol?) går den nok.
Viveca Sten, Silent Now.
This police procedural is a Swedish debut from the library (not translated into English).
As indicated earlier the beginning is promising, and the description of the archipelago is credible and appealing.
The main investigator is the likeable Inspector Thomas Andreasson who lost his family a year ago. He grew up on the small island Sandhamn, and he is assisted by Nora Linde, his childhood friend, who still lives on Sandhamn with her husband and two children. Thomas and Nora make a fine detective and sidekick, and perhaps they are better suited for each other than Nora and the dominating doctor Henrik.
Other reviewers have compared the book to Camilla Läckberg´s and Mari Jungstedt´s crime novels, and if they think of light summer entertainment where the private lives of the detectives take up at least as much space as the plot, they have a point. The main weakness may be that the writer tries to keep up suspense by adding new bodies all the time instead of offering solid, interesting police work.
But for an afternoon in the sun (what sun?) it should be okay.
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6 kommentarer:
I like it when we get to know our detectives as human beings - that's why I so enjoy Faye Kellerman's Pete Decker novels.
Dorte - Thanks for this fine reivew, and oh, you've put that so well! Well-written police procedurals focus on the police work of finding a criminal, more than the personal lives of the people doing the detection. They also focus more on the detection than they do on "body count."
Tracy: it is fine as long as you know what you get.
Margot: exactly. I have enjoyed several of the Scandinavian ´femikrimis´, but proper detection is a must in a crime story!
Unless it's more a character study. Like Simenon's standalones for example. Then the police work is secondary for me.
Getting to "know" a detective in a series is what makes me want to keep coming back for more. I think this can be done without losing the integrity of the story as well. Commander Dalgliesh in the P.D. James books is a good example.
Patti and Kelly: you are right that this can be done by excellent writers, but in my opinion Viveca Sten is not in that league. It is okay that many other readers like her debut, I just wanted to make it clear to my readers that it is low on detection :D
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