Ann Rosman, Fyrmesterens datter (2010)

Denne svenske krimi er forfatterens debut.

Nogle polske håndværkere finder et lig i murværket mens de er i færd med at restaurere fyrtårnet Pater Noster. Men bygmesteren har en stram deadline og kan ikke tillade sig forsinkelse, så i første omgang forsøger han at løse problemet ved at betale dem for at holde mund. Som gode katolikker ringer de alligevel til politiet bag hans ryg, så staklen kan få en kristelig begravelse.

Da sagen om det gamle lig mildest talt ikke er højprofileret, må kriminalassistent Karin Adler sno sig for overhovedet at få tid til at kigge på den. Hendes privatliv halter imidlertid, så hun har ikke så meget imod at tære på sin fritid; hun er træt af sin charmerende skibskaptajn Göran, som er væk i seks uger og derefter forventer at blive vartet op i seks uger.

Bogen byder på romantik, skattejagt, nazister, jøder og skærgårdsøer. En typisk skandinavisk femikrimi tilsat ekstra romantik, også et let sødladent sprog:

“Det føltes, som om smerten skulle sønderrive hende. Hun trak tæppet op over ham, så han ikke skulle fryse.”

Desuden klinger det noget hult, at den gamle indmuringshistorie skulle foregå i Sverige i 1963. 1863 ville have virket mere sandsynligt. Der er gode takter i romanen, men også en del ting Rosman mangler at lære, før hun er i liga med Läckberg og Jungstedt, hvis stil kommer bogen nærmest, bl.a. at rydde op i det meget store antal personer og de springende synsvinkler.

Denne ´Läckberg light´ er lånt på biblioteket.

Ann Rosman, The Lighthouse Keeper´s Daughter.

This Swedish debut has not been translated into English yet. It is available in Spanish, however, titled La Mujer del Faro.

Some Polish workmen find a body in the thick walls while they are restoring the lighthouse Pater Noster. But the builder is on a tight deadline so in the first place he tries to solve the problem by paying them to shut up. Money or not, they call the police, so the poor man can have a Christian funeral.

As the old body is not exactly a high profile case, Detective Inspector Karin Adler must juggle a bit to scrape a few hours together to look at the case. Her private life is in tatters anyway as she is tired of her charming sea captain Göran who is away for six weeks and expects to be pampered during his six weeks at home.

The novel offers romance, a treasure hunt, Nazis, Jews and the Swedish archipelago. A typical Scandinavian ´femikrimi´ in a language which is good but also a bit sugary. Furthermore it stretches belief that the old story about the body in the wall is supposed to take place in Sweden in 1963. 1863 would have seemed more convincing. All in all there are some good sides to this story, but also some things Rosman will have to learn before she is in league with Camilla Läckberg and Mari Jungstedt, e.g. sorting out the huge number of characters and the jumps in point of view.

This Läckberg light was a library book.