Vanda Symon, The Ringmaster (2008)

(German title: Der ungeschminkte Tod. My review of Overkill).

Well, I read the second Sam Shephard mystery from New Zealand in German, but I was afraid that if I only gave you the German title, you would not read my review.

"Rosie, warte!" rief er und beschleunigte seine Schritte. Sie drehte sich um, und mit genugtuung stellte er fest, dass ihr Gesicht anfing zu strahlen, als sie ihn erkannte.

Detective Constable Sam Shephard, who now works in Dunedin, and her colleague, Smithy, are trying to disperse a group of people who demonstrate in front of a circus. Soon, the department have more important things to care about, however, as they find the body of a young woman who has been assaulted and drowned in the river Leith which runs through the Botanic Garden.

But as Sam has offended her superior, DI Johns, quite successfully, she is sent off to deal with the less interesting circus case while everybody else works on the murder. As she is a stubborn and determined woman, and perhaps a bit impulsive, she does her best to worm her way into the murder investigation. New trouble hits the circus, though, and whether Sam wants to or not, she gets deeply involved in the affairs of the circus before she can return to the murder of young Rose-Marie Bateman. and at some time she begins to wonder if the occurrences in the circus are related to the murder.

I enjoyed the story just as much as Vanda´s terrific debut, especially for the character of Sam, a female protagonist of the very best kind. A slight minus, though, because Sam has a tendency to run into dramatic situations on her own. It was not as difficult to read it in German as I had expected, but I won´t pretend I understood each and every detail, and I certainly won´t admit how long it took me to read it in German.

I bought the German e-book myself (because the English version is very difficult to come by), and fortunately I have the next volumes ready on my shelf - in English. 

Craig´s review of The Ringmaster (Crime Watch).

Linda Gillard, House of Silence (2011)

This novel is the British writer´s fourth stand-alone. It is probably more precise to call it gothic romance than mystery.

"I used to wonder if Alfie chose me because I was an orphan and an only child. Was that part of the attraction? I came unencumbered, with no family."

As Gwen Rowland´s mother died from an overdose of drugs some years ago, she is all alone in the world. She falls in love with the actor Alfie Donovan who is her opposite in many ways. He has more family than he cares for at Creake Hall. Four older sisters, an aging mother and a mysterious, yet quite attractive gardener.

Alfie´s mother has written the famous series Tom Dickon Harry, claiming her inspiration was Alfie, her only son. Alfie feels he has lived in the shadows of this fictional character all his life, and even as an adult he finds it very difficult to carve a career for himself as everybody see him as Tom.

Alfie and Gwen are very happy together, though, until Gwen insists on accompanying him when he goes home to Creake Hall for the traditional family Christmas. "... an Elizabethan manor house, a jumble of tall, barley sugar chimneys and crow step gables, red brick walls and a battery of mullioned windows..."

The story is very strong on atmosphere and suspense with a trace of gothic horror and a feeling of being caught in a web permeating the story. It is a very enjoyable read with several intriguing characters though the ending is more romantic than psychologically credible in my opinion. I bought the e-book myself.

Here is an interesting article about Linda Gillard and her ebook.
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Neil Gaiman, Coraline (2002)

Today I am visiting Kelly of Kelly´s Thoughts & Ramblings. Kelly and I will be ever so pleased if you peep in to say hello, and perhaps some of you also want to know why the vicar´s wife writes crime fiction. 

This British fantasy is brilliantly illustrated by Dave McKean. I only read Coraline because I needed some fantasy for a challenge (Bogudfordringen 2011), but I enjoyed it very much. 

Once you realize Coraline is a little school girl and neither the teenager she looks like on the cover nor the tiny midget she sounds like, the story works very well.

"Something moved. It was little more than a shadow, and it scuttled down the darkened hall fast, like a little patch of night."

Coraline and her family move into a new flat in a mysterious house. One rainy day when she is bored, she finds the door which leads to nowhere. Her mother does not lock the door afterwards, and of course you know immediately that this was very unwise of her. The next time Coraline tries the door, it suddenly leads to somewhere - a flat which looks deceptively like her own, but where everything is just a bit different.

And in this other world Coraline realizes she need all her courage and determination in order to change things back so she can return to her ordinary life which suddenly seems incredibly appealing.

I bought the Kindle version myself, and if you like fantasy/fairy tales, this one is strongly recommended.

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NB: I know I should be in touch with a few of you who have also invited me to guest blog, but that will have to wait until I have come to my senses after CrimeFest. 

Giles Blunt, The Fields of Grief (2006)

[I should have been guest blogging on Thoughts in Progress today, but with Blogger gone awry I don´t know when the post will be up.]

This Canadian police procedural is the fourth John Cardinal story, but the first I have read by this author. See my teaser.

Though I found the story interesting and appealing, it was hard to read as it begins with the death of Catherine Cardinal, John´s beloved wife, who suffered from very severe depressions and is supposed to have committed suicide. The description of his grief and his self-reproach are very realistic, meaning that the story made a great impact.

Besides, there is a story about child abuse. Always a tough theme, but Blunt never goes into uncanny details so for me the theme of depression was harder to handle.

Soon John Cardinal begins to wonder if Catherine really did take her own life, but even though Lise Delorme, a close colleague and friend, offer him some support, the main reaction is that it is just Cardinal´s unwillingness to accept his wife´s suicide.

My overall impression: a really fine mystery with great characters and a fine sense of place. I bought the book myself, and Giles Blunt has gone on the list.

Deborah Crombie, Leave the Grave Green (1995)

OBS: at some point today (when the Americans are up and about) I´ll be visiting Margot Kinberg´s brilliant blog, Confessions of a Mystery Novelist as part of my "Liquorice Twist" launch. If you pop over and say hello, Margot and I will be so happy!

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This American novel is the third police procedural featuring Duncan Kincaid and Gemma James from Scotland Yard.

"He´d fallen in, landing on his back with his arms and legs splayed awkwardly ´It´s cold,´ he said, his face registering surprise. He scrabbled towards the bank, laughing, shaking the water from his eyes."

Twelve-year-old Matthew has not even realized yet that he is going to drown, but tragedy hits the family of Sir Gerald Asherton, the conductor, and his wife, the soprano Dame Caroline Stowe when they lose their prodigy. And twenty years later they are struck again when their son-in-law Connor Swann drowns - also in the Thames.

As the police are not sure Swann´s death was an accident, Thames Valley CID call in Inspector Duncan Kincaid and Sergeant Gemma James to take a closer look at the circumstances. And no matter what Sir Asherton and his wife say, Connor Swann does not seem to be universally liked - not even by his own wife, the somewhat capricious Julia, who left him a year ago.

An entertaining and fairly cosy mystery with plenty of British atmosphere, including high tea and scones.

I bought the book myself, and Crombie will be on my radar from now on.

Jussi Adler-Olsen, The Keeper of Lost Causes (2011)

I enjoyed the first volume of this series very much when I read it in Danish a couple of years ago (Kvinden i buret, 2007), and it is a pleasure to see that my countryman is on his way to the USA as well as the UK (under the title of Mercy). No matter what it is called, this is a fine debut, and you have something to look forward to as the next volumes in the series are even better!

"She scratched her fingertips on the smooth walls until they bled, and pounded her fists on the thick panes until she could no longer feel her hands. At least ten times she had fumbled her way to the steel door and stuck her fingernails in the crack to try to pry it open, but the door could not be budged, and the edge was sharp."

The woman in the dark keeps fighting to get out, determined not to let her captors win by breaking down.

After this meeting with the captured woman we are introduced to the protagonist Carl Mørck, recently scarred by a gunshot, but perhaps his internal wounds are worse. Earlier he was a dedicated criminal investigator from Jutland, but after his colleague Hardy was hospitalized and their third mate Anker was killed, Mørck has turned into a somewhat reluctant detective.

In between the scenes from a police perspective, we meet Merete Lynggaard, vice chairperson for the Social Democrats, a very secretive politician, who disappears during a trip on a ferry.

As Carl Mørck has grown ´lazy, surly, morose´ and hopeless to work with, his superiors decide to solve their problem by ´promoting´ him. They appoint him the leader of the new Department Q, a kind of cold-case unit, and equip him with a dark office in the basement. When Mørck grows tired of solving Sudoku and insists on having a couple of men he can boss around, they send him Hafez al-Assad. It seems as if Assad has not quite realized his role is to brew coffee and sweep the floors, but not a word more about one of my favourite sidekicks.

The story offers a nice touch of humour, interesting characters, and a find and exciting plot.
My example was a free review copy from NetGalley, published by the Penguin Group and expertly translated by Tiina Nunnally.

Also reviewed today by Kerrie, Mysteries in Paradise. 

Martin Edwards, Take My Breath Away (2002)

This British legal mystery is a stand-alone which will be published in the USA in July. It is set in London.

"The dead woman smiled. So far, so good."

Nic Gabriel, the writer of a true crime story about Crippen, is somewhat surprised when he meets Ella Vinton at a party in a friend´s flat as ´a stone in a Sussex graveyard bore her name´.

The woman seems to be very much alive, though, and before the party is over, she has killed Dylan Rees, the host and the man who was supposed to be the reason that Ella committed suicide five years earlier. And Dylan´s last words are just as mysterious: "Why not jazz?"

Nic Gabriel feels he should have been able to prevent the woman from stabbing his friends right in front of him so he decides to look into the background of Dylan´s death. His search leads him to the high-profile human rights law firm Creed, and to their new paralegal Roxanne Wake. She is sure she has finally landed her dream job, but for some reason she has omitted to tell her bosses that Roxanne is not her real name.

Apparently, most characters in this story have skeletons in their closets which they are very keen to keep in place. As a reader you assume that Dylan´s death and Roxanne´s story will be connected at some point, but you do not know how or why. And do we really get the full truth of this finely plotted mystery?

A fine mystery with a very apt title which offers an insight into the life of lawyers, but hopefully they are not all as devious as the book makes you think.

I bought the book myself, and this cover is from my British edition of the book.

Arne Magnussen, Den vidtudraabte besættelse i Thisted (1699/1891)

[This is a Danish account of the last witch trial in Denmark. The witches and their ´victims´ lived in my region, Thy, which aroused my curiosity. Unfortunately this interesting book has not been translated. I read the free e-book for the Vintage Mystery Reading Challenge # 6]

Denne forholdsvis korte bog handler om en hekseproces i Thisted, ifølge indledningen den tids kriminallitteratur, men også "et Billede af Livet i en afsidesliggende, dansk Provinsby i Slutningen af Kristian den femtes Regeringstid..."

Det hele begyndte da "en Bondepige i Jylland udi Vendsyssel i Aalborg Stift ved navn Maren Spillemands" som trettenårig blev syg med epilepsi-lignende symptomer. Familien henvendte sig til flere forsellige præster i området, men de var ikke meget for at afgøre, om det drejede sig om fysisk sygdom eller en besættelse. Derfor henvender familien sig til den ansete præst i Thisted, Magister Oluf Bjørn.

Magisteren når frem til, at pigen er blevet forhekset af "en gammel Bondekone der i Nærværelsen ved Navn Anne Kristens Datter i Skinderup, som deromkring holdtes for at være en Troldkone", og nidkært begynder han at søge efter andre personer, som kunne være besatte.

"Imidlertid haver man intet synderligt fornummet til hendes Syge førend siden i Januario 1696, da Mag. Oluf erklærede hende offentlig for alle, at hun af Djævelen legemlig var besat." 

Og herefter går det løs; magister Olufs studenter kaster sig ind i jagten på hekse og onde ånder, og de finder snart en ånd, som erklærer, at "hvis Amtmanden ikke vilde lade dennem brænde, vilde de fare baade i hannem og alle hans børn."

Gamle Anne Kristensdatter bliver ført til Thisted, og sagen kommer biskoppen for øre. Jens Bircherods dagbogsnotater udgør en del af bogen, og mens han understreger, at kvinderne skal for en læge, er Mag. Oluf ivrig "for at faa en skarp Inkvisition sat i Værk efter Troldkoner..." Men underligt nok glemmer han alt om lægeundersøgelsen. 

Jeg skal ikke røbe mere om den interessante og letlæste beretning om sagen, som til sidst kommer for kongens højesteret, bare fremhæve, at en lang række mennesker, inklusive lokale præster, forsøgte at tale Magister Oluf imod. En æra af retsløshed og forfølgelse af kvinder, som skiller sig ud, er ved at være slut.
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Mary Elizabeth Braddon, Lady Audley´s Secret (1862)

This British novel is a combination of mystery and romance. It is not the writer´s first work, but the story that made her rich and famous. According to Wikipedia, her own life was quite adventurous (warning: the article sums up the full plot).

"The house faced the arch, and occupied three sides of a quadrangle. It was very old, and very irregular and rambling. The windows were uneven; some small, some large, some with heavy stone mullions and rich stained glass; others with frail lattices that rattled in every breeze; others so modern that they might have been added only yesterday."

Not uncommon for the Victorian novel, there are several pages of description - the setting, the house, the characters - before we get to the actual story. Sir Michael Audley, the owner of Audley Court, has remarried recently. Pretty, blonde and blue-eyed Lucy Graham is much younger than her wealthy spouse. Despite her youth and beauty, she has a few skeletons in the cupboard.

Sir Michael is in the seventh heaven but his somewhat spoilt daughter Alicia dislikes her merry, childlike stepmother from the beginning. His nephew, the barrister Robert Audley, is taken by her beauty at first, but when his close friend Robert Talboys disappears, he begins to suspect that Lady Audley may be involved.

The plot involves bigamy, deceit, conspiracy, a court case and a discerning dog, to mention just a few pieces of the intricate puzzle. Modern readers may not be impressed by Robert Audley´s somewhat slow detective work (or the slow pace of the book); yet you will probably appreciate these words of his:

"Circumstantial evidence... that wonderful fabric which is built out of straws collected at every point of the compass, and which is yet strong enough to hang a man."

The sensational story was inspired by the true Constance Kent case in 1860. There is plenty of drama and atmosphere, but perhaps not much realism.

My review of "The Suspicions of Mr Whicher", a non-fictional account of the Constance Kent case.

I read this free e-book for the Vintage Mystery Reading Challenge # 5 + Bogudfordringen 2011 (novels from the 1800s).
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Catherine Sampson, Falling Off Air (2004)

This British novel is the first Robin Ballantyne story and Sampson´s debut as a writer of fiction.

"I am about to pull the curtains and shut out the weather when, at the margin of my vision, a woman falls out of the sky. I do not see how it began. All I see is that she falls, feet first but tipping forward, arms stretched out as if to break her fall, her clothes as chaotically twisted and tossed as the rain, and the weight of her body carrying her down through the currents of air straight to the earth like an anchor."

Robin hears a heated argument, and shortly after, a woman falls past her window and hits the street below. Robin is the single mother of the baby twins Hannah and William, but after this shocking experience, the renewed contact with the buzzing media world makes her yearn for her career as a journalist.

Soon after Robin´s ex-boyfriend Adam, the twins´ biological father, is killed by a hit-and-run driver - in Robin´s car. The police appear on her doorstep, and in the course of a few days it is apparent that the title applies to Robin as well as to her late neighbour.

Though I don´t really regard the everything-whirling-out-of-control plot as very plausible, this was a well-written and exciting story that I sped through in one day. Furthermore, Robin Ballantine is an intelligent and interesting character I am looking forward to meeting again.

I bought the book myself, and it may not take long until I grab the second volume which is ready on that TBR.

Jane Casey, The Burning (2010)

This novel is the Irish writer´s second thriller; a stand-alone which is set in London. My review of The Missing.

Young Kelly Staples has been looking forward to a night out, but a couple of hours later she finds herself in the loo, very drunk and wondering why she wasn´t smart enough to leave together with her friends. A kind gentleman offers to drive her home, though.

Kelly is not as easy a victim as she seemed, and she knows a serial killer is around so after a few pages it seems that the killer is apprehended. But while D.C. Maeve Kerrigan is talking to Kelly, the police find a fifth victim, Rebecca Haworth.

Despite the serial-killer label, this novel is not the tacky introspection of some gruesome psychopath. After the first chapters, we follow Louise North, Rebecca´s close friend, who seems curiously preoccupied by Rebecca´s life, and D.C. Maeve Kerrigan who struggles to solve these atrocious crimes against women. Besides, she is the victim of sexual harassment at work and personal problems with her yuppie boyfriend, so Kerrigan has her hands full. The stubborn Irishwoman trusts her instincts and her intelligence, however, and proves her worth on more than one front. 

I bought the book myself, and Jane Casey´s third book looms high on my wish list.

Ireland Reading challenge # 5.

Yrsa Sigurdardottir, Aske (2009)

Denne islandske spændingsroman er den tredje i serien om Thóra Gudmundsdóttir.

En prolog bruges somme tider til at sløre, at der ikke sker så meget i de første kapitler, men i Aske lægger forfatteren ud med et voldsomt mord. I kapitel et er der yderligere spænding plus en regulær cliff-hanger, og i kapitel to ruller hovederne for alvor. Læseren bliver fanget fra første side, men til trods for alvoren er der en dejlig, ironisk tone over sagføreren Thóra Gudmundsdóttir og hendes undersøgelse af den usædvanlige sag.

En kort præsentation af det spegede plot: Thóra repræsenterer Markús, en klient som insisterer på at få adgang til sit barndomshjem i Vestmanna, før arkæologer giver sig til at kortlægge ´Nordens Pompei´ efter vulkanudbruddet i 1973. Han får lov at fjerne en kasse fra kælderen, men da Thóra, Markús og arkæologen omsider står i huset, opstår en uventet komplikation: ud over det menneskehoved, Markús havde håbet på at smugle ud, ligger der ligene af tre mænd. Så nu er hans eneste chance, at barndomsveninden Alda vil bekræfte, at hun bad ham om at opbevare kassen, da alle indbyggerne måtte flygte fra Vestmanna.

Denne roman på fire hundrede sider føles meget kortere, fordi Thóra som sædvanlig flyver af sted i højt gear, travlt optaget af sin sag og sit komplicerede privatliv med børn, svigerdatter og barnebarn. Der er ikke meget tid til hendes langdistancekæreste Matthew denne gang, men da han overvejer at flytte til Island, hører vi måske mere til ham i fremtiden. Til gengæld træder advokatkontorets umulige sekretær, Bella, mere i karakter denne gang som en person, der har andet end tværhed og sit kiksede udseende at byde på.

Jeg kunne lide forfatterens debut, jeg var begejstret for tooeren, og treeren er ikke bare hæsblæsende spændende - den giver også et fascinerende indblik i følgerne af vulkanudbruddet i 1973, en naturkatastrofe som på fornemste vis væves sammen med et kompliceret krimiplot. Fem-stjernet spænding, lånt på biblioteket.

Yrsa Sigurdardottir, Ashes to Dust (2010).
This Icelandic thriller is the third story about the lawyer Thóra Gudmundsdottir.

Sometimes a prologue is used to hide the fact that nothing much happens in the first chapters, but here the author serves up a violent murder, followed by escalating excitement in the first chapter, and in the second chapter heads begin to roll quite literally. The reader is captured from page one, but despite the serious and unusual case, there is a fine, ironic tone and not nearly as much gore as one might fear.

A short introduction to the intricate plot: Thóra is hired by Markús, a client who insists on getting access to his childhood home in Vestmanna before the archaeologists begin to map the Nordic Pompeii after the volcano eruption in 1973. He is allowed to remove a box from the basement, but when Thóra, Markús and the archaeologist can finally enter the house, an unexpected complication arises. Apart from the human head Markús had hoped to smuggle out, he finds the bodies of three men on the floor. Now his only hope is that his childhood friend Alda will confirm that she asked him to store the box for him when everybody had to escape from Vestmanna in the middle of the night.

This novel of four hundred pages felt considerably shorter because Thóra darts off at maximum speed, busy with her case and her complicated private menagerie with children, daughter-in-law and grandchild. There is not much time left for her long-distance relationship with the German Matthew in this volume, but as he is considering moving to Iceland, we may hear more of him in the future. Thóra´s hopeless secretary, Bella, plays a more central role this time, however, and we begin to see her as more than just a snarky failure.

I liked Yrsa Sigurdardottir´s debut, I enjoyed the second very much, and the third one is not only a fast-paced thriller - it also offers a fascinating insight into the consequences of the volcano eruption. Five-star excitement!

I borrowed the book in the local library.
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Sophie Hannah, Hurting Distance (2007)

This thriller is the Scottish poet and writer´s seventh novel.

Though Naomi Jenkins only gets three hours a week together with her lover, she feels happy and expectant, certain Robert will leave his wife soon and begin a new life together with her. One night he does not turn up for their meeting, and of course the police do not take her concern very seriously. Naomi persuades them to ask his wife, but as Juliet tells them he is on a holiday with some friends, Naomi must do something to make it important for them to find him.

The strong points of the story: a well-wrought, exciting plot. I also liked the theme of women and how differently they handle disasters such as humiliation, rape and abuse, and the main character Naomi Jenkins who is the first-person narrator of several sections.

A minus: the police officers waste a lot of time pestering each other like spoilt school children and behaving unprofessionally in several ways. It may be intended as humour or caricature, but if so, it did not strike me as very funny.

I think Maxine sent the book to me. If not, I am sure you will enjoy her review anyway.

Gretelise Holm, Møgkællinger (2010).

[An interesting Danish ´femikrimi´ - the plot involves a mysterious woman who declares she will castrate a man for every woman who is raped in Denmark. Sadly the idea is spoiled a bit by the writer´s over-emphasis on her feministic message]

Romanen er den femte i serien om journalisten Karin Sommer, som nu er gået på pension.

"Der var flere, som så døden kysse skelettet bag det monstrøse edderkoppespind i hjørnet, men dæmoner, djævle og zombier tog ikke anstød. Flirt mellem lærere og elever var mere reglen end undtagelsen ved festerne på Skovholm Højskole."

Efter den ovennævnte Halloween-fest på højskolen bliver unge Rebekka Madsen fundet dræbt. Den charmerende lærer Jonas Kamper, som Rebekka har haft et forhold til, bliver kendt skyldig for mordet. Kampers kone beder imidlertid Karin Sommer om hjælp, overbevist om at Jonas´ dom er justitsmord.

Samtidig indleder en eller flere kvinder en række overfald på mænd. Bagefter modtager politiet breve med erklæringer om, at hver gang en kvinde er blevet voldtaget, vil en mand blive kastreret.

Jeg syntes egentlig godt om de første bind i Karin Sommer-serien pga den lidt usædvanlige hovedperson: den frigjorte Karin, som ikke lader sig sætte i bås, men i høj grad gør som hun har lyst til i den tredje alder. Denne historie har også sine gode sider, men en interessant plotidé bliver spoleret lidt af, at forfatterens kønspolitiske pointe bliver hamret fast på stort set hveranden side. Man kan sammenligne med søskendeparret Hammers Svinehunde, hvor temaet selvtægt overfor pædofile køres for langt ud i stedet for at lade læseren tænke selv.

Jeg lånte bogen på biblioteket.

Johan Theorin, Blodlag (2010)

I den tredje svenske Øland-krimi møder vi igen Gerlof Davidsson, den gamle skipper, men historierne er som sådan uafhængige af hinanden.

Prologen begynder lige på og hårdt. Per Mörner har søgt oplysninger og fundet en række navne i lokalsamfundet, og nu skal han dø.

"Per Mörners venstre hånd var hårdt forbrændt, hans ribben var brækkede, og synet virkede fugtigt og sløret, mens følelsen i kroppen stadig var der. Han kunne mærke benzinen, der blev hældt over ham, fornemmede, hvor lunken den var. Sammenlignet med den kolde aftenluft var væsken næsten varm, og den sved og brændte, da den løb ned i hans hår og ind i de blødende sår i ansigtet."

Gamle skipper Gerlof sidder på plejehjemmet, men beslutter sig for at vende tilbage til sit lille hus, da han er overbevist om, at han ellers vil være den næste beboer, som dør. Et miljø, hvor trolde, elver og varsler hører naturligt hjemme, og hvor de fleste personligheder er så kantede og stærke, at de må støde sammen. En række nye (eller tidligere) beboere flytter til ´blodlaget´, grænsen mellem troldene og elvernes verdener, et skel som traditionelt regnes for at betyde ulykke.

Per Mörner er fraskilt og far til tvillingerne Jesper og Nilla. Nilla er alvorligt syg, men Per håndterer det dårligt, er næsten ude af stand til at tale med ekskonen og børnene om det, i stedet farer han rundt i en temmelig planløs legen detektiv.

Ud over Per møder vi Max og Vendela Larsson. Vendela søger tilbage til sit barndomsmiljø for at møde elverne og få ryddet lidt op på sin verden.

Gennem første halvdel af de fire hundrede sider blev jeg fanget af personerne og miljøet, så det generede mig ikke, at plottet somme tider kommer lidt i anden række, men efterhånden syntes jeg, historien faldt lidt fra hinanden. Jo, læseren får en form for afslutning, men ikke en krimi-afslutning, hvor politi eller detektiver aktivt forsøger at opklare forbrydelserne, her foregår alt ligesom tilfældigt, som regel mens personerne venter på noget helt andet. Elver, operationer, døden, foråret eller hvad det nu kan være.

Det synes oplagt at sammenligne med Håkan Nessers En fortælling om hr Roos, hvor krimiplottet i perioder er sekundært, men Nessers personer er langt mere troværdige og helstøbte.

Jeg lånte bogen på biblioteket. Min anmeldelse af Natstorm.


Johan Theorin, The Quarry (2011).

This is the third Swedish Öland mystery. Though Gerlof Davidsson, the old sea captain, is a recurrent figure, the stories are not related in any other way.

After a dramatic prologue we meet Gerlof who has had just about enough of the old people´s home. He makes up his mind to return to his small home, sure that otherwise he will be the next resident to die. This is an environment where trolls, elves and omen seem to belong, and where most of the characters are so headstrong and forceful that a confrontation seems inevitable. A group of new (or returning) people move to the ´blood layer´ (hence the title), the border between the worlds of the trolls and the elves, an area which is regarded as unlucky.

Per Morner is divorced and the father of the twins Jesper and Nilla. Nilla is ill, but Per handles the situation badly, unable to communicate with his ex and his children about it; instead he darts around in a fairly aimless game of sleuthing.

Apart from Per we meet Max and Vendela Larsson. Vendela seeks back to her childhood environment to meet the elves and solve some of her private issues.

Throughout the first half of four hundred pages I was absorbed by the characters and the setting so it didn´t trouble me that the plot played second fiddle, but by and by the story seemed to fall apart. There is a solution though neither the police nor the main characters seem to focus on solving the crimes; everything seems to happen by coincidence while the characters are waiting for something else. Elves, operations, death, spring or whatever.

In Håkan Nesser´s "A Story about Mr Roos" the crime story is also secondary throughout several chapters, but Nesser´s characters seem more credible and their actions plausible.

The book was a library book. My review of The Darkest Room.

James W. Nichol, Midnight Cab (2002)

A mini-review 

This Canadian thriller offers a most intriguing beginning. A three-year-old boy is left by the roadside, and all he can tell the police is that his name is Walker. Inexplicably, no one misses the little boy who is later adopted by a loving family in the country.

Of course Walker feels an urge to know who he is when he grows up, so at the age of eighteen he moves to Toronto. Here he finds a job as a taxi driver and forms a friendship with the handicapped night despatcher Krista Papadopoulos.

And then there is the story from the past about the boy Bobby who knows his father is not satisfied with him but doesn´t really understand why - Bobby is certain he has a brilliant future ahead of him, but for the reader it is difficult not to worry about his violent streak.

Very entertaining and exciting thriller. Furthermore the character Walker and his friendship with Krista appealed to me quite a lot. This debut is strongly recommended.

This was a Petrona book (caution: they tend to be addictive).

Sunday´s post: come back tomorrow for the Notice Board - and meet a rather unusual character. 

Neil Cross, Captured (2010)

- mini review -

This thriller is a British standalone.

After a MRI scan, Kenny receives his death sentence. One month left. Kenny reacts by writing a short list of people he feels he has let down because now is his last chance to make it up to them. One of the people on the list is Callie Barton, a school friend who was very kind to Kenny.

This was a quick and exciting read. Like C.J. Box, Three Weeks to Say Goodbye, it deals with what happens when everything in your life is turned upside-down. What are you ready to do, and is it possible to go back and change certain events? Intriguing questions and an unusual crime story, but what did I think about the main character? Not quite as appealing as the drama that surrounds him.

This was an ARC from Maxine of Petrona.

Vintage Short Stories from Denmark

As part of the Vintage Mystery Reading Challenge I have tried to read some stories that are a bit out of my usual diet. Here are three old stories from Denmark, all from "The Most Interesting Stories of All Nations", ed. Julian Hawthorne, a free Gutenberg E-text in English.


Jørgen Vilhelm Bergsøe (1835-1911), The Amputated Arms
"I was studying at the University, and being coached in anatomy by my old friend Solling."
An anatomy teacher and some of his students lose the arms of their skeletons. Is this simple theft, a prank or a sinister ghost story? The main character, young Simsen, goes to the local cemetery in the middle of the night to find a new arm so they can continue their studies.

But of course he shouldn´t have! This may not be the most brilliant crime story, but I found it entertaining and well worth reading.


Bernhard Severin Ingemann (1789-1862), The Sealed Room.
Interestingly, I know Ingemann as the writer of several beautiful hymns and had no idea he also dabbled in crime fiction. The story is set in Kiel where an old widow lives in a mysterious house with a secret room, "a corner room on the main floor" which "had not been opened for generations".

When her daughter Elizabeth marries, they need the large hall next to the secret room for the ball, however. Late in the night the guests dance, drink and wind each other up, until the bridegroom challenges Elizabeth´s unpleasant cousin, Lieutenant Wolff, to stay right outside the sealed room for the rest of the night.

This story is well-written and fairly interesting with a sinister atmosphere that would probably appeal to Stephen King fans.



Steen Steensen Blicher (1782-1848), The Rector of Veilbye.
This story is probably the most famous of the three, and while "What the Forest Lake Hid" from 1903 may be called the first Danish crime novel, this one is regarded as the first crime story.

The story begins with the diary of the local District Judge Erik Sørensen who explains how the father of his betrothed Mette Quist, the temperamental rector of Veilby, gets into trouble when he hits a lazy servant with a spade. The rector assures his son-in-law that the servant got up and ran away, but soon after several witnesses come forward, claiming Quist buried the dead man in his own garden.

"A venerable man of God - the father of my betrothed - is in prison!

The story is a tragic account of a murder, based at least in part on a true story, but despite the surprising ending, the story does not include much of the detection modern readers would expect in a crime story.

Read for the Vintage Mystery Reading Challenge.

Martin Edwards, The Hanging Wood (2011)

Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press (a  NetGalley review copy).

The fifth Lake District Mystery, featuring DI Hannah Scarlett and historian Daniel Kind - to be published soon in the UK.

"I must talk to Hannah Scarlett, it´s a matter of life and death." This is how it all begins when Orla Payne calls the Cold Case Review Team of Cumbria Constabulary. Unfortunately she is so drunk that detective constable Linz Waller gives up understanding what she wants.

When Orla was a little girl, her teenage brother Callum went missing, and as his uncle committed suicide soon after, the police saw his death as an admission of guilt and closed the case. Orla never believed her Uncle Philip could hurt her brother, and even if he did, the body must be somewhere so she still wants closure of some kind. After her vain effort to get in touch with Hannah Scarlett, she goes to her father´s farm and commits suicide in a corn silo, however, a drastic action which indicates she may have received new information about her brother.

Central to the setting is St Herbert´s Residential Library where Daniel Kind is struggling to finish his latest book before deadline while all the beautiful women around him seem intent on taking his time. The library is also the place where Orla Payne worked, and so does the mysterious Aslan Sheik. Is the young man an idealist, or is there another reason why he chooses voluntary work among old books?

Followers of the series will know that Daniel has been single since Miranda left him, and now Hannah is also on her own as Marc moved out of their house a couple of months ago. Marc tries to make it up to her, but Hannah is not sure what she wants.

As usual, Martin Edwards offers a well-written story, an interesting setting and an intriguing cold-case mystery that captures your attention from the very first chapter. And what happens between Hannah and Daniel - well, you´ll have to read the book to find out.
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Palle Rosenkrantz, Hvad skovsøen gemte (1903/1967)

 Denne bog, som regnes for den første egentlige danske kriminalroman, er en klassiker, som jeg længe gerne har villet læse - og have til at stå på min hylde. For nylig faldt jeg over den i et antikvariat - for otte kroner!

Et lille barnelig dukker op til overfladen af en idyllisk skovsø i Nordsjælland.

"Holst bøjede sig ned over liget - det var et næppe fuldbåren barnelig, der øjensynlig havde ligget nogen tid på bunden af graven, det var ganske nøgent, som en lille mumie med fladtrykt ansigt, men endnu tilsyneladende friskt. Det så ud, som om halsen bar et stranguleringsmærke."

Liget bliver meget belejligt fundet af Eigil Holst, den dygtige og ambitiøse overbetjent fra København, og ritmester Arvid von Ankerkrone. Den lokale herredsfoged opklarer tilsyneladende sagen i en håndevending, da en bondepige tilstår at have dræbt sit nyfødte barn samme vinter. Men efter sin undersøgelse af liget griber distriktslægen ind og hævder, der ikke er tale om det rigtige barn. Herredsfogeden vrisser over dette spild af tid, men bøjer sig for lægevidenskaben og dræner søen. På bunden ligger en nøgen, ung kvinde, bundet fast til to store sten. Da 26-årige Eigil Holst allerede har udvist initiativ og intelligens, låner herredsfogeden ham og sætter ham på sagen.

Med en godt hundrede år gammel roman kan det ikke overraske, at personerne er lidt stereotype. De mandlige er stive og (selv)højtidelige, og kvinderne falder i to kategorier: de løsagtige fristere, som bringer selv gentlemen på gale veje, og de fine, sarte kvinder af god familie. Den kvindelige hovedperson (bortset fra offeret) er Ulla Ankerstjerne, som ´med ægte kvindelig takt´ undgår at tale om den kriminalsag, hendes far og Eigil Holst er dybt involveret i. Og selvfølgelig forventes der en langt højere sexualmoral af pæne kvinder end af mænd.

I det store og hele blev jeg positivt overrasket over første del af bogen, men derefter viser det sig, at der ligger en noget melodramatisk intrige bag mordet, samt en god del romantik. Så bogen lever ikke helt op til bagsideteksten: "en dansk udgave af Sherlock Holmes London i gaslys". Alligevel er den bestemt værd at læse for krimientusiaster, da der er tilløb til reelt detektivarbejde og anvendelse af retsmedicinske oplysninger.


Palle Rosenkrantz, What the Forest Lake Hid (1903/1967).
Though this novel has not been translated into English, it deserves a proper presentation. As it is often regarded as the first Danish crime novel, it is a classic I have wanted to read for a long time so when I stumbled on a cheap second-hand example of the 1967 edition in good condition I didn´t hesitate.

The body of a newborn baby is found in an idyllic lake on Zealand. Very conveniently, it is discovered by Eigil Holst, a competent and ambitious policeman from Copenhagen, and Arvid von Ankerkrone, another important character. The case seems to be solved in no time when a country girl confesses that she killed her newborn baby a few months ago. The medical officer of health claims the body cannot be her baby, however, and even though the local authorities grumble about expenses and waste of time, they drain the lake - and find the body of a naked woman, tied to two boulders. As young Eigil Holst has shown initiative and intelligence, he is attached to the case.

With a hundred year old novel I was not surprised that the characters were mainly stereotypes. The men seem stiff and pompous, and the women fall into two categories: the loose women who can lead even gentlemen astray, and the delicate damsels of good family.

On the whole the first part was a positive surprise, but the plot turned into a rather melodramatic intrigue, including a good deal of romance. So in my opinion the book does not quite live up to the blurb: "a Danish Sherlock Holmes". Nevertheless Danish crime enthusiasts should read it as it offers a promising detective and the use of forensic evidence.

Vintage Mystery Reading Challenge # 3