Book Review - Redemption by Jussi Adler-Olsen

Described as the "It boy of Nordic noir "on the cover blurb, Adler-Olsen does not disappoint in this murder mystery from Denmark. The serial killer here has the most ingenious way of targeting families, extracting money from them and also satisfying his need to control and to kill. All is going well until he makes a fatal error at the same time as the case is given attention by an eccentric cast of detectives in the cold case team. Another terrific Scandinavian mystery.
Wendy

Book Review - Police by Jo Nesbo

The latest Harry Hole thriller and he is out of the police force and lecturing at the Police college. A number of loose ends from earlier stories are tied up here so it is an advantage, although not essential to have read the earlier novels. Harry's old team are on the hunt for a killer who is targeting policemen and women with a connection to a old crimes which were unresolved or had some difficulty about them.  Harry's personal life is finally getting to a point where he asks Rakel to marry him but will his commitment be derailed by a troubled student seeking to seduce him while he solves another  'unsolvable' mystery?  Red herrings aplenty which is no doubt appropriate for a Scandinavian mystery. Excellent stuff!
Wendy

Book Review – Burial Rites by Hannah Kent

Agnes Magnúsdóttir is scheduled to be executed for murder, the last person to experience such a fate in Iceland. Due to administrative blundering she is housed on Kornsa, the farm of District Officer Jón Jónsson, while awaiting execution, and given spiritual consul by Tóti, a young, inexperienced assistant reverend. Her time with Tóti and the familiar surrounds of Kornsa make her final year one of reflection and sorrow.

Drawing on folklore, the sagas, religion and agrarian life we are simultaneously introduced to the culture as we learn the specifics of the murders. The text blends third person narration with Agnes’ reflections, which, although containing some of the more interesting phrasing in the novel, occasionally overflows. This furthers Agnes’ isolation, as although born and raised in the same District, she is segregated, both in the narrative and in the community.

A murder mystery with tones of historical revision, Burial Rites handles the last days of a murderess with sympathy, both for her and the culture that has condemned her.
Andreas

Book Review - The Disciple by Hjorth and Rosenfeldt

The second of the Sebastian Bergman Chronicles lives up to the promise of the first one. These two authors have written for TV and have a capacity to raise the levels of tension as the investigative team try to find connections between the four victims of a serial killer. Sebastian, the discredited psychologist and crime profiler begs to get back onto the case and then discovers that he is the link. The working relationship within the murder team is well handled and the reveal of information is paced well.  Just when they think they have solved the mystery, one of their team is taken by an escapee from a secure detention facility.  Then it's a race to discover where and rescue them before it's too late. This is very well done!

Wendy

Book Review - He who Kills the Dragon by Leif G. W. Persson

Detective Superintendent Evert Bäckström is the weirdest detective I have ever read about. He is prejudiced and seemingly quite lacking in intelligence. He is prejudiced against just about all of his colleagues and is duck shoved from position to position as his superiors try to ignore the fact that he has an annoying capacity to solve cases. He has never heard of political correctness, is lazy, bigoted and just a bit corrupt. This is however, a funny and complex mystery, a page turner as you cannot believe how he goes about life. I don't think I want to meet him, but I enjoyed very much reading his story. Another good find!
Wendy

Book Review - Strange Shores by Arnaldur Indridason

Police Detective Erlendur is on leave and returns to the area of his childhood in the countryside in the east of Iceland. Cold and harsh, the landscape has been the scene of his greatest childhood trauma – losing his 8 year old brother in an unexpected blizzard. Erlendur seeks answers not only to his own story but also to a mystery of a missing woman, lost in the snow many years before. Mystery novels take many shapes and this is far from a straight forward police procedural. The landscape and the weather are part of the story. Age and memory haunt many characters and the cold is visceral. Did the mystery of his brother's loss influence his becoming a policeman? Why can't he leave a mystery alone? Why do we need answers? Indridason remains one of my favourite authors. Wendy

Book Review - The Lost Boy by Camilla Lackberg

Several storylines eventually collide with unexpected results. Follow the clues as potential embezzlement flies under the radar, a man is assaulted which may or may not have to do with his connection with a women's refuge, drug deals, his childhood sweetheart or a subsequent murder. The detective's wife investigates an island ghost story and her family deal with the aftermath of the shocking death of a child. This team of detectives is brilliantly realized and you can just imagine yourself at those excruciating team meetings with their ineffective boss, the competent second in command and the tangle of private and public lives. A master story-teller does it again. More, please! Wendy

Book Review - The Weeping Girl by Hakan Nesser

Another Scandinavian treat. Nesser's understanding of human behaviour and his clean prose style is on show again here. Ewa Moreno is meant to be on holidays but as we all know, fictional detectives rarely get time to have holidays or nurture their own personal life. She gets distracted by an allegation of illegal and corrupt conduct in her own group of colleagues and is also intrigued by the story of a weeping girl on the train. Unable to stop from pursuing the truth, a 16 year old case is finally and shockingly resolved. Good reading. Wendy

Book Review - Babylon by Camilla Ceder

More Scandinavian mystery fiction. A respected academic is murdered with her student lover. The police must sift through a large cast of potential murderers including her ex-husband, the student's jealous partner and two thieves after ancient antiquities. Inspector Christian Tell must settle his own heart whilst solving the case and dealing with a new boss. International trade in stolen artefacts provides a well researched backdrop for this very good mystery. I'm still in love with the Scandinavians! I was interested to see a quote from Melanie Klein in the forepapers. I must admit I had assumed that Alexander McCall smith had made her up (see his Scotland St series) --- I should have known better! Wendy

Review - Norwegian by night by Derek B. Miller

I was at first quite annoyed by Sheldon, the 82 year old slightly demented hero of this book but he surely grows on you. Sheldon has come to Norway to live with his grand daughter after his wife died. He has only been here a couple of weeks when there is a murder in their apartment and he goes on the run with a small boy because he isn't sure who may try to hurt him. We learn of Sheldon's war history and how he lost his son in the Vietnam war. He had wanted to fight for America because although European countries were based on tribes, America was based on an idea – an idea for all who came to the country to share regardless of their origin. The strands of family and belonging that cloud his remembrance as he navigates an unfamiliar land are built into an absorbing tale of love and loss. He is hunted by the police and by the killers but the journey also gives him a new view of his adopted country and its beauty of land and of people. There is a dramatic conclusion when all the strands come together. By the end, Sheldon has become exactly the romantic warrior hero he always pretended he wasn't albeit with arthritis and much reduced eye sight. It's worth persevering until he gets you under his spell. Wendy

Book Review - Summertime Death by Mons Kallentoft

Why is it that some of the best fictional detectives are moody, obsessional, insomniacs with difficulty in maintaining family relationships? Meet one of Sweden's detectives, Malin Fors, in this elliptical, crackling hot, new novel. The provincial city of Linkoping is suffering a summer heatwave, the forest fires are filling the air with smoke. Everyone who can, has gone on holidays. The reduced staff of detectives have an assault victim with no memory of what happened to her, a murder victim who can't talk and there is little forensic evidence to help.

Malin seeks inspiration from the crime scene…."the wind is blowing through the leaves of the oak, rustling them. It's a warm wind. …..The water of the lake almost seems to bubble in the heat. Boiling and stagnant, deadly poisonous yet still endlessly tempting: Jump in, and I'll drag you down to the bottom….The sun reflects off the water …... The reflections are like lightning in her retinas but she doesn't want to put on her Ray-Bans, wants to see reality just as it is."

And that is what we need from Mailn, to confront the reality of her victims and drag out the truth of a hurt that started a long time ago. Kallentoft continues the promise of her first excellent crime novel "Midwinter Sacrifice"; and Malin Fors cements her place in the pantheon of fictional detectives.

Wendy