The Second Deadly Sin by Åsa Larsson review

Great crime novels keep coming out of Sweden in particular and Scandinavia in general for the past few years, at a rate that sometimes is hard to follow. What is it that all of sudden made Scandinoir, or Nordic Noir, look so appealing in the eyes of readers all over the world? Is it still because of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo phenomenon or is it something else? Whatever the reason Scandinavian authors now seem to command our full attention and I for one are happy about itThis is the second book I read by this author and I’m sure that more will follow. Mrs. Larsson has a way of gripping the reader’s attention without seemingly trying to do so. Her heroes are everyday people who are trying to live their lives as best they can. They have families and pets, they have a lot of worries and most of them are torturing themselves psychologically, because they can’t really express their feelings, or because they do what they do out of greed or lust for glory instead for the right reasons.

The reader travels back and forth in time in rural Sweden as they embark on the journey of solving the many riddles at the heart of this story. A not so strange incident is what gives spark to flame and ignites the plot. A bear appears out of the snowy nowhere and attacks a farm. A professional bear hunter is called in to find and kill the animal, which under the circumstances is considered extremely dangerous. That happens sooner rather than later but the bear’s death brings to light a sinister discovery: within its body lie parts of the remains of a man. In the meantime, a woman is killed in her house, while a boy of seven, her grandson, hardly escapes with his life. What is it that connects the two cases?

Well, the perfect candidate for heading the investigation would be District Prosecutor Rebecka Martinsson, who knows the people and the place really well, but an ambitious colleague that goes by the name of von Post hijacks her case. She expects that he’ll make a mess of it, and of course he obliges. Rebecka is furious with her boss for allowing him to do that to her and the case, but at the same time she’s determined to find the truth, even though at first she doesn’t even know she’s doing that.

As we follow her around and through the many flashbacks that spread throughout the story we get to learn a lot of things about the history of the region and its people, but most importantly about the stories of the victims. Rebecka is thorough in her research and a great detective of sorts and that’s exactly what leads her to discover the truth; a truth that was there for her to see right from the start.

The Second Deadly Sin is a crime novel, a psychological thriller and a social commentary at the same time, but most of all it’s a great book and as such I’d wholeheartedly recommend it to all.

First published in Crime Factory magazine

Book Review: Chasing the Storm by Martin Molsted

The best thing about the ebook revolution was that it gave us, the readers, the opportunity to discover a lot of new authors, from all over the world. One of the best ones out there, at least when it comes to thrillers, is the Norwegian Martin Molsted.

Chasing the Storm is an action-packed story that follows the exploits of a reluctant at first adventurer, as he struggles to solve a couple of mysteries, with the help of some unlikely allies. Torgrim Rygg, that used to work for the Norwegian Secret Service, but who resigned after a few near-death experiences, is a hero who seems to be at war with himself; a tortured soul that no longer knows where it belongs.

It all begins when Rygg, while in Hamburg for a business trip, saves the life of a Russian journalist, who has a long list of enemies. Marko Marin clashed heads, time and again, with the rich and powerful in Moscow, so he is in constant danger. He knows all too well that he’ll always be one, and as such he believes that he could use Rygg’s services.

Rygg on the other hand isn’t so eager to help, as he’s used to his routine by now. Routine however breeds boredom, and boredom is something that he desperately needs to escape. So when Marin asks for his help he answers that call. What follows is an adventure that will take him to his native Norway just for a while, to Croatia, back to Hamburg, to Russia and to Egypt, and finally to Cyprus. During this long journey he will get to meet some likeable characters and a few vicious villains, and come face to face with death on more than one occasions.

The author created a fast-paced thriller, with a movie like plot, that reminds the reader of the Bourne adventures by Robert Ludlum. All his characters are well-sketched, and he seems to know his geography and the new geopolitical map very well. Torgrim Rygg, his protagonist, as I read, is here to stay, and I must say that his presence is more than welcome. Heroes like him are easy to like, and adventures of this kind have a lot to offer to the modern spy canon. I’d highly recommend this book to all the fans of the genre.

Book Review: The Stranger by Camilla Läckberg

As it is usual the case with Scandinavian crime fiction what the authors seem more interested about is talking about the local societies and their many ills than crime itself. Camilla Läckberg is one of those writers who have started becoming more and more popular in the west mainly because of her characters. Detective Patrik Hedström and his writer wife Erica, do not only seem to be everyday people, but also people with big hearts, who can feel the pain of the others, whose psyches are deeply scarred by the past, and who care more for justice than anything else.

In “The Stranger” there are too many people circling around them, but also around the rural area where they live, and mostly where Patrik works: the chief of the Tanumshede police station who’s as lazy as they come; a cop who lives and breathes in boredom; another cop who’s finally got a lucky break; and finally a new transfer, an ambitious woman who at some point in the future wants to become chief of police herself.

And these are the people that only reside in the police station. Add to them an ambitious politician, a mysterious psychologist, the cast and the production team of a reality show, an old woman desperately in love, as well as another old woman that lives all alone in the wilderness, and you almost get the full picture. I say almost, because most of these people have a lot of secrets to hide and a lot of pain that weighs on their shoulders.

Läckberg seems to be more interested in dissecting the society than giving the readers a mystery; in making them think about everyday life, instead of trying to solve the puzzles. A road accident turns out to be a murder. Then another murder takes place that puts the city and the cops on the spotlight. And Patrik is caught in the middle of two investigations that seemingly have nothing to do with each other, even though there’s a chance they do. One can feel sympathy for some of the characters and their strife, but this is not an angelic world we live in, so most of them simply make him dislike them.

The author seems to enjoying playing with the reader’s perceptions. What is good and what is evil? Would you act any differently if you were in the perp’s shoes? Can you really judge a person by his or her looks? Can somebody escape the past unscathed?

If you are looking for an overcomplicated mystery, you’ll like parts of this book; but if you’re searching for a novel that speaks about damaged people and the many evils of modern society you’ll simply love it.

By the same author:

The Preacher