Den Femte Årstiden

Malin Fors #5

by Mons Kallentoft

It's early May when a young family out on a forest walk stumble upon a heavily mutliated body. The female corpse is in eerily good condition, and signs of torture are all too visible. Inspector Malin Fors immediately draws parallels between this case and that of Maria Murvall, the young woman who was found raped and brutally beaten in the forest several years ago. Maria has been living as a mute in the local psychiatric hospital ever since the attack, and Malin is haunted by her inability to help her. In the course of her investigation, Malin meets with a psychologist who tells her about another similar case, and suddenly Maria appears to be a small piece of a much bigger puzzle. But what is it that is so terrible it can't be put into words? Malin is determined to find out the truth, no matter where it might take her.

Genres: Crime, Thriller, Fiction, Mystery, Nordic Noir, Swedish Literature, Sweden

456 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 2011

About the author

After being awarded the Swedish equivalent to the Whitbread Award for his debut novel Pesetas, Mons Kallentoft chose to give his own unique take on the classic Scandinavian crime novel. His success was immediate. The first book in the series about superintendent Malin Fors received unanimous praise from the national critics; it also conquered the bestseller charts and has today sold more than 300,000 copies in Sweden alone.

Was Mons Kallentoft born to be a storyteller? Yes, perhaps. Because, considering his upbringing, literature was not the obvious path in life. Mons grew up in a working-class home in the provincial town of Linköping, Sweden. Books were a rare phenomenon in his house; instead the young author spent his time playing football and ice hockey.

He discovered literature when he was about fourteen, and bedridden following a severe sports injury. Kafka, Hemingway and George Orwell introduced the young man to a whole new world.

The path to his own authorship led him through the advertising business, journalism and the shady side of Madrid. His debut, Pesetas, which was awarded the Swedish equivalent to the Whitbread Award, takes place among cocaine dealers and bankrobbers in the Spanish capital.

Following another couple of critically acclaimed novels (Marbella Club and Attractive, Healthy & Spontaneous), as well as an well-regarded travelogue/food essay (Food Noir), Mons Kallentoft chose to give his own unique take on the classic Scandinavian crime novel. His success was immediate.

The first book in the series about Superintendent Malin Fors received unanimous praise from the national critics; it also conquered the bestseller charts and has today sold more than 220 000 copies in Sweden alone. The novel recently appeared on the Norwegian bestseller charts and the series about Malin Fors will soon be published by leading publishing houses in nine countries.

Through the series about Malin Fors, Mons Kallentoft re-establishes his connection to his childhood home – a place that the truly cosmopolitan Kallentoft has spent all his life running from. The result is an innovative series of crime novels that are both poignant and packed full of suspense.

Critics and readers agree: Mons Kallentoft was born to tell the story about Malin Fors.
Series:
* Malin Fors

Reviews

[Vera Brandão · Rating 4 out of 5]

http://verovsky-meninadospoliciais.bl...

[brianna · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is what happens when you get a white male author trying to write about female oppression, while at the same time trying to emulate and out-rape Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, all while patting himself on the back for knowing what women go through and writing just such an amazing book about it.

I couldn't even finish this steaming turd-pile. It was so poorly written, and I get that the dude was trying to make a point about violence against women but this was so over-the-top it was practically satire. The lead detective in the case, who is a woman, is a one-dimensional moron whose greatest concern in life is whether or not to have a baby. Because that's what being a woman is about. Having babies and/or getting brutally raped and murdered. Oh, and the men in the novel are no better.

One character is basically a brute, like Kallentoft has assembled some D&D team to solve rape/murder cases. The Brute Detective was (surprise) abused by his father so now he beats up people but it's totally fine because he's on the good side and the people he's beating up are bad! There is no more reflection on this. That's it. That's the entire thing about this guy. He's dumb and he beats people up and is always angry about his dad. Like, that's fucking insulting to the reader's intelligence.

The Inspector of the detectives is an immigrant from Iran who is writing a controversial book about how immigrants need to integrate and learn English. So the author is really transparently using him as a vehicle to uncritically push his personal thoughts about immigration....and immigration factors in no way into this novel because it's about pretty white girls getting super graphically raped and tortured and murdered. I think at one point the Inspector actually thinks or says "I am brown therefore I'm allowed to say this", smugly satisfied. Except he's being written by some rando white dude. So. I don't know. When he's not writing his super controversial pretty much anti-immigration book he's busy banging the prosecutor who is successful AND somehow an elite member of a secret women's society hellbent on bringing down powerful men who rape and murder. We don't find this out until over halfway through the book when she fucking randomly gets a folder of names of those involved. What!?

Oh yeah, and the main detective inexplicably hates the prosecutor because she's prettier and more successful. But when she gets the folder she changes her mind and has a revelation about how women can work together. Kill me now.

And guess what? IT'S POWERFUL MEN WHO ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR ALL THE RAPIN' AND MURDERIN'. WHO COULD'VE SEEN THAT COMING!? It's literally only the plot of almost every crime novel with serial murders of women at the center of the plot ever.

Seriously, skip this piece of garbage. It's just chronicles of ridic. This author has his head so far up his ass he's somehow tricked himself into believing he's "edgy" and "subversive." Also, fucking quit it with the choppy internal monologues making every character "tortured" by some boring aspect of life. Nobody cares. Oh, and the dead girl monologue interjections are not doing you any favours. You can practically hear the dulcet slapping as the author jerks himself off while writing these italic ghost monologues. Get a kleenex and get over yourself.

[Ângela Costa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Minha opinião aqui:

http://anealecorvoliterarios.blogspot...

[Cátia Santos · Rating 5 out of 5]

E aos poucos, Mons conquistou-me. Começou por ser uma série, uma escrita, com muita coisa que não gostava... mas a verdade é que fui aprendendo a gostar! Infelizmente acabou...

[Ricardo · Rating 5 out of 5]

...poesia...
...fechei agora a última página deste ...falta-me adjetivos... estonteante livro!! já disse, por aqui e noutros locais(saudades do crime ladys & gentlemans) e de outros livros, é um livro cru, nu, violento, real, perturbador, se calhar como a vida é, e não devia ser... mas ao mesmo tempo uma autêntica obra poética, como se passa da morte à banalidade da vida... um exemplo, às páginas tantas o perpetuador aborrecido das várias torturas já infligidas tenta decidir o que fazer em seguida, decide ligar o ferro de soldar (que bela dor deve causar, digo eu) mas enquanto a ferramenta aquece liga a máquina do café e bebé o belo cafezinho...delicioso...a ler, recomendo!! foi o meu quinto livro do autor, não me surpreendeu, continua único, um dos meus!!! ...Boas leituras...

[ezra · Rating 1 out of 5]

spännande handling. men SKRIVSÄTTET. lär dig hålla ett och samma tempus och sluta referera till alla karaktärer med för- och efternamn hela tiden. har på fullaste allvar läst wattpad-fanfiction skriven av påtända trettonåringar med bättre prosa.

[Sonia Cristina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Não é a primeira vez que leio sobre rapto, contrabando, agressão e violação de mulheres por homens que acham ter todo o direito de o fazer, mas não deixa de ser difícil.

Desde o primeiro livro desta série que Marin Fors tenta descobrir o que aconteceu a Maria Murvall, que a deixou muda e psiquiatricamente perturbada. Através de Malin, também eu fiquei curiosa e foi por isso que fiquei muito satisfeita quando soube que este quinto livro estava a ser publicado cá em Portugal. Foi triste saber de tudo, foi mais triste saber de outras mulheres que passaram pelo mesmo. Fica a satisfação de Malin e a sua equipa terem acabado com o assunto.

Malin continua a ser uma mulher difícil de perceber. Agora sóbria, mas ainda com momentos em que vacila muito, encontra-se envolvida num namoro com Peter, um médico oriundo de família rica, que lhe pede que tenham um filho. É uma relação nova e que me pareceu ainda um pouco vacilante, ainda mais depois do pedido dele. No que vai isto dar?

[John · Rating 2 out of 5]

I just could not enjoy this story. The female detective with all her demons under control. To many cliches.
The derivation of a group of upper echelon of Swedish society being sadistic sexual perverts and of course they hunt. Weird a modern woman bent on having a baby and hating the prosecutor initials she is prettier than her. It was just so insulting as was her colleague who was ok as he only beat up bad guys.

A murderer who is insane well that was clear given the murders. The ending was just silly. What detective turns off their phone and does not call for back up when finding the lair of an insane serial killer!

[Deborah Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Fifth Season was an apt ending to a murder committed in the first book of the series. Although the style of writing takes some getting used to,(often veering between voices, dead and alive), it is a worthwhile addition to the Scandinavian mystery genre.

[Carina Södergren · Rating 3 out of 5]

Otäck - usch. Onaturligt otäck 🤨

[Zelly · Rating 2 out of 5]

Recension: ZellysBokhylla

[Gretel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mons Kallentoft has a way of writing that gets under my skin and clenches my heart and won't let go. The Swedish author's fifth book in his Malin Fors series The Fifth Season finally delves into the much pondered mystery of Maria Murvall's violent rape, which left her emotionally scarred and mute. After finding a mutilated female corpse in the woods, detective Malin Fors immediately finds similarities with the Maria Murvall case. Soon, Malin becomes even more obsessed with the case and she and her team run into dangerous characters as they try to find the violent mysogynist(s) who could strike again.

Kallentoft's unique writing style, a blend of crime and beautiful literary fiction, did not let me down. I love the idea of the talking ghosts, rooting for Malin to solve their murders. Kallentoft's beautiful prose, sometimes repetitive with one word sentences, may not be for everybody, but I find it a pleasure to read. His characters have their own stories and I find myself even emotionally invested in the minor police officers.

A great book from a very talented author. I can't wait for the next English translation.

[Bruce Hatton · Rating 3 out of 5]

The fifth book in the Malin Fors series and Malin finally gets to solve the crime that's haunted her since the first book "Midwinter Sacrifice", involving Maria Murvall. This quite long book has a quite simple central plot involving a group of sexual sadists from the high echelons of Swedish society. As Malin and her team close in on the group in the last quarter of the book, the action is really thrilling. However, I felt earlier parts of the books were dragged down by episodes which were irrelevant to the central plot; particularly concerning Malin's private life, her boring boyfriend Peter and her doubts about having another child.

[Maria U. Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Riktigt bra. Malin har styrt upp sitt liv, men slåss fortfarande med sina demoner. Fallet de måste lösa är fruktansvärt, och äntligen får vi veta vad som hände med Maria Murvall. Jag älskar Kalkentofts prosaiska ton när han är offrens röster. Har alltid älskat, och själv skrivit mycket, poesi, och han är grymt vass med pennan. Den här boken är väldigt ljus, när det gäller Malins nyfunna glädje till livet, men också avgrundsmörk när det gäller det hiskeliga fallet. Mycket bra!

[Carolyn · Rating 1 out of 5]

I skipped large passages of this book. It bordered on torture porn, but was also appallingly written, with its overblown and verbose descriptions. The author tried all sorts of cheap devices: switching tenses, short staccato sentences, clumsy similes and stereotyped characters. The book should have been less than half its length, if a modicum of good editing had been employed. But even that wouldn't have saved it from being spurious, sensationalist rubbish.

[Priya · Rating 3 out of 5]

I started this book thinking the author is finally unravelling the Maria Murvall case and Malin is going to get closure. But I was disappointed with the way the story was told. I am not continuing with this series any longer. The initial two books were okay. After that the plot is lost either by the author or in the translation. As I had bought the five books bundle I am completing and closing it. The narrative is difficult to keep up with.

[Nathalie Ziegler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ce roman clôt la pentalogie"des saisons" . Le rythme est saccadé , rapide , haletant .... l'histoire est terrible , le mal est personnifié et Malin Fors une héroïne qui se bat autant contre le mal que contre ses propres démons. Je vous conseille de découvrir cet auteur suédois dont le style est aussi glacial que son pays en hiver

[Birthe Andersen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not the Best of the books about Malin Fors. I got the plot pretty quckly and felt like it took ages to get from start to finish. Eventhough we get answers, it is for me the worst of the books in the Series i have read so far..

[Stephen · Rating 3 out of 5]

felt the latest in the malin fors series could of been shorter as was slightly long winded but apart from that still the dark Swedish crime thriller

[Alexandra Silva · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finally we undertand what happened with Maria Murvel. Malin Fors Demons can now rest. And what a great way to close the chapter!

[Marianne Jakobsen · Rating 1 out of 5]

Having read crime novels for many years now I found this one too macabre for my taste.

[Mike Cuthbert · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my first visit to the world of Kallentoft and it was a memorable trip. The subject, hammered into a reader’s brain, is sexual violence and brutality. It is seen through the eyes of a diminutive but tough as nails detective inspector, Malin Fors. Much of the dialogue occurs in dreams, much as well in italics, marking the voice of a dead person or a person about to be killed. Those people are women, mostly young and helpless but also subservient to men of power and influence. Malin Fors is haunted by one case in which the victim, Maria Mullvar, has survived but remains in an insane asylum, mute. Then other occurrences begin. Girl after girl is assaulted, raped, then brutalized in unbelievable ways: breasts cut off, stomachs removed, genitals destroyed and mouths burned with hydrochloric acid. Malin has to believe that all these case are linked and she and her team use all their skills to find the link. The most disturbing of the team, Waldemar, likes to use violence to intimidate and influence witnesses and suspects alike. When the team has reached the end of their patience with a suspect, the call goes out for Waldemar and he usually gets results. Fors is haunted throughout by the interrupted futures of the young women who are killed or mentally destroyed by what they suffer. Here is a typical passage in the midst of her remorse: “We must all learn to live with the grief of becoming something other than what we should have become, what we could have become. We must leave anger and violence and grief and hatred and pain behind us.” Is that possible? Not for Malin, it is not. She is living a life on several levels in which it is not possible to forget the pain and suffering. As in most good Nordic Noir, domestic concerns accompany the search for perpetrators. In this case, Malin is nearing forty and her husband and sometimes she, herself, question whether or not it is time to try to have a child. Malin already has a college-aged daughter, Tove, but nothing with Peter, a doctor. Need I mention that Malin is also an alcoholic who fights the temptations that life brings every times she finds herself in crisis? Sven, the most senior of her colleagues, is considering retirement and Malin realizes he is the force that holds the team together. The only alternative for that function is Malin herself. As in much of Noir, the brass is suspect and largely incompetent. One begins to wonder if this is true or merely a tool of fiction but it occurs in so many of the books written by Scandinavian authors that one has to wonder how true it is that hideous half-wits rule the police upper echelons in Scandinavia as a whole! Kallentoft sometimes over-writes scenes—they are so violent in so many ways and so frequent that one almost becomes numb—but the cumulative effect is very powerful and disturbing. Some readers might find it interesting that a male author would see so deeply into a female mind and psyche, but however he did it, he did it well. Fors is a moving force driven by principle and the novel, long at 522 pages, nevertheless moves relentlessly and effectively to make its point and solve its crimes.

[Gavin Felgate · Rating 5 out of 5]

The fifth book in the Malin Fors series feels like the end of a quintet, including this and the four seasons books.

The subject matter is one of the more harrowing ones; rape victims being found in the woods, one of whom is dead. This book also promises an explanation of what happened to the character Maria Murvall, who appeared briefly in all of the first four novels, and who is allegedly "living in a season of her own", giving rise to the book's title.

This book is one of the grittier ones so far in the series, but it has a lot of plot twists and turning points, enough to keep the reader guessing. The commentary on rape and toxic masculinity are all very well done, and the magical realism from the previous books is still there, with the narratives from victims' ghosts appearing frequently. In this one, it seems that the ghosts are able to communicate with characters other than Malin, and it is even implied that she glimpses one of them near the end.

The book continues the complicated story of Malin's personal life; now she is in a relationship with a man called Peter (although she seems to cheat on him at one point), and things become complicated that he says that he wants to start a family with her.

I really enjoyed this novel; despite the unpleasant subject matter, it felt like it was handled well, and this is one of my favourites in the Malin Fors series so far.

[Katherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Powerful men, susceptible women, evil incarnate, horrific mutilation. Malin Fors and her team find themselves investigating the murder of several young women found in various locations in the forests of Sweden. Several other young women are in mental wards unable to communicate, attacked and mutilated in the same way. Are the cases connected? What, other than the form the attacks have taken and the discovery of these women alone in the forest, have the cases have in common, if anything. Initially, every lead ends in a dead end. Even when the team thinks they have found men who seem to have been involved, finding hard evidence is seemingly impossible. Cases have been closed without adequate investigation, expert testimony claims that, at least in one instance, the wounds could have been self-inflicted.
As Malin finally seems to be closing in on the murderers, key players turn up dead, too. Frustration and fatigue dog the police but in the end the case is solved and the pure evil involved leaves the reader as speechless as the surviving victims!

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story is excellent and he unveiled a very intricate web slowly and believably and enjoyably. BUT. He has this really bad writing habit that drives me nuts. The single word paragraph. It goes something like this - (just making something up off the top of my head)

Bob had a burger for lunch and thought about his upcoming dinner with Sophia.
Sophia.
Pizza is more Sophia's style and that's what she had for lunch.

Last year's vacation to Vale was a success, maybe they'll go again this year.
Vale.
The skiing is supurb and the hotel is wonderful in Vale.

He does it All. The. Time. I mean a ridiculous number of times. It's so distracting. Luckily the last third or so of the book when it really started going he didn't do it as much and I was able to forget about it. I've read several of his books and he does it in all of them but in this one it was really over the top. I had to take a break and put it down for a few days in the middle before I ended up throwing it out in the yard.

Story is a 5. But writing style barely gets a 3.

[Marni · Rating 3 out of 5]

Contrary to what it looks like, I read the English translation (there is one but it doesn't come up on Goodreads). Shifting perspectives were interesting but the hearing voices stuff was meh and I'm always disappointed when there isn't better character development of the main villain. In this case, I think the author chose the lazy way out but then again...how do you explain a psychopath? To be fair I haven't read any of the earlier books in the series so perhaps some of the things I felt needed more explanation would have been obvious to someone who'd read Malin Fors #1-#4 first.

[Ellen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Det är en spännande deckare, lättläst så som hans andra böcker. Men att alla i boken återkommer till hydror (som jag fick googla för att vet vad det var) och årstider, det blir överdrivet och irriterande att alla skall tänka i samma bilder. Minns inte från de första tre böckerna jag läste de här övernaturliga inslagen där offren talar till Malin, och jag tycker inte att det tillför något. Kommer troligen fortsätta läsa böckerna eftersom det är lättsmält underhållning.

[Kasia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Malin w tym tomie kończy dochodzenie, które zaczęła 10 lat temu i ciągnęło się w tle innych spraw przez wcześniejsze części. Bardzo ciężki kaliber kryminału. Opisy tortur na kobietach są wstrząsające. Malin to nie jest bohaterka cosy kryminałów. Kobieta z przeszłością, walcząca z nałogiem i samą sobą. Napędzana obsesją, tylko ona może pchać śledztwo do przodu i walczyć w imieniu ofiar o sprawiedliwość.
3,5 ⭐

[Maddie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well-written story that keeps you reading from start to finish - I’m a big fan of Kallentoft’s series about Malin Fors and this one doesn’t disappoint. But I find it to be one of the darker novels in the series, that raises philosophical questions such as ‘is evil an inevitable part of human life?’.

[Ken Fredette · Rating 5 out of 5]

This case was Malin Fors best one I've read so far. Mons Kallentoft really must have thought along time to figure out how many turns the story would take and how many red herrings he would put into it. Can't wait for the next book.