Riddle of the Ring

by Karin Anckarsvärd, Michael A. Hampshire (Illustrator)

A mystery involving teenagers in a small Swedish town

188 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 1960

About the author

Karin Inez Maria Anckarsvärd became a student in Stockholm in 1934. She graduated as a secretary and then worked as a medical secretary for a few years. In 1952 her debut novel was Bonifacius den gröne (Bonifacius the Green), a playful book about two children and a dragon.

Reviews

[Angie Thompson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun mystery with some interesting twists. The setting (Sweden in the 1960s) was very interesting, too, and somehow managed to feel both familiar and different at the same time. This was my first book by the author, but from numerous repeated references to characters who had little to no role in this story, I'm guessing this book is related to some of her earlier works--particularly anything involving Henrik's sister Cecelia and her now-husband Michael. :)

The blossoming friendship between Tommi and Henrik was very sweet and handled very nicely, without having to dive into kissing and hand-holding, or even into official boyfriend-girlfriend status. I think a lot of today's authors (and today's teenagers, for that matter) could definitely take a lesson.

The path the mystery took was very interesting and different. Instead of the usual plot where a bunch of seemingly unrelated incidents tie into the same solution, this one has several seemingly related incidents that end up having different solutions--and not necessarily the ones you expect. Also, although I didn't like Lennart at all for most of the book, I loved the resolution with his character at the end. :)

I enjoyed the author's rambling, back-and-forth style for the most part, although late in the book there were a couple of scenes where I felt like the backstory got laid on too thick for a couple of places that didn't need as much explanation as they got. I did have quite a bit of fun when the perspective shifted to Pamela (Tommi's dog), though. ;)

3.5 stars

Content--references to drinking; various insults; multiple instances of "gosh"; reference to polygamy; "magic" used in a figurative sense; fighting

[Jackson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fun author. thank you to Dixie Public library for selling these

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not bad for a kid's read-aloud book. Based in Nordvik (Sweden?) mid-1900's, it gives a great feel for high school student life back then and in a foreign country.