Jaskółka, kot, róża, śmierć

Inspector Van Veeteren #9

by Håkan Nesser, Maciej Muszalski (Translator)

Co zrobi komisarz Van Veeteren, gdy zamiast motywów zbrodni będzie musiał tropić motywy literackie? Wyjątkowa zbrodnia, wyjątkowy morderca, którego ślady zaprowadzą komisarza z bezpiecznego antykwariatu wprost na spotkanie twarzą w twarz z okrutnym dusicielem.
Co połączyło ofiary dusiciela? Zabójstwa mają wyraźne odbicie w literaturze – w dziełach Blake'a, Musila, Rilkego. Komisarz zaczyna przeczuwać, że morderca, z którym ma do czynienia jest nietuzinkowy. Kolejne śledztwo, które wystawi na ciężką próbę siły Van Veeterena i to nie tylko jego kompetencje literackie. Czy podoła tej piekielnie okrutnej zbrodni?
Kim jest oczytany morderca?

Genres: Crime, Mystery, Fiction, Thriller, Scandinavian Literature, Nordic Noir, Mystery Thriller

560 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

Håkan Nesser is a Swedish author and teacher who has written a number of successful crime fiction novels. He has won Best Swedish Crime Novel Award three times, and his novel Carambole won the Glass Key award in 2000. His books have been translated from Swedish into numerous languages.

Håkan Nesser was born and grew up in Kumla, and has lived most of his adult life in Uppsala. His first novel was published in 1988, but he worked as a teacher until 1998 when he became a full-time author. In August, 2006, Håkan Nesser and his wife Elke moved to Greenwich Village in New York.

Series:
* Inspector Van Veeteren
* Inspector Barbarotti

Reviews

[Supratim · Rating 4 out of 5]

My first Van Veeteren novel! Full review to come soon! :)

[Raven · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's always such a treat being immersed back into Hakan Nesser's carefully crafted world of detection and intuition, and with reading the whole series to date I am always left with a feeling after each, that the one just finished is now my favourite/the best of the series. The Strangler's Honeymoon does little to buck this trend, as I will say confidently that this could now be my favourite/the best...

There is something hypnotic about the gentle ease in which Nesser immerses you in one compelling thriller after another, and the refreshing attitude that he brings to the genre that not all detectives need to be either (a) prone to ludicrous bouts of reasoning and actions that are implausible or thrusting them into laughably dangerous situations that stretch our credibility or (b) are overly encumbered with emotional baggage to make them more interesting or dynamic to the reader. Aside from Moreno's natural cautiousness towards affairs of the heart, the central players in Nesser's world are unerringly likeable, empathetic and effortlessly engage the reader in their personal and professional lives, inveigling us completely in their methods of detection and the natural progressions of their investigations. On the subject of character, as much as I enjoyed The Weeping Girl and the more central role played by DI Ewa Moreno, I'm sure I was not alone in slightly pining for the appearance or intervention of her mentor Van Veeteren, now spending his days surrounded by antiquarian books, but still eager to exercise the little grey cells of detection. Van Veeteren is an integral player throughout the novel, as a young priest troubled by a confession, wends his way to our retired detective's door knowing of the man's former reputation, drawing our old favourite into Moreno's and her colleagues investigation into the murder of an emotionally unstable woman and the disappearance of her teenage daughter. Once again we see the steely mental cogs of Van Veeteren's intuitive mind that aid his former colleagues' investigation, but which are so inviting to us as readers as we are almost trying to solve the case at the same speed as our ardent detectives. The whole novel is tinged with the nuances of Van Veeteren's wonderful character and his natural wit and intelligence and supplanted with clever little references to the literary world that aid his methods of deduction, and add additional points of interest to this wholly engaging tale of obsession and murder.

Nesser's pacing of the plot is once again perfect, and the tying of the sunsoaked brutal opening scene to the final images of the novel provide a parentheses around the richly unwinding story of the life and times of a murderer, across split time frames, that unfolds gradually between the changes of location. This ebb and flow between different locations and periods is beautifully handled throughout, and Nesser's depiction of a particularly manipulative and remorseless killer is truly chilling, with a nice play on the old adage, hell hath no fury....

All in all another completely satisfying addition to one of my favourite series, unhindered by the usual cliches of the Scandinavian/European crime genre, that as readable as they are have become almost de rigeur of this genre. A marvellous series indeed.

[Ellen · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Strangler's Honeymoon by Hakan Nesser.

This was the 9th in the chief Inspector Van Veeteren series and my 9th. This was the longest of all the books in this series and being a die hard fan of the Inspector's I plunged right in.

Van Veeteren is retired which consists of working in an antiquarian bookstore. His former colleagues are up to their necks in unsolved strangulation murders of women. There's been 4 at last count and then that horrific "accident" involving the Reinhardt. Try as they might no one seems to be getting anywhere in identifying this murderer.

That's when Van Veeteren is asked to assist on a full time basis. A bit reluctant at first but his instincts are calling him into the hunt. Van Veeteren takes the lead and the hunter becomes the hunted.

The is author deserves so much more than 5 stars. All characters those from past stories as well as the new are clearly described. The thinking of each persons mind as it relates to the story and to each other made book all the more enjoyable.

[Alessia Scurati · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finito questo volume, ho abbassato il voto al precedente romanzo della serie.
Motivo: il primo che ho letto mi era piaciuto molto; il secondo (appunto) una noiosità bestiale; questo è stato di nuovo molto piacevole.
Allora, forse il motivo è che se i romanzi sono la serie di Van Veeteren, il buon Van Veeteren serve a far amare di più la storia. Anche se il commissario non è più commissario, ma venditore di libri antichi.

Trama senza eccessivi spoiler: Martina, donna bipolare, vedova con figlia a carico, inizia a frequentare Benjamin. Uomo talmente affascinante che anche Monica, la figlia sedicenne, inizia ad avere una relazione sessuale con lui. Solo che, nessuna delle due lo sa, ma il bel signore è in realtà uno strangolatore seriale.
Il lettore lo sa perché il primo capitolo lo rivela, quindi ho evitato di raccontarvi le altre 500 e passa pagine - del torbido triangolo amoroso è latrice la quarta di copertina.

Per quanto riguarda la narrazione, funziona molto il cambio di prospettiva: i capitoli sono raccontati cambiando la prospettiva, dall’assassino, alle vittime, alla polizia che indaga. Per essere un romanzo di 500 e passa pagine la tensione narrativa resta sempre alta. Tranne che sul finale, quando si inizia a prevedere come finirà il tutto con una cinquantina di pagine di anticipo.
Non ho apprezzato l’escamotage della personificazione della Nemesi.
Evito di raccontare troppo, però: (SPOILER) la vendetta femminista anche no.
Voto in meno.
Un bel giallone nordico solido, pieno di personaggi irritanti che con queste temperature va perfetto per le ore tra le due e le quattro quando noi vampiri non possiamo andare a prendere il sole, quindi si sta in hotel con l’aria condizionata aspettando le sei per andare a fare il bagno. Io ci tengo al mio pallore, fa nobile della Transilvania.

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Saved this for my recent holiday; a long book but I knew i wouldn't really wish to put it down once I started reading this latest Nesser. Plus Van Veeteren is back.
What an engrossing novel is The Strangler's Honeymoon; beautifully crafted and originally created around a serial killer plot with a difference. We follow in present time and historically a killing spree which seems to go unchecked, and where detective agencies appear baffled and unable to solve any crime let alone see a link between the murders.
Nesser is a master storyteller who demonstrates all his skills in this tightly plotted and cleverly assembled crime thriller/police procedural.
In fictional Maardam the team of detectives are well established; moving on following the retirement of Van Veeteran and recent books in this series have highlighted their skills. However, their present enquiries are becalmed; we read of a murderer who appears endowed with uncanny luck and good fortune while the police remain baffled without a name or details pertaining to any suspect.
This is a complex story that is never over complicated for the reader; you do not have to return to earlier chapters to recall characters or advance the plot. The author writes clearly in a fresh and compelling manner that enables the reader to feel fully involved and the events recounted are all the more scary in that it reflects every day life. You are hooked as with all of Nesser's books, and keen to learn the conclusion of his stories. This appears a long read but when the book ends you will wish like me that it could have continued for a 100 pages or more.
Never a slog, the pages fly by and is enjoyable throughout. A wonderful dark story filled with believable characters who populate every chapter of this excellent book.
This is an obvious modern working of the tremendous Swedish legacy which has its roots in the Inspector Beck series by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö.
It elevates still further the outstanding Scandinavian Crime Fiction we all delight to read; Nesser is a firm favourite of mine and this stunning novel can only add to his personal kudos and established reputation bringing new fans to him and this genre.

[Mosco · Rating 3 out of 5]

spoilerone.... ...non leggere questa recensione... ...che contiene uno spoilerone
A me non piacciono i gialli che finiscono con il lettore che ne sa un bel po' di più degli investigatori! Si, lo psicopatico è stato individuato e non è più in grado di nuocere. Ma i poliziotti arrivano tardi. E han capito metà di quel che è successo. Perché mai, per esempio, ha fatto fuori Monica? Noi lo sappiamo, loro no. Perché diavolo è diventato matto? A noi viene raccontato i poliziotti restano nel dubbio. E vi siete accorti che manca un cadavere alla conta? La tipa di Londra. Scordata lungo la strada. Non mi piacciono, poi, i finali arruffati, con un deus ex machina che tira fuori le castagne dal fuoco al posto degli investigatori. E che diavolo, pigliatevi le vostre responsabilità. Invece no, ecco un'improbabilissima rediviva che risolve la questione. Inutilmente, si stava sparando da solo. Non era necessaria, accidenti. poteva restarsene morta dove pensavamo stesse e la storia si chiudeva lo stesso senza stiracchiare. Peraltro, secondo voi, una che si è versata l'acido fluoridrico in faccia, conciata malissimo, pesantemente ustionata, con un dolore atroce e mezzo ciecata, si mette un asciugamano bagnato in testa, si tampona un po', e se ne va a piedi da sola? Si? mah! Però Nesser scrive benino, anche se io avrei tagliato diverse pagine. Qualche approfondimento psicologico c'è, la solitudine si sente, gli squallidi quartieri poveri e le vite tristi di chi ci abita par di vederli. Devo dire però che è il libro suo che mi è piaciuto meno.
PS: ma lassù, dicono "All right" ogni 10 parole?

[Thomas Edmund · Rating 1 out of 5]

Its been a while since I've read a book that is so completely "what just happened here?" Stranger's Honeymoon is book 9 of Van Veeteren mysteries but I don't think reading the prior 8 would have made things any better.

Published in 2001, but only translated into english 2013 The Stranger's Honeymoon does start with some promise. [This seems to happen alot, has everyone started purposely fooling the reading public by sucking them in with good intros?] A young lady starts to suspect he mother's lover is 99% more crazy than first thought, and the mother ends up dead, Veeteren starts to investigate.

Then what? The rest of the book was unrememberable discussions between police officials, an indecipherable connection to the StoneMasons was made (Girl With Dragon Tattoo this was not) until finally Veeteren engages in what has to be the stupidest approach to a potential serial killer ever - ringing him on the phone and confronting him about discrepancies in his academic thesis.

A theme of Olives permeates the book, wasn't sure if this was a Veeteren thing or I just missed the symbolism in the cruddy writing.

I suspect in the end what I'm missing is that Nesser has simply been making money of a famous literary character (rather than quality writing), and due to the success of "Nordic Noir" in English speaking countries the publisher has tried to translate that success, bringing new meaning to the phrase 'lost in translation'

[Reinhold · Rating 4 out of 5]

Seltsamer Titel aber guter Roman

Wenn man den Titel dieses Romans liest, wundert man sich, was das denn nun wieder werden soll. Nun die Rose und der Tod stammen aus einem Gedicht, das für den Mörder und ein Opfer eine Rolle spielt und die Schwalbe wird von van Veeterens Katze gefressen. Beides eigentlich Nebensächlichkeiten, zumindest für die Geschichte, denn diese dreht sich um einen frauenmordenden Psychopaten der es nicht verkraften kann, wenn er abgelehnt wird. Dennoch handelt es sich offenbar um einen hochintelligenten Mann, denn die einzige Spur führt mitten in einen akademischen Zirkel von Freimaurern.

Sprachlich ist das Buch großartig, das Lesen dieses Werkes wäre stellenweise auch ohne Handlung hochinteressant. Die Beschreibungen sind wunderbar illustrierte Bilder die in ihrer stilistischen Vielfältigkeit ihresgleichen suchen. Ein Teil des Titels stammt wie gesagt aus einer Szene in der van Veeterens Kater eine Schwalbe fängt; die hochkarätige Schilderung dieses Kapitel zeigt welch großer Erzähler Nesser ist. Auch der Übersetzerin ist ein hervorragender Job gelungen, sie konnte einigen Wortwitz in die deutsche Übersetzung mitnehmen. Der Plot der Geschichte, der immer wieder Rückblicke in die Geschichte des Mörders erlaubt, ist recht gut gelungen - vielleicht nicht der beste Plot aller Zeiten, aber dennoch deutlich besser als der durchschnittliche Erzählfluss. Ein Schwachpunkt bleibt hierbei jedoch hängen und das ist die zu dürftige Erzählung des Hintergrundes des Täters. Hier hätte Nesser mehr schreiben sollen um sich den fünften Stern zu verdienen. Ein weiterer typischer Aspekt von Nesser ist der häufige Perspektivenwechsel, oft innerhalb weniger Absätze. Diese Technik hat er allerdings so gut entwickelt, dass aus einer Unart eine wahre Kunst wurde - bei Nesser ist dies niemals störend, sondern im Gegenteil immer eine Bereicherung.

Die Personen sind großteils gut gezeichnet, dies bezieht sich vor allem auf die Protagonisten. Der psychopathische Mörder, wird zwar auch sehr gut und detailliert geschildert, der Hintergrund seiner Persönlichkeitsstörung wird allerdings nicht ausreichend herausgearbeitet. Nichtsdestotrotz: Nesser lässt den Leser an den Leben und Gedanken vieler seiner Personen teilhaben. Dazu trägt einerseits die oben erwähnte Technik der Perspektivenwechsel bei, vor allem aber wird dies durch seine akribische Schilderung der Personen und Situationen erreicht.

[Maria João Fernandes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Demasiado tempo. Tanto na história, como na vida real passou demasiado tempo, durante qual me fui dedicando a outras leituras, deixando o serial killer, os detectives e as suas vidas pessoais em "stand by" vezes sem conta.Sou uma pessoa impaciente por natureza e naturalmente insatisfeita e, neste momento, o género policial não me estimula o suficiente para me elevar o espírito (que é o que a leitura me faz sempre, pelo menos quando vale o meu tempo). Há alguns meses que sinto necessidade de histórias diferentes, géneros diferentes, autores diferentes. Porém, aqui estou eu, a escrever uma opinião de mais um policial, mas não vou falar do seu enredo ou personagens, como fiz com os anteriores livros desta série do Hakan Nesser, que apesar do que disse continua a ser um dos meus escritores de policiais preferido. Este livro é um pouco mais do mesmo dos que o antecederam, ainda que, e isto é importante, tenha uma qualidade comparável à do Henning Mankel. O problema não é do livro, é meu. Entendam-me: nem o maior orador de todos os tempos consegue convencer um público com as suas palavras, se esse público não estiver na mesma sala onde expõe o seu discurso. Se o Hakan Nesser está na cozinha, eu estou na casa de banho. É mesmo assim.

[Grada (BoekenTrol) · Rating 3 out of 5]

What do I think of this book. Well, that's a bit hard to say. I liked it, but... it really is a very slow book. The investigation into a murder (later 4 murders) is very slow. No clues, no ideas no nothing to work with.
Despite the slowness, I liked it, as I already said. It still has that something that made me keep reading, wanting to know how it would end. If the murderer would ever be caught.
And is he? Well, that's for you to find out :-)

What bothered and distracted me from reading the most is, that I have no idea where to place the book. Is it Scandinavia? Then why are the streetnames and family names of the main characters and places so familiar to Belgian ones? Were they translated, maybe?

[Evalitera · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hakan Nesser ein Krimi, der sich langsam von der Schwalbe zur Katze und Rose bewegt zum Tod bewegt als Hörbuch von Dieter Bär sehr gut bzw. ruhig gelesen.
Lange dauert es diesmal bis zum Geistesblitz, bis van Veeteren die Zusammenhänge erkennt.

Das Ende ist zu vage, ich weiß nicht, warum der Mann zum Frauenmörder wurde, (schlechte Kindheit?) vielleicht habe ich da die Erklärung überhört, da zum Schluß ein gewisser Überdruss an der Langsamkeit der Aufklärung eintrat. Ein typischer van Veeteren Nr. 9. D. h. es war ein ganz solider Krimi und es gibt schlechtere van Veeteren

[Simon Parsons · Rating 4 out of 5]

An entertaining book if a little contrived. Van Veeteren's discovery of the murderer by going through a membership list and then getting someone to look at his shortlist and decide who was the most likely to be a killer was a bit unlikely. Perhaps a plot device to save 100 pages of police plodding through 150 odd names? It connected the long first part with the shorter finale but felt like a shortcut in an otherwise rather good book.

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite dark, but very good. My favourite in the series is still "Hour of the Wolf", but this 9th book comes pretty close

[Cliff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although the cover bears the words' An Inspector van Veeteren Mystery', the said Inspector does very little detecting until about the last 5th of the book, although he does appear from time to to time in his bookshop and it is his inability to talk to a priest, due to having to run off to a dentist appointment, which effectively starts the train of events which provide the main part of the narrative. That having been said, I did enjoy the book, having read its 800 odd pages in less than 48 hours. The locale of the story, and of all the van Veeteren books, is vague, Brian Butler in his blog, 'You couldn't make it up' says 'The series takes place in an unnamed northern European country that at various times resembles Sweden, Germany, Norway and even the Netherlands. The characters, places and locations switch between Swedish, Dutch and German names.' I have mixed feelings about this as I do like books such as this to have defined sense of place. In my own mind, I plumped for The Netherlands, if only because of the number of double vowels in names! I did enjoy the style of writing which at times verges on the jokey, particularly when police officers are talking to each other, or their actions are being described. I assume that a sense of humour is vital when dealing with the sorts of horrers this book does describe (although not in the kind of detail some writers indulge in). I'll be looking ou for more of van Veeteren and his roll your own cigarettes.

[Tony Nielsen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yes I know, Tony reads yet another Scandanavian thriller and gives it the thumbs up. Believe me, The Strangler's Honeymoon is worth at least 4 stars, probably 5 but I thought I'd err on the side of caution. Hakan Nesser's series involving the inimitable Van Vetteran character is top class, and in this one, he's brought out of retirement to track down a very clever killer who gives away very obtuse clues which somehow Van Vetteren unravels. Actually Van Vettern does exactly come out of retirement from his antiquarian bookshop, instead he decides to investigate the case as a private cause. I haven't yet read all of Nesser's series, but I reckon we're seeing a much more mellow version of the renowned detective now that he's out of the force. Having won the Swedish Crime Writer's Award three times Hakan Nesser is a legend in Scandanavia and is now becoming equally succesful further afield. The Strangler's Honeymoon is a complex story that really flows and leads to an unexpected conclusion.

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this one the best - the series keeps getting better and better as it progresses. I remember when I first started the series, it seemed so dark and depressing but VV has grown and the group he worked/works with is a great collection of detectives with interesting personalities. As far as the story goes, it revolves around a serial killer and his actions over the course of 6 years. He's unique in how he selects his victims but really the bottom line is that he's a first class nut case but very intelligent. The disposition of the killer himself is resolved but many other strings just hang out there for your own thoughts on how those people fared after the conclusion. Highly recommend this one!

[Lena · Rating 5 out of 5]

"AMAZING" is probably half a star too strong for this - but it was an exceptionally good read, even better than the last few I added. In this mystery, I started out not liking it too much - it seemed a bit predictable. But it wasn't, and then I could not put it down. Then the same thing happened just before the ending - and again, I was wrong.
Simply - the mystery was beautifully plotted. The characters were believable, likable, and down-to-earth. The ending was totally satisfying, in that it matched the characters as they developed, and it seemed that justice was done - although not predictably. I look forward to reading all of the books written by this author.

[Marlene H · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the third Hakan Nesser book I've read and I'm now a confirmed fan. I had some doubts after the first book I read because of the way the reader knows more than the police so it's not so much a Whodunnit as a police procedural plot. All three books I've read now work in the same way but Nesser knows how to keep the tension and mystery going even though, at any given point in the book, he has told me more than he has told Van Veeteren, Munster and the others!

[Pati · Rating 3 out of 5]

The best and only interesting part of this book is Van Veeteren...he is brillant character and special kind of humour what i always like.Whole story was...very simply and nothing WOW here..The end-one big stupid story.This book was also too fat,sometimes dialouges were too long,too boring.The whole secret of this story was very simply and doesnt need over 500pages to be discovered.I enjoyed parts with Van Veeteren.And only because of that i gave 3 stars.

[Jeannette · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. Intriguing with a plot that keeps you guessing. When starting a book with this many pages, you wonder how many pages will be useless or how much, of what I call fill, will there be. In this case, nothing was useless and every page was pretty much vital to the story as a whole. Highly recommend.

[William Falo · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved this book. Nesser's books are one of my favorites, everyone is better then the one before it. The translation is so smooth you can't notice that it has been translated. The plot believable and compelling. I couldn't put it down. I can't wait for the next translation.

[Ingrid · Rating 5 out of 5]

Von diesem Autor habe ich bis jetzt noch nichts gelesen. Dieser Roman hat sich durch seine gut durchgearbeitete Struktur beeindruckt. Einen Krimi mit soviel Tiefgang ohne dabei zu langweilen ist selten. Das Ende hätte ich persönlich vielleicht anders gestaltet, aber es paßt zum Rest des Buches.

[Kin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Buon poliziesco. Del tipo “riusciranno i nostri eroi a catturare il serial killer ,che noi conosciamo dalla prima pagina ?”. O avranno bisogno dell'aiuto del pensionato comm. Van Veeteren? Voi che dite?

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

There aren't many books that can hold my attention for 625 pages but I'll be damned if Nesser didn't keep me engaged throughout the whole disturbing saga.
This series is unique, gritty without being gratuitous and always filled with fascinating characters and some very droll one-liners.
Bravo!

[SilverMoon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ho letto di peggio,questo sì,e tutto sommato per più di una buona metà l'intreccio mi è sembrato ben costruito.
Ad un certo punto però,e lo stacco si percepisce abbastanza nettamente,si ha come l'impressione che l'autore sia rimasto imbrigliato nel meccanismo che aveva creato,e quindi,da una situazione investigativa a dir poco disastrosa,con gli agenti coinvolti che non sanno letteralmente che pesci prendere,ci troviamo,dopo poche pagine,e in maniera alquanto rocambolesca,senza cioè che sia intervenuta alcuna vera svolta,semplicemente grazie alla più classica delle botte di fortuna,con la medesima squadra investigativa sulle tracce dell'assassino.
Non che ciò sia necessariamente un male,la fortuna esiste,e a volte offre un contributo importante,è che a margine di tutto ciò alla fine ci ritroviamo con un assassino
che neanche viene assicurato alla giustizia,e con gli inquirenti che fino alla fine rimangono all'oscuro dei moventi dei suoi delitti,se non per la confusa intuizione circa una matrice edipica all'origine di un probabile disturbo della personalità.
Trascurabile il coinvolgimento verso le vicende personali dei poliziotti coinvolti nel caso;mi sono sembrate delle informazioni buttate a casaccio tra le pagine,abbastanza inutili e slegate dal racconto,non hanno minimamente solleticato il mio interesse.

[Aimi Tedresalu]

Veel üks Põhjamaade krimikirjanik oma erruläinud komissari lugudega, kellest varem kuulnudki polnud. Mirabilia sarjas avaldamine äratas usaldust ja pealkiri püüdis tähelepanu. Kass ja pääsuke olid kenasti sümbolina olemas, roosike ka. Surma muidugi oli kohe lahkesti, sest kui kägistaja ringi käib, siis langeb noor naisi nagu loogu. Erti huvitavaks teeb asja muidugi see, et kui kahtlusaluse nimi leitakse, siis selgub, et see polegi elus inimene, vaid hoopis kirjanduslik tegelane. Raamatute antikvariaati pidaval endisel komissaril van Veeterenil tuleb siis politseile appi asuda, et lugu ikka lahenduse saaks. Selles mõttes eripärane lugu, et kulges minu arust üsna aeglases ja mõnusas tempos. Sai rahulikult lugeda ja mõelda, igav ei hakanud samas kordagi. Erilist mõrvari ümber keerutamist ei käi, sest tegelikult ei osata alguses kedagi kahtlustadagi ja kui kahtlusalune leitakse, siis ikka kohe õige. Mõrvari psühhoanalüüsile ka just üleliia põhjalikult pühendutud ei ole, aga eks taiplik lugeja mõistab, miks asjad läksid nii, nagu läksid. Võigas oli, aga mitte üleliia. Hakka või arvama, et kägistamine on kena kunst. Ühesõnaga, mulle see nutika raamatukoguhoidja väljakutse lõpuspurdi raamat meeldis. Väljakutse ise pakkus ka kogu aasta vältel põnevust.

[Katherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

*A good addition to the series. It's main fault, and I'm finding this true of a lot of books I've read lately, too many cliches. I'm not sure if it's the author in this case or the translator. Maybe I've read Orwell's "Politics and the English Language" too many times, but tacked together phrases and works rife with cliche make me want to roll somebody over in their grave while licking my chops just like a cat with a toothsome canary.
*Favorite passages:
"As expected, and as usual, it was like dishwater. They base all their activities on the drinking of coffee, he thought, but even so they never learn how to make it properly" (132). *Van Veeteren's thoughts when drinking "coffee" with a vicar.
"'It's just that being a human being is so hard. And so pointless'" (189).
"But they had heard that her mother was a bit of a weirdo. A lot of a weirdo, in fact" (197).
"'Don't ask me. But Meusse has just arrived. He can usually give you the family tree of a cow-pat'" (272).

[Rajiv Chopra · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I do like the book, and I found it unusual in many respects, I did find some parts a bit disappointing

The first thing I found unusual, and highly interesting, was that he gave us some insight into the killer, and his thinking. We are kept guessing as to who he is, and we are presented with him, in his relationships.

I was very surprised that the good inspector hardly had any role in the book until I was 75% through, and then solved the identity of the murderer almost with no evidence. While intuition, and the ability to put together the pieces quickly, is indeed the hallmark of genius and experience, I was a bit surprised by the speed with which he solved the case.

The ending was disappointing, in my opinion.

I like the character portrayal of the killer, and the good inspector

[Kingfan30 · Rating 3 out of 5]

So this is a new author to me, and I do generally like a good crime mystery. This has a fairly good story line and starts off from the murderers point of view. I liked the fact we got glimpses of this every so often and was a bit disappointed when they disappeared until the very end. It was a fairly quick read and a great way to while away some time on a long plane journey. That said, on the front it claims it’s an inspector Van Veeterem mystery, and to be honest he doesn’t play a huge part in the entire book until nearer the end, it makes me wonder if the previous books from this series are the same. The ending was a bit of a let down too. I’m not sure I’d go out of my to read more of this series.

[David C Ward · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite good; a parallel would be the Martin Beck novels (although those are leaner). A psychopath preys on women, including a mother and daughter whose disappearance triggers the police investigation. A series of additional killings follows and fhe mutiple points of view (including the victims’) reveals even more. The professional and personal lives of the police are well handled; as with the Beck novels they’re an attractive group. And the real theme is about loneliness and connection. I thought the ending was over the top though. And it’s never explained how Van Veeteren winnows the list of names down to four. A great scene when the detective faces down the fussy and pedantic college administrator!