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Når de døde vågner
2010. Havnen i Napoli i det sydlige Italien. En sen aften skal den sidste container lastes på et fragtskib - den tilhører Camorraen, byens berygtede mafiaorganisation. Containeren bliver tabt fra lastekranen og smadrer mod kajen. Ud vælter 50 lig, heriblandt en lang række asiater fra Camorraens illegale modekopivare-fabrikker i Syditalien. Men også liget af en yngre kvinde, Lucia Forlani, og hendes 12-årige søn.
Den unge, ambitiøse undersøgelsesdommer Sabrina D'Avalos bliver sat på sagen. Men hun bærer også på sine egne traumer, eftersom hendes far blev dræbt i et Camorra-attentat.
Da det viser sig, at der er en forbindelse mellem mordet på Lucia Forlani og attentatet på Sabrinas far, begynder Sabrina at nære en usund interesse for sagen. Hun bevæger sig længere og længere ind i fjendeland og påkalder sig Camorraens uønskede interesse. Samtidig er hun måske blot er en brik i myndighedernes kyniske magtspil for at lokke Camorraens myteomspundne lejemorder Urs Savelli, Albaneren, ud af hans hule?
Når de døde vågner er en højspændt, internationalt anlagt - og litterær - spændingsroman. Med alt til genren henhørende, men med hensyn til stil, psykologi og litterært niveau en tand over alt, der ellers skrives på dansk inden for genren.
Den unge, ambitiøse undersøgelsesdommer Sabrina D'Avalos bliver sat på sagen. Men hun bærer også på sine egne traumer, eftersom hendes far blev dræbt i et Camorra-attentat.
Da det viser sig, at der er en forbindelse mellem mordet på Lucia Forlani og attentatet på Sabrinas far, begynder Sabrina at nære en usund interesse for sagen. Hun bevæger sig længere og længere ind i fjendeland og påkalder sig Camorraens uønskede interesse. Samtidig er hun måske blot er en brik i myndighedernes kyniske magtspil for at lokke Camorraens myteomspundne lejemorder Urs Savelli, Albaneren, ud af hans hule?
Når de døde vågner er en højspændt, internationalt anlagt - og litterær - spændingsroman. Med alt til genren henhørende, men med hensyn til stil, psykologi og litterært niveau en tand over alt, der ellers skrives på dansk inden for genren.
355 pages, Paperback
First published September 28, 2011
26 people are currently reading
111 people want to read
About the author
Steffen Jacobsen
47 books128 followersSteffen Jacobsen is an orthopaedic surgeon and consultant. This is his third novel. He was inspired to write When The Dead Awaken by Roberto Saviano's non-fiction book, Gomorrah, about the Camorra and by his travels around Italy. He lives in Denmark.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
September 6, 2013
An exceptionally good crime read from a new-to-me Danish author appearing for the first time in English, When The Dead Awaken is a thriller not to be missed. Drawing on the influence of Roberto Saviano’s Gomorrah, Jacobsen has fashioned an enthralling thriller set in Naples and focusing primarily on the criminal activities of this feared criminal organisation, but also the frustrations of and danger to those that seek to bring them to justice…
The first thing that strikes me about When The Dead Awaken, is Jacobsen’s fluid and totally engaging writing style. His prose just pulls you in, not only in the sense of location and atmosphere, but also by the little vignettes of the socio-political complexity of Italy that he melds into the central narrative. He makes it abundantly clear that the forces of justice in Italy work so at odds with each other, that the growth of organised crime over many years still remains largely unchecked due to the lack of communication and cooperation between the various factions. This is reflected strongly in his central protagonist, Sabrina D’Avalo, a public prosecutor whose father was murdered by the Mafia, working for the public prosecutor Frederico Renda (himself a victim of the Camorra’s wrath), being set on the trail of the Camorra after the discovery of two bodies identified as having been in a witness protection programme. Sabrina not only has to elude the grasp of the criminals who pursue her, but also navigate her own relationship with the mysterious Nestore Raspallo who has been commissioned by Renda to watch her back. Where this book come into it’s own is not only in the tension we experience through Sabrina’s dangerous investigation, but how Jacobsen also incorporates a view of her investigation through the eyes of the head of this branch of the Camorra, Don Francesco and his right hand man- Urs Savelli- a fixer with a dark past and one of the most compelling characters in the book. Add into the mix the story of Giulio Forlani currently residing under the radar in the rural tranquillity of Castellarano, but with his own reasons for avoiding the attentions of the Camorra, and these different storylines solidify how Jacobsen manipulates and weaves the individual strands into one contiguous whole in such a readable style. Likewise, the characters mentioned are extremely well-drawn, and Sabrina D’Avalo centres the whole book, being clever, intuitive and driven by her own demons. She assumes the same aura of feminine strength as Steig Larsson’s Lisbeth or Pierre Lemaitre’s Alex, holding the reader in her thrall throughout and stoutly supported by an equally strong cast of male characters, be they on the side of justice or crime. Not only is the plot extremely pacey and tense, but there are also rare little injections of humour, and some of Jacobsen’s physical descriptions of characters are a delight. I loved this one of a hotel receptionist, “She smiled. Or her upper lip curled, at any rate. Sabrina was mesmerised by tiny clumps of lipstick stuck to the black strands of hair on her upper lip. Like tiny unripe cherries, they swayed in the stream of air to and from the nostrils.” Marvellous.
This is an easy book to recommend, harnessing as it does the very factors that make both Italian and Scandinavian crime so popular. Sublime plotting, superb characterisation, a nod to the socio-political climate and a real sense of location all knitted together in a truly gripping thriller. Highly recommend this one.
The first thing that strikes me about When The Dead Awaken, is Jacobsen’s fluid and totally engaging writing style. His prose just pulls you in, not only in the sense of location and atmosphere, but also by the little vignettes of the socio-political complexity of Italy that he melds into the central narrative. He makes it abundantly clear that the forces of justice in Italy work so at odds with each other, that the growth of organised crime over many years still remains largely unchecked due to the lack of communication and cooperation between the various factions. This is reflected strongly in his central protagonist, Sabrina D’Avalo, a public prosecutor whose father was murdered by the Mafia, working for the public prosecutor Frederico Renda (himself a victim of the Camorra’s wrath), being set on the trail of the Camorra after the discovery of two bodies identified as having been in a witness protection programme. Sabrina not only has to elude the grasp of the criminals who pursue her, but also navigate her own relationship with the mysterious Nestore Raspallo who has been commissioned by Renda to watch her back. Where this book come into it’s own is not only in the tension we experience through Sabrina’s dangerous investigation, but how Jacobsen also incorporates a view of her investigation through the eyes of the head of this branch of the Camorra, Don Francesco and his right hand man- Urs Savelli- a fixer with a dark past and one of the most compelling characters in the book. Add into the mix the story of Giulio Forlani currently residing under the radar in the rural tranquillity of Castellarano, but with his own reasons for avoiding the attentions of the Camorra, and these different storylines solidify how Jacobsen manipulates and weaves the individual strands into one contiguous whole in such a readable style. Likewise, the characters mentioned are extremely well-drawn, and Sabrina D’Avalo centres the whole book, being clever, intuitive and driven by her own demons. She assumes the same aura of feminine strength as Steig Larsson’s Lisbeth or Pierre Lemaitre’s Alex, holding the reader in her thrall throughout and stoutly supported by an equally strong cast of male characters, be they on the side of justice or crime. Not only is the plot extremely pacey and tense, but there are also rare little injections of humour, and some of Jacobsen’s physical descriptions of characters are a delight. I loved this one of a hotel receptionist, “She smiled. Or her upper lip curled, at any rate. Sabrina was mesmerised by tiny clumps of lipstick stuck to the black strands of hair on her upper lip. Like tiny unripe cherries, they swayed in the stream of air to and from the nostrils.” Marvellous.
This is an easy book to recommend, harnessing as it does the very factors that make both Italian and Scandinavian crime so popular. Sublime plotting, superb characterisation, a nod to the socio-political climate and a real sense of location all knitted together in a truly gripping thriller. Highly recommend this one.
July 7, 2019
Kløgtig og stemningsmættet krimi, med lige dele fart, elegance og tung, varm italiensk stemning.
Sproget er velfungerende, billedmættet og fyldt med dejlige sætninger, så understreger rejsen rundt i et varmt og støvet land og landskab. Absolut læseværdig, hvis man vil underholdes.
Sproget er velfungerende, billedmættet og fyldt med dejlige sætninger, så understreger rejsen rundt i et varmt og støvet land og landskab. Absolut læseværdig, hvis man vil underholdes.
May 14, 2020
Ikke til at lægge fra sig!
Alletiders heltinde i en spændende bog, som jeg fandt på Amazon. Der var ikke flere bøger på engelsk af Steffen Jacobsen.
Jeg håber at finde flere bøger snart
Alletiders heltinde i en spændende bog, som jeg fandt på Amazon. Der var ikke flere bøger på engelsk af Steffen Jacobsen.
Jeg håber at finde flere bøger snart
August 5, 2018
Good writing but the main character was too detached to connect with. Something was missing. All the elements were there.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 11, 2016
I seem to be in a phase of reading European thrillers. Sadly here, something about the writing seems lost in translation - what may have lovely, brutal, and spare in the original Danish died completely when rendered in English. For example - and I've complained about this in English-language writing - we open a chapter looking at a face, and then there's mention of a woman's name, and then a relative, and then - wait, somebody is dead? Is the dead person one of the three people I was just reading about, or a fourth person?
I finished reading it just to see howdunit. The publisher seems to intend this book as #1 in a series of series about a female protagonist, and I see where a door's been left open. So keeping that in mind, I was surprised and disappointed when Something Else happened to resolve part of the story.
My eye keeps straying up to the icon of the book jacket above. The title (the English-language title, anyway) does actually have *something* to do with the story, but the phrase is never used in the context of the character I'm thinking of, and I have a feeling I'll look at my Goodreads list in a year and think "When the Dead Awaken? What was that one about?"
I finished reading it just to see howdunit. The publisher seems to intend this book as #1 in a series of series about a female protagonist, and I see where a door's been left open. So keeping that in mind, I was surprised and disappointed when Something Else happened to resolve part of the story.
My eye keeps straying up to the icon of the book jacket above. The title (the English-language title, anyway) does actually have *something* to do with the story, but the phrase is never used in the context of the character I'm thinking of, and I have a feeling I'll look at my Goodreads list in a year and think "When the Dead Awaken? What was that one about?"
March 10, 2015
I thought it might be interesting to read a detective/ police novel taking place in Italy but this book was not the one. I thought it was poorly written and/ or translated. It jumped around in a fashion hard to follow. It was not exciting in any dramatic way. Rather boring. I read to the end because I thought it might improve with a dramatic unusual finish. No such luck -- forget it!
June 28, 2015
Did Not Finish.
I only got a few pages into this book and had to put it down. I cannot stand reading a book with so many grammatical and punctuation mistakes. I realize that it was translated into English, but that really is no excuse for poor punctuation.
The book is set in Italy, originally written in Danish, and translated into English.
I only got a few pages into this book and had to put it down. I cannot stand reading a book with so many grammatical and punctuation mistakes. I realize that it was translated into English, but that really is no excuse for poor punctuation.
The book is set in Italy, originally written in Danish, and translated into English.
Read
March 26, 2015An Italian mystery written by a Danish Author. It seems the set up for the story in Chapter 1 is ignored when the story progresses in Chapter 2. The only reason for Chapter 1 is to introduce the main character Sabrina D'Avalos in the story. I liked the story but I kept wondering why chapter 1.
September 10, 2020
Revenge is complicated and deadly.
The investigator finds out the truth about her father. The plot reveals many good and evil people. Her enemy finally tortures her with intent to kill her. She is saved by an innocent child and love is offered.
The investigator finds out the truth about her father. The plot reveals many good and evil people. Her enemy finally tortures her with intent to kill her. She is saved by an innocent child and love is offered.
April 24, 2021
Yeah, one of those books when a brilliant puppet-master manipulates people and they respond exactly as he plans. Didn't do it foe me.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews