La principessa del Burundi

Ann Lindell #4

by Kjell Eriksson, Alessandro Bassini (Translator)

Dicembre a Uppsala: il corpo senza vita di John Jonsson, un esperto di pesci tropicali di umili orgini, noto negli ambienti della piccola malavita come Little John, viene ritrovato nella neve orribilmente mutilato. Le ferite sul suo corpo fanno pensare ai piranha. Chi ha voluto ucciderlo in modo tanto brutale? C'era un segreto nella sua vita? Il fratello è deciso a vendicarlo. Non ha niente da perdere ed è pronto a tutto. La sua caccia comincia parallela alle indagini della polizia, e per Ann Lindell, sebbene in maternità, questo caso diventa un'ossessione.

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

271 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

Karl Stig Kjell Eriksson is a Swedish crime-writer, author of the novels The Princess of Burundi and The Cruel Stars of the Night, the former of which was awarded the Swedish Crime Writers' Academy Best Swedish Crime Novel Award in 2002. They have both recently been translated into English by Ebba Segerberg.

Series:
* Ann Lindell Mystery

Reviews

[Larissa · Rating 2 out of 5]

First, a note to people reading the American edition:

Initially, you might think that The Princess of Burundi is a Fargoesque tale about a violent murder and a plucky, preggers female detective. You might think that because that's what the description says. Apparently, someone pissed off their editorial intern, though, because very little in the description is factually accurate.

So, just to be clear:

No, the dead man's troubled past doesn't really "catch up with him." It's sort of the point, but not really.

No, Ann Lindell (the aforementioned plucky detective) isn't really the main protagonist--she's actually one of many police officers who is investigating the murder and although she has a good deal of secondary-plot action, is not real a key player in the investigation.

Yes, Ann Lindell is on maternity leave, but no, she does not "take a huge risk that could result in many more dead bodies in the snow, including hers and that of her unborn child." Because she's not pregnant--she's already had the baby.

Oh, and while we're at it--the title is misleading. Though explaining why would require that I ruin some of the plot points. So I won't--just trust me.

Perhaps this all seems a little semantic, but I submit that misrepresenting a novel's basic plot is a disservice to the author and the reader, not to mention extremely lazy.

But anyway:

The Princess of Burundi is Eriksson's debut novel, and is a serviceable police procedural which does keep the plot moving and introduce some compelling characters--police officers and townspeople alike--that would be worth reading more about. Eriksson is fond of back story (which I really appreciate) and takes the time to provide contextual details about characters which might explain their motivations with a fair amount of nuance.

However, I have to admit, I had more qualms with this one than not. So, since I'm in a listing mood, here we go:

-Characters narrate their inner thoughts. Out loud. A lot. Now, I certainly talk to myself a bit, but I don't narrate my inner existential crises while standing on sidewalks. That's what the narrative voice-over is for, buddy. Use it--your detectives sound deranged.

-The kooky cast of detectives is not all that differentiated. Also, there are many instances when character A cuts off character B by verbalizing something that B was just thinking...Such psychic efficiency ceases to be efficient if you're just repeating the same thought twice, over and over, throughout the book.

-Ann Lindell has a very detailed back story but very little of it has any bearing on the actual story.

-This actually happens with several characters, come to think of it.

-Oh, and Princess falls back on my number one mystery novel pet peeve: the crime is resolved suddenly, without precedent, when an entirely new character is introduced. Don't, don't, please don't ever sew up your hermetic, small town murder by introducing a new character less than 75 pages away from the ending. It's about as tepid as the "And then I woke up!" plot completion strategy.

[El · Rating 2 out of 5]

I worked at a used bookstore when I first moved to town in 2003. I felt I was a fairly well-read person, and had an idea or two about some things. So I was surprised when one evening someone called and asked if we had any books on a specific topic.

"Chiclets!?" I remember asking. "Like... the gum...?"

The man on the other end of the line made a really frustrated noise, because obviously I didn't understand something pretty uncommon like this.

"Cichlids. C-I-C-H-L-I-D-S. The FISH?"

I still had no idea what he was talking about, but walked the cordless phone to the pets and animal section of the store and took a look through the one shelf we had. Nothing about whatever these cichlids were. I let him know we didn't have any fish books at the moment, but to be sure to try back since we had new things every day. He scoffed and hung up.

Fish people are the worst.

I had almost forgotten about that entire experience until I started reading this book. I didn't know until like halfway through the book that "Princess of Burundi" refer to a species of cichlid, Neolamprologus brichardi. This is what they look like. You're welcome.

I share this story with you not because I want you to be aware of how dumb I was in 2003, but because, obviously, these cichlids are the title of the book. And you should know going into it that "Princess of Burundi" are fish. It's only fair.

I'm still sort of new at this whole Scandinavian crime/thriller/police procedural thing. I seem to pick them up often and then they sit on my bookshelves for a while. Of course I read the Millennium trilogy because everyone was raving about them, but you know what? I only found them to be so-so. At least not as wonderful as it seems everyone else thought they were. I haven't read Henning Mankell yet, though I have a few of his books. Then there's that Jo Nesbø guy from Norway who I've been told I should read as well.

But each time I read one of these books, I always feel left down by the end.

This book was no exception. It started out well enough, and I was properly engrossed most of the way through. It starts with a man's body, as all good crime stories should, and the story branches out from there: His family and the family dynamic, his past, his brother, an old friend, a couple police types, a sociopath, etc. etc. We learn of each character through the various chapters, but I don't feel we really get to know any of them. This may be because the book is the first of Eriksson's books to be translated to English, but it is like the fourth book in whatever series. I don't know if it's necessary to read the other books before this one (or if I will even go back to check them out), but I feel maybe I missed something about some of the characters just because I had no previous experience with any of them.

Unfortunately Eriksson relies on some pretty annoying crime novel motifs, like introducing a character at the end of the book, so you think one or two things throughout the whole book and then BA-BAM, we're less than 100 pages from the end so let's go ahead and introduce you to someone new.

That doesn't work for me. It was about that time the story fell apart for me and I pretty much stopped caring.

I've seen some comments about the translation. I didn't have an issue with that, per se. Since I don't read or speak Swedish, I can't compare the two texts, but I thought this read just as well as most crime/thriller/police procedurals read. Any issues I had with the story (like the portrayal of women as being wives/mothers - even one of the cops involved who is on maternity leave but then carts her son around with her while she tries to crack this case she's not even assigned to, sigh) were related to the story itself, and I cannot blame the translator for that.

However, it could have used some editing. I found quite a few typos throughout the text and that just makes me angry because it's so avoidable.

In any case, it was fine for a deliciously overcast and drizzly January day. An easy read, not taxing at all, and fun to just sit and let the story unfold. Don't think about it too much.

I wonder whatever happened to that sassy guy and his cichlids from 2003. He's probably really insufferable still today.

[Beth F · Rating 2 out of 5]

I finished this book yesterday and initially gave it three stars. I’m downgrading it to two after thinking about it and formulating my reaction into words.

This book should have been a very fast read. It was only 300 pages. The writing style was not pea soupy. And every time I managed to sit down and pick it up, I tore through the pages rather quickly. Also I really did want to know whodunit. So why did it take me over a week to finish this blasted thing?

Two reasons: 1) too many viewpoints and 2) too many stopping points, which I’ll explain.

Each chapter was told from the viewpoint of a different character. Included in this cast of characters was the murdered man’s wife, his teenage son, the murdered man’s brother, a crazed psychopath, a former classmate, a cop, another cop, a female detective, some spouses, some former spouses, some other random people, etc. etc. There were a lot of individuals to keep straight. And while this wasn’t exactly difficult to do, I struggled with caring about any single one of these characters. The author spent such a short amount of time with any single individual that none of them stood out, they all felt like main characters, and the personal anecdotes about their day-to-day life whilst they were all reacting to or trying to solve the murder became tedious.

Because of the style the story was told in, trying to write a synopsis for the story would be extremely difficult. I read the dust jacket blurb after finishing it and realized that the description had very little in common with what I’d actually just read and that if I attempted to write one myself, I would also fail. In short, it’s a murder mystery. One character is murdered before the book begins and by the end of the novel, the body count goes up to four. The book takes place in December so there were some Christmas parties and secret kisses and waxing poetic over life in general by all the characters (I think this happens to a lot of us around the holidays) so it fit, but it still made nailing down any real plot difficult.

Sometimes, there were several viewpoints included in each chapter. The author would write anywhere between a few paragraphs to several pages about one character and then break away to another. By doing this, there were many natural breaks that allowed me to mark my place, put the book down and walk away to do something else. I found that while I was reading the book, I was perfectly content to do so. But whenever I wasn’t reading it, I felt absolutely no compulsion whatsoever to drop what I was doing and read it.

Overall, I’d say that since I’m not a big fan of mysteries, I’m probably not the target audience for this book. Someone who enjoys crime novels or murder mysteries would probably find this book much more satisfying than I did.

[Lobstergirl · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think there are more people writing Swedish police procedurals now than there are actual Swedish people living in Sweden, and about 75% of these books (including this one) win awards. Half of them have ties to Africa: either an African character, or an African setting, or just some word like "Burundi" thrown into the title. (The princess of Burundi refers to a tropical fish, as well as to one of the Swedish characters.) Really the only difference between this, and a Wallander, is that this is set in Uppsala rather than Ystad, and Wallander isn't in it. Aside from that, I believe Kjell Eriksson is probably a pen name for Henning Mankell.

I had to chuckle anemically at the end of it; I'd written a trivia question halfway through asking who the character Justus is. (He's the murder victim's teenage son.) One of the multiple choice answers I gave was "a racehorse." (Don't judge.) After the novel ends, there's an excerpt from Eriksson's next book....which also happens to have a character named Justus. He's a stallion.

[Rachel (not currently receiving notifications) Hall · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

The Princess of Burundi won author Kjell Eriksson the Best Swedish Crime Novel award in 2002 and went on to become a bestseller in Sweden. This excellent English translation, courtesy of Ebba Segerberg, was unfortunately not available until 2007 and marked the first appearance of Inspector Ann Lindell, despite her being on maternity leave at the outset of the investigation.

When John Harald Jonsson is late home from work in a snowy December evening, wife Berit worries that his dissolute older brother, Lennart, has led him astray on an all-night drinking session. Known as Little John and now a respectable family man with a quiet home life, his checkered history and carousing as a youth has left a black mark on his reputation. However, for Little John those days were in the past and although unemployed, his fourteen-year-old son, Justus, and his magnificent tropical aquarium kept him fully occupied. Indeed, Little John was something of an expert in the arena of tropical fish, specifically cichlids, favouring the African breeds and sharing his passion with Justus. He was a respected speaker at several tropical fish societies and joked that wife Berit was his own "Princess of Burundi" after the fish species he cherished the most. As a background profile of Little John is pieced together his recent upbeat demeanour and enthusiasm for life convinces his acquaintances that he was nursing a dream. With a recent loan, hints of travel and a high-stakes poker game mentioned, suspicion arises that John was holding something back. But whether this was enough to get him killed is an entirely different matter.

Brother Lennart, with a catalogue of offences to his name and reputation as a small-time crook is the bad apple of the family, hence the immediate conclusion when Little John's mutilated and tortured body is found by a jogger is that Lennart has led him astray. Having bled copiously, with missing fingers, signs of restrain and horrific burn marks on his genitals, Little John died a torturous death, seeming to speak of an aggression unwarranted by a popular man who had never resorted to violence in any of his early skirmishes. Born and brought up in the suburb of Altmuna with parents considered decent folk, the fortunes of the family are pondered by everyone from the police to brother Lennart and former family friends as little headway is made. Blighted by bad luck which has taken its toll on the Jonsson family, Lennart tries to chart the point at which his brother turned his back on crime and why he failed to ever do so himself and much of his role in The Princess of Burundi is engaged in reflection. As Lennart pursues his own bid to avenge his brother death, the knowledge that Little John might have held something back from him is a bitter blow as he comes to understand that his brother kept his own counsel.

Although this is a police procedural novel and is focused on the response of the Uppsala police force to a homicide this excellent novel also emphasises the impact on the individuals involved, from their emotions and handling of the event, to the connotations and implications on the community and society as a whole. As a result I suspect that it will polarise readers that crave action over reflection and are simply satisfied by identifying the perpetrator in an investigation. Instead, The Princess of Burundi portrays the three hundred and sixty degree effects of a crime, from the family of the victim and how they come to terms with events, to the implications for law and order in society, and providing and an opportunity to reflect on the various crossroads in a victim's life. As a consequence of this contemplation Eriksson's diverse cast of characters makes for a thought provoking and uniquely emotional take on a crime, serving to bring readers closer to the hearts and minds of those in Uppsala as they digest the events. Admittedly it took me a good few chapters to adjust to the emphasis on the frequent shifting of opinions of characters as I moved through the novel from a number of different perspectives and came to understand that this would be a rather sociological take on a police procedural; no bad thing at all, in fact I loved it, but this is rather different to the more usual procedural novels.

Alongside the murder of Little John, The Princess of Burundi catalogues the psychological breakdown of loner Vincent Hahn. Bitter and hostile from being ostracised by his peers starting from his days at secondary school, Hahn occupies himself with petty complaints and rancour towards others, including a grudging resentment against immigrants. When he attempts to assault one of his peers who made his childhood a misery, it points to a connection with the murder of Little John, namely all three were in the same year at school. As an unhinged Hahn goes on the run, can John's sadistic murder really be traced back to a childish squabble?

The frustrations of being translated out of order mean that this is in fact the fourth in the series but the first to be translated into English. Serving both as my introduction to the writing of Eriksson and the characters based at Uppsala police station who surround Inspector Ann Lindell, I had no difficultly following the setup and The Princess of Burundi works well as a standalone. I suspect fans of the brooding Kurt Wallander and the philosophical ruminations of Henning Mankell, will find a kindred spirit in the writing of Eriksson. With Chief Ottosson at the helm, and Inspector Ola Haver heading up his first murder investigation in the absence of Ann Lindell the focus is on a swift resolution, but with a murder in her hometown and a knowledge of the victims contact network, will a frustrated Lindell be able to sit and observe? Highly unlikely for a woman with such a passion for her job. It is at the half-way point that Ann Lindell begins to figure in the investigation, stopping by the office and resuming a close friendship with Ola Haver, with a frisson of romantic tension included. With Ola's domestic life floundering and Ann lonely after an emotional break-up there is a mutual connection. Surrounded by a team who all bring different areas of expertise, the individuals all etch a permanent impression and offer something different, yet epitomise integrity. As with the Van Veeteren series of Nesser the team are a varied bunch, all with their own quirks and idiosyncrasies making them easily distinguishable, rather than simply merging into the one.

The role of the police in The Princess of Burundi seemed to be to offer a facility for people to speak out and accessing their thoughts and memories of Little John, from his childhood to the last time they saw him and the conversations they remember. This served to facilitate much of the information and background on Little John and also brought some surprising insights and precious details which all contribute to the impression that he was cooking up some kind of scheme. Working overtime, Berglund is dismayed to see the disdain that he incites from members of the public aggravated by his enquiries as they rush home. He reflects how sad it is that so little consideration is offered to a fellow citizen whose murderer is at large, so long as it doesn't interfere with their lives. There is frustration from the murder squad as they consider the drain on resources that the murder itself will utilise, diverting man hours and meaning some less serious events will get less consideration. Reflecting on matters in his home town, it falls to Berglund to explain to his colleagues just how the city of Uppsala has always been a divided region, with an educated richer component, and a largely disenfranchised underclass living in very separate areas. As a working-class boy in the early seventies, Little John never had the grades or the will for more academic study and the demarcation between the districts has left an ingrained feeling of "them" versus "us". It seems clear that the treasured aquarium of Little John was a metaphor for the region of Uppsala, with different species of fish occupying different territories in a representation of the divided city of Uppsala.

After such a wonderfully build-up and analysis, I cannot deny that I was a little dismayed that the perpetrator comes somewhat out of the blue, not even being introduced until the last thirty pages, never having been mentioned as having anything to do with the case. The novels intriguing title promises much, however just what lies behind the macabre killing is when it comes, rather unexciting. The actions of Inspector Ann Lindell and her team are impeccable and the contributions of her erstwhile officers who empathise and acknowledge the futility of violent deaths is well conveyed. However, it is Lindell's discretion that leaves a lasting impression and her level headedness means she is a character I intend to read more of, hopefully the next time we meet she might not have baby Erik on the job with her! Aside from the fishy puns, this is a thoroughly engaging police procedural with an appreciation of the scars and blows that life often entails.

[Louise · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an entertaining mystery that will keep you guessing. At the end, once you are on to the killer you are still guessing about how the author will wrap it up.

The story is told in a series of vignettes each focusing on a character who is associated with the deceased. The format is perfect for a newspaper serial or a TV mini-series.

The personalities are described such that you understand and care about them as they approach Christmas in this town in Sweden. Most of those who know the victim have a motive and a cover story. There are sub plots and action that will lead you both to the solution and away from it.The outcome fits the clues.

The weakness is that not all the loose ends are tied up. For this I would give the book 3.5 stars, but with this system it isn't possible.

I might try another in this series and I recommend this one for light reading with the caveat that the ending is not totally satisfying.

[AngryGreyCat · Rating 1 out of 5]

I had read about this book in a magazine and put it on my TBR list. Unfortunately, this series is impacted by the whole “Translated Out of Order Syndrome” and it really did matter here. There are references to happenings in the character’s lives that happened prior to the events in The Princess of Burundi, which is somewhat confusing.

I am usually a big fan of Nordic/Scandinavian fiction in general but I struggled with this book and it is not a long novel, under 300 pages. It felt like a slog to get through and then the ending was just there in a rush and finished with no real denouement at all. I don’t know whether my problems with this book are due to the translation or the writing. I couldn’t really connect to the main character, Inspector Ann Lindell. I did find the victim Little John and his brother’s dynamic interesting and actually his brother’s redemption arc was the best part of the book. I don’t believe that I will read more in this series.

[María Alejandra · Rating 2 out of 5]

Aburrido a más no poder...

[Nick Davies · Rating 3 out of 5]

Two and a half. I’m not really sure why I bought this, considering I hadn’t been particularly impressed with the previous book in the series I had read. For the first hundred pages of this, I felt my uncertainty had been proved right - too many names of incompletely delineated characters, an over emphasis on people sitting recalling things that had happened in their past (a slightly lazy motif of over-telling and under-showing) and description without particular colour. It did improve in plot after this point and I upped my intended rating to a three by that point, but a messy ending involving a protagonist who’d not been mentioned till the final few chapters, red herring suspects discarded without explanation after their use to the plot had ended, some unlikeable police officers and an ‘in the nick of time’ ending that made me roll my eyes - it basically spoilt it.

[Debbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars rounded up. I truly am a lover of mysteries, police series, psychological thrillers, and combing them into Scandinavian fiction is wonderful. I enjoyed the book for the most part. Sometimes, however, there is an awkwardness, that may or may not be awkward writing, versus awkward translation. I will never know a since I cannot speak Swedish, not even a little, so I am wholly dependent on the translator. That being said, the story was good, the characters interesting, but I felt these little nuances of strangeness, as though I missed some things. All in all, though, a good read and I will read more in this series.

[Nancy Oakes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Set in Uppsala, Sweden, as the story opens, the winter weather is terrible, and a son awaits the return of his father, John Harald Jonsson. However, John Jonsson isn't coming home that night, or any other night because he's been murdered. Not only that, but there is evidence that John has been tortured. His wife, Berit, can't think of anyone that would want to hurt him let alone want him dead. Enter the police department, with the investigation being led by Ola Haver, who has some personal issues of his own, and investigated on the sidelines by Ann Liddell, who's still on maternity leave and really wants to get back to her work on the force.

The book is not only a story of the investigation of John's murder, but focuses on the impact of this crime on not only those left behind, but on the police as individuals. Eriksson's skill here is in her ability to create characters who come off as being real, as well as her ability to create and sustain an incredibly somber atmosphere throughout the novel. The mystery is okay, but there's just something about this woman's writing and her ability to create that transcends the plot.

I would definitely recommend this novel to readers who want something different than what's currently out there. Readers of more mainstream-type mystery novels may be less likely to enjoy this one, but I find European mystery novels, for the most part, to be more to the point, less cutesy and more intense than what's available on most bookstore shelves.

[Dorothy · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I picked this book to read, I was under the impression that it was the first in a series featuring female police inspector Ann Lindell of Uppsala, Sweden. It soon became apparent that it was not the first. Evidently, it is actually the fourth in the series but was the first to be translated into English.

Never mind. The author actually does a good job of providing the backstories of his main characters, so I did not feel as lost as I might have.

This is a police procedural, much in the vein of Ed McBain or Sjowall and Wahloo. It features a unit of the Uppsala police that is led by Inspector Lindell, but, in fact, in this particular book, Lindell is on maternity leave and she is only tangentially involved in the investigation of the crimes detailed. This is where it would have been useful to have read the previous book in order to get the full story of how she came to be where she is in her life.

She has a nine-month-old baby son named Erik. She is a single mother, living alone with the baby in an apartment, and she is getting very antsy because she misses her job and the daily contact with her co-workers. We learn a bit about Sweden's social safety net for new mothers, which seems quite impressive. Some readers might find such details extraneous, but I actually found them fascinating.

There are two murders to investigate, as well as an assault on a woman, and it is not clear at first whether there is a connection between them. All of this is handled by the unit which Lindell left behind when she went on maternity leave. She actually doesn't make an appearance in the book until about the halfway point. But with the murder of a young man that she knew from having interviewed him in relation to a crime that happened several years ago, she feels inexorably drawn to the investigation and can't help getting involved.

I really quite liked this group of police officers. They are presented as simply ordinary, everyday people, who are engaged and involved in their community and who are trying to do the best job that they can to protect it. We get to know some of their flaws as well as their strengths. There are no bad guys among them - although one of them does have a bit of a xenophobic streak - and they go about their jobs methodically and by the book. They are quite different from some of the messed-up Scandinavian police characters we've come to know through Henning Mankell and Jo Nesbo, for example. No dour, psychosomatic, angry policemen (or women) here. And, yes, I was quite taken with the idea of having a woman lead the team. How refreshing!

I felt the plot and the characters were well-developed and the way the story was told did give me some insight into Swedish society and expanded my horizons. I like that in a book.

The one thing that really puzzled me at first was the title. What does The Princess of Burundi have to do with Uppsala, Sweden? But eventually we do learn where the title comes from, although even then, I felt it was a bit misleading.

I like Kjell Ericsson's style of writing and felt that this book showed great promise. I look forward to reading more in the series.

[Judith · Rating 1 out of 5]

I probably should have read the reviews before I started.

The introduction was immediately compelling, but it went down hill from there. While the characters were interesting, the back story was confusing. I suspect that part of the problem is that this isn't really the first book in the series--just the first that has been translated. As a result you just have to accept that there is no apparent reason for some of angst.

The endless ruminations on the deteriorating state of Swedish society quickly became tiresome, especially as it seemed as if every character was experiencing the same existential crisis simultaneously. Between the constantly changing point of view and the abrupt shifts from action to introspection, it wasn't possible to develop, let alone maintain, any momentum. Just when I thought something might be about to happen, it was time for more analysis of class structure, or immigration policy, or domestic violence.

Then there was the problem that everything happened by chance. The detectives were too busy reflecting to actually do any detecting. Plot resolution at both the micro and macro level relied far too heavily on coincidence and happenstance. And the deus ex machina resolution was completely unacceptable. Doesn't the author realize that the people who read this type of book are actively engaged in teasing out the answer.

If this had been the first in the series, I would have given the second a try, but as it's the fourth, I don't hold out enough hope.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A relative newcomer to the crime novel genre- though he's been publishing in his native Sweden for several years- Eriksson introduces his readers to Detective Inspector Ann Lindell and the mean streets of Uppsala. This was solid, smart crime fiction with a cast of characters I'm looking forward to getting to know better!

[Kathy · Rating 1 out of 5]

I got as far as chapter 5 and thought "This is too much work. I can't keep these characters straight, and so far, I don't care about a single one of them." I've decided life's too short to waste time on books that don't capture my attention, and this is one of those.

[Gloria · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yes, this is a novel about fish. There really is a tropical fish called the "Princess of Burundi."

So it is not exactly about fish, but rather about the murder of a young father who is really into them. This is the first book in a series by Kjell (pronounced "Shell") Eriksson, noted because I always want to know how to pronounce the names of characters, authors, and places.

It is purported to introduce a Swedish female investigator, Ann Lindell, but she has a pretty modest role to play. She is a new mother on maternity leave when a snow-bound community must deal with multiple murders and no culprit to be found. She never does anything particularly amazing though she is a sympathetic character. Most of the novel focuses on one very disturbed guy, but it turns out that all is not as it seems.

Where this novel especially shines is near the end where various policemen mull what it means to support their community. Issues related to immigration, disturbed teens, prevention, social financial support, and more are tossed around with people individuals adopting different viewpoints. This steps lightly into the political arena.

Believe this will be a good series and is certainly a solid contribution to Scandinavian noir.

[Chana · Rating 2 out of 5]

This story just didn't come together. It had, seemingly, all the aspects to make a good story, and yet it didn't. It didn't make sense, too many unanswered questions, too many people behaving in ways that didn't fit into a realistic scenario.
John, a tropical fish collector and expert, is murdered. His ne'er do well brother wants to find out who killed him and avenge his brother's death. John had money and secrets that his son was aware of but his wife was not. John's son dedicates himself to the fish after his father's death, but then he doesn't. The brother goes off the rails, the son goes off the rails, the wife spins in confusion, the police spin in confusion, there are some other murders because some people are crazy and some people are acting out. There is som commentary on immigration. I will say this though, the ending had a nice bit of what goes around comes around.

[Mark Lisac · Rating 4 out of 5]

Upgraded from 3.5 stars because of general quality. A well written mystery with plenty of suspense and mostly believable people. The plot threads seem too neatly tied up and there is probably too much attention to the details of several characters' lives. The pace is not plodding but feels unnecessarily slowed by digressions into detectives' personal lives and even a page of Swedish social commentary. Also, the background of some of the bad guys/victims can seem artificially lurid and one peripheral character turns out to be fairly irrelevant and simply disappears. Still an enjoyable read and better done than a lot of crime novels. Particularly liked the way mundane details were worked into the narration.

[John M · Rating 3 out of 5]

A frustrating read for a number of reasons: a plot and characters that are hard to connect with, too many characters with similar sounding names, a main character, Ann, who barely features at all and an ending that comes as no surprise at all. On top of that a subplot that is a giant red herring and totally stereotyped A great shame as the basic idea is sound and could have taken the reader down a number of interesting paths. But it didn't - at least, not for me.

[Rob Cook · Rating 3 out of 5]

I initially struggled to get into this Swedish detective mystery through mix of what initially felt like a stilted a translation and getting used to the many character names that were unfamiliar to me. This was my first read in this story and whilst it can be read as a standalone, I would have probably got more into the story and characters had I read the previous three books in the series first.

[Loryssa Moffett Howard · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’m a fan of Nordic Noir but this one fell flat for me. I found the characters shallow and generally uninteresting, and there were entirely too many of them. The story wasn’t particularly novel or compelling and the dark, harsh landscape that I’ve grown accustomed to facing in other Scandinavian fiction felt more like an occasional footnote.

[Marcia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a pretty good detective story. I liked the characters and the plot moved around. It seemed a little awkward, with many different points of view.....choppy, I guess. I will read another by this author.

[Barb reads......it ALL! · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unfortunately, I read this before the first 3...and felt it. Could be why I wasn't as excited about this book as others. I'll read the first 3 and they rethink my rating.

[Vela Reads a Novel · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not a well plotted or good constructed story, you will be frustrated at the end. Lindell not required for this story , her intervention dragging and frustrating

[Helena · Rating 1 out of 5]

I haven’t finished it. It’s complete rubbish. Badly written. Do not recommend.

[Gary Cupitt · Rating 2 out of 5]

Plodding and predictable, bringing nothing new to the genre. Disappointing read after great reviews.

[Bryan Thomas Schmidt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent entry with Ann Lindell taking a supporting role til the end, gives her usual ensemble a chance to shine. nice suspense and use of locations. Recommended.

[Lynn Phillips · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just couldn’t relate. Guess I am a character driven reader. I started this book while waiting for my library holds, but do not think I will be reading any more in this series.

[Donal · Rating 1 out of 5]

It's an exaggeration to say I read this. I started it with interest, but soon began skipping for two reasons, poor plot and poor translation. It's hard to see why this particular book was translated at all, it's the fourth of a series and has a large cast of featureless characters that perhaps we're supposed to know from the earlier books.

It's also hard to fathom how Ebba Segerberg has been commissioned for 7+ translations: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ebba_Seg...

I found she also translated a Henning Mankell book, "Firewall", which I had read and thoroughly disliked. I didn't note the translation at the time, but I came across the following review of it: "Ebba Segerberg's translation is hauntingly austere and completely lacking in idioms giving the novel a cold, stainless steel tone." So it seems that her style is consistently flat and dull - of course, it's not lacking in idioms, but they are rather literary and dated. She apparently aims at being mid-Atlantic and, for me, this doesn't work at all. In fact, I initially assumed she was a native Swedish academic, translating into slightly stilted English.

But I Googled her, and she seems to be a California girl who has ended up in St Louis. Her PhD thesis was on the Swedish silent cinema:
Segerberg, Ebba Filippa. "Nostalgia, narrative, and modernity in Swedish silent cinema." PhD thesis, University of California, 1999.

5 Addresses In Saint Louis/2 Addresses In Milwaukee/1 Address In New York/1 Address In Orinda/4 Addresses In Berkeley/1 Address In Eleele
1 Address In San Diego/1 Address In Larkspur/1 Address In Evansville
1 Address In Los Angeles

And it seems like she's still getting work: The Pyramid: Kurt Wallander: Henning Mankell (Author), Ebba Segerberg (Translator), Laurie Thompson (Translator).

[Keri · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love moody, dark, character-driven mystery/thriller novels, especially those set outside the US, so this sounded right up my alley. Upon finishing it, though, I had absolutely no idea what all those positive reviews on the back cover were talking about.

As a mystery, this novel was profoundly disappointing. Of the two main plots (the murder of a family man with a shady past and a creepy loner's descent into violent psychosis), one is wrapped up after an agonizingly drawn-out investigation with a solution that comes completely out of nowhere, and the other turns out to be entirely pointless and irrelevant. The psycho, Vincent, is fairly creepy and easily the most interesting character, but he's little more than an elaborate red herring.

The other characters, and there are way too many, are either bland or actively unlikable. There's a particularly irritating romantic subplot involving angsty single mom Ann Lindell and a married fellow cop that, again, comes completely out of nowhere-- having two characters spontaneously develop uncontrollable lust for each other for no apparent reason is not a great way to set up a potential relationship.

After finishing this I was left with the feeling that everything I'd read had been completely pointless-- the plots and subplots were resolved weakly or not resolved at all, nothing really tied together, and there was no reason to care about any of the characters or events. Maybe some of it was a translation issue, but it also seems like the author was too caught up in trying to make serious commentary on the human condition to remember to write a good mystery.