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Fall of the Welfare State #2
Another Time, Another Life
From the grand master of Scandinavian crime fiction—and one of the best crime writers of our time—a critically acclaimed novel bristling with dramatic intensity and wit, centered around the unsolved murder of Prime Minister Olof Palme in 1986.
Stockholm, 1975 : Six young people take the entire staff of the West German embassy hostage, demanding that the Baader-Meinhof members being held as prisoners in West Germany be released immediately. The long siege ends with the deaths of two hostages and the wounding of several others, including the captors. Flash forward to 1989 : When a Swedish civil servant is murdered, the two leading detectives on the case, Anna Holt and Bo Jarnebring, find their investigation hastily shelved by an incompetent and corrupt senior investigator. Ten years later : Lars Johansson, having just joined the Swedish Security Police, decides to tie up a few loose ends left behind by his specifically, two files on Swedes who had allegedly collaborated on the 1975 takeover of the West German embassy, one of whom turned out to be the murder victim in 1989. Johansson reopens the investigation and, with help from detectives Jarnebring and Holt, follows the leads—right up to the doorstep of Sweden's newly minted minister of justice.
From the Hardcover edition.
Stockholm, 1975 : Six young people take the entire staff of the West German embassy hostage, demanding that the Baader-Meinhof members being held as prisoners in West Germany be released immediately. The long siege ends with the deaths of two hostages and the wounding of several others, including the captors. Flash forward to 1989 : When a Swedish civil servant is murdered, the two leading detectives on the case, Anna Holt and Bo Jarnebring, find their investigation hastily shelved by an incompetent and corrupt senior investigator. Ten years later : Lars Johansson, having just joined the Swedish Security Police, decides to tie up a few loose ends left behind by his specifically, two files on Swedes who had allegedly collaborated on the 1975 takeover of the West German embassy, one of whom turned out to be the murder victim in 1989. Johansson reopens the investigation and, with help from detectives Jarnebring and Holt, follows the leads—right up to the doorstep of Sweden's newly minted minister of justice.
From the Hardcover edition.
404 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2003
72 people are currently reading
832 people want to read
About the author
Leif G.W. Persson
30 books337 followersLeif Gustav Willy Persson - better known as Leif GW Persson - is a Swedish criminologist and novelist. He was a professor in criminology at the Swedish National Police Board from 1992 to 2008.
He is known for his crime fiction novels and for his regular appearances as an expert commentator on notable crime cases in television and newspapers. Between 1999 and 2009 he participated as an expert commentator on the television show Efterlyst (Swedish TV program, equivalent of America's Most Wanted) on TV3. Since 2010, he is the expert commentator of Veckans Brott - roughly translated into Weekly Crimes or Crimes of the Week - on SVT.
He is known for his crime fiction novels and for his regular appearances as an expert commentator on notable crime cases in television and newspapers. Between 1999 and 2009 he participated as an expert commentator on the television show Efterlyst (Swedish TV program, equivalent of America's Most Wanted) on TV3. Since 2010, he is the expert commentator of Veckans Brott - roughly translated into Weekly Crimes or Crimes of the Week - on SVT.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 130 reviews
August 9, 2016
I may have done this the wrong way around and reviewed the English translation first; Another Time, Another Life. Tellingly, the GW books of the second trilogy has the subtitle "Story of a crime", very much associative of Sjöwall/Wahlöö's "Novel about a crime". And the heritage is tenderly seen to by the faux ham-handed criminal professor-cum-crime-novelist Persson. I did award the English translation (which I read much more recently) 4 stars, but I'm sticking to my original 5 for this one until proven differently. This is the second part of the trilogy, I would recommend reading them all.
September 1, 2012
I enjoyed it. It's a solidly constructed and satisfying detective story, which takes place over 25 years. No high speed chases, no shoot'em ups, no daring do -- just good Sherlock Holmesian deduction. "Logical, my dear Detective Chief Inspector Holt," or something like that. Good brainwork and excellent intuition. The author actually engages in the almost forgotten art of storytelling. He has his protagonist reflect
On the subject of the imagination, thought Johansson, it's probably only when that takes over that even a reasonably good story takes off and the people really come to life. What was true and what was false was actually a rather overvalued distinction. Wasn't it the case that the really great truths, the eternal truths, could only be given life and substance by means of the human imagination? (374)
Persson, cited on the dust jacket as ". . . the country's [Sweden's] foremost expert on crime," approaches this business of novel writing with the understanding that imagination gives life to people and substance to the eternal verities. His characters can be understood as human beings capable of another life in another time, and that awareness is critical to the resolution of the mystery. Since there's no pulse quickening scenes, the novel moves slowly by American standards, but the reader comes to understand the complexity of the situation Persson describes for him and to take pleasure from the skillful way in which Johansson's crew unravels it. It's one of the best detective novels I've read in quite a while.
On the subject of the imagination, thought Johansson, it's probably only when that takes over that even a reasonably good story takes off and the people really come to life. What was true and what was false was actually a rather overvalued distinction. Wasn't it the case that the really great truths, the eternal truths, could only be given life and substance by means of the human imagination? (374)
Persson, cited on the dust jacket as ". . . the country's [Sweden's] foremost expert on crime," approaches this business of novel writing with the understanding that imagination gives life to people and substance to the eternal verities. His characters can be understood as human beings capable of another life in another time, and that awareness is critical to the resolution of the mystery. Since there's no pulse quickening scenes, the novel moves slowly by American standards, but the reader comes to understand the complexity of the situation Persson describes for him and to take pleasure from the skillful way in which Johansson's crew unravels it. It's one of the best detective novels I've read in quite a while.
January 14, 2013
A murder mystery by a Swedish crime expert/profiler, this novel gives the feel of a real case with all the complexities, office, national and international politics and their effect on the investigation, and personalities involved. Might be too methodical and slow for some, but fascinating. I will definitely look for more Persson books.
October 5, 2020
Σαφώς καλύτερο από το πρώτο και με λιγότερο μπέρδεμα της ιστορίας. Δίνει απαντήσεις σε ότι έμεινε ανοιχτό στο πρώτο βιβλίο.
September 30, 2014
Why do I read him. I don't like the way he writes. He talks garbage half the time. I won't read any more of his books.
August 26, 2019
Για την ακρίβεια 4,5 αστεράκια!
Το διάβασα αμέσως μετά το πρώτο βιβλίο της τριλογίας και ομολογώ ότι μου άρεσε πολύ περισσότερο, γιατί κλείνει και καλύπτει πολλά κενά και ερωτήματα που αφήνει το πρώτο βιβλίο.
Επίσης, είναι πιο δεμένη η υπόθεση, αλλά και πολύ καλύτερα δομημένοι οι ήρωες και η εξέλιξή τους. Διαβάζεται γρηγορότερα και με μεγαλύτερη ευκολία.
Ιδιαίτερα ενδιαφέρον είναι το γεγονός ότι η υπόθεση είναι χωρισμένη σε τρία χρονικά μέρη (ξεκινάει από το 1975, συνεχίζει το 1989 και κλείνει το 1999-2000), δίνοντας στην αρχή την εντύπωση ότι πρόκειται για τρία μεμονωμένα κεφάλαια, καθώς και οι υπεύθυνοι ερευνητές είναι διαφορετικοί. Στο τέλος, όμως, ενώνονται όλες οι τελίτσες και φαίνεται το όλο.
Πολύ αγαπημένος ήρωας ο Γιούχανσον, που τελικά είναι παντού και πάντα παρών! Εξαιρετικά ευφυής, διπλωμάτης, καλόβολος εκεί που θέλει, ιδιότροπος εκεί που πρέπει - και γενικά σφάζει με το γάντι!
Το κλείσιμο της υπόθεσης επιφέρει δικαιοσύνη, αλλά όχι με τον παραδοσιακό τρόπο (φυλάκιση υπόπτου ή ανθρωποκυνηγητό κ.λπ.). Όλοι, πάντως, παίρνουν αυτό που τους αξίζει (κυρίως ο πιο σιχαμερός ήρωας του πρώτου βιβλίου)!
Το διάβασα αμέσως μετά το πρώτο βιβλίο της τριλογίας και ομολογώ ότι μου άρεσε πολύ περισσότερο, γιατί κλείνει και καλύπτει πολλά κενά και ερωτήματα που αφήνει το πρώτο βιβλίο.
Επίσης, είναι πιο δεμένη η υπόθεση, αλλά και πολύ καλύτερα δομημένοι οι ήρωες και η εξέλιξή τους. Διαβάζεται γρηγορότερα και με μεγαλύτερη ευκολία.
Ιδιαίτερα ενδιαφέρον είναι το γεγονός ότι η υπόθεση είναι χωρισμένη σε τρία χρονικά μέρη (ξεκινάει από το 1975, συνεχίζει το 1989 και κλείνει το 1999-2000), δίνοντας στην αρχή την εντύπωση ότι πρόκειται για τρία μεμονωμένα κεφάλαια, καθώς και οι υπεύθυνοι ερευνητές είναι διαφορετικοί. Στο τέλος, όμως, ενώνονται όλες οι τελίτσες και φαίνεται το όλο.
Πολύ αγαπημένος ήρωας ο Γιούχανσον, που τελικά είναι παντού και πάντα παρών! Εξαιρετικά ευφυής, διπλωμάτης, καλόβολος εκεί που θέλει, ιδιότροπος εκεί που πρέπει - και γενικά σφάζει με το γάντι!
Το κλείσιμο της υπόθεσης επιφέρει δικαιοσύνη, αλλά όχι με τον παραδοσιακό τρόπο (φυλάκιση υπόπτου ή ανθρωποκυνηγητό κ.λπ.). Όλοι, πάντως, παίρνουν αυτό που τους αξίζει (κυρίως ο πιο σιχαμερός ήρωας του πρώτου βιβλίου)!
February 6, 2015
When I first read Leif G.W. Persson’s BETWEEN SUMMER LONGING AND WINTER’S END I was thoroughly impressed with his plot and character development. Now, having completed his second novel, ANOTHER TIME, ANOTHER LIFE my respect for his ability to develop a complex story line that builds from the first few pages has been raised to another level. Persson brings back Lars Martin Johannson, now head of a special new operations division within the Swedish Security Police (SePo). He also develops other characters that are both witty and knowledgeable on the one hand, and other characters that can be described as plain “fucking idiots,” by Johannson’s friend and impeccable inspector, Bo Jarnebring.
The opening of the novel revisits April 24, 1975 as six terrorists, who appear to be members of the Baader-Meinhof Group, sneak into the West German Embassy in Stockholm. During the occupation two German bureaucrats, one thrown out of a window, the other shot in a stairwell are murdered. The Swedish forces who confront the situation are ill equipped and poorly trained to deal with the situation. The end result is an explosion, with everyone surviving, but one individual. What follows is a “keystone kop” operation among different government officials as to how to handle the investigation. At the top levels of government a decision is reached to return the surviving terrorists to Berlin before they can be thoroughly interrogated, thereby sabotaging any investigation. The head of homicide is completely frustrated and the final report on the incident is totally sanitized.
Fifteen years later, Bo Jarnebring and his new partner, Anna Holt are called in to investigate the murder of Kjell Goron Eriksson, a bureaucrat at the Central Bureau of Statistics. From this point on the novel gains momentum as the new murder investigation does not proceed smoothly and is led by the previously mentioned, “fucking idiot,” Chief Investigator Evert Backstrom and his equally incompetent partner, Inspector Wiijnbladh. Predictably, the murder is not solved and is filed away.
In the interim the Berlin Wall comes down and the Soviet bloc is freed from the remnants of Stalinist oppression. Persson provides an accurate summation of the historical events that led up to, and the final collapse of Erich Honaker’s East German regime. Enter, the STASI, the CIA, and Swedish national security interests adding another layer to an already complex story. Always in the background is the 1986 unsolved assassination of Swedish Prime Minister Olaf Palme and possible links to certain characters. As a SePo task force is created under Chief Inspector Wiklander and STASI and other registered files are examined a new element to the plot is added. What emerges is what role could Swedish citizens have played in the 1975 terrorist seizure and explosion of the West German Embassy.
What separates Persson from other political novelists is his ability to tie together a number of story lines together forming a complex plot developed layer upon layer. In the present example; how does the terrorist attack on the West German Embassy, the murder of a Swedish bureaucrat, the 1989 collapse of the Berlin Wall*, and the vetting of an undersecretary in the Swedish defense ministry for a possible cabinet position relate to each other.
Persson weaves a trail of intrigue over a twenty-five year period. It involves numerous characters and important historical events. Along the way we witness the death of a number of individuals central to the plot line. Persson creates a number of enigmatic characters from the incompetent Backstrom; Anna Holt and two other talented female colleagues; Mike Liska, a CIA agent posted to Sweden in November, 1989 who predicted the exact moment when the Berlin Wall would fall; and of course the well respected Lars Martin Johannson. The author does a commendable job providing insights into the Swedish National Security establishment and develops a number of interesting scenarios.
As attempts to tie events into one conceivable case that can be prosecuted the protagonists are up against a twenty-five year statute of limitations that is about to expire. The question arises that higher ups in the Swedish government may be placing road blocks in their path. In addition, what is the role of the STASI, CIA, and SePo? Did the Swedish security and defense industry interests and perhaps the American intelligence community leak information to prevent a leftist leaning candidate for a cabinet position relating to defense from assuming office? Do certain disappearances of former officials play into the story? All of these questions add to the depth of the narrative.
Paul Norlern’s translation from the Swedish does not detract from Persson’s tightly written novel. In fact, my only criticism is Persson’s somewhat sexist approach to female investigators that are woven into the story. Overall, Persson has written another successful novel, and I look forward to reading his latest, FREE FALLING AS IF IN A DREAM.
*see The Collapse: The Accidental Opening of the Berlin Wall, Oct 7, 2014, by Mary Elise Sarotte
reviewed in www.docs-books.com
The opening of the novel revisits April 24, 1975 as six terrorists, who appear to be members of the Baader-Meinhof Group, sneak into the West German Embassy in Stockholm. During the occupation two German bureaucrats, one thrown out of a window, the other shot in a stairwell are murdered. The Swedish forces who confront the situation are ill equipped and poorly trained to deal with the situation. The end result is an explosion, with everyone surviving, but one individual. What follows is a “keystone kop” operation among different government officials as to how to handle the investigation. At the top levels of government a decision is reached to return the surviving terrorists to Berlin before they can be thoroughly interrogated, thereby sabotaging any investigation. The head of homicide is completely frustrated and the final report on the incident is totally sanitized.
Fifteen years later, Bo Jarnebring and his new partner, Anna Holt are called in to investigate the murder of Kjell Goron Eriksson, a bureaucrat at the Central Bureau of Statistics. From this point on the novel gains momentum as the new murder investigation does not proceed smoothly and is led by the previously mentioned, “fucking idiot,” Chief Investigator Evert Backstrom and his equally incompetent partner, Inspector Wiijnbladh. Predictably, the murder is not solved and is filed away.
In the interim the Berlin Wall comes down and the Soviet bloc is freed from the remnants of Stalinist oppression. Persson provides an accurate summation of the historical events that led up to, and the final collapse of Erich Honaker’s East German regime. Enter, the STASI, the CIA, and Swedish national security interests adding another layer to an already complex story. Always in the background is the 1986 unsolved assassination of Swedish Prime Minister Olaf Palme and possible links to certain characters. As a SePo task force is created under Chief Inspector Wiklander and STASI and other registered files are examined a new element to the plot is added. What emerges is what role could Swedish citizens have played in the 1975 terrorist seizure and explosion of the West German Embassy.
What separates Persson from other political novelists is his ability to tie together a number of story lines together forming a complex plot developed layer upon layer. In the present example; how does the terrorist attack on the West German Embassy, the murder of a Swedish bureaucrat, the 1989 collapse of the Berlin Wall*, and the vetting of an undersecretary in the Swedish defense ministry for a possible cabinet position relate to each other.
Persson weaves a trail of intrigue over a twenty-five year period. It involves numerous characters and important historical events. Along the way we witness the death of a number of individuals central to the plot line. Persson creates a number of enigmatic characters from the incompetent Backstrom; Anna Holt and two other talented female colleagues; Mike Liska, a CIA agent posted to Sweden in November, 1989 who predicted the exact moment when the Berlin Wall would fall; and of course the well respected Lars Martin Johannson. The author does a commendable job providing insights into the Swedish National Security establishment and develops a number of interesting scenarios.
As attempts to tie events into one conceivable case that can be prosecuted the protagonists are up against a twenty-five year statute of limitations that is about to expire. The question arises that higher ups in the Swedish government may be placing road blocks in their path. In addition, what is the role of the STASI, CIA, and SePo? Did the Swedish security and defense industry interests and perhaps the American intelligence community leak information to prevent a leftist leaning candidate for a cabinet position relating to defense from assuming office? Do certain disappearances of former officials play into the story? All of these questions add to the depth of the narrative.
Paul Norlern’s translation from the Swedish does not detract from Persson’s tightly written novel. In fact, my only criticism is Persson’s somewhat sexist approach to female investigators that are woven into the story. Overall, Persson has written another successful novel, and I look forward to reading his latest, FREE FALLING AS IF IN A DREAM.
*see The Collapse: The Accidental Opening of the Berlin Wall, Oct 7, 2014, by Mary Elise Sarotte
reviewed in www.docs-books.com
May 23, 2012
This isn’t the sort of book I usually read, but something about it intrigued me. A crime story spanning twenty-five years. A mystery with much to say about society and politics. A story told in three acts. A book with strong roots in fact …
It’s the kind of book I would have bought for my father once upon a time.
The first act, the shortest of the three, opens in 1975. Six young people enter the West German Embassy in Stockholm, and a siege begins. I watched events unfold, as the police watched and responded, and I was very quickly hooked. I didn’t feel that I was reading a crime novel, I felt that I was reading an extended magazine feature, one that illuminated a story that I might otherwise have missed.
When the siege ended just one question hung in the air. Who else? Who had helped the six who went into the embassy?
The second act was set fourteen years later. A civil servant was murdered in his own home. The detectives charged with the investigation worked steadily through the evidence, finding that the victim had many secrets, but just as they felt they were on the point of a breakthrough, that the murder maybe had its roots in events that had happened ten years earlier, they were pulled off the case. The investigation was halted. By a senior official who was at best incompetent and at worst corrupt.
And so more questions hung in the air.
This act felt like a solid piece of crime fiction. There was little action and drama, but much dialogue, discussion and there was the opportunity to look over the shoulders of detectives at work. The story moved slowly but it continued to hold my attention because it felt so real. I came to know the detectives as if they were colleagues.
Like them, I wanted answers.
The final act, set ten years later, provided them. A new man, the proverbial new broom sweeping clean, set about tying up some of the loose ends left by his predecessor. New investigations implicated somebody close to the heart of government, someone who might one day hold a great deal of power …
I was impressed by the tightness of the plotting, and that though the story was complex it was not at all difficult to follow. The story stuck, even when I put the book to one side for a period of weeks when life left me with no reading time.
I was held from beginning to end, by a very capable piece of crime writing, set in a very real and wonderfully evoked world.
It’s the kind of book I would have bought for my father once upon a time.
The first act, the shortest of the three, opens in 1975. Six young people enter the West German Embassy in Stockholm, and a siege begins. I watched events unfold, as the police watched and responded, and I was very quickly hooked. I didn’t feel that I was reading a crime novel, I felt that I was reading an extended magazine feature, one that illuminated a story that I might otherwise have missed.
When the siege ended just one question hung in the air. Who else? Who had helped the six who went into the embassy?
The second act was set fourteen years later. A civil servant was murdered in his own home. The detectives charged with the investigation worked steadily through the evidence, finding that the victim had many secrets, but just as they felt they were on the point of a breakthrough, that the murder maybe had its roots in events that had happened ten years earlier, they were pulled off the case. The investigation was halted. By a senior official who was at best incompetent and at worst corrupt.
And so more questions hung in the air.
This act felt like a solid piece of crime fiction. There was little action and drama, but much dialogue, discussion and there was the opportunity to look over the shoulders of detectives at work. The story moved slowly but it continued to hold my attention because it felt so real. I came to know the detectives as if they were colleagues.
Like them, I wanted answers.
The final act, set ten years later, provided them. A new man, the proverbial new broom sweeping clean, set about tying up some of the loose ends left by his predecessor. New investigations implicated somebody close to the heart of government, someone who might one day hold a great deal of power …
I was impressed by the tightness of the plotting, and that though the story was complex it was not at all difficult to follow. The story stuck, even when I put the book to one side for a period of weeks when life left me with no reading time.
I was held from beginning to end, by a very capable piece of crime writing, set in a very real and wonderfully evoked world.
March 31, 2012
“Another Time, Another Life” by Leif G W Persson, published by Pantheon.
Category – Mystery/Thriller
This is a far reaching mystery that begins in 1975 when six young people storm the West German Embassy in Stockholm. It continues with a seemingly unrelated murder in 1989, and the conclusion in 2000.
The story is based on fact with the storming of the Embassy by the Baader-Meinhof Group and the unsolved assassination of Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme.
Persson brings the facts and the times to life through investigating officers Bo Jarnebring and Anna Holt, with help from an overly obsessed Evert Backstrom.
The murder remains unsolved for ten years when it resurfaces with the fall of East Germany. Bo and Anna start putting things together and find that there is a distinct possibility there is a connection to the Embassy tragedy, the murder, and an upcoming appointment to be made by the Swedish Government.
Persson is known in Sweden for his novels concerning the political, investigative, and social aspects of Sweden. He is considered to be the most renowned psychological profiler in Sweden, and is also the country’s foremost expert on crime. This is a thinking man’s mystery that does not have the excitement of car chases and gun fights, but is great on putting history and fiction together with great character development and a mystery that will hold you until the last page.
Category – Mystery/Thriller
This is a far reaching mystery that begins in 1975 when six young people storm the West German Embassy in Stockholm. It continues with a seemingly unrelated murder in 1989, and the conclusion in 2000.
The story is based on fact with the storming of the Embassy by the Baader-Meinhof Group and the unsolved assassination of Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme.
Persson brings the facts and the times to life through investigating officers Bo Jarnebring and Anna Holt, with help from an overly obsessed Evert Backstrom.
The murder remains unsolved for ten years when it resurfaces with the fall of East Germany. Bo and Anna start putting things together and find that there is a distinct possibility there is a connection to the Embassy tragedy, the murder, and an upcoming appointment to be made by the Swedish Government.
Persson is known in Sweden for his novels concerning the political, investigative, and social aspects of Sweden. He is considered to be the most renowned psychological profiler in Sweden, and is also the country’s foremost expert on crime. This is a thinking man’s mystery that does not have the excitement of car chases and gun fights, but is great on putting history and fiction together with great character development and a mystery that will hold you until the last page.
January 26, 2022
Είμαι αδιόρθωτος! Αφού το πρώτο βιβλίο της σειράς δεν μου άρεσε γιατί διάβασα και το δεύτερο; Για να επιβεβαιώσω ότι δεν μου αρέσει ο τρόπος που γράφει; Για να χαθώ σε ένα κυκεώνα ονομάτων υπηρεσιών, τμημάτων που δεν πρόσφεραν κάτι στην ιστορία; Όπως και να έχει, μέχρι εδώ ήταν κύριε Persson, ευχαριστώ δεν θα πάρω άλλο, ήταν υπέρ αρκετή η δόση και σίγουρα δεν με ενδιαφέρει να μάθω την συνέχεια. Ουφ!
March 19, 2018
Ξεκίνησε καλά, μα κάπου προς τη μέση το έχασε και δυσκολεύτηκα να το παρακολουθήσω. Κατέληξε να γίνει ανιαρό και αδιάφορο, αδιάφοροι, άγευστοι ήρωες και μονότονο κλίμα. Δυστυχώς χάρηκα όταν γύρισα και την τελευταία σελίδα.
October 19, 2020
Very different from the usual crime thrillers that I have read. Enjoyed it although it was a bit slow in the beginning.
February 10, 2021
Καλύτερο και σαφέστερο από το πρώτο βιβλίο της τριλογίας,τώρα έχουμε πολλές απαντήσεις στα ερωτήματα που έθεσε το πρώτο βιβλίο.
April 13, 2017
I'm very happy to be part of a great 2016 project, which is to buddy read a book a month with brilliant author and all around cool guy Edward Lorn. We're only in April, but what a ride this has already been! Books have ranged from highest high to..., let's say demanding patience none of us possessed. Life and it's complications has interfered some with our plans as well. But mostly it's been very rewarding and most of all barrels of laughs!
This time around, I thought I'd surprise him mightily with a Swedish book of not the greatest international recognition and played the wild card which was this, the middle part of a crime/police procedural trilogy by the inimitable criminology professor Leif GW Persson. My (admittedly deteriorated) memories was that I liked the middle part best and I have been meaning to read these again, and gladly the English translated versions. Regarding the surprise, I forgot who I was dealing with: Edward said "Thanks, I have part 1 and have been meaning to read it!" Anyhoo, good sport as he is, we buckled down and dove into the story of the RAF attack on the East German embassy in Stockholm in 1975 and a much later, seemingly totally unrelated, murder.
First thing first; I did have issues with the translation. On a number of occasions I can read the Swedish expressions/idioms/sentences translated word-by-word and the result is quite awkward. Now, Edward had little troubles with the narrative and it is quite possible that I'm overreacting. My guess is that to a native English speaker the wording is not "wrong enough" to sit bad, but for me that's suddenly translating in my head again for the first time since ...well, let's just say, not too horribly long after the attack of the East German embassy... I'll take his authoritative word for it not being a huge problem! I'll keep a few objections though; if you feel strongly about including a Swedish idiom without replacing it with an equivalent English one, you should leave a translator's footnote (does anyone do this nowadays? Sometimes I think translators use "best guess" and onto the next!). Also, if you don't translate names (and how and why should you?) you shouldn't translate nicknames. Jarnebring's is "Jarnis"- not "Jarnie".
The story and storytelling and characters are all great though! It is a reasonably complex story to feel authentic, but at the same time, not so twisted that it's hard to follow. And I love the human characters with all their flaws and also the element of random chance that permeates this and all GW's stories. This contributes even more to the authenticity - but at the same time, many of the characters are twisted enough to give the whole cocktail a slightly absurd and humorous flavor. When he balances right, avoiding slapstick/caricatures, such as in this book, it's brilliant reading.
The story is, like I said, quite complex and moves between the aforementioned 1975 and the murder in 1989 and present (a few years into this millennia) with a few pit-stops in between.
Parts of the story moves slower than others, I didn't mind so much as I get a very strong Maj Sjöwall/Per Wahlöö-vibe from time to time and especially from these passages. But I'll admit it could have been edited some. This is, together with my gripes with the translation, why I'm awarding this a 4-star (while I stand by my 5-star rating for the Swedish version). But you don't have to learn Swedish to appreciate this!
P.S. Eat Sleep Lift Read: See what I did here? You said.. and I still... :-) It's a buddy read!
This time around, I thought I'd surprise him mightily with a Swedish book of not the greatest international recognition and played the wild card which was this, the middle part of a crime/police procedural trilogy by the inimitable criminology professor Leif GW Persson. My (admittedly deteriorated) memories was that I liked the middle part best and I have been meaning to read these again, and gladly the English translated versions. Regarding the surprise, I forgot who I was dealing with: Edward said "Thanks, I have part 1 and have been meaning to read it!" Anyhoo, good sport as he is, we buckled down and dove into the story of the RAF attack on the East German embassy in Stockholm in 1975 and a much later, seemingly totally unrelated, murder.
First thing first; I did have issues with the translation. On a number of occasions I can read the Swedish expressions/idioms/sentences translated word-by-word and the result is quite awkward. Now, Edward had little troubles with the narrative and it is quite possible that I'm overreacting. My guess is that to a native English speaker the wording is not "wrong enough" to sit bad, but for me that's suddenly translating in my head again for the first time since ...well, let's just say, not too horribly long after the attack of the East German embassy... I'll take his authoritative word for it not being a huge problem! I'll keep a few objections though; if you feel strongly about including a Swedish idiom without replacing it with an equivalent English one, you should leave a translator's footnote (does anyone do this nowadays? Sometimes I think translators use "best guess" and onto the next!). Also, if you don't translate names (and how and why should you?) you shouldn't translate nicknames. Jarnebring's is "Jarnis"- not "Jarnie".
The story and storytelling and characters are all great though! It is a reasonably complex story to feel authentic, but at the same time, not so twisted that it's hard to follow. And I love the human characters with all their flaws and also the element of random chance that permeates this and all GW's stories. This contributes even more to the authenticity - but at the same time, many of the characters are twisted enough to give the whole cocktail a slightly absurd and humorous flavor. When he balances right, avoiding slapstick/caricatures, such as in this book, it's brilliant reading.
The story is, like I said, quite complex and moves between the aforementioned 1975 and the murder in 1989 and present (a few years into this millennia) with a few pit-stops in between.
Parts of the story moves slower than others, I didn't mind so much as I get a very strong Maj Sjöwall/Per Wahlöö-vibe from time to time and especially from these passages. But I'll admit it could have been edited some. This is, together with my gripes with the translation, why I'm awarding this a 4-star (while I stand by my 5-star rating for the Swedish version). But you don't have to learn Swedish to appreciate this!
P.S. Eat Sleep Lift Read: See what I did here? You said.. and I still... :-) It's a buddy read!
October 30, 2012
Another Time, Another Life by Leif GW Persson
This mystery/police procedural novel by Swedish writer Leif GW Persson is another example of how many things from Sweden--from Volvos to Ingmar Bergman to meatballs--can be very good. It lacks the striking characterizations of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, but it’s a carefully constructed, historically plausible, cerebral account of how an unsolved murder ultimately brings down a rising Swedish politician, although there isn’t enough evidence to achieve a conviction. But I don’t want to give away the plot, so I’ll hold back on that.
The novel’s characters are generally interesting and appealing in a somewhat matter-of-fact way. A dozen or so key figures in the narrative are fully committed to the police life, each to his or her taste, and all are brought together by the regnant, master policeman, Lars Martin Johansson, a mixture of loyalty, cleverness, endearing impulses, and cold self-discipline.
Unfortunately, the novel gets off to a slow start with an expository, report-like account of an embassy take-over in Stockholm in the 1970s. Reading it, you wonder if you’ll ever hear someone speak or witness a scene from a participant’s perspective. But then it switches focus to the murder I’ve mentioned, and the pace quickens, aided by a quirky but skillful practice of breaking scenes into multiple pieces.
Two odd literary problems stand out: First, the person who is murdered is broadly described by everyone as a nasty sort of man, but we never really get to encounter him other than as a corpse. Second, the person ultimately suspected of the murder isn’t given much room for self-revelation or self-reflection. The reasoning behind this may have something to do with a dictum Leif GW Persson attributes to his master cop: motives don’t matter in solving murders, forget them and go for evidence. The essence here is to pursue inductive versus deductive reasoning.
Well, that thins things out quite a bit when the evidence is scarce, and I’m not sure I agree with the dictum in the first place. By way of compensation, however, Persson does a good job of portraying Johansson pushing his team--largely comprising willful women--to dig deeper for evidence that is far beneath the surface of events.
One of the pleasures of Swedish writing and moviemaking is their somewhat leftish leanings seasoned with certain formal and old-fashioned habits and values. But one of the disappointments I have with police procedurals--even fully developed tales like Another Time, Another Life --is that they fully accept, or surrender to, the bureaucratization of modern life. The dramatic discomfort Kafka imposed on us has passed by like a very bad storm. What remains is a less threatening if complex puzzle, a dreck of wire-taps, passing affinities, brinksmanship in the office, and sardonic smiles over wine at night.
Yes, there are deaths, some violence, and almost three-dimensional wizardry in cracking the case, but no psychic shocks or raw challenges to a reader’s sense of reality. The good guy sort of wins. The bad guys sort of lose. The game goes on.
This mystery/police procedural novel by Swedish writer Leif GW Persson is another example of how many things from Sweden--from Volvos to Ingmar Bergman to meatballs--can be very good. It lacks the striking characterizations of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, but it’s a carefully constructed, historically plausible, cerebral account of how an unsolved murder ultimately brings down a rising Swedish politician, although there isn’t enough evidence to achieve a conviction. But I don’t want to give away the plot, so I’ll hold back on that.
The novel’s characters are generally interesting and appealing in a somewhat matter-of-fact way. A dozen or so key figures in the narrative are fully committed to the police life, each to his or her taste, and all are brought together by the regnant, master policeman, Lars Martin Johansson, a mixture of loyalty, cleverness, endearing impulses, and cold self-discipline.
Unfortunately, the novel gets off to a slow start with an expository, report-like account of an embassy take-over in Stockholm in the 1970s. Reading it, you wonder if you’ll ever hear someone speak or witness a scene from a participant’s perspective. But then it switches focus to the murder I’ve mentioned, and the pace quickens, aided by a quirky but skillful practice of breaking scenes into multiple pieces.
Two odd literary problems stand out: First, the person who is murdered is broadly described by everyone as a nasty sort of man, but we never really get to encounter him other than as a corpse. Second, the person ultimately suspected of the murder isn’t given much room for self-revelation or self-reflection. The reasoning behind this may have something to do with a dictum Leif GW Persson attributes to his master cop: motives don’t matter in solving murders, forget them and go for evidence. The essence here is to pursue inductive versus deductive reasoning.
Well, that thins things out quite a bit when the evidence is scarce, and I’m not sure I agree with the dictum in the first place. By way of compensation, however, Persson does a good job of portraying Johansson pushing his team--largely comprising willful women--to dig deeper for evidence that is far beneath the surface of events.
One of the pleasures of Swedish writing and moviemaking is their somewhat leftish leanings seasoned with certain formal and old-fashioned habits and values. But one of the disappointments I have with police procedurals--even fully developed tales like Another Time, Another Life --is that they fully accept, or surrender to, the bureaucratization of modern life. The dramatic discomfort Kafka imposed on us has passed by like a very bad storm. What remains is a less threatening if complex puzzle, a dreck of wire-taps, passing affinities, brinksmanship in the office, and sardonic smiles over wine at night.
Yes, there are deaths, some violence, and almost three-dimensional wizardry in cracking the case, but no psychic shocks or raw challenges to a reader’s sense of reality. The good guy sort of wins. The bad guys sort of lose. The game goes on.
November 28, 2017
Finally, I found a Nordic Noir that I did not like. The writer is touted as being one of the most knowledgeable Swedish experts on crime and is a one-time adviser to the Swedish government on criminal issues. But he is, as a writer, hopelessly caught in descriptions of bureaucracies, offices, departments and agencies. So much so that the story gets buried in minutiae and his constant editorializing about the incompetence of most of the people on the boards and departments he is writing about. Other Scandinavian writers are critical of the bureaucracy as well but they do it quickly, subtly and with a certain sense of detachment. Not so here. The book is constructed in two sections, set ten years apart. A civil servant, Kjell Göran Ericksson, is found stabbed to death in his apartment. It turns out that he was involved in the 1975 attack on the West German embassy, a Swedish scandal and part of the protests by leftists at the time. Also involved were three other people like him. Inspector Bo Jarnebring is assigned the case, along with his partner, Anna Holt. There develops a severe flaw in Persson’s plotting here. After describing Jarnebring’s fiancée as a bit touchy and their relationship a bit shaky as well, we read of how attractive, competent, intelligent and normal Holt is. There is a hint or two that Jarnebring finds her more than interesting. End of story. When the plot picks up later, ten years later, there is mention of Jarnebring’s wife, but no details and Holt is portrayed as strictly professional. The investigation of the Embassy Four is handed over to Jarnebring’s best friend, Lars Martin Johansson, Janebring all but disappears and the case moves to a highly speculative and unsatisfying conclusion. The book runs 400 pages, most of which is “show, not tell” and it does get tedious. Add the awkward conclusion and it sours entirely. Not recommended for any but the most bureaucratically minded.
February 21, 2017
Persson’s follow-up to Between Summer’s Longing and Winter’s End mostly takes place after those events. Many of the same characters reappear, although most have moved on in both their careers and their social lives.
The book starts with the siege of the West German Embassy in Stockholm by the Red Army Faction in 1975. The Swedish authorities have always known that the terrorists must have had local help, but have never identified who was involved. After the collapse of the Berlin Wall, new information emerges.
Fourteen years after the siege, a man is found dead in his apartment, stabbed and left bleeding on the floor by somebody he apparently knew. The venal and irascible DI Backstrom heads the investigation, and quickly settles on a theory that the killing was a homosexual crime. No culprit is found and, despite some outstanding questions and loose ends, the investigation is mothballed. As with the suicide in the first novel, there are some who suspect there is more than meets the eye.
Another ten years pass, and Lars Johansson is now head of the Secret Police, succeeding the shadowy Erik Berg. Johansson is asked to conduct a clearance check on an up-and-coming politician. His inquiries lead him back to these two crimes.
Another Time, Another Life is much more of a police procedural compared to the first novel, which read more like a Cold War spy novel. Persson still gives his characters internal dialogues at the end of their conversations that reveal their secret thoughts. In this case, though, it is more about their snarky feelings towards their interlocutors than the bafflement and paranoia conveyed by this device before. This is a good detective story, but it doesn’t have the secret agendas, paranoia and sense of foreboding that the first book had.
The book starts with the siege of the West German Embassy in Stockholm by the Red Army Faction in 1975. The Swedish authorities have always known that the terrorists must have had local help, but have never identified who was involved. After the collapse of the Berlin Wall, new information emerges.
Fourteen years after the siege, a man is found dead in his apartment, stabbed and left bleeding on the floor by somebody he apparently knew. The venal and irascible DI Backstrom heads the investigation, and quickly settles on a theory that the killing was a homosexual crime. No culprit is found and, despite some outstanding questions and loose ends, the investigation is mothballed. As with the suicide in the first novel, there are some who suspect there is more than meets the eye.
Another ten years pass, and Lars Johansson is now head of the Secret Police, succeeding the shadowy Erik Berg. Johansson is asked to conduct a clearance check on an up-and-coming politician. His inquiries lead him back to these two crimes.
Another Time, Another Life is much more of a police procedural compared to the first novel, which read more like a Cold War spy novel. Persson still gives his characters internal dialogues at the end of their conversations that reveal their secret thoughts. In this case, though, it is more about their snarky feelings towards their interlocutors than the bafflement and paranoia conveyed by this device before. This is a good detective story, but it doesn’t have the secret agendas, paranoia and sense of foreboding that the first book had.
March 1, 2011
Kontakt z pierwszą częścią "trylogii policyjnej" mógł być nieco męczący: ilość wątków i bohaterów przyprawiała miejscami o zawrót głowy. "W innym czasie, w innym życiu" jest z pewnością pod tym względem lżejsza. Autor prezentuje nam trzy sprawy nie mające ze sobą pozornie związku - zamach na ambasadę RFN, niewyjaśnione zabójstwo urzędnika oraz prześwietlenie przeszłości kandydatki na stanowisko ministra.
To proza z bardzo precyzyjnie skonstruowaną fabułą: nawet przypadek, dzięki któremu wszystko powoli zaczyna nabierać sensu, jest solidnie uzasadniony - w zasadzie nic nie pojawia się znikąd.
Ten tom trylogii jest obiektem do klinicznych badań nad fenomenem szwedzkiego kryminału. Bohaterowie kierują się swoimi przekonaniami i mają określone umiejętności. Dlatego nie dziwi nas, że śledztwo prowadzone przez parę niekompetentny policjant-niekompetentny technik nie przynosi rozwiązania. Duże wrażenie na "zwykłych" policjantach wywiera umiejętność wyciągania powiązań między zdarzeniami (a wynika ona z braku uprzedzeń) ich szefa.
Siłą powieści Perssona jest też niechęć do przedstawiania tylko białych lub tylko czarnych postaci. Nawet bohaterowie, którzy wzbudzają w nas sympatię, w głębi duszy (autor funduje nam ciekawy zabieg zderzenia tego co mówią z tym co myślą) bywają zawistni, złośliwi. Czasami, aby dać upust złości, wykorzystują stereotypy (no bo w sumie co sensownego może wymyślić policjant-baba?). Ale jednak nie tracą naszej sympatii: po prostu nie kierują się chwilowymi emocjami.
To proza z bardzo precyzyjnie skonstruowaną fabułą: nawet przypadek, dzięki któremu wszystko powoli zaczyna nabierać sensu, jest solidnie uzasadniony - w zasadzie nic nie pojawia się znikąd.
Ten tom trylogii jest obiektem do klinicznych badań nad fenomenem szwedzkiego kryminału. Bohaterowie kierują się swoimi przekonaniami i mają określone umiejętności. Dlatego nie dziwi nas, że śledztwo prowadzone przez parę niekompetentny policjant-niekompetentny technik nie przynosi rozwiązania. Duże wrażenie na "zwykłych" policjantach wywiera umiejętność wyciągania powiązań między zdarzeniami (a wynika ona z braku uprzedzeń) ich szefa.
Siłą powieści Perssona jest też niechęć do przedstawiania tylko białych lub tylko czarnych postaci. Nawet bohaterowie, którzy wzbudzają w nas sympatię, w głębi duszy (autor funduje nam ciekawy zabieg zderzenia tego co mówią z tym co myślą) bywają zawistni, złośliwi. Czasami, aby dać upust złości, wykorzystują stereotypy (no bo w sumie co sensownego może wymyślić policjant-baba?). Ale jednak nie tracą naszej sympatii: po prostu nie kierują się chwilowymi emocjami.
September 8, 2012
Holy Smoke!
This book is for people who think character study is about shrugging, mugging, and
thinking about food. Taking place over 25 years, there is a tenuous through-line, connected to a bombing in the opening pages. Early on the reader recognizes who should be the focus of the investigation; unfortunately it takes the cops another decade. And that's how it felt reading the blasted thing. Superfluous details, perhaps pretending a pandering education to the reader. Hey, it's got lots of unpronounceable names, so it must be good!
Pass.
This book is for people who think character study is about shrugging, mugging, and
thinking about food. Taking place over 25 years, there is a tenuous through-line, connected to a bombing in the opening pages. Early on the reader recognizes who should be the focus of the investigation; unfortunately it takes the cops another decade. And that's how it felt reading the blasted thing. Superfluous details, perhaps pretending a pandering education to the reader. Hey, it's got lots of unpronounceable names, so it must be good!
Pass.
August 31, 2017
3 and 1/2 stars. "Another Time, Another Life" is the second novel of a trilogy entitled A Story of a Crime, or elsewhere, Fall of the Welfare State, and it follows the pattern of the first novel ("Between Summer's Longing and Winter's End") pretty closely. In this case we move from the takeover and subsequent hostage situation in the West German embassy in Stockholm in 1975, to various periods; the latest, 2000. Many characters from the first novel reappear, most notably Bo Jarnebring and Lars Martin Johansson. This time, although the assassination of the prime minister is a constant presence, it is a note in the background. The embassy takeover, its fallout, and the question of whether Swedish nationals assisted the terrorists, who might they have been, and where they are now, is the issue that returns again and again here.
The nexus of the plot is the murder, some years after the embassy takeover, of a unpleasant, antisocial, isolated, but surprisingly wealthy man who works in the Bureau of Labor Statistics. His connections are so limited, that in spite of the disdain in which his colleagues and his employees hold him, it seems impossible to figure out who caused his death. The ineffable Inspector Bäckström runs this investigation and takes it into his head that this is one of a series of homosexually related murders. Bo Jarnebring and his new partner, Anna Holt, are part of the investigation, and are particularly charged with searching the dead man's apartment; they are opposed to Bäckström's views, and the search for the killer is put on the back burner.
The third element of the novel has to do with the Swedish Security Police, now headed by Lars Martin Johansson. He is charged with trying to sort out the debris from the espionage activity on all sides during this 25 year period, in which the fall of the East German Stasi is so significant--a lot of information on East German informants is being bought and sold. Who will this effect in Sweden? And what must be done about it? This leads Johansson back to the embassy takeover and the unsolved murder of the man from the Bureau of Labor statistics.
This is a long and complicated book; the plot twists are byzantine. However, the personalities of the cops, the politicians, the spies are fascinating, and to watch Johansson put together all the pieces in a way that will cause the least disturbance to Sweden's public life is exhilarating. The author has several writing ticks (which may have been exaggerated by the translation) which can be annoying at times, but compared with the excitement of trying to follow what is happening, those can be ignored, at least by me. Watching Lars Martin gradually change under the pressures of trying to hold things together over the course of the two books is fascinating. (This volume also answers some questions I had about what happened to certain figures from the first novel, but answered them in such a way, that now I have even more questions.)
As a novel, this is not the equal of the Martin Beck series, to which it owes a lot, but it is sharp, funny, intelligent, and observant. The (relatively) short middle section on the history of American, Swedish, and German espionage, which reads like a text, is informative, interesting, but awkward. The ending, in my opinion, is flatter than it might have been, but that perhaps is the fate of the middle novel of a trilogy. Bo and Anna Holt were a pleasure to watch working, and there are some interesting new women characters.
Again, if you are willing to (perhaps) slog through some post war espionage analysis, watching the workings of a murder investigation set in the larger movements of the day is very compelling. (And it has a lot to say about the present as well, I suspect.)
The nexus of the plot is the murder, some years after the embassy takeover, of a unpleasant, antisocial, isolated, but surprisingly wealthy man who works in the Bureau of Labor Statistics. His connections are so limited, that in spite of the disdain in which his colleagues and his employees hold him, it seems impossible to figure out who caused his death. The ineffable Inspector Bäckström runs this investigation and takes it into his head that this is one of a series of homosexually related murders. Bo Jarnebring and his new partner, Anna Holt, are part of the investigation, and are particularly charged with searching the dead man's apartment; they are opposed to Bäckström's views, and the search for the killer is put on the back burner.
The third element of the novel has to do with the Swedish Security Police, now headed by Lars Martin Johansson. He is charged with trying to sort out the debris from the espionage activity on all sides during this 25 year period, in which the fall of the East German Stasi is so significant--a lot of information on East German informants is being bought and sold. Who will this effect in Sweden? And what must be done about it? This leads Johansson back to the embassy takeover and the unsolved murder of the man from the Bureau of Labor statistics.
This is a long and complicated book; the plot twists are byzantine. However, the personalities of the cops, the politicians, the spies are fascinating, and to watch Johansson put together all the pieces in a way that will cause the least disturbance to Sweden's public life is exhilarating. The author has several writing ticks (which may have been exaggerated by the translation) which can be annoying at times, but compared with the excitement of trying to follow what is happening, those can be ignored, at least by me. Watching Lars Martin gradually change under the pressures of trying to hold things together over the course of the two books is fascinating. (This volume also answers some questions I had about what happened to certain figures from the first novel, but answered them in such a way, that now I have even more questions.)
As a novel, this is not the equal of the Martin Beck series, to which it owes a lot, but it is sharp, funny, intelligent, and observant. The (relatively) short middle section on the history of American, Swedish, and German espionage, which reads like a text, is informative, interesting, but awkward. The ending, in my opinion, is flatter than it might have been, but that perhaps is the fate of the middle novel of a trilogy. Bo and Anna Holt were a pleasure to watch working, and there are some interesting new women characters.
Again, if you are willing to (perhaps) slog through some post war espionage analysis, watching the workings of a murder investigation set in the larger movements of the day is very compelling. (And it has a lot to say about the present as well, I suspect.)
April 29, 2024
Bättre än Mellan sommarens längtan och vinterns köld, den första boken i GW:s trilogi Världfärdsstatens fall. Men det är ytterst marginellt. Som jag skrev i min recension av den boken så kändes GW mer intresserad av att bygga upp en trilogi än att berätta en ordentlig historia i den boken. De lösa trådarna löper vidare i den här boken, dock utan någon större pay off (here's looking at you, Wijnbladh).
Den här boken kändes bra mycket längre än dess 400 sidor. Själva kärnan är rätt intressant, men boken är så rörigt skriven. Och själva twisten kring vem som är mördaren har nog den genomsnittlige läsaren räknat ut cirka 200 sidor innan bokens karaktärer - inklusive den övermänskligt smarta supersnuten Johansson - är med på tåget. Dock är motivet svagt, för att vara vänlig.
Jag höll dock tummarna för att lösningen inte skulle vara så enkel som befarat (och senare bekräftat).
*** SPOILERS ***
*** SLUT PÅ SPOILERS ***
I den eviga och rätt tröttsamma kukmätningen mellan GW och Guillou så är det ingen större tvekan kring vem som är den bättre författaren.
Den här boken kändes bra mycket längre än dess 400 sidor. Själva kärnan är rätt intressant, men boken är så rörigt skriven. Och själva twisten kring vem som är mördaren har nog den genomsnittlige läsaren räknat ut cirka 200 sidor innan bokens karaktärer - inklusive den övermänskligt smarta supersnuten Johansson - är med på tåget. Dock är motivet svagt, för att vara vänlig.
Jag höll dock tummarna för att lösningen inte skulle vara så enkel som befarat (och senare bekräftat).
*** SPOILERS ***
*** SLUT PÅ SPOILERS ***
I den eviga och rätt tröttsamma kukmätningen mellan GW och Guillou så är det ingen större tvekan kring vem som är den bättre författaren.
December 8, 2019
I found this book really interesting because it addresses some major historical events in Stockholm in modern time - the occupation and bombing of the West German embassy in 1974 (before my time in Stockholm, but I do remember it from the news), the murder of Olof Palme (when I lived in Stockholm), and then contemporary time (after I left Stockholm). The description of the behind the scenes work by the police and security polis (Säpo) and their sometimes very biased way of being and working, and the way of weaving a novel out of factual events is impressive and maybe too believable. It wants you to go and look up that status of events and crimes and see what actually has been released and solved. The writing is great, not blood and gore, and the characters are well-developed into real believable people, except for maybe one homophobic cop that is more of a caricature, but maybe that is maybe more my hope than that such people actually don't exist. I enjoyed reading this, and read it in Swedish. I have no idea how the English translation is if it exist.
December 16, 2021
Set out to read a proper swedish detective story which I think I've never done before. It was ok. I did feel that it lacked tension at times. Some of the timeskips felt like bloat and did not catch my interest. I basically just cared about the characters involved in the main case. The 'conspiratorial' angle didn't grip me.
I also didn't fancy the language. The structure of characters saying a thing and thinking another was tiresome. A lot of words were devoted to mundane stuff which didn't really improve atmosphere or progress story. I don't think the text flowed very nicely, but it could also be that I'm unused to read novels in swedish.
The satire was alright, it took some time getting used to, but after that it was a bit of a highlight.
I think I want to read another detective story to have something to compare to.
I also didn't fancy the language. The structure of characters saying a thing and thinking another was tiresome. A lot of words were devoted to mundane stuff which didn't really improve atmosphere or progress story. I don't think the text flowed very nicely, but it could also be that I'm unused to read novels in swedish.
The satire was alright, it took some time getting used to, but after that it was a bit of a highlight.
I think I want to read another detective story to have something to compare to.
March 2, 2023
Mystery - at my age I really should not be starting new series of any type but I read some good reviews about this book and decided to give him a try. It was worth it. The story is sort of a mystery/political thriller with ties to Swedish history from the 1980's to 2000's. A man is murdered in his apartment. The lead investigator is an ass and goes down a completely wrong trail. Twenty five years later, for various reasons, the case is opened again. I am still waiting for any Swedish novel I read to have an Edlund as a character.
No Canadian or pharmacy references.
No Canadian or pharmacy references.
February 1, 2022
Normally I dislike mysteries which jump through time, and here it seemed a bit distracting, but it served its purpose. A sudden killing is handled by a mix of competent and incompetent police (Person’s stock characters). The investigation goes nowhere, but years later it is reopened mysteriously.
The writing is entertaining. The dynamics between the cast is handled well. And, in good Swedish detective fashion, there is the required USA bashing.
The writing is entertaining. The dynamics between the cast is handled well. And, in good Swedish detective fashion, there is the required USA bashing.
June 20, 2017
Same locale - Sweden; same cast of characters - and a murder . . . which is what I usually read. Still, intrigue but not the kind that is totally done in unspoken dialect which I can't read or understand. Still political manuverings but much clearer to follow than the first book which I've already forgotten the title.
December 2, 2022
A big, dense, multi-dimensional story involving murder, espionage, politics and more in one (not necessarily tidy) package. The book got rave reviews from critics and readers, but it left me a little cold. It may have been the writing or the translation but it dragged along. I will read more by this highly regarded Swedish author but I can't unreservedly recommend it.
October 8, 2025
Βαρέθηκα την ζωή μου διαβάζοντας αυτό το βιβλίο. Ξεκινάει με μια ανάλυση ενός τρομοκρατικό γεγονότος αλλά το πάει πολύ σιγά. Και εκεί που λες θα αρχίσει να παίρνει μπρος μετά πάει ακόμα πιο σιγά σε σημείο που με το ζόρι το τελείωσα. Κουράστηκα πολύ, δεν υπάρχει δράση μόνο ατελείωτες συναντήσεις για φαγητό και διάλογοι που δεν οδηγούν πουθενά. Ακόμα και το τέλος ήταν ανιαρό και πολύ χλιαρό.
December 10, 2017
Very good series and this installment was as good as the first. Police procedural with great twists and turns PLUS an over arching political mystery as well. I'm not usually a big myserty reader but this was riveting.
December 6, 2017
The sequel was better than the first and/or I was more clued into the rhythm and subtlety. Best read with care as the case develops over a very long time. And it is no harm to read the novels in sequence.
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