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Rebecka Martinsson #4
Tant que dure ta colère
Au nord de la Suède, à la fonte des glaces, le cadavre d'une jeune fille remonte à la surface du lac Vittangijàrvi. Est-ce son fantôme qui trouble les nuits de la procureure Rebecka Martinsson ? Alors que l'enquête réveille d'anciennes rumeurs sur la mystérieuse disparition en 1943 d'un avion allemand dans la région de Kiruna, un tueur rôde, prêt à tout pour que la vérité reste enterrée sous un demi-siècle de neige...
Après Le Sang versé et La Piste noire, Åsa Larsson nous entraîne une fois encore dans une intrigue aussi complexe qu'envoûtante, où elle dissèque les recoins les plus obscurs de l'âme humaine.
Après Le Sang versé et La Piste noire, Åsa Larsson nous entraîne une fois encore dans une intrigue aussi complexe qu'envoûtante, où elle dissèque les recoins les plus obscurs de l'âme humaine.
352 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 2008
371 people are currently reading
3238 people want to read
About the author
Åsa Larsson
46 books1,075 followersÅsa Larsson is a Swedish crime-writer. Although born in Uppsala, she was raised in Kiruna in the far north. Prior to becoming a full-time writer, Larsson was a tax lawyer, a profession she shares with the heroine of her novels, Rebecka Martinsson.
Series:
* Rebecka Martinsson
Series:
* Rebecka Martinsson
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 556 reviews
April 27, 2018
This one I would give a 3.5 star rounded up. It's rounded up for the Rebecka progression alone, quite beyond the current mystery/ murder case she is handling with the police and especially with Anna-Maria. Because her life is changing like actual humans outside of fiction genre presently. It's in jumps and starts with static of status quo in between, just like real life. It's healing after illness that takes a toll and takes time. And it's loving fantastically that changes within just a year to something far more mild, logical, and for full adults a ticking in for considering ALL the ramifications. Like living in a city or not. Or liking what you do to just floating in mild order of "going to work now" to be near the partner. Issues that real people in this working world of 2018 quite often breach. And breach again.
The crime starts the novel from the murdered's narration. And I didn't care for that at all. It puts you right there at once, but I think it is way too harsh. It nearly made me quit this excellent series, that factor of getting too cruel, too soon, too often or in too off-putting manners of language or forms.
But it was worth the continuing. All kinds of reasons I will let you find out for yourself. The dog tales alone were EXCELLENT. At least 3 dogs and a couple of cats too feature in this one.
We are in Northern Sweden's small town of Kiruna still. And Stockholm and its sensibilities and mores are left behind. Permanently for Rebecka, it seems.
But the case itself is centered within one Kiruna family's past. And that is were I give it barely 3 star. That family has way too much copy for past flashbacks to their two sons' treatments in childhood and afterward. And of course, there HAS to be WWII German spying mixed in the ancestor background to hiding the past, on top of it. I'm finding that 90 plus year old's just do NOT run around in such survivor mentalities that fiction is stretching to do presently. It's super, super trite and IMHO put there because of the marketing factors to selling a book. And NOT for the crime or case composition itself that would make FAR more sense.
But what do I know. And I am NOT trying to sell books, just want to read and appreciate new ones that compose originality. And this series tends to do that. So I did overlook that back plotting.
So Rebecka has come "home" for much more now, I think. And the tragic, tragic story of that 17 year old and her boyfriend is solved. But I didn't like much how that solving turned out for the guilty of horrific acts. Like a action movie ending coupled with far too little in the negative for those who had time and again committed terrible deeds (nearly opposite of what a human being should be in any sense- even in how they address and speak to people). They get off far too lightly. Actually, all of them did not begin to get the just desserts they fully deserved. But this is Sweden, so what can you expect. Not any equations to a justice for anywhere near a comparable retribution toward the dead in these outcomes, that's for sure.
I have not noted a few details in reviewing this series that I could (publishing/ translator/forms). And will now.
There are certain "tricks" in the way these hardcover books are formed/ published. The last one had the first page of each chapter in reverse print *dark black page with white printing. And I loved it- that was moody, creepy and reverse parsing of Rebecka's state, as well.
Well in this one, there are pages and pages of italics. When the dead girl's spirit speaks. Or when any of 3 or 4 other under characters narrate- it's in italics. It was overdone. They should have just kept it for the dead 17 year old. (Why did I think of Theresa Caputo about 10 times when reading this book LOL!)
Translation is excellent. One of the best examples I can think of that translate for connotation as well as grammar.
Good progression. And I like this series. Enough to start #5 next week. I would put $50 on the switching of Rebecka's love interest coming up. She isn't going back to Stockholm for anybody, not even Mans.
The crime starts the novel from the murdered's narration. And I didn't care for that at all. It puts you right there at once, but I think it is way too harsh. It nearly made me quit this excellent series, that factor of getting too cruel, too soon, too often or in too off-putting manners of language or forms.
But it was worth the continuing. All kinds of reasons I will let you find out for yourself. The dog tales alone were EXCELLENT. At least 3 dogs and a couple of cats too feature in this one.
We are in Northern Sweden's small town of Kiruna still. And Stockholm and its sensibilities and mores are left behind. Permanently for Rebecka, it seems.
But the case itself is centered within one Kiruna family's past. And that is were I give it barely 3 star. That family has way too much copy for past flashbacks to their two sons' treatments in childhood and afterward. And of course, there HAS to be WWII German spying mixed in the ancestor background to hiding the past, on top of it. I'm finding that 90 plus year old's just do NOT run around in such survivor mentalities that fiction is stretching to do presently. It's super, super trite and IMHO put there because of the marketing factors to selling a book. And NOT for the crime or case composition itself that would make FAR more sense.
But what do I know. And I am NOT trying to sell books, just want to read and appreciate new ones that compose originality. And this series tends to do that. So I did overlook that back plotting.
So Rebecka has come "home" for much more now, I think. And the tragic, tragic story of that 17 year old and her boyfriend is solved. But I didn't like much how that solving turned out for the guilty of horrific acts. Like a action movie ending coupled with far too little in the negative for those who had time and again committed terrible deeds (nearly opposite of what a human being should be in any sense- even in how they address and speak to people). They get off far too lightly. Actually, all of them did not begin to get the just desserts they fully deserved. But this is Sweden, so what can you expect. Not any equations to a justice for anywhere near a comparable retribution toward the dead in these outcomes, that's for sure.
I have not noted a few details in reviewing this series that I could (publishing/ translator/forms). And will now.
There are certain "tricks" in the way these hardcover books are formed/ published. The last one had the first page of each chapter in reverse print *dark black page with white printing. And I loved it- that was moody, creepy and reverse parsing of Rebecka's state, as well.
Well in this one, there are pages and pages of italics. When the dead girl's spirit speaks. Or when any of 3 or 4 other under characters narrate- it's in italics. It was overdone. They should have just kept it for the dead 17 year old. (Why did I think of Theresa Caputo about 10 times when reading this book LOL!)
Translation is excellent. One of the best examples I can think of that translate for connotation as well as grammar.
Good progression. And I like this series. Enough to start #5 next week. I would put $50 on the switching of Rebecka's love interest coming up. She isn't going back to Stockholm for anybody, not even Mans.
January 14, 2013
I picked up this book with some trepidation. The main women characters in the other two books I've read in this series had some serious "issues", as they say. But in this novel, the protagonist, Rebecka, appears to have worked her way through the worst of her neuroses.
There's much to like in this installment. The winter setting in northern Sweden provides a fitting backdrop to the murder mystery. The chilling brutality in the description of the underwater murders in the opening section sets the tone for the novel. The frozen landscape, like the characters, is inscrutable. It's an apt metaphor for the closed-off, taciturn characters, both investigators and killers.
When one of the victims appears as a ghost in a subsequent scene, I thought, "Uh oh, this is going off the rails." But I was mistaken. The ghost's unique perspective is worked seamlessly into the action of the story, without giving away the mystery.
It's clear from the outset that the prime suspects are somehow involved. The mystery is how and why they did it. The presumed malefactors, a father and his younger son, live in a small, remote village inhabited by people who have spoken both Finnish and Swedish for generations. These rough men from the back country who scorn law and order are like a kind of Swedish hillbilly. They are lawless, cruel men who push around other family members and villagers with impunity.
In this novel Larsson takes us to a region of Scandinavia not well known in the anglophone world. The cold world of this novel is a strange, alien place seemingly far from civilization. In her dazzling descriptions and well-crafted plot, Larsson makes this world come alive.
There's much to like in this installment. The winter setting in northern Sweden provides a fitting backdrop to the murder mystery. The chilling brutality in the description of the underwater murders in the opening section sets the tone for the novel. The frozen landscape, like the characters, is inscrutable. It's an apt metaphor for the closed-off, taciturn characters, both investigators and killers.
When one of the victims appears as a ghost in a subsequent scene, I thought, "Uh oh, this is going off the rails." But I was mistaken. The ghost's unique perspective is worked seamlessly into the action of the story, without giving away the mystery.
It's clear from the outset that the prime suspects are somehow involved. The mystery is how and why they did it. The presumed malefactors, a father and his younger son, live in a small, remote village inhabited by people who have spoken both Finnish and Swedish for generations. These rough men from the back country who scorn law and order are like a kind of Swedish hillbilly. They are lawless, cruel men who push around other family members and villagers with impunity.
In this novel Larsson takes us to a region of Scandinavia not well known in the anglophone world. The cold world of this novel is a strange, alien place seemingly far from civilization. In her dazzling descriptions and well-crafted plot, Larsson makes this world come alive.
June 18, 2020
Cuando pase tu ira (2008) es la cuarta entrega de la saga Rebecka Martinsson, de la escritora Asa Larsson (1966-). Ambientada en Suecia, sobresale la presencia de una naturaleza extrema que influye constante e inevitablemente en la vida de las personas de un entorno rural. Esta influencia se traduce tanto en rechazo como en atracción y provoca comportamientos, al menos, singulares.
Otro dato a destacar es la importante presencia de personajes femeninos a lo largo de toda la obra y que se manifiestan en multiples direcciones: comportamiento, actitud, edad, etc.
La estructura de la obra resulta original ya que comienza con la muerte del personaje que genera la trama, pero sobre todo porque dicho personaje, después de muerto, continúa observando y narrando los diferentes escenarios en los cuales la novela se desarrolla.
La trama no es compleja: un accidente, al principio sin importancia, que se va complicando y que lleva a descubrir un pasado atroz, no por lejano olvidado, y que trae consecuencias tanto para los involucrados en él como para los que no lo estuvieron.
Típica novela negra nórdica de calidad suficiente para disfrutarla.
Otro dato a destacar es la importante presencia de personajes femeninos a lo largo de toda la obra y que se manifiestan en multiples direcciones: comportamiento, actitud, edad, etc.
La estructura de la obra resulta original ya que comienza con la muerte del personaje que genera la trama, pero sobre todo porque dicho personaje, después de muerto, continúa observando y narrando los diferentes escenarios en los cuales la novela se desarrolla.
La trama no es compleja: un accidente, al principio sin importancia, que se va complicando y que lleva a descubrir un pasado atroz, no por lejano olvidado, y que trae consecuencias tanto para los involucrados en él como para los que no lo estuvieron.
Típica novela negra nórdica de calidad suficiente para disfrutarla.
February 6, 2021
[Τι καλύτερο απ’ το να έχεις μπροστά σου μια τετράωρη πτήση, και να ξεκινάς –άθελά σου, γιατί φοβάσαι τις πτήσεις λιγάκι– ένα μυθιστόρημα που παίρνει μπρος με την φονικότατη πτώση ενός αεροπλάνου; Πολύ σωστά, απολύτως τίποτα.]
Και… Η Όσα Λάρσον το κάνει ξανά! Παίρνει μια ιστορία που την έχουμε ξανακούσει (Σουηδία, Ναζί, Αντίσταση, λίγος ηρωισμός και λίγη πολιτική) και την ράβει στα δικά της μέτρα, όχι πολύ διαφορετική από πριν αλλά τώρα πολύ, πολύ ιδιαίτερη. Όταν δυο παιδιά μαθαίνουν για το αεροπλάνο των Ναζί που καταποντίστηκε σε μια από τις λίμνες της Κίρουνα και χάθηκε κάτω από τα νερά λίγο μετά την λήξη του πολέμου, αποφασίζουν να καταδυθούν για να μελετήσουν το ίδιο το σκάφος αλλά και το φορτίο του, χωρίς να λογαριάζουν πως για κάποιον έπρεπε και τα δυο να μείνουν πάση θυσία και για πάντα στον βυθό. Οι δυο έφηβοι, ένα κορίτσι και ένα αγόρι, παγιδεύονται από ανθρώπινο χέρι κάτω από τον πάγο, και η αστυνομία ανακαλύπτει το σώμα της κοπέλας με τον ερχομό της άνοιξης. Η εισαγγελέας Ρεμπέκα Μάρτινσον και η ντετέκτιβ Άννα-Μαρία Μέλα με την ομάδα της αναλαμβάνουν την εξιχνίαση της υπόθεσης, δίχως να ξέρουν πως η ψυχή της Βίλμα, της νεκρής κοπέλας, στρέφει με τους τρόπους των πνευμάτων την έρευνα στην σωστή πορεία όταν πάει να ξεστρατίσει. Με πραγματικά ενδιαφέροντες χαρακτήρες, όπως του περιθωριοποιημένου και κακοποιημένου Γιάλμαρ Κρέκουλα, που αν και εξαναγκάζεται να διαπράττει κακουργήματα έχει μέσα του φυλαγμένη πολλή καλοσύνη, και της μητέρας του, Κέρτου Κρέκουλα, νυν σκατόγριας (συγγνώμη) και πρώην κατασκόπου των Γερμανών, η ιστορία αναπτύσσεται, περιπλέκεται και λύνεται αργά με παράλληλη αφήγηση παρόντος και παρελθόντος που οδηγούν σε μια ίσως αναμενόμενη αλλά ακόμη αρκετά εντυπωσιακή κατακλείδα.
Η ιστορία χάνει μόνο από μερικά βασικά ερωτήματα που δεν απαντώνται στο τέλος (βρέθηκε η σορός του αγοριού; Ανακάλυψαν οι Αρχές το φορτίο του αεροπλάνου;), που νομίζω θα ήταν ωραίο να τα βλέπαμε κι αυτά να λύνονται μέσα από τα μάτια της Μάρτινσον. Συνολικά όμως ο Κύκλος της οργής ήταν ένα πραγματικά καλό μυθιστόρημα, που αν και μάλλον το ξεκίνησα μια τρομερά λάθος στιγμή (ας μην ξεχνάμε πως στην λέξη πτήση και στην λέξη πτώση μονάχα ένα γράμμα κάνει την διαφορά), δεν πάλεψε καθόλου για να με κερδίσει, και στο φινάλε ειλικρινά τα κατάφερε πανηγυρικά.
Και… Η Όσα Λάρσον το κάνει ξανά! Παίρνει μια ιστορία που την έχουμε ξανακούσει (Σουηδία, Ναζί, Αντίσταση, λίγος ηρωισμός και λίγη πολιτική) και την ράβει στα δικά της μέτρα, όχι πολύ διαφορετική από πριν αλλά τώρα πολύ, πολύ ιδιαίτερη. Όταν δυο παιδιά μαθαίνουν για το αεροπλάνο των Ναζί που καταποντίστηκε σε μια από τις λίμνες της Κίρουνα και χάθηκε κάτω από τα νερά λίγο μετά την λήξη του πολέμου, αποφασίζουν να καταδυθούν για να μελετήσουν το ίδιο το σκάφος αλλά και το φορτίο του, χωρίς να λογαριάζουν πως για κάποιον έπρεπε και τα δυο να μείνουν πάση θυσία και για πάντα στον βυθό. Οι δυο έφηβοι, ένα κορίτσι και ένα αγόρι, παγιδεύονται από ανθρώπινο χέρι κάτω από τον πάγο, και η αστυνομία ανακαλύπτει το σώμα της κοπέλας με τον ερχομό της άνοιξης. Η εισαγγελέας Ρεμπέκα Μάρτινσον και η ντετέκτιβ Άννα-Μαρία Μέλα με την ομάδα της αναλαμβάνουν την εξιχνίαση της υπόθεσης, δίχως να ξέρουν πως η ψυχή της Βίλμα, της νεκρής κοπέλας, στρέφει με τους τρόπους των πνευμάτων την έρευνα στην σωστή πορεία όταν πάει να ξεστρατίσει. Με πραγματικά ενδιαφέροντες χαρακτήρες, όπως του περιθωριοποιημένου και κακοποιημένου Γιάλμαρ Κρέκουλα, που αν και εξαναγκάζεται να διαπράττει κακουργήματα έχει μέσα του φυλαγμένη πολλή καλοσύνη, και της μητέρας του, Κέρτου Κρέκουλα, νυν σκατόγριας (συγγνώμη) και πρώην κατασκόπου των Γερμανών, η ιστορία αναπτύσσεται, περιπλέκεται και λύνεται αργά με παράλληλη αφήγηση παρόντος και παρελθόντος που οδηγούν σε μια ίσως αναμενόμενη αλλά ακόμη αρκετά εντυπωσιακή κατακλείδα.
Η ιστορία χάνει μόνο από μερικά βασικά ερωτήματα που δεν απαντώνται στο τέλος (βρέθηκε η σορός του αγοριού; Ανακάλυψαν οι Αρχές το φορτίο του αεροπλάνου;), που νομίζω θα ήταν ωραίο να τα βλέπαμε κι αυτά να λύνονται μέσα από τα μάτια της Μάρτινσον. Συνολικά όμως ο Κύκλος της οργής ήταν ένα πραγματικά καλό μυθιστόρημα, που αν και μάλλον το ξεκίνησα μια τρομερά λάθος στιγμή (ας μην ξεχνάμε πως στην λέξη πτήση και στην λέξη πτώση μονάχα ένα γράμμα κάνει την διαφορά), δεν πάλεψε καθόλου για να με κερδίσει, και στο φινάλε ειλικρινά τα κατάφερε πανηγυρικά.
June 27, 2015
Another suspenseful murder mystery by Larsson. Rebecca Martinson is a prosecutor in the north of Sweden. The body of a young woman missing for 6 months turns up in a local river, but the boyfriend is still missing. The mystery ends up having ties to the second World War and the Nazi presence in Sweden. Central to the story is that there were Nazi collaborators in Sweden and a resistance movement that included Norwegians, Danes and Swedes. Martinson doggedly pursues the case to a frightening ending.
January 7, 2012
Asa Larsson is one of Sweden's/Scandinavian/Nordic top crime fiction writers - right up there with Henning Mankell and Arnaldur Indridason for my money. I've read all her books and she just gets better and better with each one. Her latest, UNTIL THY WRATH BE PAST, is her best to date.
While typically dark and unsentimental like her contemporaries, her books also offer themes of hope, compassion and redemption. This newest entry - featuring Prosecutor Rebecca Martinson pits her and police detective Anna Marie Mella - starts off with the thoughts of a young woman named Wilma who, along with her boyfriend, was recently murdered. (This is not a spoiler of any sort, not to worry.) When her body is discovered in a nearby lake, the authorities are called in and soon Anna Marie and Rebecca find themselves pitted against shockingly evil adversaries. The storyline floats between the current-day events, including Wilma's thoughts, to events which took place decades ago and figure deeply into how and why the two young innocent people were so cruelly murdered.
The story was heartbreaking, uplifting and breathtaking. Highly recommended!
While typically dark and unsentimental like her contemporaries, her books also offer themes of hope, compassion and redemption. This newest entry - featuring Prosecutor Rebecca Martinson pits her and police detective Anna Marie Mella - starts off with the thoughts of a young woman named Wilma who, along with her boyfriend, was recently murdered. (This is not a spoiler of any sort, not to worry.) When her body is discovered in a nearby lake, the authorities are called in and soon Anna Marie and Rebecca find themselves pitted against shockingly evil adversaries. The storyline floats between the current-day events, including Wilma's thoughts, to events which took place decades ago and figure deeply into how and why the two young innocent people were so cruelly murdered.
The story was heartbreaking, uplifting and breathtaking. Highly recommended!
July 30, 2021
Cuarta entrega de la serie Rebecka Martinsson. En su línea: trama sencilla y de ritmo pausado, calma tensa, ambiente melancólico y frío, algo -o mucho- de crítica social... No decepciona.
Me quedo con la simbología de los pájaros, presente a lo largo de toda la novela 🐦💙
Me quedo con la simbología de los pájaros, presente a lo largo de toda la novela 🐦💙
May 27, 2016
The book opens with a murder committed in the autumn that's hidden until the ice starts to melt in spring in Northern Sweden. The dead girl is hanging around and trying to influence the investigation which sounds weird, but I liked it quite a bit.
Reading this book caused me to research Sweden during WWII: they were officially neutral but still traded and supplied the Nazis for a couple of years (mostly because of the 1939 Soviet invasion of Finland). Many who worked with Germany hid their involvement after the war. I'd never considered neutral in terms of supply...it's not very neutral is it? The U. S. must have thought itself neutral before Pearl Harbor but was certainly supplying the Allied war effort.
It had been 3 years since I read a book in this series. I thought it might be tough to get into, but nope.....there were lots of reminders to the drama in the previous books.
Reading this book caused me to research Sweden during WWII: they were officially neutral but still traded and supplied the Nazis for a couple of years (mostly because of the 1939 Soviet invasion of Finland). Many who worked with Germany hid their involvement after the war. I'd never considered neutral in terms of supply...it's not very neutral is it? The U. S. must have thought itself neutral before Pearl Harbor but was certainly supplying the Allied war effort.
It had been 3 years since I read a book in this series. I thought it might be tough to get into, but nope.....there were lots of reminders to the drama in the previous books.
September 20, 2013
Until They Wrath Be Past by Asa Larsson. Another good Nordic mystery taking place mainly in Finland, but also in Sweden. At the beginning of the war Sweden felt more strongly about a relationship with Germany than the Russians making inroads into their area as was a problem in Finland. Plenty of people made money off this including one family in particular in Finland. A good picture, one you could relate to and know the characters, was presented of small village, rural Finland. A plane was lost by Germany in this area which was the cause of one, possibly two of the murders. There is some sentiment in this mystery and sort of a poetic justice. Very worth reading! Couldn't put it down, and it's not a real long book. To the point and well done, although the descriptions of some of the countryside and forests of Finland were wonderful!
October 31, 2016
Noirdic? Is that a word? Nordic noir mystery. Satisfying. The writing is difficult to judge because you never know if the translation gets it all, but I liked it enough to read more of this author.
July 12, 2018
Fantastic detective novel with some magic realism thrown in. It worked wonderfully.
April 4, 2017
Wilma Persson and Simon Kyrö disappears on a Winters day while diving in a lake in the icy weather. When the first sign of Spring comes Wilma's body is found - and Wilma makes her first visit to Prosecutor Rebecka Martinsson who starts to investigate the case with Inspector Anna-Maria Mella.
The setting is small town northern Sweden with all the usual trappings of a rural community - be it in Sweden or South Africa. The community and how it functions form the background to the story. The story is partially told by Wilma herself and constantly switched between today and the past as the intrigue around it unfolds. Larsson uses this very effectively and gives very interesting background to the Swedish, Norwegian and German Nazi occupation during World War 2.
I thoroughly enjoyed the tension and complexity of the story and it is great to see two strong female protagonists . I got the idea that it might have been beneficial to have read the others in the series (this is number 4) to fully understand the emotional complexities they are both dealing with and that impacts on the background on the story.
As with a lot of the Nordic Noir books the area forms a big part of the story as does the climate and the cold and snow. What did stand out for me about Larsson's writing is that it holds a lot more emotion than any of the other Nordic Noir books I have read up to date. She taps into and expresses the emotions of her characters and have the reader involved in the emotions leading up to and following most events in the book.
A 9/10 for a great tension filled murder mystery. I will without a doubt find her other books and read them.
The setting is small town northern Sweden with all the usual trappings of a rural community - be it in Sweden or South Africa. The community and how it functions form the background to the story. The story is partially told by Wilma herself and constantly switched between today and the past as the intrigue around it unfolds. Larsson uses this very effectively and gives very interesting background to the Swedish, Norwegian and German Nazi occupation during World War 2.
I thoroughly enjoyed the tension and complexity of the story and it is great to see two strong female protagonists . I got the idea that it might have been beneficial to have read the others in the series (this is number 4) to fully understand the emotional complexities they are both dealing with and that impacts on the background on the story.
As with a lot of the Nordic Noir books the area forms a big part of the story as does the climate and the cold and snow. What did stand out for me about Larsson's writing is that it holds a lot more emotion than any of the other Nordic Noir books I have read up to date. She taps into and expresses the emotions of her characters and have the reader involved in the emotions leading up to and following most events in the book.
A 9/10 for a great tension filled murder mystery. I will without a doubt find her other books and read them.
December 29, 2018
My library didn't have any of the earlier entries in the series, so I can't be sure if they would have helped me feel a little more grounded in the story. It's a solid procedural, but there were a few too many characters to keep track of, and a few too many diversions in the story for my personal preference. I'd be interested in hunting down some of the earlier books to get a better sense of the characters.
October 31, 2023
Ja, het is gelukt. Na eerst drie eerdere delen te hebben gelezen in deze serie van de Zweedse auteur Åsa Larsson, scoort dit vierde deel bij mij vier sterren. De eerst twee delen vond ik nog niet overtuigen, al schrijft Larsson absoluut goed. Maar de karakters hadden nog niet al te veel diepgang en de eerste twee delen moesten het vooral hebben van de rauwe verhaallijn.
Het derde deel werd al beter; de karakters (die veelal alle delen meegaan) beklijven beter, krijgen profiel en het plot werd minder afhankelijk van alleen maar rauwe moorden. Anders gezegd: het plot werd wat meerlagiger. En dat doet de boeken van Larsson goed. Zo ook voor dit deel waarin hoofdpersoon Rebecka Martinsson een familiegeschiedenis, omgeven met moorden en intriges, ontrafelt. En in de wat kleinere setting van die familiegeschiedenis komen de kwaliteiten van Larsson beter naar voren. Het verhaal leidt niet af van hoe kerkgenootschappen (dis)functioneren (deel een en twee), of hoe internationaal bedrijfsleven werkt (deel drie). Larsson verdient lof voor dit vierde deel.
Dat zit hem niet alleen in de wat kleinere setting en de geloofwaardige karakters, maar het komt ook doordat Larsson niet schroomt om in deze detective ook spirituele lijnen in het boek op te nemen. Doordat ze dat heel geloofwaardig doet voegt dat veel toe en onderscheidt dit boek zich van de dertien-in-een-dozijn-detective. Tenslotte zitten hier en daar prachtige zinnen in het boek. Zoals wanneer iemand aankomt bij een woning en de sfeer met een paar rake woorden staat: "Overal rond het huis lagen je-weet-maar-nooit-spullen". Of elders, wanneer een van de karakters buiten zichzelf is: "Deze kleine vrouw is als een wild paard. En het wilde paard is uitgebroken". De auteur die dit soort kleine verrassinkjes in een boek achterlaat verdient daar waardering voor, mits het nooit overdaad wordt. En dat doet Larsson heel goed.
Kortom: vier sterren en dus: lezen!
Eerdere reviews:
Deel 1: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Deel 2: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Deel 3: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Het derde deel werd al beter; de karakters (die veelal alle delen meegaan) beklijven beter, krijgen profiel en het plot werd minder afhankelijk van alleen maar rauwe moorden. Anders gezegd: het plot werd wat meerlagiger. En dat doet de boeken van Larsson goed. Zo ook voor dit deel waarin hoofdpersoon Rebecka Martinsson een familiegeschiedenis, omgeven met moorden en intriges, ontrafelt. En in de wat kleinere setting van die familiegeschiedenis komen de kwaliteiten van Larsson beter naar voren. Het verhaal leidt niet af van hoe kerkgenootschappen (dis)functioneren (deel een en twee), of hoe internationaal bedrijfsleven werkt (deel drie). Larsson verdient lof voor dit vierde deel.
Dat zit hem niet alleen in de wat kleinere setting en de geloofwaardige karakters, maar het komt ook doordat Larsson niet schroomt om in deze detective ook spirituele lijnen in het boek op te nemen. Doordat ze dat heel geloofwaardig doet voegt dat veel toe en onderscheidt dit boek zich van de dertien-in-een-dozijn-detective. Tenslotte zitten hier en daar prachtige zinnen in het boek. Zoals wanneer iemand aankomt bij een woning en de sfeer met een paar rake woorden staat: "Overal rond het huis lagen je-weet-maar-nooit-spullen". Of elders, wanneer een van de karakters buiten zichzelf is: "Deze kleine vrouw is als een wild paard. En het wilde paard is uitgebroken". De auteur die dit soort kleine verrassinkjes in een boek achterlaat verdient daar waardering voor, mits het nooit overdaad wordt. En dat doet Larsson heel goed.
Kortom: vier sterren en dus: lezen!
Eerdere reviews:
Deel 1: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Deel 2: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Deel 3: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
February 28, 2025
IN A NUTSHELL
'Until Thy Wrath Be Past' was the best book so far in the Rebecka Martinsson series. The storytelling was accomplished, the mystery was engaging and the development of the core cast of characters was convincing.
The most remarkable thing was Larsson’s ability to generate empathy at a deep level: for the person killed, for the investigators and, most surprisingly, for the killer.
‘Until Thy Wrath Be Past‘ (2008) is the fourth Rebecka Martinsson book and I think it's the best one yet. With each book, the writing has become more adventurous and more accomplished. These are novels that are less about a mystery and more about showing the origins of deadly violence and its impact on the people involved.
Åsa Larsson starts to tell this story from the point of view of the spirit of a young woman who has been murdered and is sticking around to see if anyone is going to learn what happened to her and hold her killer(s) to account. This was so skillfully done that it seemed right, rather than strange to be hearing from the young woman's spirit. Who would be better placed to understand what had been taken from her?
The storytelling included many of the things I expect in a police procedural: interviews, evidence gathering, the slow revelation of who did what to whom and moments of violence and threat. Yet it doesn't read as a police procedural. Its focus was less on the puzzle and more on the emotions and experiences of the people involved. The storytelling seamlessly blended action, memory and emotion. Adding the memories and emotions of the dead young women felt like a natural extension of the storytelling style.
The mystery was engaging. I liked that the roots of the violence went all the way back to World War II. I knew, almost from the beginning. how and where the young was killed. The rest of the novel provided the Why and the By Whom in a satisfying way.
Although Rebecka Martinsson is a key character in the series, she is often not centre stage. Her role is less to be an investigator and more to be a sort of empathic interpreter of the meaning of events. In this book, Rebecka again n finds herself at the heart of the action but what places her there is her insight into people rather than a systematic investigation. The traumas inflicted on Rebecka by the events in the previous books have left her mental health a little fragile. Leaving Stockholm and returning to her cottage in the far north where she was raised by her grandmother, has opened up memories and emotions for Rebecka that are reshaping her life. So, having a dead girl appear in her dreams, didn't seem that far away from the rest of her daily life.
Real police investigation isn't ignored in this book. The police team, led by Inspector Anna-Maria Mella, did a thorough job. Anna-Maria and her team are part of the core cast of characters in these books. I liked that they and their relationships with each other keep developing in believable ways.
For me, the most remarkable thing about 'Until Thy Wrath Be Past' was Åsa Larsson’s ability to generate empathy at a deep level: for the person killed, for the investigators and, most surprisingly, for the killer. The vibrancy of the murdered young woman is vivid. The grief of her grandmother felt real and raw. The killer was drawn not as a monster but as someone shaped by all the things that had happened in their life to bring them to the point where they became a killer.
It was a book I was sad to finish.
'Until Thy Wrath Be Past' was the best book so far in the Rebecka Martinsson series. The storytelling was accomplished, the mystery was engaging and the development of the core cast of characters was convincing.
The most remarkable thing was Larsson’s ability to generate empathy at a deep level: for the person killed, for the investigators and, most surprisingly, for the killer.
‘Until Thy Wrath Be Past‘ (2008) is the fourth Rebecka Martinsson book and I think it's the best one yet. With each book, the writing has become more adventurous and more accomplished. These are novels that are less about a mystery and more about showing the origins of deadly violence and its impact on the people involved.
Åsa Larsson starts to tell this story from the point of view of the spirit of a young woman who has been murdered and is sticking around to see if anyone is going to learn what happened to her and hold her killer(s) to account. This was so skillfully done that it seemed right, rather than strange to be hearing from the young woman's spirit. Who would be better placed to understand what had been taken from her?
The storytelling included many of the things I expect in a police procedural: interviews, evidence gathering, the slow revelation of who did what to whom and moments of violence and threat. Yet it doesn't read as a police procedural. Its focus was less on the puzzle and more on the emotions and experiences of the people involved. The storytelling seamlessly blended action, memory and emotion. Adding the memories and emotions of the dead young women felt like a natural extension of the storytelling style.
The mystery was engaging. I liked that the roots of the violence went all the way back to World War II. I knew, almost from the beginning. how and where the young was killed. The rest of the novel provided the Why and the By Whom in a satisfying way.
Although Rebecka Martinsson is a key character in the series, she is often not centre stage. Her role is less to be an investigator and more to be a sort of empathic interpreter of the meaning of events. In this book, Rebecka again n finds herself at the heart of the action but what places her there is her insight into people rather than a systematic investigation. The traumas inflicted on Rebecka by the events in the previous books have left her mental health a little fragile. Leaving Stockholm and returning to her cottage in the far north where she was raised by her grandmother, has opened up memories and emotions for Rebecka that are reshaping her life. So, having a dead girl appear in her dreams, didn't seem that far away from the rest of her daily life.
Real police investigation isn't ignored in this book. The police team, led by Inspector Anna-Maria Mella, did a thorough job. Anna-Maria and her team are part of the core cast of characters in these books. I liked that they and their relationships with each other keep developing in believable ways.
For me, the most remarkable thing about 'Until Thy Wrath Be Past' was Åsa Larsson’s ability to generate empathy at a deep level: for the person killed, for the investigators and, most surprisingly, for the killer. The vibrancy of the murdered young woman is vivid. The grief of her grandmother felt real and raw. The killer was drawn not as a monster but as someone shaped by all the things that had happened in their life to bring them to the point where they became a killer.
It was a book I was sad to finish.
February 15, 2015
O volume anterior foi tão mau e acabou de forma um bocado má para Anna-Maria e o seu parceiro, Sven Erik, que estava curiosa para saber como estão agora. Este livro passa-se mais de um ano após os eventos em A Senda Obscura quando encontram o cadáver de uma rapariga desaparecida há 6 meses num rio. A autora sempre introduziu alguns elementos algo místicos nos seus livros, a que deu mais ênfase no volume anterior e neste quarto livro. Aqui, Rebecka vê o espírito da tal rapariga descoberta no rio, que lhe dá a dica que foi morreu noutro sítio e posteriormente mudada para o rio. É então que é descoberto que a morte não foi acidental mas sim um assassínio, que teve por base o encobrimento de um segredo com mais de 60 anos.
Claro que é sempre bom rever personagens já conhecidas. Rebecka está cada vez mais forte depois dos acontecimentos que lhe fragilizaram a psique nos dois primeiros livros e está agora numa relação romântica iniciada no final do livro anterior, mas que, parece-me, está agora ameaçada por outro homem interessado romanticamente em Rebecka - e ela nele?.
Claro que é sempre bom rever personagens já conhecidas. Rebecka está cada vez mais forte depois dos acontecimentos que lhe fragilizaram a psique nos dois primeiros livros e está agora numa relação romântica iniciada no final do livro anterior, mas que, parece-me, está agora ameaçada por outro homem interessado romanticamente em Rebecka - e ela nele?.
September 29, 2019
"I remember how we died. I remember, and I know." Right from that opening sentence I was completely gripped. This story is told partly by a murdered girl named Wilma & with her death she is able to know certain things even though she "wasn't actually present when they happened" These ghostly musings might sound odd but they were woven into the story beautifully & at times were quite poignant.
The characters really come to life - Mella's ordeal at the hands of Tore & Hjalmar had me loathing them from the outset but later in the story it was so hard not to feel pity for Hjalmar....but I won't say why ;o) - The setting of the cold, frozen lake & of remote villages is so atmospheric & add to that the subtle vein of humour that runs throughout & you've got a book that I can't recommend enough - READ IT!!!
The characters really come to life - Mella's ordeal at the hands of Tore & Hjalmar had me loathing them from the outset but later in the story it was so hard not to feel pity for Hjalmar....but I won't say why ;o) - The setting of the cold, frozen lake & of remote villages is so atmospheric & add to that the subtle vein of humour that runs throughout & you've got a book that I can't recommend enough - READ IT!!!
December 8, 2024
Jag tycker Till dess din vrede upphör är en mycket bra bok. Det är nästan så att jag hade glömt hur bra Åsa Larsson skriver. Det är eftertänksamt, det är målande och det är välavvägt. Väldigt tidigt i boken så framkommer vad som har hänt och vem som har gjort det, men det är annat som gör att det är spännande, att man t.ex. inte vet motivet. Jag gillar karaktärsteckningarna i boken, och har oväntat nog inget problem med att köpa att en av karaktärerna är en av de som dör i början av historien. Sen älskar jag verkligen hur hundar blir en integrerad del i den här serien.
I kursen ingick Till dess din vrede upphör till samma moment som Kyrkdjävulen. Två helt skilda böcker, men genom en duktig föreläsare så förstod jag mer om vilka drag de hade gemensamt, och varför Till dess din vrede upphör kan ses som en kriminalroman med gotiska förtecken. Det finns också en hel del om kolonialism av Norrland invävt.
Jag såg nyligen att några av omslagen i den här serien, bl.a. på den här boken, är tagna av Elisabeth Ohlson. Om jag förstod det rätt så är det här en av hennes vänner som ligger under is i ett badkar. Det är i alla fall ett väldigt bra omslag som kopplar till handlingen.
Jag gillade Till dess din vrede upphör så mycket att jag faktiskt funderar på att läsa om serien från början. Men inte i närtid.
Betyg: 4+
I kursen ingick Till dess din vrede upphör till samma moment som Kyrkdjävulen. Två helt skilda böcker, men genom en duktig föreläsare så förstod jag mer om vilka drag de hade gemensamt, och varför Till dess din vrede upphör kan ses som en kriminalroman med gotiska förtecken. Det finns också en hel del om kolonialism av Norrland invävt.
Jag såg nyligen att några av omslagen i den här serien, bl.a. på den här boken, är tagna av Elisabeth Ohlson. Om jag förstod det rätt så är det här en av hennes vänner som ligger under is i ett badkar. Det är i alla fall ett väldigt bra omslag som kopplar till handlingen.
Jag gillade Till dess din vrede upphör så mycket att jag faktiskt funderar på att läsa om serien från början. Men inte i närtid.
Betyg: 4+
October 21, 2016
The fourth book by Asa Larsson with protagosists Rebecka Martinsson and Anna Maria Mella. It is the first of the series that I happen to read ( because of a reading marathon I' m taking part in) but it made me want to read the other 3 books of the sesries.
It is a well written book. I especially liked the narrative of it. The transition from the first person narration ( dead Wilma) to the third person one. Additionally, I liked the connection with the facts that happened in the past. The allusions to the Finish-German war was like a history lesson.
Even though the guilty ones are uncovered to the readers pretty early the book does not lose interest.
The reason I gave 3 stars is that I would like to have the solution to the mystery at the very ending.
It is a well written book. I especially liked the narrative of it. The transition from the first person narration ( dead Wilma) to the third person one. Additionally, I liked the connection with the facts that happened in the past. The allusions to the Finish-German war was like a history lesson.
Even though the guilty ones are uncovered to the readers pretty early the book does not lose interest.
The reason I gave 3 stars is that I would like to have the solution to the mystery at the very ending.
October 16, 2016
This book makes use of the idea of the disembodied spirit of a murder victim as another voice for the reader to integrate as the story alternates between the past and present.
Larsson weaves some interesting history of Sweden and Norway's resistance against the Nazis in WWII into this enjoyable yarn. Despite the rather easy task of identifying the bad guys, there are enough subtexts to keep the pages turning. It would have been a tighter story with a little less time spent on the protagonist's bickering with a lover who is destined to be kicked to the side of the road anyway, or her reminiscing about her grandparents, but these are small irritants that dissolve readily enough toward the conclusion.
A good read.
Larsson weaves some interesting history of Sweden and Norway's resistance against the Nazis in WWII into this enjoyable yarn. Despite the rather easy task of identifying the bad guys, there are enough subtexts to keep the pages turning. It would have been a tighter story with a little less time spent on the protagonist's bickering with a lover who is destined to be kicked to the side of the road anyway, or her reminiscing about her grandparents, but these are small irritants that dissolve readily enough toward the conclusion.
A good read.
December 12, 2011
More sentimental than most Nordic mysteries, yet I liked it. The characters were very different, the storyline with some history thrown in was great, Well written and definitely held my attention til the very end. The partial narration by the female murder victim was hard for me to get used to at first but even that worked in the books favor. Looking forward to the next in this series.
March 18, 2021
I think that I would have enjoyed this book better if I had read the other books in the series first.
December 1, 2022
Ein ganz besonderer Thriller. Ungewöhnliche Erzählperspektive.
July 20, 2011
Until Thy Wrath Be Past is a mystery novel by a Swedish author whose surname is Larsson. Her first name is not Stieg, but that doesn't keep Asa Larsson from developing a compelling mystery filled with a variety of character perspectives, and (ever important in mysteries) motives.
After a young girl named Wilma Persson is found drowned in a river, prosecutor Rebecka Martinsson is visited by the girl in a dream. Martinsson prompts the medical examiner to check the water in Persson's lungs, and when the water does not match the river water her body was found in, an investigation commences.
I don't normally read mysteries, but I won this one from firstreads, and I enjoyed it greatly. Larsson does an excellent job of characterizing everyone, from Wilma, to her murderer, to Martinsson, and Anna-Maria Mella, her police colleague. Larsson doesn't leave us with a dry procedural, nor is it much of a whodunnit, instead she delves into her characters' personal lives and relationship dilemmas. This is another installment of a series of novels by Larsson about these characters (primarily Martinsson and Mella, or at least that is my sense) so they carry some baggage over from previous novels, but not to the extent that someone jumping in at this book would be distracted or lost. Larsson's portrayal of the murderer's psychological distress and guilt, as well as her ability to jump back and forth through Persson's memories as well as the murderer's make for a compelling read. However, what I was most struck by was the elements of humor in the novel. Larsson's sense of humor resonated with mine, her use of understatement made me smile as I read, and provided a nice contrast to some of the more tense moments. Works in translation can be a bit iffy, but this one held together and I got a good sense of the colloqualisms throughout.
After a young girl named Wilma Persson is found drowned in a river, prosecutor Rebecka Martinsson is visited by the girl in a dream. Martinsson prompts the medical examiner to check the water in Persson's lungs, and when the water does not match the river water her body was found in, an investigation commences.
I don't normally read mysteries, but I won this one from firstreads, and I enjoyed it greatly. Larsson does an excellent job of characterizing everyone, from Wilma, to her murderer, to Martinsson, and Anna-Maria Mella, her police colleague. Larsson doesn't leave us with a dry procedural, nor is it much of a whodunnit, instead she delves into her characters' personal lives and relationship dilemmas. This is another installment of a series of novels by Larsson about these characters (primarily Martinsson and Mella, or at least that is my sense) so they carry some baggage over from previous novels, but not to the extent that someone jumping in at this book would be distracted or lost. Larsson's portrayal of the murderer's psychological distress and guilt, as well as her ability to jump back and forth through Persson's memories as well as the murderer's make for a compelling read. However, what I was most struck by was the elements of humor in the novel. Larsson's sense of humor resonated with mine, her use of understatement made me smile as I read, and provided a nice contrast to some of the more tense moments. Works in translation can be a bit iffy, but this one held together and I got a good sense of the colloqualisms throughout.
April 23, 2012
I picked up Until Thy Wrath Be Past at the library one afternoon and simply couldn't put it down. Though much is immediately revealed through supernatural means, I was drawn in and had to discover whether there would be justice for the victims. I greatly enjoyed the two female main characters. They are not the same old beautiful and talented sex objects that occur in so many books. Each of them is brilliant. Each of them is flawed.
A truly villainous character appears. I squirmed along with the police inspector during her encounter with him. Flashbacks enable us to see the making of this monster. Other characters are even more surprising and ambiguous.
Though the plot itself is exciting on its own, what I truly loved about this book was the description. The oddball characters inhabiting the little northern Swedish town reminded me of people I know with their quirks and prejudices and enthusiasms. The landscape was its own character: I could almost hear the snow melting, the ice cracking; smell the birch trees and see the empurpling of their branches as the weather shifted.
I also greatly enjoyed the dogs which featured prominently in the story. Having two dogs myself, I think about dogs and dog training a lot, so it was fun to read about a character interacting with them. Ms. Larsson should know, however, that the Alpha Dog theory has been debunked. I guess it hangs on because it makes a useful metaphor for certain kinds of people. I was glad to see that a dog belonging to one of the characters wasn't simply forgotten in the action that followed. I often wonder about loose ends like that in stories. There was a cat lady in the book, too.
This is the first book I've read by Larsson. I can't wait to read the others.
A truly villainous character appears. I squirmed along with the police inspector during her encounter with him. Flashbacks enable us to see the making of this monster. Other characters are even more surprising and ambiguous.
Though the plot itself is exciting on its own, what I truly loved about this book was the description. The oddball characters inhabiting the little northern Swedish town reminded me of people I know with their quirks and prejudices and enthusiasms. The landscape was its own character: I could almost hear the snow melting, the ice cracking; smell the birch trees and see the empurpling of their branches as the weather shifted.
I also greatly enjoyed the dogs which featured prominently in the story. Having two dogs myself, I think about dogs and dog training a lot, so it was fun to read about a character interacting with them. Ms. Larsson should know, however, that the Alpha Dog theory has been debunked. I guess it hangs on because it makes a useful metaphor for certain kinds of people. I was glad to see that a dog belonging to one of the characters wasn't simply forgotten in the action that followed. I often wonder about loose ends like that in stories. There was a cat lady in the book, too.
This is the first book I've read by Larsson. I can't wait to read the others.
October 20, 2012
Another wonderful crime mystery.
The development of the leading character Rebecka Martinsson runs on apace, she now has a role in the local police force able even to take the lead in criminal investigations. This to my mind mirrors that of the author who I believe comes of age in this fourth installment of this excellent series set in Northern Sweden. Asa Larsson has found her voice and her place in Scandinavian crime fiction; for me she deserves an even wider recognition.
This is a strong novel with a compelling storyline that owes its origins to the second world war and secrets that some would like to keep buried in the past.
Larsson again uses skillfully flashbacks which reveal more insight that keep the reader ahead of even the detectives trying to unravel the case. Great images of the landscape and the people it forges are again to the fore and a strength of her writing; even to the interaction of humans with their animals. The facts gather, converge and spill over into another tense and thrilling conclusion. Beautifully evocative and rooted in the setting of northern Sweden and its prevailing weather conditions. The book speaks of life and death in measured tones; reflects family relationships and friendships in small communities. The reality of the writing enables the reader consider wider issues and understand perhaps what matters and consider what life is truly about.
The development of the leading character Rebecka Martinsson runs on apace, she now has a role in the local police force able even to take the lead in criminal investigations. This to my mind mirrors that of the author who I believe comes of age in this fourth installment of this excellent series set in Northern Sweden. Asa Larsson has found her voice and her place in Scandinavian crime fiction; for me she deserves an even wider recognition.
This is a strong novel with a compelling storyline that owes its origins to the second world war and secrets that some would like to keep buried in the past.
Larsson again uses skillfully flashbacks which reveal more insight that keep the reader ahead of even the detectives trying to unravel the case. Great images of the landscape and the people it forges are again to the fore and a strength of her writing; even to the interaction of humans with their animals. The facts gather, converge and spill over into another tense and thrilling conclusion. Beautifully evocative and rooted in the setting of northern Sweden and its prevailing weather conditions. The book speaks of life and death in measured tones; reflects family relationships and friendships in small communities. The reality of the writing enables the reader consider wider issues and understand perhaps what matters and consider what life is truly about.
May 26, 2017
Asa Larsson ends Rebecka Martisson’s series with the best book. The old phrase ‘Keep the best to the end’ is true. If she didn’t convince me with her first book (read the review here), she definitely did a good job with this one.
I will tell you a little bit what this book is about. Rebecka’s amorous life takes a new turn but even so, she decided to stay in her childhood small town. She takes a job as a prosecutor and, from time to time, she makes a team with Anna- Maria Mella. When Wilma’s body turns out after six months from her disappearance, Rebecka makes a team with Anna-Maria and her colleagues to find her missing boyfriend and their killer.
I loved that she altered between reality and something that I will call ‘after death’. From time to time, Larsson entertains us with Wilma’s thoughts and feelings after her death.
The settings are just awesome. The winter landscape that she describes is just lovely.
The characters are better than ever. Rebecka has worked her way through the worst of her neuroses. Anna-Maria and her colleague, Sven-Erik, are having a hard time working together after their last big case.
The story is heartbreaking, uplifting and breathtaking.
I will tell you a little bit what this book is about. Rebecka’s amorous life takes a new turn but even so, she decided to stay in her childhood small town. She takes a job as a prosecutor and, from time to time, she makes a team with Anna- Maria Mella. When Wilma’s body turns out after six months from her disappearance, Rebecka makes a team with Anna-Maria and her colleagues to find her missing boyfriend and their killer.
I loved that she altered between reality and something that I will call ‘after death’. From time to time, Larsson entertains us with Wilma’s thoughts and feelings after her death.
The settings are just awesome. The winter landscape that she describes is just lovely.
The characters are better than ever. Rebecka has worked her way through the worst of her neuroses. Anna-Maria and her colleague, Sven-Erik, are having a hard time working together after their last big case.
The story is heartbreaking, uplifting and breathtaking.
January 22, 2012
Until Thy Wrath Be Past, the fourth installment in Åsa Larsson's Rebecka Martinsson Swedish thriller series, finds Rebecka having left Stockholm and settled in Kiruna working as a prosecutor. Actually, the book begins with a spirit of a young woman who has been murdered searching for resolution, visiting her family as well as Rebecka. Rebecka just does not seem to be destined for happy endings or peace.
The book moves at a slower pace than Larsson's last book, The Black Path, which I loved so much it probably resulted in Wrath getting 4 stars from me instead of 5. Nevertheless, I still loved the characters and Larsson's bleak world filled with tortured souls, twisted lives, killers and victims-and odd combinations of the above.
The book moves at a slower pace than Larsson's last book, The Black Path, which I loved so much it probably resulted in Wrath getting 4 stars from me instead of 5. Nevertheless, I still loved the characters and Larsson's bleak world filled with tortured souls, twisted lives, killers and victims-and odd combinations of the above.
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