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Inspector Huss #4
The Glass Devil
The principal of a high school telephones his friend, Inspector Andersson of the Göteborg Crime Police; one of his teachers failed to show up for work. To Inspector Irene Huss’ surprise, on the basis of this vague complaint her boss drives out with her to a remote cottage in snowbound southern Sweden to investigate. There they find a body, its head blasted by a rifle. Teacher Jacob Schyttelius has been murdered. When they go to break the news to his elderly parents, Pastor Sten Schyttelius and his wife, they find the couple dead in their beds, each shot between the eyes. Upside-down pentagrams have been drawn in blood on their computer screens. The only surviving member of the family is a daughter, now residing in London, but she is too distressed to be interviewed. Is the killer a member of a satanic cult? Is it the parish treasurer, rumored to have been embezzling church funds? Or one of the assistant pastors, tired of waiting for a promotion? Perhaps the attractive blonde who sings in church and practices witchcraft? Irene Huss has a hunch that the answer lies in England, and she travels there twice to discover the reason for this triple homicide.
320 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2002
88 people are currently reading
1141 people want to read
About the author
Helene Tursten
53 books944 followersHelene Tursten (born in Gothenburg in 1954) is a Swedish writer of crime fiction. The main character in her stories is Detective Inspector Irene Huss. Before becoming an author, Tursten worked as a nurse and then a dentist, but was forced to leave due to illness. During her illness she worked as a translator of medical articles.
Series:
* Irene Huss
Series:
* Irene Huss
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 181 reviews
March 17, 2012
The Glass Devil by Helene Tursten is the fifth in the Irene Huss series. I am very fond of Irene Huss, a dedicated, smart-but-not-television-brilliant-and-odd detective (although I also like those others as well) who is happily married to a wonderful chef with two non-identical twin daughters, who by this book are nearly grown-up. The ordinariness of Irene is often offset by the bizarre and bloody crimes she solves and this one is no exception.
The head of Irene's unit is contacted by an old friend to report the disappearance of a teacher in the school he runs. This disappearance turns out to be caused by a vicious murder-and the murder of his parents, a pastor and his depression-prone wife as well. The only remaining member of the family, a daughter, Rebecka, lives in London and is suffering from severe depression even before news of her family's annihilation is broken to her.
There are some possible links to a Satanist cult but otherwise few clues in the murder of this well-respected, well-liked, and philanthropic family. Irene flies to London to help unravel the case and meets up with a Brazilian/Scottish detective who introduces her to his warm, extensive family as well as a tour of the city, and then travels on to Scotland where the clues lead to a the wealthy, Scottish brother of Rebecka's business partner and strangely protective friend.
Tursten's pace is often slow in the middle sections of her books but her company is extremely pleasurable and her openings and denouements generally gratifying brutal. I deeply enjoy Tursten's work in general and The Glass Devil in particular. It was especially enjoyable to see England and Scotland through the eyes of a Swedish woman-a twist in addition to the twists already provided by the mystery.
A terrific and suspenseful read.
The head of Irene's unit is contacted by an old friend to report the disappearance of a teacher in the school he runs. This disappearance turns out to be caused by a vicious murder-and the murder of his parents, a pastor and his depression-prone wife as well. The only remaining member of the family, a daughter, Rebecka, lives in London and is suffering from severe depression even before news of her family's annihilation is broken to her.
There are some possible links to a Satanist cult but otherwise few clues in the murder of this well-respected, well-liked, and philanthropic family. Irene flies to London to help unravel the case and meets up with a Brazilian/Scottish detective who introduces her to his warm, extensive family as well as a tour of the city, and then travels on to Scotland where the clues lead to a the wealthy, Scottish brother of Rebecka's business partner and strangely protective friend.
Tursten's pace is often slow in the middle sections of her books but her company is extremely pleasurable and her openings and denouements generally gratifying brutal. I deeply enjoy Tursten's work in general and The Glass Devil in particular. It was especially enjoyable to see England and Scotland through the eyes of a Swedish woman-a twist in addition to the twists already provided by the mystery.
A terrific and suspenseful read.
March 26, 2019
This book serves as my introduction to DI Irene Huss of the Goteberg police force. I read the 2007 paperback, year of translation to English. Huss and her boss, Superintendent Andersson, drive out to a remote cottage to check on a missing teacher from the charter school where his cousin was principal. Having worked for Andersson for 15 years, this was the first time Huss had ever heard of a cousin.
The discoveries on this trip become the focus of a murder investigation as the cottage gives them the first body, soon to be followed by driving over to the home of the teacher's parents and finding more death with Pentagrams drawn in blood on computer screens at both locations.
There are some strange meetings with one magnetic New Ager who seems overly fond of her glass devil, but the need to go to the one remaining family member takes Huss on her first trip to London.
In addition to gathering evidence and conducting interviews with the help of a London detective, Huss is grabbed off the street by notorious and vicious criminal allowing her to utilize her jujitsu skills in stopping that plot and sending two men to hospital.
The case also allows Huss to make a second trip to London as well as Edinburgh so we get a little travelogue in both spots including famous landmarks to add spice to a police investigation.
I will look for more clean paperbacks from this series next visit to the library. This one held my interest.
The discoveries on this trip become the focus of a murder investigation as the cottage gives them the first body, soon to be followed by driving over to the home of the teacher's parents and finding more death with Pentagrams drawn in blood on computer screens at both locations.
There are some strange meetings with one magnetic New Ager who seems overly fond of her glass devil, but the need to go to the one remaining family member takes Huss on her first trip to London.
In addition to gathering evidence and conducting interviews with the help of a London detective, Huss is grabbed off the street by notorious and vicious criminal allowing her to utilize her jujitsu skills in stopping that plot and sending two men to hospital.
The case also allows Huss to make a second trip to London as well as Edinburgh so we get a little travelogue in both spots including famous landmarks to add spice to a police investigation.
I will look for more clean paperbacks from this series next visit to the library. This one held my interest.
October 18, 2012
Detective Inspector Irene Huss is like a Swedish equivalent of Guido Brunetti.
A good balance with the dark crimes and dark people and places she investigates; Huss is warm and a lovable character. Actually very good balance with the dark and warm (I love noir..).
Interesting characters. I think the series has me (already) hooked...
A good balance with the dark crimes and dark people and places she investigates; Huss is warm and a lovable character. Actually very good balance with the dark and warm (I love noir..).
Interesting characters. I think the series has me (already) hooked...
September 18, 2019
Excellent read, this series get's better and better. The only annoying parts were those played in the UK, which were very cliched. London police, just like the rest of the world, hasn't driven in a "Rover" way before the time this book is set, etc. You could feel that Tursten only knew the tourist London/UK , which is ok but then don't make such a issue about it.
Didn't see the answer to the crime till the last few pages, although I didn't believe in the red herring as well. Expected quite a different solution because of the first few pages, cleverly done.
Already ordered the next in the series.
Didn't see the answer to the crime till the last few pages, although I didn't believe in the red herring as well. Expected quite a different solution because of the first few pages, cleverly done.
Already ordered the next in the series.
March 21, 2012
3.75 on the rating scale
The Glass Devil is the final translated installment of Helene Tursten's series to feature Detective Inspector Irene Huss; fortunately, she has another five books already written, hopefully waiting to be translated. (Dear Soho Press: hint hint wink wink.) This is a most excellent series; while the previous book The Torso was my favorite of the four, The Glass Devil is also quite good, and here Tursten takes a bit of a different tack in storytelling, focusing much more on the work of Irene Huss and less on the usual Göteborg team effort or on family life than in her previous novels.
On a cold March night, a young schoolteacher, Jonas Schyttelius, drives up to his cottage, removes his gym bag, lunch box and groceries from his car, and walks into his house. Out of nowhere, a shot rings out and he's dead. Not far away, his mother and father, the rector in a church in the small community of Kullahult, are also killed in the same way. At both crime scenes a pentagram, painted with the victims' blood, is left behind on the victims' computers. The Violent Crimes Unit is called in on the case, with very little to go on. They interview a circle of people acquainted with the pastor, unearthing very little in the way of motive but quite a bit in the way of nastiness as the competition heats up for the dead pastor's job; Irene also encounters a cantor whose spirituality takes more of a new-age format. What she manages to find out is that Jonas has a sister, Rebecka, living in London, to whom the family had once turned for research on Satanists; now Irene wonders if Rebecka is also in danger since the murderer seems to have focused his attacks on the Schyttelius family. Even if she is not, she may be able to shed some light on the killer's motives, which remain unknown. The problem is that Rebecka has had a nervous breakdown and is unable to come to Sweden. Irene decides that she must go to London to get any help she can in the hope of solving this most baffling case.
The story moves along at a brisk pace, with very little going on in the Huss homefront. The biggest problem facing Irene and her family this time is the death of a neighbor's cat by their dog. On the work side, the team is caught up in other crimes, leaving Irene to work mainly by herself on the Schyttelius case until she reaches London, where she meets her counterpart Glen Thompson. There are also some tempting red herrings scattered here and there, but what it comes down to are two very intriguing mysteries: first, who killed Jonas and his parents and why, and second, why is Rebecka's business colleague trying to thwart Irene's attempts at talking to her?
As intense a read as this book is, as chilling and bleak as the ride is to the end turns out to be, there is a moment when the show is practically given away, or at the very least, where anyone following along closely enough might be able to figure out what's going on. Although this may be a bit frustrating, it's certainly not a deal breaker because there is enough left for the reader to still try to put it all together. What comes out of this story is so heartbreaking that this early nod toward the solution doesn't even scratch the surface of the ultimate revelations to be found in this tragedy.
There are some books where the author asks you to consider certain underlying questions, and this is one of those. First there is the nature of justice; second, the workings of fate; but most importantly, the blinding nature of evil in its most fundamental form. Irene Huss says it all here:
"A glass devil is a person in whom evil becomes transparent. People simply don't see it, despite the fact that it's there all the time."
Another of Tursten's novels that is decidedly not for weak hearts or fitting fare for people who need an uplifting ending, I definitely recommend The Glass Devil, as well as all of the books in the Inspector Huss series. I just love these books!
The Glass Devil is the final translated installment of Helene Tursten's series to feature Detective Inspector Irene Huss; fortunately, she has another five books already written, hopefully waiting to be translated. (Dear Soho Press: hint hint wink wink.) This is a most excellent series; while the previous book The Torso was my favorite of the four, The Glass Devil is also quite good, and here Tursten takes a bit of a different tack in storytelling, focusing much more on the work of Irene Huss and less on the usual Göteborg team effort or on family life than in her previous novels.
On a cold March night, a young schoolteacher, Jonas Schyttelius, drives up to his cottage, removes his gym bag, lunch box and groceries from his car, and walks into his house. Out of nowhere, a shot rings out and he's dead. Not far away, his mother and father, the rector in a church in the small community of Kullahult, are also killed in the same way. At both crime scenes a pentagram, painted with the victims' blood, is left behind on the victims' computers. The Violent Crimes Unit is called in on the case, with very little to go on. They interview a circle of people acquainted with the pastor, unearthing very little in the way of motive but quite a bit in the way of nastiness as the competition heats up for the dead pastor's job; Irene also encounters a cantor whose spirituality takes more of a new-age format. What she manages to find out is that Jonas has a sister, Rebecka, living in London, to whom the family had once turned for research on Satanists; now Irene wonders if Rebecka is also in danger since the murderer seems to have focused his attacks on the Schyttelius family. Even if she is not, she may be able to shed some light on the killer's motives, which remain unknown. The problem is that Rebecka has had a nervous breakdown and is unable to come to Sweden. Irene decides that she must go to London to get any help she can in the hope of solving this most baffling case.
The story moves along at a brisk pace, with very little going on in the Huss homefront. The biggest problem facing Irene and her family this time is the death of a neighbor's cat by their dog. On the work side, the team is caught up in other crimes, leaving Irene to work mainly by herself on the Schyttelius case until she reaches London, where she meets her counterpart Glen Thompson. There are also some tempting red herrings scattered here and there, but what it comes down to are two very intriguing mysteries: first, who killed Jonas and his parents and why, and second, why is Rebecka's business colleague trying to thwart Irene's attempts at talking to her?
As intense a read as this book is, as chilling and bleak as the ride is to the end turns out to be, there is a moment when the show is practically given away, or at the very least, where anyone following along closely enough might be able to figure out what's going on. Although this may be a bit frustrating, it's certainly not a deal breaker because there is enough left for the reader to still try to put it all together. What comes out of this story is so heartbreaking that this early nod toward the solution doesn't even scratch the surface of the ultimate revelations to be found in this tragedy.
There are some books where the author asks you to consider certain underlying questions, and this is one of those. First there is the nature of justice; second, the workings of fate; but most importantly, the blinding nature of evil in its most fundamental form. Irene Huss says it all here:
"A glass devil is a person in whom evil becomes transparent. People simply don't see it, despite the fact that it's there all the time."
Another of Tursten's novels that is decidedly not for weak hearts or fitting fare for people who need an uplifting ending, I definitely recommend The Glass Devil, as well as all of the books in the Inspector Huss series. I just love these books!
August 30, 2017
Having read Inspector Huss, the first of Helene Tursten's Swedish crime books about Inspector Irene Huss, a happy, well-adjusted wife and mother who hunts down and faces murderous criminals every day in Goteborg and beyond, I was entranced. Tursten turned her hand from dentistry to crime writing when a rheumatic condition disabled her.
This story is on the very edge of plausibility, but it didn't fall off. The important characters are beautifully round, and even the flat ones have some spark. I love Tursten's narrative ability and credible dialogue, helped I am sure, by an excellent translator. She includes many more of the details of police and domestic life than most crime books, and yet I find it interesting, like embroidery on a plain cushion. She even describes the outfits that each woman is wearing (in stark contrast to all other female authors) and I can picture them with enjoyment. I'm off to check my temperature!
Some of the action takes place in London, for a pleasant change of scene, but Helene Tursten gives such a clear portrait of Swedish life that I am planning to visit at the first opportunity.
This story is on the very edge of plausibility, but it didn't fall off. The important characters are beautifully round, and even the flat ones have some spark. I love Tursten's narrative ability and credible dialogue, helped I am sure, by an excellent translator. She includes many more of the details of police and domestic life than most crime books, and yet I find it interesting, like embroidery on a plain cushion. She even describes the outfits that each woman is wearing (in stark contrast to all other female authors) and I can picture them with enjoyment. I'm off to check my temperature!
Some of the action takes place in London, for a pleasant change of scene, but Helene Tursten gives such a clear portrait of Swedish life that I am planning to visit at the first opportunity.
December 30, 2012
Although it's always refreshing to have a female lead detective, this book falls in some of the traps of the police procedural: too many characters, and too many of those are hard to distinguish from one another without flipping pages back and forth.
Her setting in small-town Sweden is fleshed out well, especially the culture of small outposts of the Swedish Church. I found her description of the neo-Pagan character both sympathetic and realistic in terms of the way the detective perceives her (with a combination of dismissiveness, curiosity, and grudging respect).
I also enjoyed the way the small-town cop approaches a wide-eyed visit to London -- trying not to seem unsophisticated, shopping at the mall anyway -- and her drawing of the setting and character there was also well done.
The plot is thick, with many twists that mostly work. I just wasn't buying it, somehow, once pivotal characters and ideas started showing up at the eleventh hour. However, I enjoyed the book most of the way though, and I would read another book by this author.
Her setting in small-town Sweden is fleshed out well, especially the culture of small outposts of the Swedish Church. I found her description of the neo-Pagan character both sympathetic and realistic in terms of the way the detective perceives her (with a combination of dismissiveness, curiosity, and grudging respect).
I also enjoyed the way the small-town cop approaches a wide-eyed visit to London -- trying not to seem unsophisticated, shopping at the mall anyway -- and her drawing of the setting and character there was also well done.
The plot is thick, with many twists that mostly work. I just wasn't buying it, somehow, once pivotal characters and ideas started showing up at the eleventh hour. However, I enjoyed the book most of the way though, and I would read another book by this author.
September 26, 2015
I really like Helene Tursten's books, so I'm torn about given this book only three stars. Why? One, because it's not quite as good as the previous books in this series, although, it is good, I need to acknowledge that it's not quite as good as the others. Also, from a personnel view I generally get put off by books where the story line involves mysterious cults, Satanism etc., they just seem a little too contrived for me.
So reluctantly I gave this book 3 stars, reluctant because I don't want to discourage anybody from reading this book or in particular this series. Helene Tursten is good and if you like good mysteries/crime fiction, this is definitely a series you should check out.
So reluctantly I gave this book 3 stars, reluctant because I don't want to discourage anybody from reading this book or in particular this series. Helene Tursten is good and if you like good mysteries/crime fiction, this is definitely a series you should check out.
November 2, 2018
Irene Huss is one of the most realistic heroines in crime fiction. She's talented but hardly perfect. She's a Jujitsu master but still can feel fear in confrontations. She was assaulted and hurt badly by bikers a couple of years before the events in this book and still feels very uncomfortable when she has to be face to face with one, even in the police interrogation room.
Inspector Huss, along with her group, is tasked with investigating a triple murder, a son in his cottage and his parents, including his pastor father, in the church rectory. All 3 were shot in the head with a high powered rifle and both locations had a pentagram painted in blood on their computer screens.
The work of Satanists? Possibly, but that's why there's an investigation, to find out what's happened and maybe why.
During the investigation Ms. Huss realizes how petty even church staff can be; gossipers and spreaders of rumor.
While investigating Irene makes a couple of trips to London where the sister and daughter of the murder victims lives and works. And it's in London that the truth comes out.
I can't say that I was surprised at the gist of the outcome. About midway through I began to suspect some of the details of the ending, but it was still a very good read. If you read the book you may well determine that same thing but hopefully it won't spoil the ending for you.
We become more acquainted with Kirsten, Irene's husband and their twin daughters, Katarina and Jenny, now 18 and we will see those daughters continue to grow into adults. (Both are ready to take their drivers license test; oh the horror.) We learn more about the group of detectives who make up the group as well as Sven Anderson, their boss.
This series is interesting because it shows us both the professional and the personal life of Inspector Huss and that life is interesting.
Do I like this series? Oh yes and I certainly look forward to the next story.
Inspector Huss, along with her group, is tasked with investigating a triple murder, a son in his cottage and his parents, including his pastor father, in the church rectory. All 3 were shot in the head with a high powered rifle and both locations had a pentagram painted in blood on their computer screens.
The work of Satanists? Possibly, but that's why there's an investigation, to find out what's happened and maybe why.
During the investigation Ms. Huss realizes how petty even church staff can be; gossipers and spreaders of rumor.
While investigating Irene makes a couple of trips to London where the sister and daughter of the murder victims lives and works. And it's in London that the truth comes out.
I can't say that I was surprised at the gist of the outcome. About midway through I began to suspect some of the details of the ending, but it was still a very good read. If you read the book you may well determine that same thing but hopefully it won't spoil the ending for you.
We become more acquainted with Kirsten, Irene's husband and their twin daughters, Katarina and Jenny, now 18 and we will see those daughters continue to grow into adults. (Both are ready to take their drivers license test; oh the horror.) We learn more about the group of detectives who make up the group as well as Sven Anderson, their boss.
This series is interesting because it shows us both the professional and the personal life of Inspector Huss and that life is interesting.
Do I like this series? Oh yes and I certainly look forward to the next story.
June 20, 2013
Enjoyed this. I have read one other, and am not able to get hold of many of this series here (Wales) - it seems to have been translated mainly for the American market and isn't easy to come by. (One big advantage of this for British readers of a certain age - it gives you footnotes converting metric measurements into Imperial for US readers, yay! saves having to work it out). A slight quibble though - I don't mind American English but it grates a bit if you have just been told ON THE SAME PAGE that the character is a middle-aged English person: the translator should at least put her quoted speech into British English ("she had been sick" means something a bit different in the UK!) Apart from that (and having Ash Wednesday in Holy Week - is this right in Sweden? a bit confusing but that might be my ignorance!) I liked this book, and hope that at some point the works of this author might become better known and easier to come by here. It's good on scene-setting (in Sweden - not quite sure what to make of the visits to the UK! nothing out of place but they are a bit touristy, and it wasn't clear what the purpose of some of the excursions was, other than that they might be places the author has been to on holiday). There are red herrings and abandoned threads here and there and some episodes which seem not to have anything to do with the plot at all (such as the attack on Irene in London - I kept waiting to find that there was a sinister connection to the murders behind it, but it seems not)but I did more or less work out the conclusion before the denouement.
September 9, 2010
Glass Devil is very different than a typical American whodunit. There are a lot of things thrown at you that don't have anything to do with the main portion of the story. I am so used to reading the american version that it took me a while to really get into the book. Also of note the fact that the police were taking so seriously the Satanic aspect of murders was very difficult for me to believe, but maybe those sorts of things are different in other countries. The translation of the novel could have been better as well, I think some of the idioms weren't translated as well as they could have been.
On the plus side it was well written and intriguing. I believe that most of what you get out of a book has to do with what you come to the book with. You relate to certain novels and don't with others because of personal experience. I have had my own experience with a glass devil that relating to the story was not difficult. There are always those people who (while maybe not as talented as Dexter Morgan) are able to deceive those who see them publicly while they are completely different in private. I think Irene's realization at the end of the book regarding glass devils was very astute.
"A glass devil is a person in whom evil becomes transparent. People simply don't see it, despite the fact that it's there all the time. The side of himself that the devil shows, blinds people...And no one wants to see him either."
On the plus side it was well written and intriguing. I believe that most of what you get out of a book has to do with what you come to the book with. You relate to certain novels and don't with others because of personal experience. I have had my own experience with a glass devil that relating to the story was not difficult. There are always those people who (while maybe not as talented as Dexter Morgan) are able to deceive those who see them publicly while they are completely different in private. I think Irene's realization at the end of the book regarding glass devils was very astute.
"A glass devil is a person in whom evil becomes transparent. People simply don't see it, despite the fact that it's there all the time. The side of himself that the devil shows, blinds people...And no one wants to see him either."
June 19, 2014
This is the third novel in the Detective Inspector Irene Huss series. The book opens up with a triple homicide, possibly committed by satanists. There are signs of Satan worshipers left near the bodies, the computers are covered by the victims' blood and the hard drives wiped clean, and the christian crosses in the bedroom are turned upside down. The victims are a pastor, his wife, and their son. Each has been shot at close range and it appears that the murderer has carefully planned out the crime.
As Irene questions others working at the church, she uncovers a lot of jealousy, gossip and spite. Nothing is as it seems.
Irene is again working with her colleagues Hannu and Superintendent Andersen. The crime takes her to London where the pastor's daughter lives. There she is met by a woman who is seriously depressed and traumatized. Is she hiding something or have the murders broken her?
Irene has a full plate. At home, her husband Krister works a full-time job as a head cook in a ritzy restaurant. Her teen-aged twin girls give her a run for their money. One is into rock music and the other is entering a beauty contest. Of course, there is Sammie, Irene's loyal dog who has just killed their neighbor's cat and is causing a ruckus.
The novel is fast-paced and the characterization is good. I enjoy this series and look forward to reading more about Detective Inspector Huss.
As Irene questions others working at the church, she uncovers a lot of jealousy, gossip and spite. Nothing is as it seems.
Irene is again working with her colleagues Hannu and Superintendent Andersen. The crime takes her to London where the pastor's daughter lives. There she is met by a woman who is seriously depressed and traumatized. Is she hiding something or have the murders broken her?
Irene has a full plate. At home, her husband Krister works a full-time job as a head cook in a ritzy restaurant. Her teen-aged twin girls give her a run for their money. One is into rock music and the other is entering a beauty contest. Of course, there is Sammie, Irene's loyal dog who has just killed their neighbor's cat and is causing a ruckus.
The novel is fast-paced and the characterization is good. I enjoy this series and look forward to reading more about Detective Inspector Huss.
May 26, 2010
Yet another Swedish mystery, but this time the inspector is a LADY! And her family is so Scandinavian cool--except for that teenage daughter who's a Nazi...those crazy kids! From the book description, I thought this was going to be about SWEDISH SATANISTS! But, turns out it was just about Swedish child molesters.
August 29, 2017
Scandinavian mysteries are so freaking dark and sexually violent. I am always unsettled after reading one. This one was no different. However, it was well done and the characters were very well fleshed out. As much as I do not look forward to more darkness and violence, I do look forward to more Irene Huss and her family and colleagues. They are very interesting people.
April 29, 2014
3.5 stars Not too hard to figure out and the characters and storyline are carried through well. A good series worth following.
December 16, 2016
Not one of the best entries in this series, I found it a bit stilted and obvious in spots but still a fairly solid police procedural set in Sweden with some action in England and Scotland.
October 1, 2017
Dark-dark-dark story, tempered with good people. It might be the formula for successful Scandinavian crime fiction. It works for me but it doesn't leave me happy at the end.
April 12, 2023
Ich werde alle weiteren Bücher lesen!
May 30, 2018
This is the 4th and so far the best book in this series. Tursten's plots are excellent and she doesn't give it all away too early. I can't get enough.
April 18, 2011
First Line: Everything had seemed perfect.
After finding Jacob Schyttelius shot to death in his isolated cottage, Detective Inspector Irene Huss and her team from the Violent Crimes Unit in Göteborg, Sweden, visit his parents. Schyttelius's parents have also been shot to death, and the computer monitor in their home-- like Jacob's-- has a Satanic symbol painted on it in their own blood. Both computers' hard drives have been professionally wiped, and the only lead Huss has-- Jacob's sister in London-- is so devastated by the tragedy that she's unable to be of much help. It will be a long and difficult investigation before Irene Huss can solve this case.
There's really not that much mystery to this book. I found the whodunit easy to put together, and how the murderer's confession was handled didn't quite set well with me. (It was a case of tell rather than show.) Be that as it may, I really enjoyed the book for Tursten's portrayal of a female detective inspector trying to juggle her profession and her family life. Huss is one of the few members of the fictional police force of the world that I know who actually has a good family life.
Huss got to travel to London, and it was interesting to see England through the eyes of a Swede. There's also a scene in London that came out of nowhere and startled me, which was a definite plus. I do tend to like surprises that make me blink and reread a paragraph because something happened that I did not expect.
Tursten not only does an excellent job of portraying Irene Huss, she brings a homicide investigation to life with its slow, methodical piecing together of conjecture, clues and evidence. I almost felt as though I were a part of the investigative team.
There are only three books in the Irene Huss series so far, and I have come to the end, which is sad. I like this series, and I hope that there will be more in the future.
After finding Jacob Schyttelius shot to death in his isolated cottage, Detective Inspector Irene Huss and her team from the Violent Crimes Unit in Göteborg, Sweden, visit his parents. Schyttelius's parents have also been shot to death, and the computer monitor in their home-- like Jacob's-- has a Satanic symbol painted on it in their own blood. Both computers' hard drives have been professionally wiped, and the only lead Huss has-- Jacob's sister in London-- is so devastated by the tragedy that she's unable to be of much help. It will be a long and difficult investigation before Irene Huss can solve this case.
There's really not that much mystery to this book. I found the whodunit easy to put together, and how the murderer's confession was handled didn't quite set well with me. (It was a case of tell rather than show.) Be that as it may, I really enjoyed the book for Tursten's portrayal of a female detective inspector trying to juggle her profession and her family life. Huss is one of the few members of the fictional police force of the world that I know who actually has a good family life.
Huss got to travel to London, and it was interesting to see England through the eyes of a Swede. There's also a scene in London that came out of nowhere and startled me, which was a definite plus. I do tend to like surprises that make me blink and reread a paragraph because something happened that I did not expect.
Tursten not only does an excellent job of portraying Irene Huss, she brings a homicide investigation to life with its slow, methodical piecing together of conjecture, clues and evidence. I almost felt as though I were a part of the investigative team.
There are only three books in the Irene Huss series so far, and I have come to the end, which is sad. I like this series, and I hope that there will be more in the future.
January 12, 2016
In the beginning, this book did not seem as compelling as its immediate predecessor, but by the end it took on some of the more exotic elements of the previous work. Irene Huss travels farther afield this time, making her way to London and Edinburgh to track down important witnesses in the case.
By the way, I love the descriptions of food and clothing and boyfriends and anything related to family life rather than police work. I especially love the things that are unique to Sweden, such as holiday celebrations and traditions. To me this is an important part of reading a book set in an unfamiliar culture -- how are we different and how are we the same? It's even interesting to read about how Irene Huss's own assumptions and stereotypes are overwritten by her exposure to to the reality of England and Scotland.
This book was, I think, shorter than the last, so the resolution seemed less drawn out. There was not as much of a mystery in determining the identity of people related to the case. One thing I felt was a drawback to the story as a whole was that the prologue sets up the direction the case eventually takes, and to my mind the mystery aspect of the novel would have worked slightly better without this "clue". The shift from one seeming motive to another is an important turning point in the investigation. It would have been more satisfying to me as a reader not to have an inkling of where the investigation would eventually end up. (If you happen to read this review before starting the book, do yourself a favour and skip the Prologue.)
Oh and, I'm not sure if this made it into my progress comments or not (the iPad app needs a bit of work in that area!) but does anyone else wonder how to pronounce "Schyttelius"?
By the way, I love the descriptions of food and clothing and boyfriends and anything related to family life rather than police work. I especially love the things that are unique to Sweden, such as holiday celebrations and traditions. To me this is an important part of reading a book set in an unfamiliar culture -- how are we different and how are we the same? It's even interesting to read about how Irene Huss's own assumptions and stereotypes are overwritten by her exposure to to the reality of England and Scotland.
This book was, I think, shorter than the last, so the resolution seemed less drawn out. There was not as much of a mystery in determining the identity of people related to the case. One thing I felt was a drawback to the story as a whole was that the prologue sets up the direction the case eventually takes, and to my mind the mystery aspect of the novel would have worked slightly better without this "clue". The shift from one seeming motive to another is an important turning point in the investigation. It would have been more satisfying to me as a reader not to have an inkling of where the investigation would eventually end up. (If you happen to read this review before starting the book, do yourself a favour and skip the Prologue.)
Oh and, I'm not sure if this made it into my progress comments or not (the iPad app needs a bit of work in that area!) but does anyone else wonder how to pronounce "Schyttelius"?
June 1, 2018
I am loving this Swedish mystery series! Plus, they have all been made into movies!
I like foreign series because, for me, it is like traveling, and if the books are well written, I have an authentic experience of the mores and habits in another country.
Det. insp. Irene Huss is an interesting character. She is the main breadwinner in her family, and she is fairly comfortable with that...yet does have her occasional doubts. Often due to the observations of others (not so different from everywhere, right?) She is smart and an expert in martial arts. There is a welcome blend of family story with the work/mystery story, which I think adds to the authenticity, makes the people more three dimensional, and puts everything in context. She has teen daughters named Katarina and Jenny. Jenny's current boyfriend Martin is a musician in a rock band and is very Gothic but nice. her husband is Krister.
Notes for myself: this is the second novel. A man is killed by a shotgun blast. Several miles away his parents are also killed by a rifle as they lie in bed. Both the men are pastors. Devilish pentagrams are painted in blood on each computer monitor.
Names: Jacob Schyttelius, Sten Schyttelius, daughter, Rebeka, is living in England. Her business partner and life partner is Christian. Irene's partner is Frederik. he is a computer nerd. Eva Moller is a beautiful psychic-wannabe...or is she really? The story involves serious porn and perversion.
I like foreign series because, for me, it is like traveling, and if the books are well written, I have an authentic experience of the mores and habits in another country.
Det. insp. Irene Huss is an interesting character. She is the main breadwinner in her family, and she is fairly comfortable with that...yet does have her occasional doubts. Often due to the observations of others (not so different from everywhere, right?) She is smart and an expert in martial arts. There is a welcome blend of family story with the work/mystery story, which I think adds to the authenticity, makes the people more three dimensional, and puts everything in context. She has teen daughters named Katarina and Jenny. Jenny's current boyfriend Martin is a musician in a rock band and is very Gothic but nice. her husband is Krister.
Notes for myself: this is the second novel. A man is killed by a shotgun blast. Several miles away his parents are also killed by a rifle as they lie in bed. Both the men are pastors. Devilish pentagrams are painted in blood on each computer monitor.
Names: Jacob Schyttelius, Sten Schyttelius, daughter, Rebeka, is living in England. Her business partner and life partner is Christian. Irene's partner is Frederik. he is a computer nerd. Eva Moller is a beautiful psychic-wannabe...or is she really? The story involves serious porn and perversion.
June 5, 2015
Glass Devil
So 3 people in a family are found dead at two places, satanist symbols painted on their laptops and one of them a church minister, Irene and the rest of the police have to investigate and are quite convinced the case has relation to a Church burning from some years ago, investigation is also clouded by church members using it to try to defame the other candidates to replace the dead church minister. Surviving daughter too shocked to talk.
Last book Irene’s actions killed a man (a murderer yes, but still) and it is mentioned yet she seems to kind of go over it without much thought, it was a wasted opportunity I think to not use that.
Did I miss something on the other book, Irene had convinced the daughter to not become strict vegetarian, and now is vegan, why, why? I do remember the husband going dieting and the daughter happy because that meant more veggies.
As for family crisis this time is the dog eating the neighbor’s cat, which is solved by giving them a new cat, mmm.
AS for the crime investigation it was really well paced.
SPOILERS
As for why they were killed that is one sad story, which unfortunately is too real, to think of how many kids had to survive that, too sad the way it ended, he maybe thought killing her was better to end her suffering but that’s wrong, it was not his to decide, the other 3 may understand, himself kind of, but her, that’s wrong.
4 stars
So 3 people in a family are found dead at two places, satanist symbols painted on their laptops and one of them a church minister, Irene and the rest of the police have to investigate and are quite convinced the case has relation to a Church burning from some years ago, investigation is also clouded by church members using it to try to defame the other candidates to replace the dead church minister. Surviving daughter too shocked to talk.
Last book Irene’s actions killed a man (a murderer yes, but still) and it is mentioned yet she seems to kind of go over it without much thought, it was a wasted opportunity I think to not use that.
Did I miss something on the other book, Irene had convinced the daughter to not become strict vegetarian, and now is vegan, why, why? I do remember the husband going dieting and the daughter happy because that meant more veggies.
As for family crisis this time is the dog eating the neighbor’s cat, which is solved by giving them a new cat, mmm.
AS for the crime investigation it was really well paced.
SPOILERS
As for why they were killed that is one sad story, which unfortunately is too real, to think of how many kids had to survive that, too sad the way it ended, he maybe thought killing her was better to end her suffering but that’s wrong, it was not his to decide, the other 3 may understand, himself kind of, but her, that’s wrong.
4 stars
January 15, 2012
The third in the Swedish police procedural series, a young teacher, Jacob is found shot and murdered in his family's cottage by the woods. His pastor father and mother are later also found shot and murdered in their beds at home. In both places, a pentagram has been painted on their computer monitors in their blood, and the crucifix in the house has been turned upside down. Everything points to Satanism at work and Inspector Huss and her team are left grasping at straws in their investigation.
The only person left in the family, a daughter, is living in London and Inspector Huss makes a trip to London to speak with her, but finds a sick woman who clearly fears something, but is unwilling and unable to shed any light on the gruesome murder of her family. Will the secret she's keeping be what puts her in the sights of the murderer as well?
As the investigation proceeds, the lives of others in the religious community come under scrutiny and scandals erupt. Their dogged pursuit of even the smallest possible clues eventually leads the team to a secret and most vile group.
While this novel deals with yet another dark side of human nature, it's not as gritty as the first 2 in the series.
The only person left in the family, a daughter, is living in London and Inspector Huss makes a trip to London to speak with her, but finds a sick woman who clearly fears something, but is unwilling and unable to shed any light on the gruesome murder of her family. Will the secret she's keeping be what puts her in the sights of the murderer as well?
As the investigation proceeds, the lives of others in the religious community come under scrutiny and scandals erupt. Their dogged pursuit of even the smallest possible clues eventually leads the team to a secret and most vile group.
While this novel deals with yet another dark side of human nature, it's not as gritty as the first 2 in the series.
December 3, 2017
I have so many problems with this book. Figured out the murderer way too early which made getting through the rest of the book difficult. Then the ending where he describes what happened is so silly that would never happen like that. They are supposed to be the detectives but they couldn’t figure out who it was. There are way too many random things happening like the bikers getting shot. This book tried so hard to provide red herrings. Randomly two murderers kidnap her into a car but she manages to escape without any injuries? While the other two are like dead in the hospital? While in the middle of a murder case? ... The descriptions of people and buildings are childish and repetitive and sometimes absurd. Why does Christian have to look like John Lennon? Why are we randomly hearing about her daughters’ boyfriend who is in a band and performing at a concert later that night on Good Friday? The characters are underdeveloped. The superintendent is absurd. His outbursts make it seem like he has no experience working difficult cases but yet he is about to retire.. WTF was the witchcraft thing? Ugh. This book was not worth the read.. it even had grammatical errors.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 11, 2012
Not as good as the first book. It felt like there were too many info dumps. Still, it's nice to see a detective who isn't tortured and has a good home life.
February 28, 2017
Alt for spændende ....
May 10, 2017
A good basic mystery.
January 11, 2022
This book, as with all her books, broke my heart and gave it hope
-Trigger warning-Spoiler Alert because of needed trigger warning-
This book needs to be on the "to read list" by anyone who has worked with victims of sexual assualt, incest, trauma and the covering up, shame, blame and denial that is frequent with it.
Let me be clear, this book isn't going to heal. It isn't going to feel great at the end. It isn't a book that is easy to get through, if you have suffered any kind of assualt, sexisim, cultural stereotyping and have felt powerless. This will bring your vulnerability to you as you read this story.
It is a masterful piece of fiction that sheds light on what atrocities happen behind closed doors. How severe trauma, assualt and power can further harm a victim. How power can distort realities and how easily misunderstandings of things "not the normal" for the dominate culture can have lasting impacts: both good and bad.
If you have survived sexual assualt, this book could be triggering. If you have worked with people who have experienced assualt it could be triggering in reminding you not only of their pain but of the systems we work within that continue to make it unsafe for victims to both come forward, be helped and heard and not further harmed. Our "justice" system does much more harm for trauma survivors in its lack of genuine understanding of the fundamental changes that occur to someone's brain and thus them... you can heal, grow and learn from traumatic experiences but there are permanent lasting scars.
This may be one of the few books where I genuinely felt the murderer wasn't necessarily "wrong" in that I could empathize and understand where that motive came from.
This book has heart, intelligence, humanity and humor. This book has Irene growing through her own views of the world as she does in each installation. This book reminded me why I left the trauma mental health field and regrouped in a different way, the pain of this work and all that gets missed came back to me as I read it. Worth the read as all these books are. Well crafted snd brilliant and heart wrenching.
-Trigger warning-Spoiler Alert because of needed trigger warning-
This book needs to be on the "to read list" by anyone who has worked with victims of sexual assualt, incest, trauma and the covering up, shame, blame and denial that is frequent with it.
Let me be clear, this book isn't going to heal. It isn't going to feel great at the end. It isn't a book that is easy to get through, if you have suffered any kind of assualt, sexisim, cultural stereotyping and have felt powerless. This will bring your vulnerability to you as you read this story.
It is a masterful piece of fiction that sheds light on what atrocities happen behind closed doors. How severe trauma, assualt and power can further harm a victim. How power can distort realities and how easily misunderstandings of things "not the normal" for the dominate culture can have lasting impacts: both good and bad.
If you have survived sexual assualt, this book could be triggering. If you have worked with people who have experienced assualt it could be triggering in reminding you not only of their pain but of the systems we work within that continue to make it unsafe for victims to both come forward, be helped and heard and not further harmed. Our "justice" system does much more harm for trauma survivors in its lack of genuine understanding of the fundamental changes that occur to someone's brain and thus them... you can heal, grow and learn from traumatic experiences but there are permanent lasting scars.
This may be one of the few books where I genuinely felt the murderer wasn't necessarily "wrong" in that I could empathize and understand where that motive came from.
This book has heart, intelligence, humanity and humor. This book has Irene growing through her own views of the world as she does in each installation. This book reminded me why I left the trauma mental health field and regrouped in a different way, the pain of this work and all that gets missed came back to me as I read it. Worth the read as all these books are. Well crafted snd brilliant and heart wrenching.
October 16, 2022
As I continue to plow through the Inspector Huss books, this one reminded me, in a sense, of a Steig Larsson book. There was a young woman computer genius with a troubled life. We wonder, but we do not know what it was about her that was so intriguingly evasive.
Turns out there was a lot there.
Inspector Huss and her boss set out for a remote summer cabin where they find the body of a missing teacher. He had been shot twice. There are no traces of the killer. When they go to the parsonage to notify his parents of his death, oops. They, too, have been shot in their bed.
The only clue in either location is an upside down pentacle drawn on their respective computer screens, in their blood.
The lone remaining family member lives in London, has nothing to do with her family, if at all possible, and will not speak to the police.
Irene Huss has a lot of obstacles to overcome with this young woman, but at least when questioning her, in front of her psychiatrist, she is able to give the woman some privacy by speaking to her in Swedish. Even so, she gets virtually nothing out of her.
In the middle of everything, over the Easter weekend, there is a murder involving Hell's Angels, and understandably, Irene would rather not, thank you very much. Luckily, with a little bit of a breakthrough thanks to the expertise of Hannu, she is off to London again to question another possible suspect.
The subject matter is rather dark, but as with many fictional crimes, it reflects a side of humankind that is often self-centered and entitled. It reminds us of the greedy need for power and the perversity that can accompany it. Helene Torsten's treatment of these themes is straightforward and she doesn't leave any doubt as to the depravity that exists in the world. Irene Huss, as her inspector, is a very grounded and experienced detective who can handle herself in situations requiring great tact, as well as those requiring her ju jitsu skills, which are quite excellent.
Looking forward to the next one in the series!
Turns out there was a lot there.
Inspector Huss and her boss set out for a remote summer cabin where they find the body of a missing teacher. He had been shot twice. There are no traces of the killer. When they go to the parsonage to notify his parents of his death, oops. They, too, have been shot in their bed.
The only clue in either location is an upside down pentacle drawn on their respective computer screens, in their blood.
The lone remaining family member lives in London, has nothing to do with her family, if at all possible, and will not speak to the police.
Irene Huss has a lot of obstacles to overcome with this young woman, but at least when questioning her, in front of her psychiatrist, she is able to give the woman some privacy by speaking to her in Swedish. Even so, she gets virtually nothing out of her.
In the middle of everything, over the Easter weekend, there is a murder involving Hell's Angels, and understandably, Irene would rather not, thank you very much. Luckily, with a little bit of a breakthrough thanks to the expertise of Hannu, she is off to London again to question another possible suspect.
The subject matter is rather dark, but as with many fictional crimes, it reflects a side of humankind that is often self-centered and entitled. It reminds us of the greedy need for power and the perversity that can accompany it. Helene Torsten's treatment of these themes is straightforward and she doesn't leave any doubt as to the depravity that exists in the world. Irene Huss, as her inspector, is a very grounded and experienced detective who can handle herself in situations requiring great tact, as well as those requiring her ju jitsu skills, which are quite excellent.
Looking forward to the next one in the series!
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