Never End

Inspector Winter #4

by Åke Edwardson

Detective Erik Winter is back, chasing a copycat murderer in a gritty procedural from one of Europe’s most popular crime writers

With twelve Erik Winter novels published in countries as diverse as Italy, Norway, France, Japan, Spain, the United Kingdom, and Germany—where the series has sold more than 700,000 copies—it’s only a matter of time before an American readership discovers what Europe has already declared: Åke Edwardson is a European master of the stylish and gritty crime novel.

In Never End, the second Erik Winter novel to be translated into English, a heat wave is smothering the Swedish coastal city of Gothenburg. School is out, and parks and beaches are teeming with people. But a spate of unsolved rape/murders casts a disturbing shadow on this particular summer. Chief Inspector Erik Winter, now forty-one and a father, assembles the scant but grisly details of the crimes, and begins to see an eerie connection to a five-year-old unsolved rape/murder, a case he, in typically obsessive fashion, has refused to let go cold. Has the same rapist reemerged to taunt the police and flaunt his stolen freedom, or are these copycat crimes? In the absence of any hard leads, and haunted by the case he could not solve, Winter desperately hunts for a link bridging the victims, convinced that each crime holds the key to the others. Someone knows more than they are letting on, and Winter knows they are running out of time. Never End is a chilling, moody novel replete with Hitchcockian depictions of Gothenburg’s vibrant summer spaces and seamy dark corners, that will appeal to readers of George Pelecanos and Elizabeth George BACKCOVER: [Erik Winter] promises to be a superior procedural series.
—Booklist

“Mystery fans on this side of the Atlantic can be grateful that the travails of Erik Winter…are now available in English….This dark police procedural is a topnotch work, suspenseful to the very end, with appealing characters.”
—Library Journal

“A large ration of suspense, as well as that other reason for enjoying mysteries: an intriguing look at life in a distant part of the world.”
—Chicago Tribune

“Åke Edwardson is a three-time winner of the Swedish Academy of Crime Writers’ Award and it’s easy to see why. He weaves a rich, psychologically satisfying tale. His writing is nuanced and literary, and his characters are deep and fascinating. …Readers looking for a gritty, well-paced, thoughtful thriller will appreciate Edwardson’s masterful novel.”
—I Love A Mystery

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

320 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

Åke Edwardson is a Swedish author of detective fiction, and a professor at Gothenburg University, the city where many of his Inspector Winter novels are set. Edwardson has had many jobs, including a journalist and press officer for the United Nations, and his crime novels have made him a three-time winner of the Swedish Crime Writers' Award for best crime novel. His first novel to be translated into English, in 2005, was Sun and Shadow. The second, Never End, followed in 2006.

Series:
* Inspector Winter

Reviews

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author takes us to the Swedish town of Gothenburg where it’s citizens are sweltering in the summer heat. DI Winter and his colleagues don’t only have crimes to solve, as their personal lives are littered with issues. Decent plot and characterisation.

[PJ · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this up after finishing The Girl Who Played with Fire craving another Scandinavian crime series I could sink my teeth into. Well, the first thing I noticed was the odd translation, not much variation in sentence structure giving it a very flat and stilted tone, ie, "He went to the store. He bought bread. He drove home." That sort of thing. Quite unlike the quick and well-written pace of Steig Larsson's books.

Nonetheless, I thought the story and plot were twisty enough to keep me flipping pages. And it was a pretty good ending.

Another comparison with Larsson, I don't feel drawn in to Winter's life. He's very one-dimensional. He's smokes his cigarillos and is always tired. I never get to know him. Whereas, I love love all the character descriptions of Larsson's characters, I can see them and feel a connection to them, both good and bad.

I think I'll pick up a Wallender next and see where that takes me.

[Rowena Hoseason · Rating 4 out of 5]

An odd setting for Scandi crime - a scorching hot summer in Gothenburg rather than the usual rural winter chill. But it's a good setting for the plot; a series of attacks on young women, rapes and murders, which may be connected. They're similar - but not quite the same, so Inspector Winter has his work cut out figuring out the connections between the different cases.
There's a great balance in this book between the private lives of the regular characters, and the actual investigation -- the crime, the clues, the secrets and the misleading disinformation. The mystery itself is engaging and clever, and doesn't get overwhelmed by any dramas going on in the detective's domestic situation.
The only bit which didn't work for me was the complexity of the solution. Can't give too much away but... I couldn't quite believe all the connections and motivations attributed to the various perpetrators. So the ending didn't quite live up to the rest of the story.
7/10

[Michael Martz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ake Edwardson's 4th in the Inspector Winter series continues the evolution of its namesake from "the youngest detective inspector in Swedish history" to a grizzled vet with a family. In this episode, an unsolved rape/murder from 5 years prior, never far from Winter's mind anyway, is reactivated when there is a rape in the same location in a local park. Subsequently, another attempted rape/murder occurs nearby and the hunt for a serial rapist/murderer begins. Unfortunately, there are no witnesses other than the victims, and the one survivor has no recollection of the event and had cleaned herself after the attempt so thoroughly that trace evidence was destroyed. Although none of the victims apparently knew one another, the similarities of the attacks and their locations strongly suggest that some connection exists that could help Winter and crew solve the crime.

What I like about this series is its straightforward approach to solving crimes. Winter is a good detective, using both his instincts and procedural knowledge in his investigations. The writing is decent though fairly boring (it's a translation) and is slow in the middle passages as the investigation bogs down, but overall the story is what carried this novel. The conclusion was a bit muddled as the perpetrators were finally identified and their relationships exposed, but all-in-all this was another decent addition to the Winter saga.

[Hal · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my first encounter with Ake Edwardson, a Danish novelist who I would put at the forefront of the current crop of Scandinavian mystery writers.

"Never End" is an engaging police procedural. My interest in fiction is always in character, and too many books in this genre are long on plot twists and short on true-to-life characters with all-too-human flaws. What I especially liked in this book is that a number of the characters are developed in a nuanced way. Oftentimes, the members of the supporting cast in mysteries are stick figures who are merely plot devices to show off the protagonist's strengths. Ewardson does an admirable job in fleshing out the characters on both sides of the law.

My first thought on completing this book about the fictional investigator Erik Winters was to find other volumes in this series. I can't think of higher praise for a writer than that.

[Plum-crazy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good read although in the early stages I found it a little muddling: firstly, trying to work out which of the three girls was being talked about & secondly, twice I had to re-read some paragraphs a few times as what I read seemed to be contradicted a little further on...nothing major that affected the story but it irritated me!

On the whole a good read with a lead character I liked - am I sensing some tension between Winter & his wife? Guess I'll find out when I read more of the series :o)

[Mahesh · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a first book by Ake Edwardson that I read. Bought it from a store just like that after reading the title name. I must say the plot was so so different from what I guessed it would be..Last pages had what it had to deliver.. A must read for those who love crime thrillers and detective novels.. The only back drop if there is, its in the revealing part of secrets. Reader may have to get into a little of thinking to break down the puzzle after completing the novel :-)

[John Marr · Rating 2 out of 5]

Yawn. Dull Sweidish police procedural that tries to come across as dark and creepy but only succeeds in being dreary and contrived.

My hunt for the next Sjowall/Wahloo or Mankell continues... And please, don't even mention Stig Larsen.

[Bettie · Rating 3 out of 5]

M and I walk back to back through Göteborg nowadays

[Joanna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disappointing. I almost gave up a couple of times and found myself skimming through parts of the lengthy and quite boring investigation. Sometimes a book simply lacks the "spark". The ending was a bit of a surprise (in a positive way), hence the two stars.

[Olivia · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars for this one. It would have been 4 but I’m still a bit confused and slightly overwhelmed by the last chapter.

That may simply be because of my own shortcomings however, I felt that the story moved quite slowly then BAM it was all go and then over!

Also, do people really withhold important information from the authorities in a murder investigation? Just to cover up a stupid mistake or pathetic little affair or odd proclivity?

People think to highly of themselves and don’t realise that their pathetic little lives mean very little in the big picture.

However, I really like Winter and his colleagues and I want more!

[Toni Osborne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book2 in the Erik Winter series (English version)

We were initially introduced to Chief Inspector Erik Winter in “SUN AND SHADOW” a turn of the century mystery. Those who have an affinity toward police procedurals and soft suspense should enjoy this one.

This sequel brings us a few years later in Erik’s life; he is now a father to a daughter and living with his partner in a cramped apartment and is desperately looking for better accommodations to ease the growing family tension. The temperature is not helping; Gothenburg Sweden is sweltering under an unusually hot summer.

On his professional side, Erik never loses focus on his responsibilities; fighting crime is his passion and he has developed a reputation to go with it. When an unusual number of rapes and murders cast a disturbing shadow on the city, Erik teams up with his investigators to gather the scant and the grisly details. Immediately he sees some similarities to a five year old cold case that is continually burning in the back of his mind. Up until now Erik’s instincts have lead him to a multitude of dead ends to a point he started to doubt himself…..New events trigger a whole new approach to the ongoing mysteries…..

As the investigators aggressively hunt for new leads and rehash the old information the plotting has a tendency to bog down a little, I am sure this is reality for every good investigator but if overdone in print it can be a deterrent to the readers’ enthusiasm. Buried in the chapters are clues to who has actually committed the crimes but at one point with all the red herrings confusion set in and I am still wondering whether I arrived at the right conclusion or am I being set up for a sequel? The lethargic sensation one suffers during a heat wave was expertly conveyed through the slow pacing and the characterization, no wonder Erik traded in his donuts for ice cream all the time, I felt the same way…:)

“Never End” is a gritty and stylish crime novel I enjoyed, I have the sequel on my list to read, however it is not one of my all-time favourites.

[Ana · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a nice reading. Can´t say it was amazing or breathtaking, but it was fairly good and interesting.

This book screams out Summer. First of all, just for being a pocket edition of a crime novel: the perfect summer reading. The kind of book you see people reading on the beach, or find left behind by the previous summer tenants in holiday lodgings. Second, because the story takes place during an extreme Summer in Gothenburg, Sweden. I didn´t even know that temperatures could rise so high in Sweden. Heat, beach, ice-creams, cold drinks, pools... Summer!

And that is what you get out of it: a summer book that gives you a summer reading. An entertaining and brief joy of a few days reading a somewhat intriguing and interesting, yet forgetful story.

There are some features I would like to point out as positive. The author´s writing is one. I liked his style of writing, keeping it interesting, with lot´s of dialogues and action, well balanced with the more descriptive parts. I also like the way he used repetition to enhance queue issues and factors of the characters thinking processes.

The characters are strong and distinctive, well characterized, people that we can easily relate to. In spite of this being the fourth book of the "Inspector Winters" series, there are no "stars" within the police department, no genius detective or inspector: just a hard working team of police officers trying persistently at their jobs.

Another positive note about this reading, and very important when it comes to crime novels, is that I really didn´t have a clue of the outcome, of solving the mystery until the very very end of the story.

Nothing bad to say about it, just that it lacks a memorable or striking plot, in spite of being a very complex one. An average reading: don´t expect much and just enjoy. It isn´t a book I would reccomend , but then again I would not say "don´t read it!". In my opinion, it´s just a good, average book.

For the full review on this book, please visit my blog:
https://linkedbooks.blogspot.pt/2018/...

[Alexandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wieder einer dieser mordlüsternen skandinavischen Schreibtischmörder und auch prinzipiell nicht so schlecht, ein bisschen erinnert mich "In alle Ewigkeit" an einen Hakan Nesser-Roman, so wie er das schwüle Wetter in Schwedens Jahrhundertsommer oder die liebevoll entwickelten Figuren beschreibt (z.B. die Probleme des Kommimisars mit dem Nikotinentzug). Auch der Mordfall hat unerwartete Wendungen und bleibt bis zum Schluss spannend. Leider gibt es auch einige gravierende Schwachstellen, weshalb ich diesmal mit Bedauern nur 3 Punkte geben kann.
1. Die Übersetzung ist scheußlich und wimmelt so von Fehlern
2. Der Plot hat oft unnötige sinnlose Gedankensprünge, die entweder auf die schlechte Übersetzung oder auf den Autor zurückzuführen sind
3. wiegt am schwersten - Am Ende werden zwar die Morde aufgeklärt, die genauen Motive dafür erschliessen sich mir aber nicht wirklich. Was sehr bedauerlich ist, denn in die Polizisten konnte sich der Autor super hineinversetzen aber nicht in einen irren Mörder.
Das kann der Nesser einfach besser!

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

Never End has a light, somewhat surreal-atmospheric feeling throughout in spite of the horrific details of the story. Eric Winter is a Swedish Chief Inspector on the trail of a murderer and rapist. In the middle of a summer heatwave, a young girl is raped in the park. A few days later, a girl about the same age is found murdered in the same park. The rape and murder scene strike a familiar chord with Winter; he discovers similarities to a murder five years earlier.

Edwardson's style of writing was one of my favorite things about this novel. At times, the pacing was slow, but it added to the lethargic effect of the extreme heatwave and general summer vibe. The amount of run around the suspects and witnesses gave the police got tedious and seemed like a stretch - either to fill up pages or to draw out the story. Either way, it did not add much to the story. What did enhance the story was the other characters. Winter's partner Halders is faced with the death of his ex-wife and must cope with raising their two children alone. Winter has his own personal troubles with his wife and new baby and the struggle to no be swallowed by the job.

[Tinika · Rating 3 out of 5]

Never End is another of the Scandinavian mysteries and, like its brethren, is bleak and edgy. I found it disconcerting at first the way the narrative slipped from plot and into the heads of Chief Inspector Erik Winter or Detective Inspector Fredrik Halders and then back again. Their thoughts are as dark as the crime is horrific.

Outside, it is the height of a northern summer but, in the short hours of dark, another crime has been committed; this one has overtones of an unsolved rape/murder from five years ago - one that haunts Winters and Halders to this day. As the plot progressed, I came around in my feelings towards the author’s use of head space. The internal motives and questionings in the minds of those working the case added another level of moodiness to the story. There were still points where I had a disconnect as I wasn’t sure whose head I had slipped into but I suspect that may have had something to do with the translation and, should I read another Åke Edwardson novel, I will look for a different translator.

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good book with really interesting characters. Inspector Winter faces personal problems...don't they all? It must be one very troubled place to work as it seems that most of his colleagues also bring their home problems to work. The book could have used less of that and more of the team working together. I have read the Wallander books for years and watched all the series on DVD and found him a bit too moody at times where as Winter is more the hero type than what we usually encounter with most other Scandie detectives. He's much more focused on his career. Ake Edwardson is a new author for me and I found that he is really good at creating atmosphere and suspense. Like most translated books it probably lost something along the line...but not enough to not make this an enjoyable read.

[Catherine Woodman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ake Edwardson in similar fashion to other Swedish crime novelists like the more famous Henning Mankell, chronicles a methodical homicide inquest while focusing in on both the psychological aspects of the suspects, victims and their police pursuers.
In a sweltering summer heat wave in the coastal town of Gothenburg, a corpse of a young woman is found in a hollowed out area within a thicket of trees in a local park. Pathology reports have determined that she had been sexually violated and strangled. Chief Inspector Erik Winter, in charge of the investigation, is stunned as the crime is eerily similar to an unsolved rape and murder committed 5 years ago in the exact same location.

[Bernie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my fourth in the Inspector Winter series. I really enjoyed this I liked the overlay of heat that is the long summer. It almost becomes an outside tale where much of the action occurs on the street. There are the usual red herrings but that is what we like about crime novels. There were a few surprises that I didn't see coming. I also felt that there was more exploration of the other regular characters that appear in the Eric Winter stories.
Hard to talk about the plot without giving the game away so I won’t. Better read it yourself.
I remain happy that there is no screen or TV adaptation of the Inspector Winter series. The next instalment in the series is waiting.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this better than other installments in the series! The mystery is interesting, and while there are a few red herrings, nothing crazy is introduced at the end (a pet peeve of mine) - but you don't really see what's coming. Also, the pace of the plot is works very well. And the glimpse into the characters' lives that we get is good here - we're getting to a point where we really see the cobweb of relationships in Winters' department, and it makes for interesting reading.

This could stand on its own, though not as strongly away from the series. Definitely a good read if you like crime.

[Yemoss · Rating 3 out of 5]

a solid, noir detective case. twisty, gritty with good intrigue. it reads like it's made for television, especially with the author's frequent paragraph breaks. i was too young to fully appreciate or understand the acclaimed series "hill street blues" - the genesis of cop shows - but i imagine that this would fall right in line. it's a no-nonsense tale and the author knows his subject well; there's no fluff in here, but it's not exactly dry either. not a typical genre i turn to but once in a while it's nice to venture out of bounds. although this isn't true crime - it never actually took place - it reads easily as if, and therein lies the art.

[Marsha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ahh, another dark Scandinavian mystery filled with tortured detectives, inexplicable hot weather in a cold climate, and really weird - and I mean men wearing dog leashes and rapes-in-the-idyllic-park weird.

Another day in the midnight sun of the Swedish justice system.

I had never heard of this series featuring Detective Erik Winter, but I'll be looking for more in the series. It has every odd Swedish mystery trait that ticks my boxes.
And I love the language. My favorite paragraph: "Winter drove the morning light. It had nuances of milk and spinach."
Translation, smanslation. I love Scandinavian mysteries.

[Keith · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good Scandinavian police procedural. Good, but not great. Comparisons with Henning Mankell are obvious (maybe due in part to the shared translator), but differences as well - Erik Winter is a bit more of an enigma than Kurt Wallander, his personality/home life a little less fleshed-out. Was long on mood, but a bit short on plot/character development. Edwardson doesn't seem to share Mankell's tendency to invoke larger 'political' issues in this mystery (the only one of his I've read). Not sure that's a bad thing.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Chief Inspector Winter and his crew doggedly try to stop what appear to be a series of rapes/strangulations against 19-year-old girls that occur in high summer in a secluded "cave" in a beachside Gothenburg park after dark. As is common in Scandinavian mysteries, the humanity of the detectives tones down the horrific material. There's a neat parallelism in that Winter has recently married and started his family and his associate Halders must start again as pater familias. There are no minor characters -- they're all well developed and interesting.

[Sherry · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really like these books. The stories are well developed with many red herrings along the way. The main character,Erik Winter, is a likable and very able policeman. He is rather young to hold the position he's achieved, but has proven his ability to do the job. He won't give up until the situationis resolved and the culprit it exposed. There are only about 5 Edwardson books published here and, I understand, the character is going to be ended with the latest book.
The Scandinavian authors write good stories. I recommend Mr. Edwardson's stories.

[Kellylynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am having a hard time deciding how to rate this one. It took a bit before I could actually get into this story. I think that was mostly due to the roughness of the translation. But once the story got going I felt it found its pace. Although I did not like how it wrapped up, it seemed to wrap too quickly.

It would have been nice to learn a bit more about the main investigators life - they tried and it may have been there in another book. But it seemed a bit stilted and I couldn't follow what they were trying to get into.

[Kay Robart · Rating 3 out of 5]

The characters were interesting and the solution was difficult to guess. I have read a couple of Erik Winter books so far, and I still find myself unable to get much of a sense of the personalities of Winter and the other detectives. Edwardson really concentrates on the methods and findings of the investigation. Perhaps as you read through the series, you slowly develop an idea of what the recurring characters are like.

See my complete review here:

http://whatmeread.wordpress.com/tag/n...

[Linda Branham · Rating 5 out of 5]

Erik Winter is getting ready to go on a short sabbatical - but one young girl is raped and then another one murdered in similar circumstances to a girl who was murdered 5 years ago. Is it the same murderer? When they question the girl who lived, the family seems secretive. Why?
Thus begins a search to discover what happened? why the secrets?
We also learn more about the main characters... their lives, their problems. One officer has a tragic event occur in his own life during this search for the killer

[Aguess · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like Eric Winter as a character - he is smart, and thoughtful, and a hair egotistical (just enough to be charming). Edwardson gives a real sense of the kind of endless repetition of inquiry required to solve a murder case. Investigators have to deal with witnesses who lie to protect themselves, other people, or even the victim(as if they still needed it) and somehow find their way through to the truth. But the ending was unsatisfying. The climax came too late and made for a sloppy rushed resolution of the various threads laid out in the first three quarters of the book.

[Roz · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one wasn't bad. After the first chapter, which was written following a victim, the writing improved a lot.

I appreciated the fact that Edwardson did not waste time with unnecessary information during interviews with suspects etc. Some of the dialogue did get a bit confusing to follow though, as it didn't state who was saying each line. Fine for a short dialogue. But it can get a bit confusing when it is over a page long.

This story has many turns, so for a crime novel, it is good read. There was nothing predictable in it at all.