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Inspector Van Veeteren #7
Carambole
Il commissario Van Veeteren è finalmente in pensione: si occupa della sua libreria antiquaria e non sa nulla della serie di omicidi che si sta per abbattere sulla sua città. Tutto ha avuto inizio quando un guidatore ha investito per caso un ragazzo che camminava sul ciglio della strada: il ragazzo è morto e l'automobilista, dopo qualche indecisione, è fuggito. Nei giorni seguenti tutto sembra tranquillo e il colpevole si sente sempre più al sicuro. Fino al giorno in cui riceve la lettera di un testimone che comincia a ricattarlo, sostenendo di averlo visto e di essere pronto a rivelare la sua colpa. Messo sotto pressione, l'incauto guidatore si trasforma in un astuto detective...
291 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1999
137 people are currently reading
1397 people want to read
About the author
Håkan Nesser
142 books1,108 followersHåkan Nesser is a Swedish author and teacher who has written a number of successful crime fiction novels. He has won Best Swedish Crime Novel Award three times, and his novel Carambole won the Glass Key award in 2000. His books have been translated from Swedish into numerous languages.
Håkan Nesser was born and grew up in Kumla, and has lived most of his adult life in Uppsala. His first novel was published in 1988, but he worked as a teacher until 1998 when he became a full-time author. In August, 2006, Håkan Nesser and his wife Elke moved to Greenwich Village in New York.
Series:
* Inspector Van Veeteren
* Inspector Barbarotti
Håkan Nesser was born and grew up in Kumla, and has lived most of his adult life in Uppsala. His first novel was published in 1988, but he worked as a teacher until 1998 when he became a full-time author. In August, 2006, Håkan Nesser and his wife Elke moved to Greenwich Village in New York.
Series:
* Inspector Van Veeteren
* Inspector Barbarotti
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 309 reviews
May 28, 2012
Wow. Wow. Wow. I have read all the books in the series around Chief Inspector Van Veeteren and I have loved each and every one, but this one is simply breathtaking. The story starts off with a terrible accident and the events that unfold after that just becomes a complete nightmare. The pace never lets up and thankfully today has been an immensely hot day so I sat in the garden and I devoured this cracking book.The only downside is that I sorely missed Munster but the reason he isn't featured I won't go into for fear of spoiling the storylines for everyone reading them.I understand there are three more in the series but haven't been translated into English as yet.Hakan Nesser is just a wonderful crime writer but praise must also be given to the translator, Laurie Thompson, who has done a brilliant job in introducing us to Swedish crime writing at its best.I cannot wait for the next and am feeling deflated now I have actually finished them. Highly recommended.
July 21, 2017
'Life is a tangle of remarkable connections.'
My first Nesser and I wonder how he's managed to evade me till now - thanks Jola and Rachel for correcting this!
As someone who gets very grumpy when faced with the more gothic and spectacularly melodramatic end of the crime spectrum (insane psychopaths driven by pop-psychology explanations of childhood trauma, serial killers who commit murders by tying their victims to giant clock mechanisms in order to tear them apart...), this book suited me perfectly with its normality. Make no mistake, there are some horrible killings here but they're rendered all the more impactful precisely because of the way the narrative doesn't detract from them by over-accessorising.
Nesser's prose is bare and pared-back throughout, but his police team are given real lives, histories and personalities - even though I've come to the series mid-way through, it's clear from the banter and personal interactions that they continue to 'live' outside of, and between, the books.
The plot itself is an unusual one - one which is focalised alternatively via the killer and the police. Despite it not following a conventional whodunnit formula, the narrative remains tense and a page-turner as we watch the police catching up with, and filling the gaps in, the story we've at least partly seen for ourselves.
Making use of chaos theory and pacing its revelations, this is an adult book in that it swaps gore and B-list 'twists' for something all the more chilling precisely because we can kind of understand how everything happens in a dark, nightmarish way.
Hakan Nesser, I'm glad I've found you!
My first Nesser and I wonder how he's managed to evade me till now - thanks Jola and Rachel for correcting this!
As someone who gets very grumpy when faced with the more gothic and spectacularly melodramatic end of the crime spectrum (insane psychopaths driven by pop-psychology explanations of childhood trauma, serial killers who commit murders by tying their victims to giant clock mechanisms in order to tear them apart...), this book suited me perfectly with its normality. Make no mistake, there are some horrible killings here but they're rendered all the more impactful precisely because of the way the narrative doesn't detract from them by over-accessorising.
Nesser's prose is bare and pared-back throughout, but his police team are given real lives, histories and personalities - even though I've come to the series mid-way through, it's clear from the banter and personal interactions that they continue to 'live' outside of, and between, the books.
The plot itself is an unusual one - one which is focalised alternatively via the killer and the police. Despite it not following a conventional whodunnit formula, the narrative remains tense and a page-turner as we watch the police catching up with, and filling the gaps in, the story we've at least partly seen for ourselves.
Making use of chaos theory and pacing its revelations, this is an adult book in that it swaps gore and B-list 'twists' for something all the more chilling precisely because we can kind of understand how everything happens in a dark, nightmarish way.
Hakan Nesser, I'm glad I've found you!
October 17, 2020
Un altro caso per Van Veeteren, ormai in pensione da due anni. Una storia che lo coinvolge direttamente e che lo vede seguire dall’esterno le difficili indagini della sua ex squadra.
Là dove i suoi uomini non riescono a collegare fatti e movente, lui vede disegni, come nella teoria del biliardo:
“Tu rotoli sopra un tappeto verde e uniforme, in mezzo a molte altre palle. La velocità e la direzione sono date, ma non si riesce a calcolare in anticipo quello che succederà quando ci scontriamo e cambiamo direzione. Tutto è prestabilito, ma noi non possiamo prevederlo, ci sono troppe variabili”.
Là dove i suoi uomini non riescono a collegare fatti e movente, lui vede disegni, come nella teoria del biliardo:
“Tu rotoli sopra un tappeto verde e uniforme, in mezzo a molte altre palle. La velocità e la direzione sono date, ma non si riesce a calcolare in anticipo quello che succederà quando ci scontriamo e cambiamo direzione. Tutto è prestabilito, ma noi non possiamo prevederlo, ci sono troppe variabili”.
October 6, 2017
As a long-term fan of this series, I have found plenty to admire in the previous six instalments, however Hour of the Wolf is one of the most magnetising outings yet, both for the horrific devastation unleashed by one single action, and the very personal responses it evokes from within the Maardam CID when one of their own is affected. After fifteen-years at the helm of CID, former Chief Inspector Van Veeteren is approaching two-years since his retirement and new role as part-owner of Krantze’s antiquarian bookshop. Since calling time on his thirty-year career, Van Veeteren has advised and never quite detached himself from his former colleagues or his vocation. However, when he is personally affected and subject to the travesty of burying his own son, he is gripped by an inability to come to terms with Erich’s fate and is driven back by the determination to right a highly personal wrong. Despite his blossoming relationship with new love interest, Ulrike Fremdli, he finds himself filled with an emptiness, unable to sleep and at a loss as to how to cope with a very different chapter in his life. It is also not until Erich is murdered that Van Veeteren has reason to be pulled back into the police arena in a more determined capacity, regularly meeting with Reinhard and privy to recordings of the discussions within the team. However Nesser does not begin this story with the demise of Erich but the sobering reality that means his death is a necessary consequence of a man acting on his own terrifying rationale to salvage something of his life after what he increasingly justifies as a mere accident.
From the opening pages Nesser makes clear his intention to deliver a tense encounter with an insight into the chaos that one moment of madness can unleash on society and what begins with extinguishing one life sets in motion a sequence of events that go on to touch the lives of many. Sixteen-year-old Wim Felders leaves his girlfriend’s house with the intention of returning to his family home, until his encounter with a drunk driver leaves him dead in a roadside ditch. When his conscience initially prevails the driver stops to check on his accidental victim and seeing that the body is clearly dead he makes an exit under the cover of pelting rain and woodland darkness. His drunken thinking is that compensating for a ruined life by sacrificing another, specifically his own, gains nothing. When there are no repercussions after an appeal for information, his anxiety is allayed and he begins to tell himself that the whole business has simply been down to factors beyond his control. But the minute he thinks can let his guard down and make the most of his own remaining years he is subject to an extortion attempt by an unknown blackmailer. From that moment onwards the killer decides to scupper the blackmailers plans and approach things an alternative way by hijacking the intended cash pick-up and in turn taking a second life, specifically that of Erich Van Veeteren, but as the financial demands are reasserted, the driver is faced with the dawning realisation that he is caught in a much bigger web of complications. In the event to identify the killer that a resolve and frustration amongst the remaining CID department as a serious of dead-ends bring them no closer to answers (as Reinhard eloquently states, “our case is about as substantial as a vegan on laxatives”). As CID stumble on without any significant leads it takes a third death for pathologist, Meusse, to suggest a concordance between the two intentional murders and open up future avenues for exploration.
After returning from paternity leave, Chief Inspector Reinhart leads this investigation with Detective Investigator Ewa Moreno at his side and Rooth and Jung heavily involved. Notably after the frisson of chemistry between Moreno and Münster in the last outing, Münster’s enforced medical absence means that this story takes a backseat. However given that this is a team who have all been consistently well-depicted and whose lives have steadily evolved there is always a comfortable rapport. Hour of the Wolf is dually compelling from the perspective that the reader is privy to far more information than the police and that Nesser offers an insight into the mind of the killer as he finds himself lured into a game of complex strategy with a blackmailer which causes him to resort to drastic lengths. The title is taken from the Ingmar Bergman film and refers the hours between night and dawn when the sleepless are haunted by their worst nightmares and the reality of their actions strikes anew with each fresh day.
In terms of structure, this bears much resemblance to the unfolding investigation in Woman with Birthmark, which combined multiple perspectives and proved similarly powerful. Nesser’s narrative is typically crisp and helps to engender a hard hitting storyline, which brings some typically weighty reflections, flashes of intuition and eventual conclusions from Van Veeteren which prove crucial to breaking the horrific sequence and bringing resolution to several grieving families. Methodical, entirely logical and frequently futile, Hour of the Wolf shows that even with a plethora of resources behind an enquiry, luck often plays an enormous role.
Whilst Hour of the Wolf will undoubtedly work as standalone it is as ever best approached with a background knowledge of the characters who comprise Maardam CID and with Van Veeteren’s own personal relationship with his son in mind. Although in essence a police procedural, this is a novel very much grounded in the psychology and logic of a killer with nothing to lose and although he progresses rather too swiftly from accidental killer to intentional murderer to be plausible, the novel offers an insight into the very long journey of making those that are accountable face the consequences of their actions. What is especially poignant is the harrowing knowledge that some individuals are merely collateral damage in a chain of events and the fact that without the son of the esteemed Chief Inspector caught up in the crossfire, the hit-and-run incident would have gone unresolved and left Wim Felders parents in the dark surrounding his tragic death.
From the opening pages Nesser makes clear his intention to deliver a tense encounter with an insight into the chaos that one moment of madness can unleash on society and what begins with extinguishing one life sets in motion a sequence of events that go on to touch the lives of many. Sixteen-year-old Wim Felders leaves his girlfriend’s house with the intention of returning to his family home, until his encounter with a drunk driver leaves him dead in a roadside ditch. When his conscience initially prevails the driver stops to check on his accidental victim and seeing that the body is clearly dead he makes an exit under the cover of pelting rain and woodland darkness. His drunken thinking is that compensating for a ruined life by sacrificing another, specifically his own, gains nothing. When there are no repercussions after an appeal for information, his anxiety is allayed and he begins to tell himself that the whole business has simply been down to factors beyond his control. But the minute he thinks can let his guard down and make the most of his own remaining years he is subject to an extortion attempt by an unknown blackmailer. From that moment onwards the killer decides to scupper the blackmailers plans and approach things an alternative way by hijacking the intended cash pick-up and in turn taking a second life, specifically that of Erich Van Veeteren, but as the financial demands are reasserted, the driver is faced with the dawning realisation that he is caught in a much bigger web of complications. In the event to identify the killer that a resolve and frustration amongst the remaining CID department as a serious of dead-ends bring them no closer to answers (as Reinhard eloquently states, “our case is about as substantial as a vegan on laxatives”). As CID stumble on without any significant leads it takes a third death for pathologist, Meusse, to suggest a concordance between the two intentional murders and open up future avenues for exploration.
After returning from paternity leave, Chief Inspector Reinhart leads this investigation with Detective Investigator Ewa Moreno at his side and Rooth and Jung heavily involved. Notably after the frisson of chemistry between Moreno and Münster in the last outing, Münster’s enforced medical absence means that this story takes a backseat. However given that this is a team who have all been consistently well-depicted and whose lives have steadily evolved there is always a comfortable rapport. Hour of the Wolf is dually compelling from the perspective that the reader is privy to far more information than the police and that Nesser offers an insight into the mind of the killer as he finds himself lured into a game of complex strategy with a blackmailer which causes him to resort to drastic lengths. The title is taken from the Ingmar Bergman film and refers the hours between night and dawn when the sleepless are haunted by their worst nightmares and the reality of their actions strikes anew with each fresh day.
In terms of structure, this bears much resemblance to the unfolding investigation in Woman with Birthmark, which combined multiple perspectives and proved similarly powerful. Nesser’s narrative is typically crisp and helps to engender a hard hitting storyline, which brings some typically weighty reflections, flashes of intuition and eventual conclusions from Van Veeteren which prove crucial to breaking the horrific sequence and bringing resolution to several grieving families. Methodical, entirely logical and frequently futile, Hour of the Wolf shows that even with a plethora of resources behind an enquiry, luck often plays an enormous role.
Whilst Hour of the Wolf will undoubtedly work as standalone it is as ever best approached with a background knowledge of the characters who comprise Maardam CID and with Van Veeteren’s own personal relationship with his son in mind. Although in essence a police procedural, this is a novel very much grounded in the psychology and logic of a killer with nothing to lose and although he progresses rather too swiftly from accidental killer to intentional murderer to be plausible, the novel offers an insight into the very long journey of making those that are accountable face the consequences of their actions. What is especially poignant is the harrowing knowledge that some individuals are merely collateral damage in a chain of events and the fact that without the son of the esteemed Chief Inspector caught up in the crossfire, the hit-and-run incident would have gone unresolved and left Wim Felders parents in the dark surrounding his tragic death.
December 17, 2018
audio I liked this even though I knew the story from the tv program. The homocide department seems to be back in proper performance. This is probably the end of VV's participation which is what should happen to main characters with a semblance to reality.
February 23, 2016
Apparently when not constructing IKEA furniture with tiny Allen wrenches, eating scrumptious round chokladbolls, or dancing to Ace of Bass, the Swedish folk are committing heinous acts of murder. Thankfully there are talented writers such as Stieg Larsson, Henning Mankell, and Hakan Nesser to warn the rest of the world that we all need to stay as far away from this hellish Nordic land of deviant slaughter and bloody barbarity as possible. Their well-conditioned (and very very soft) blonde hair and the fuzzy hoods of their winter jackets only mask the savage brutality of the average Swedish citizen’s true inner character.
Hour of the Wolf is Hakan Nesser’s newest crime novel. It tells the story of an ordinary Swedish man who one night while driving home inebriated, hits and kills a young man with his car. Despite a moment of guilty indecision, he leaves the accident and continues home hoping to forget the entire horrible mess. But soon notes come in his mail, blackmail notes demanding money in exchange for keeping his terrible crime a secret and he is drawn down a terrible path of violence, bloody clubbings, and multiple murders. One of the casualties is the son of retired chief inspector Van Veeteren and soon the entire Maardam police force is on the case, hunting this killer before he can strike again.
Hour of the Wolf is my first novel from Nesser, one of Sweden’s most popular crime writers. The chapters are told from the perspective of both the police detectives investigating the crime as well as the agitated point of view of the killer. This along with the large cast of characters on the Maardam police team involved in the inquiry reminded me of John Sandford’s Prey series. But while Sandford’s stories of his Minneapolis police detectives are more humorous and procedural, Nesser’s team—led by new Chief Inspector Reinhart—are more atmospheric and somber in tone. Maybe it is the cultural gap (or the fact I am starting this series 10 books in), but his team came across as withdrawn, and not well differentiated. The mystery is shelved several times as Nesser instead focuses on the human impact of the violence and the sorrow felt by the loved ones of the dead. This gives the story a level of compassion and empathy that is seldom found in the more straightforward and easily disposable mystery titles. Overall, a good read, and I find it interesting to discover through fiction how our international brothers handle their crime.
…particularly in such a crime-ridden cesspool like Sweden where no amount of umlauts or extra vowels in their words can hide the stink of delinquency in this god forsaken country of scoundrels. Seriously, if you take only one thing away from this review it’s to stay the heck away from Sweden.
Hour of the Wolf is Hakan Nesser’s newest crime novel. It tells the story of an ordinary Swedish man who one night while driving home inebriated, hits and kills a young man with his car. Despite a moment of guilty indecision, he leaves the accident and continues home hoping to forget the entire horrible mess. But soon notes come in his mail, blackmail notes demanding money in exchange for keeping his terrible crime a secret and he is drawn down a terrible path of violence, bloody clubbings, and multiple murders. One of the casualties is the son of retired chief inspector Van Veeteren and soon the entire Maardam police force is on the case, hunting this killer before he can strike again.
Hour of the Wolf is my first novel from Nesser, one of Sweden’s most popular crime writers. The chapters are told from the perspective of both the police detectives investigating the crime as well as the agitated point of view of the killer. This along with the large cast of characters on the Maardam police team involved in the inquiry reminded me of John Sandford’s Prey series. But while Sandford’s stories of his Minneapolis police detectives are more humorous and procedural, Nesser’s team—led by new Chief Inspector Reinhart—are more atmospheric and somber in tone. Maybe it is the cultural gap (or the fact I am starting this series 10 books in), but his team came across as withdrawn, and not well differentiated. The mystery is shelved several times as Nesser instead focuses on the human impact of the violence and the sorrow felt by the loved ones of the dead. This gives the story a level of compassion and empathy that is seldom found in the more straightforward and easily disposable mystery titles. Overall, a good read, and I find it interesting to discover through fiction how our international brothers handle their crime.
…particularly in such a crime-ridden cesspool like Sweden where no amount of umlauts or extra vowels in their words can hide the stink of delinquency in this god forsaken country of scoundrels. Seriously, if you take only one thing away from this review it’s to stay the heck away from Sweden.
November 19, 2023
This tour de force by a celebrated veteran of Swedish police dramas in the van Veeteren series drips along so slowly…like an icicle melting in freezing temps…that one might be forgiven for thinking the police were doing nothing at all to catch the mysterious killer of a young boy.
And really, they weren’t. Another two murders started to put the wind up and made them look back…but look how easy it would have been to overlook all the clues that would have led them to the killer of the boy. If one of the murdered wasn’t former Chief Inspector Van Veeteren’s son, I think we can safely say an opportunistic mass murderer would have gone free.
The involvement of the now-retired Van Veeteren added to the misty hard-to-get a clear angle on the case, and yet everyone in the station was on their best behavior to solve this case “for the chief.” The chief was, at best, ambivalent about the death of his son, who was recovered from a history of addiction. The scourge of drug addiction broke relationships and a life that barely had gotten started.
So, we are aware of the killer’s motives, actions, plans but we have no way to signal the same to the police. We grow increasingly anxious as the killer seems to have one solution to people finding out about his crime: kill them. Bodies keep accumulating and finally, finally, a clue is found that links the victims. It is the terrible tension that keeps us involved…how long can this go on and what on earth will be the thing to unravel the whole?
The writing and translation are stellar. There is one piece I must recount here:
Hour of the Wolf ends with a scene in New York, and Nesser captures the cold December feel and the vastness that is New York. Chief Inspector Reinhart of Maardam stayed on the 24th floor of Trump Tower (!) with a view to the north and east of Manhattan. He describes how inhospitable it seemed in the chilly fall weather when the sun set early. (This was long before Trump ran for office, so Nesser had his finger on the pulse.)
First published in 1999, this can already be considered an old one, one of the last of the Van Veeteren series which were still being written, translated and published into the 2000s. Håkan Nesser won the Best Swedish Crime Novel Award three times and prestigious the Glass Key Award once. Around 2006, Nesser moved to Greenwich Village in New York for a couple of years where a new series featuring a Swedish police inspector with Italian roots, Inspector Gunnar Barbarotti, was published.
Nesser’s oeuvre is Scandi classic. Read them all.
And really, they weren’t. Another two murders started to put the wind up and made them look back…but look how easy it would have been to overlook all the clues that would have led them to the killer of the boy. If one of the murdered wasn’t former Chief Inspector Van Veeteren’s son, I think we can safely say an opportunistic mass murderer would have gone free.
The involvement of the now-retired Van Veeteren added to the misty hard-to-get a clear angle on the case, and yet everyone in the station was on their best behavior to solve this case “for the chief.” The chief was, at best, ambivalent about the death of his son, who was recovered from a history of addiction. The scourge of drug addiction broke relationships and a life that barely had gotten started.
So, we are aware of the killer’s motives, actions, plans but we have no way to signal the same to the police. We grow increasingly anxious as the killer seems to have one solution to people finding out about his crime: kill them. Bodies keep accumulating and finally, finally, a clue is found that links the victims. It is the terrible tension that keeps us involved…how long can this go on and what on earth will be the thing to unravel the whole?
The writing and translation are stellar. There is one piece I must recount here:
“On Wednesday, December 9, it was 50 or so degrees, and the sky was high and bright.
The sun seemed to be surprised, almost embarrassed at having to display itself in all its somewhat faded nudity.”
Hour of the Wolf ends with a scene in New York, and Nesser captures the cold December feel and the vastness that is New York. Chief Inspector Reinhart of Maardam stayed on the 24th floor of Trump Tower (!) with a view to the north and east of Manhattan. He describes how inhospitable it seemed in the chilly fall weather when the sun set early. (This was long before Trump ran for office, so Nesser had his finger on the pulse.)
First published in 1999, this can already be considered an old one, one of the last of the Van Veeteren series which were still being written, translated and published into the 2000s. Håkan Nesser won the Best Swedish Crime Novel Award three times and prestigious the Glass Key Award once. Around 2006, Nesser moved to Greenwich Village in New York for a couple of years where a new series featuring a Swedish police inspector with Italian roots, Inspector Gunnar Barbarotti, was published.
Nesser’s oeuvre is Scandi classic. Read them all.
July 18, 2016
Hour of the Wolf by Hakan Nesser.
A SHOCKING JOURNEY. This novel in the Inspector Van Veeteren series has more than just twists & turns. It has more than mere surprises. It is a series of the worst choices a person could make that establish a journey into the abyss for one man. And the end of other lives in the wake of this journey.
Inspector Van Veeteren is retired and the new Chief Inspector is Reinhart. Rooth, Moreno, and the rest of Inspectors former colleagues work together as they did so many times in the past with the exception of Munster. Inspector Van Veeteren is brought into this investigation due to a grave and lamentable situation.
This is perhaps the best Van Veeteren book to date. It is one with shocking elements that add up to a descent into the abyss of no return. This is not just a highly recommended book for all followers of Van Veeteren and/or mysteries...it is a seriously MUST read addition to the already world wide acclaimed series.
Hakan Nesser is the recipient of The European Crime fiction Star Award, the Swedish Crime Writers' Academy Prize (3 x's), as well as the Scandinavia's Glass Key Award. His novels are published in more than 25 countries and as many languages.
A SHOCKING JOURNEY. This novel in the Inspector Van Veeteren series has more than just twists & turns. It has more than mere surprises. It is a series of the worst choices a person could make that establish a journey into the abyss for one man. And the end of other lives in the wake of this journey.
Inspector Van Veeteren is retired and the new Chief Inspector is Reinhart. Rooth, Moreno, and the rest of Inspectors former colleagues work together as they did so many times in the past with the exception of Munster. Inspector Van Veeteren is brought into this investigation due to a grave and lamentable situation.
This is perhaps the best Van Veeteren book to date. It is one with shocking elements that add up to a descent into the abyss of no return. This is not just a highly recommended book for all followers of Van Veeteren and/or mysteries...it is a seriously MUST read addition to the already world wide acclaimed series.
Hakan Nesser is the recipient of The European Crime fiction Star Award, the Swedish Crime Writers' Academy Prize (3 x's), as well as the Scandinavia's Glass Key Award. His novels are published in more than 25 countries and as many languages.
November 19, 2021
quite good read. slow and very nice approach to a team of investigators, each one with his human side very gently described. interesting plot.
December 19, 2012
I am reluctant to assign five stars to a mystery novel that is in no way a literary masterpiece. Hakan Nesser's "Hour of the Wolf" does not have the sociological depths of Denise Mina's "Gartnethill". It does not have the simple beauty of some of Karin Fossum's best work. Yet it is such a darn good book. On the surface it is a police procedural, one in Mr. Nesser's Chief Inspector Van Veeteren series, which is located in a fictitious country in Northern Europe that seems like a cross between the Netherlands and Sweden, with some neighboring countries mixed in. When one looks deeper though, the novel is a treatise on guilt and human weakness, a contemplation of this side and the other side of our existence and non-existence.
I think that older people will appreciate this novel more than the young ones. One has to acknowledge the unavoidable proximity of the other side to understand some of the undercurrents present in the book. I was stricken by a beautiful sentence: "The dead are older than the living." I first thought it a quote from some famous philosopher. Not so. It seems to be Mr. Nesser's own. Beautiful. And wise.
To me "Hour of the Wolf" is the best of the six Nesser's novels I have read. It has an engrossing plot, economical and simple writing, and everything that happens in the plot leads to the final solution. As an icing on the cake it has an extremely funny ending, happening in New York, with Mr. Nesser having a field day writing about the U.S. culture. Some readers will complain that the denouement is predictable. Yes, it is. I do not care, with the book being so excellent in so many other ways.
A disclaimer: In some sense Mr. Nesser's work reminds me of novels by the great Nicholas Freeling, whose plots were located mainly in the Netherlands or France, but the locations felt just like "in Europe". Maybe I am biased, being a European.
Still, I have not had so much fun with a book for quite a long time.
Five stars.
I think that older people will appreciate this novel more than the young ones. One has to acknowledge the unavoidable proximity of the other side to understand some of the undercurrents present in the book. I was stricken by a beautiful sentence: "The dead are older than the living." I first thought it a quote from some famous philosopher. Not so. It seems to be Mr. Nesser's own. Beautiful. And wise.
To me "Hour of the Wolf" is the best of the six Nesser's novels I have read. It has an engrossing plot, economical and simple writing, and everything that happens in the plot leads to the final solution. As an icing on the cake it has an extremely funny ending, happening in New York, with Mr. Nesser having a field day writing about the U.S. culture. Some readers will complain that the denouement is predictable. Yes, it is. I do not care, with the book being so excellent in so many other ways.
A disclaimer: In some sense Mr. Nesser's work reminds me of novels by the great Nicholas Freeling, whose plots were located mainly in the Netherlands or France, but the locations felt just like "in Europe". Maybe I am biased, being a European.
Still, I have not had so much fun with a book for quite a long time.
Five stars.
September 28, 2012
Wonderful story in this strong cannon of detective fiction around a fiction place where intelligence and intuition go hand in hand with old fashioned leg work. The key player is Chief Inspector Van Veeteren, retired, but compelled back to an investigation when a murder happens closer to home than he could ever imagine.
The story is about chance events and encounters and how various decisions can impact on your life and the future of complete strangers beginning with the missing of a late bus.
Well written of course, reflecting on various characters and their motivations. This is never difficult to read and quickly reaches an end that arrives when you could easily go another 100+ pages at a canter. I am a real fan of Hakan Nesser and his detective although retired still looms large in the consciousness of the detective force he left behind. I enjoy the true to life situations and dilemmas his characters face.
As always another book awaits one to read in this terrific series.
The story is about chance events and encounters and how various decisions can impact on your life and the future of complete strangers beginning with the missing of a late bus.
Well written of course, reflecting on various characters and their motivations. This is never difficult to read and quickly reaches an end that arrives when you could easily go another 100+ pages at a canter. I am a real fan of Hakan Nesser and his detective although retired still looms large in the consciousness of the detective force he left behind. I enjoy the true to life situations and dilemmas his characters face.
As always another book awaits one to read in this terrific series.
February 26, 2018
You can read kind my review here as well: http://storypals.net/book-report-hour...
HOUR OF THE WOLF
I was in one of those moods where I wanted to read some good mystery, something psychotic and something very dangerous.
The blurb of the book said that it got someone howling in pain which is why I instantly picked it up.
Also, Håkan Nesser has been on my radar for a while now and it all went like uh what the heck let’s just read this book.
NO spoilers, will not reveal who killed who and what happened in the book.
Okay, so. Let’s get into it.
WHAT HOUR OF THE WOLF IS ABOUT?
In the dead of night, in the pouring rain, a drunk driver smashes his car into a young man. He abandons the body at the side of the road, but the incident will set in motion a chain of events which will change his life forever. Soon Chief Inspector Van Veeteren, now retired from the Maardam police force, will face his greatest trial yet as someone close to him is, inexplicably, murdered. Van Veeteren’s former colleagues, desperate for answers, struggle to decipher the clues to this appalling crime. But when another body is discovered, it gradually becomes clear that this killer is acting on their own terrifying logic.
MY THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS ABOUT HOUR OF THE WOLF.
“The ritual works. The forms overcome doubts. We have learned over the centuries to weave meaning around emptiness and pain. A meaning and a pattern. We have been practising that for a very long time.”
It wasn’t the best of the mystery books that I have read. Honestly, I have read much better mystery and a much better plot. However. The book is so well written that you just can not keep the book down. You will want to read the book for the writing and not the plot.
Strange but that happened to me.
LISTING OUT THE THINGS THAT I ABSOLUTELY ENJOYED IN THE HOUR OF THE WOLF.
Starts out strong as a Hitchcockian thriller involving a hit-and-run killer, a blackmailer, and a detective all with their own mindset and drive hunting one another. I remember reading the first chapter at 2 in the night and that too on a working night, I literally had to force myself to stop reading and go to sleep, however that intrigue in the book was murdered with n number of murders in the book.
I LOVED HOW PSYCHOTIC OUR MAIN LEAD WAS. Hahaha, yeah. It’s true, I loved the devil side of him, I loved the way he was thinking and I wanted so much more from him, I wanted more from his perspective and not other people, uurgghh, reading about any other character was just getting on my nerves because they were so darn boring. I do wish the book was just told from his perspective and the mystery/ thrill was built around it.
Yeah, pretty much that.
WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN BETTER IN THE HOUR OF THE WOLF?
This book had potential which is why, if it ever gets auctioned for a movie, they should definitely contact me because I have some pretty great ideas as to how to pitch the story/ storytelling.
First and foremost, the storytelling should be linear and avoid the too many details which weren’t really needed. ( I know it is a part of a series and some characters have been developed over the time and people wanted to know about them and blah blah, but I found that information to be really boring and not relevant- HENCE AVOID.)
I want the lead/ villain to be shown in both the lights but his darker side to being completely inhumane like he will do whatever it takes to save himself and just himself.
Police/ detectives to be not dumb but actually intelligent with good case studies for the audience to consume and actually confuse them more with what is happening.
Exploring the psychology of our main lead/ villain.
Pacing to be more fast paced with better character understanding. The introduction of the characters to be done in a completely different way.
I think that’s all.
This book can do so- so much with the cast of characters and the plot it had. But you wouldn’t be completely disappointed with the book as the writing is something you would delve yourself in.would
I would defintely pick up another Håkan Nesser book in the future.
RATING: 3/5 STARS
HOUR OF THE WOLF
I was in one of those moods where I wanted to read some good mystery, something psychotic and something very dangerous.
The blurb of the book said that it got someone howling in pain which is why I instantly picked it up.
Also, Håkan Nesser has been on my radar for a while now and it all went like uh what the heck let’s just read this book.
NO spoilers, will not reveal who killed who and what happened in the book.
Okay, so. Let’s get into it.
WHAT HOUR OF THE WOLF IS ABOUT?
In the dead of night, in the pouring rain, a drunk driver smashes his car into a young man. He abandons the body at the side of the road, but the incident will set in motion a chain of events which will change his life forever. Soon Chief Inspector Van Veeteren, now retired from the Maardam police force, will face his greatest trial yet as someone close to him is, inexplicably, murdered. Van Veeteren’s former colleagues, desperate for answers, struggle to decipher the clues to this appalling crime. But when another body is discovered, it gradually becomes clear that this killer is acting on their own terrifying logic.
MY THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS ABOUT HOUR OF THE WOLF.
“The ritual works. The forms overcome doubts. We have learned over the centuries to weave meaning around emptiness and pain. A meaning and a pattern. We have been practising that for a very long time.”
It wasn’t the best of the mystery books that I have read. Honestly, I have read much better mystery and a much better plot. However. The book is so well written that you just can not keep the book down. You will want to read the book for the writing and not the plot.
Strange but that happened to me.
LISTING OUT THE THINGS THAT I ABSOLUTELY ENJOYED IN THE HOUR OF THE WOLF.
Starts out strong as a Hitchcockian thriller involving a hit-and-run killer, a blackmailer, and a detective all with their own mindset and drive hunting one another. I remember reading the first chapter at 2 in the night and that too on a working night, I literally had to force myself to stop reading and go to sleep, however that intrigue in the book was murdered with n number of murders in the book.
I LOVED HOW PSYCHOTIC OUR MAIN LEAD WAS. Hahaha, yeah. It’s true, I loved the devil side of him, I loved the way he was thinking and I wanted so much more from him, I wanted more from his perspective and not other people, uurgghh, reading about any other character was just getting on my nerves because they were so darn boring. I do wish the book was just told from his perspective and the mystery/ thrill was built around it.
Yeah, pretty much that.
WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN BETTER IN THE HOUR OF THE WOLF?
This book had potential which is why, if it ever gets auctioned for a movie, they should definitely contact me because I have some pretty great ideas as to how to pitch the story/ storytelling.
First and foremost, the storytelling should be linear and avoid the too many details which weren’t really needed. ( I know it is a part of a series and some characters have been developed over the time and people wanted to know about them and blah blah, but I found that information to be really boring and not relevant- HENCE AVOID.)
I want the lead/ villain to be shown in both the lights but his darker side to being completely inhumane like he will do whatever it takes to save himself and just himself.
Police/ detectives to be not dumb but actually intelligent with good case studies for the audience to consume and actually confuse them more with what is happening.
Exploring the psychology of our main lead/ villain.
Pacing to be more fast paced with better character understanding. The introduction of the characters to be done in a completely different way.
I think that’s all.
This book can do so- so much with the cast of characters and the plot it had. But you wouldn’t be completely disappointed with the book as the writing is something you would delve yourself in.would
I would defintely pick up another Håkan Nesser book in the future.
RATING: 3/5 STARS
April 22, 2018
This time around I have returned to Hakan Nesser and the world of Van Veeteren. There is something I enjoy about these books. They may not be as complicated as many of there counterparts in this genre of books. But he flows well and you can sink your teeth into them on a quiet afternoon, and have an enjoyable time with them.
His cast of characters are always a joy to spend time with, he gives them real lives and personality and thorough out the books gives them time to breathe. If you spend any time with these books they start to feel like friends you see every so often and get to catch up with. And this I feel is the key to his books they are set in the here and now. With crimes that could take place in your own town or city. By the time we get to this the seventh book in the series they are well into there stride and move about each other as you would come to expect any team who have been together for so long. It has to be said that the main hero of this series of books does take some time to show up in this book. And with this more time is devoted his usual team allowing them to stand on there own two feet and carry their parts of the book. In the hour of the wolf, we get to see how one person decision can work like the butterfly effect and spiral out of control so very quickly.
If you are searching for a whodunit then this book might not entirely for you. The killer is delivered to us on a plate at the start although it takes much longer to actually learn his name.The author chose to show how a simple choice of an ordinary man can lead to dire consequences. For me, it was difficult to feel any real sympathy for him, and what he does next is a study into how irrational thinking can get you into an even deep hole than the one you started with. I felt it was an interesting step for the author to take when we get to experience half the book from this mans perspective, and it is thought these chapters that we learn to understand his motives for why he makes so many bad decisions. In doing this we are also left being a few steps ahead of the police. It is only through these actions the other events come into play and this is where the mystery come into the story. I did feel this book contained a little more complex than some of the earlier work. And in doing this makes it stand out for me more.
This is a very well plotted book and the author has clearly taken his time with it to give us the best version of the story he could. Due to the way he writes it makes is to pick up and enjoy the story. It goes past quickly and I found my self-wrapped up enough to let the world happily pass by me. If you haven't had the chance to pick up one of the books in this series I would recommend you give it ago. This particular book does work as a stand-alone and in so doing also would allow a new reader easily get a grasp of what they are getting themselves in for.
His cast of characters are always a joy to spend time with, he gives them real lives and personality and thorough out the books gives them time to breathe. If you spend any time with these books they start to feel like friends you see every so often and get to catch up with. And this I feel is the key to his books they are set in the here and now. With crimes that could take place in your own town or city. By the time we get to this the seventh book in the series they are well into there stride and move about each other as you would come to expect any team who have been together for so long. It has to be said that the main hero of this series of books does take some time to show up in this book. And with this more time is devoted his usual team allowing them to stand on there own two feet and carry their parts of the book. In the hour of the wolf, we get to see how one person decision can work like the butterfly effect and spiral out of control so very quickly.
If you are searching for a whodunit then this book might not entirely for you. The killer is delivered to us on a plate at the start although it takes much longer to actually learn his name.The author chose to show how a simple choice of an ordinary man can lead to dire consequences. For me, it was difficult to feel any real sympathy for him, and what he does next is a study into how irrational thinking can get you into an even deep hole than the one you started with. I felt it was an interesting step for the author to take when we get to experience half the book from this mans perspective, and it is thought these chapters that we learn to understand his motives for why he makes so many bad decisions. In doing this we are also left being a few steps ahead of the police. It is only through these actions the other events come into play and this is where the mystery come into the story. I did feel this book contained a little more complex than some of the earlier work. And in doing this makes it stand out for me more.
This is a very well plotted book and the author has clearly taken his time with it to give us the best version of the story he could. Due to the way he writes it makes is to pick up and enjoy the story. It goes past quickly and I found my self-wrapped up enough to let the world happily pass by me. If you haven't had the chance to pick up one of the books in this series I would recommend you give it ago. This particular book does work as a stand-alone and in so doing also would allow a new reader easily get a grasp of what they are getting themselves in for.
March 8, 2021
Enjoyed it, easy read. I'm a Jussi Adler-Olsen fan (Department Q series) and this by Hakan Nesser has a very similar feel to it. As it's also a series I'll be trying from the start I think. Free on Borrowbox (UK online library).
July 25, 2013
In my opinion, this series just keeps getting better with every book. This one was a page turner and even though Chief Inspector Van Veeteren is now retired and not as central to the story (he still features), it is great the way the other cast of characters we have been introduced to in previous books, can keep the series just as interesting. A teenage boy is killed in a hit and run, and this starts a chain of events that have terrible consequences, especially for Van Veeteren. Reinhart takes charge here and while he and his team can make no sense of the killings that take place as a result of the hit and run and they don't even realise that this initial event is connected with the subsequent murders, they battle on until connections are eventually make clearer. When I started this series, I was not altogether sure whether I really liked it, but I have grown to love it and love the characters individual stories. I also love the humour the author injects into the dialogue, which is a real triumph considering these books are translated from Swedish to English.
April 8, 2013
Håkan Nesser. Number 7 Van Veeteren mystery series.
If there is a librarian out there that can help sort out the messed up listings of HAKAN to Håkan Nesser...please help. I will do anything you need to assist. It is a mess...
This was the best Håkan Nesser VV books yet even though he is retired to the bookshop he comes into the story again and again. Truly a story of chilling circumstances that lead to consequences that ruin five lives and affect many others. Highly recommend it as a very good read,
I read iBook and his books are good priced and available in the iBook Store. The trick is knowing that most of his books seem to receive more than one title in English so it becomes important to follow the number in the series in my view. This was VV 7 and I have just downloaded 8 due later in April The Weeping Girl to be followed in September with The Strangler's Honeymoon VV #9!
If there is a librarian out there that can help sort out the messed up listings of HAKAN to Håkan Nesser...please help. I will do anything you need to assist. It is a mess...
This was the best Håkan Nesser VV books yet even though he is retired to the bookshop he comes into the story again and again. Truly a story of chilling circumstances that lead to consequences that ruin five lives and affect many others. Highly recommend it as a very good read,
I read iBook and his books are good priced and available in the iBook Store. The trick is knowing that most of his books seem to receive more than one title in English so it becomes important to follow the number in the series in my view. This was VV 7 and I have just downloaded 8 due later in April The Weeping Girl to be followed in September with The Strangler's Honeymoon VV #9!
July 3, 2016
A great Swedish police procedural
This is Nesser at his best! Great plot, unexpected, built around the murder of a retired Van Veeteren's somewhat estranged son. Well written and fantastically translated by the late Laurie Thompson.
This is Nesser at his best! Great plot, unexpected, built around the murder of a retired Van Veeteren's somewhat estranged son. Well written and fantastically translated by the late Laurie Thompson.
October 7, 2017
My favorite so far in this great series. This is a police procedural with heart and teamwork. The Chief Inspector is the emotional center even if he's retired. Excellent.
Hopefully the next books will be published in the U.S. soon.
Hopefully the next books will be published in the U.S. soon.
January 30, 2014
Excellent. I will be reading all other books by this author
February 24, 2017
Another great one from Nesser. THis one is about a man who makes a decision to drive home after an evening with friends, even though he has had too much to drink. So this , including the dark and rainy night, leads him to hit a young boy walking home that evening because he missed the last bus. He stops, but the boy is already dead, having hit his head on the concrete culvert beside the road. So, he makes another bad choice and drives off. Several days later, he receives a letter. The writer drove by the accident and recognized the driver and, of course, wants money, which leads to yet another bad choice. This is a very absorbing mystery by one of the best of the Scandinavian writers. It's also a very sad story , as one of the victims is Insp. Van Veeteren's only son. He is retired now, but gets very involved in the cae, naturally. Loved it.
November 26, 2018
Van Veeteren is not my favourite detective, but the thrillers that have him as MC are very decent. Good pace, attention to details and lifelike persons.
In this novel everything starts with an ordinary, stupid accident which is the start of a lot of violence. The starting point is ok, but the thoughts and the actions of the characters are illogical at times.
In this novel everything starts with an ordinary, stupid accident which is the start of a lot of violence. The starting point is ok, but the thoughts and the actions of the characters are illogical at times.
February 3, 2025
Obwohl man schon am Anfang den Täter kennt bleibt es bis zur letzten Seite spannend. Kein Mitleid mit dem "unglücklichen Mörder", der sich selbst durch Feigheit und männliche Selbstüberschätzung in eine Gewaltspirale hineinbegibt und nicht wieder herausfindet. Ein wahrer Alptraum.
May 17, 2025
Apparently, from reviews I’ve read, this series normally featuring Chief Inspector Van Veeteren is wildly popular. Unfortunately, the former Chief Inspector (now retired) plays an ancillary part in the story and I really couldn’t get a sense of him as a character driving an entire series. I will be heading back to Department Q in future.
September 28, 2018
Now that's how you write a mystery!
This book had everything a mystery needs: insight into the mind of one of the victims, insight into the mind of the murderer, insight into the personal lives of the police officers, dry humor, nordic noir broody atmosphere, constant suspense, parallels between the murders and certain games or game theories... (On the last point, I loved how the chess analogy made me figure out the ending a short while before it happened).
I love when mysteries are character-driven and when there's a personal stake at hand (such as murdering the son of the former Chief Inspector). I also love when you can see the slight descent of the murderer from a normal human being to the point of no return... And on another note, it's refreshing to see policemen that actually have a very loving relationship with their family (such as Chief Inspector Reinhart), instead of the dark, gloomy, typical detectives.
This book had everything a mystery needs: insight into the mind of one of the victims, insight into the mind of the murderer, insight into the personal lives of the police officers, dry humor, nordic noir broody atmosphere, constant suspense, parallels between the murders and certain games or game theories... (On the last point, I loved how the chess analogy made me figure out the ending a short while before it happened).
I love when mysteries are character-driven and when there's a personal stake at hand (such as murdering the son of the former Chief Inspector). I also love when you can see the slight descent of the murderer from a normal human being to the point of no return... And on another note, it's refreshing to see policemen that actually have a very loving relationship with their family (such as Chief Inspector Reinhart), instead of the dark, gloomy, typical detectives.
March 24, 2013
"The whole business was an accident, and accidents don't have any culprits. No active participants at all, just factors and objects beyond control."
O inicio do livro não podia ser mais trágico, destacando a efemeridade e a imprevisibilidade da vida. Os nossos sonhos e os nossos desejos podem ser-nos retirados de um segundo para a outro, viver o momento presente é tudo o que temos.
"All lives come to an end, some too soon, others too late."
Um jovem de 16 anos despede-se da namorada ao fim da noite e depois de ter perdido o autocarro decide ir a pé para casa. Com pensamentos sobre o seu primeiro amor é acidentalmente morto por um condutor embriagado, que depois de limpar as provas do acontecido se convence que nada aconteceu. Pode um acidente ser considerado crime, se ninguém souber a não ser as pessoas envolvidas?
O assassino é um homem comum, mas a sua primeira morte mudou algo dentro dele e a hora do lobo tornou-se um tormento diário: antes do amanhecer a sua consciência pesada não o deixa dormir e vê-se mergulhado em suores frios.
Håkan Nesser é um mestre da ficção policial. A sua narrativa destaca-se pelo humor e ironia presentes e o escritor mantém-se distanciado, descrevendo o enredo de uma forma totalmente imparcial.
Em "Hour of the Holf", pela primeira vez desde o início da série, as coisas tornam-se pessoais para o ex Inspector Chefe e os seus antigos colegas. Van Veeteren vê-se envolvido na investigação, quando o seu filho é assassinado no que se acaba por tornar numa cadeia de trágicas consequências de um só acidente.
No final do quinto livro Van Veeteren reforma-se; no que lhe segue o seu melhor amigo Münster lidera a investigação principal e graças à sua ajuda é bem sucedido e neste sétimo livro é Reinhart que se destaca: foi promovido a Inspector Chefe, apesar de o verdadeiro e único Inspector Chefe ser sempre Van Veeteren - aliás, todos continuam a tratá-lo desta forma, inclusive o próprio Reinhart. Numa série de dez livros estou ansiosa por saber quem são os protagonistas dos últimos três. Håkan Nesser acolheu-nos junto da sua equipa de Homicídios e nenhum deles é secundário.
"When all's said and done, that's the big question that still needs to be answered: who?"
De volta ao trabalho depois da licença de paternidade, Reinhart conta com a colaboração da pensativa e competente Moreno, do sempre esfomeado Rooth e Jung. Quanto a Münster encontra-se de baixa, mas o seu regresso é uma promessa!
Uma história sobre chantagem, engano, morte e renascimento.
"Life is much over-rated. But it's better if you don't discover that too soon."
O inicio do livro não podia ser mais trágico, destacando a efemeridade e a imprevisibilidade da vida. Os nossos sonhos e os nossos desejos podem ser-nos retirados de um segundo para a outro, viver o momento presente é tudo o que temos.
"All lives come to an end, some too soon, others too late."
Um jovem de 16 anos despede-se da namorada ao fim da noite e depois de ter perdido o autocarro decide ir a pé para casa. Com pensamentos sobre o seu primeiro amor é acidentalmente morto por um condutor embriagado, que depois de limpar as provas do acontecido se convence que nada aconteceu. Pode um acidente ser considerado crime, se ninguém souber a não ser as pessoas envolvidas?
O assassino é um homem comum, mas a sua primeira morte mudou algo dentro dele e a hora do lobo tornou-se um tormento diário: antes do amanhecer a sua consciência pesada não o deixa dormir e vê-se mergulhado em suores frios.
Håkan Nesser é um mestre da ficção policial. A sua narrativa destaca-se pelo humor e ironia presentes e o escritor mantém-se distanciado, descrevendo o enredo de uma forma totalmente imparcial.
Em "Hour of the Holf", pela primeira vez desde o início da série, as coisas tornam-se pessoais para o ex Inspector Chefe e os seus antigos colegas. Van Veeteren vê-se envolvido na investigação, quando o seu filho é assassinado no que se acaba por tornar numa cadeia de trágicas consequências de um só acidente.
No final do quinto livro Van Veeteren reforma-se; no que lhe segue o seu melhor amigo Münster lidera a investigação principal e graças à sua ajuda é bem sucedido e neste sétimo livro é Reinhart que se destaca: foi promovido a Inspector Chefe, apesar de o verdadeiro e único Inspector Chefe ser sempre Van Veeteren - aliás, todos continuam a tratá-lo desta forma, inclusive o próprio Reinhart. Numa série de dez livros estou ansiosa por saber quem são os protagonistas dos últimos três. Håkan Nesser acolheu-nos junto da sua equipa de Homicídios e nenhum deles é secundário.
"When all's said and done, that's the big question that still needs to be answered: who?"
De volta ao trabalho depois da licença de paternidade, Reinhart conta com a colaboração da pensativa e competente Moreno, do sempre esfomeado Rooth e Jung. Quanto a Münster encontra-se de baixa, mas o seu regresso é uma promessa!
Uma história sobre chantagem, engano, morte e renascimento.
"Life is much over-rated. But it's better if you don't discover that too soon."
December 11, 2008
Titelverfehlung für ein gutes Buch
"Der unglückliche Mörder" war das erste - aber bestimmt nicht das letzte - Buch das ich von Hakan Nesser gelesen habe. Warum ich nicht mit dem ersten begonnen habe? Nun eine Arbeitskollegin hat mich darauf hingewiesen, dass sie es so gemacht habe und aufgrund der Qualität beschlossen hatte kein weiteres Buch mehr zu lesen. Wie der Zufall es so wollte hat er ihr danach dieses Buch in die Hände gespielt und nun gab sie mir den Tipp Nesser zu lesen, aber eben hier zu beginnen.
Der Titel passt zu dem Buch wie die Faust aufs Auge. Der Mörder ist nicht unglücklich, sondern sieht sich als Spielball des Schicksals. Dieses aber nimmt er mehr oder weniger emotionslos zur Kenntnis. Mit dem schwedischen Originaltitel "Carambole" hat sich Nesser schon etwas überlegt, immerhin ist es der Ausgangspunkt für die Story (eine Karambolage zwischen KFZ und Fussgänger mit tödlichem Ausgang). Weiters denkt der Mörder des öfteren den Gedanken einfach ein Spielball im Billard des Lebens zu sein. Auch hier wird die Karambolage explizit angesprochen.
Zum Inhalt: Der Roman beginnt mit dem Tod eines Jungen durch einen betrunkenen Autofahrer. Dieser begeht Fahrerflucht wird aber von jemandem erkannt, der beginnt ihn zu erpressen. Bei der Geldübergabe greift er zu einem Rohr und erschlägt den vermeintlichen Gegner. Doch weit gefehlt, der Erpresser hat bloß einen Mittelsmann geschickt, den Sohn des ehemaligen Hauptkomissars Van Veeteren.
Nesser schildert die Handlung - ständig wechselnd - aus den Augen der verschiedensten Personen. Dabei gelingt es ihm ausgezeichnet sich in die unterschiedlichsten Personen zu denken. Er beschreibt die Sicht des Täters, die Sicht des verzweifelten Vaters aber auch die Sicht der ihn eifrig verfolgenden Polizei.
Sprachlich ist das Werk sehr gut gelungen. Der äußerst blumigen, metaphernreichen Sprache mangelt es auch nicht an sprachlichem Witz. Sätze wie: "Er konnte hören, wie Krause ein Klavier verschob. Aber vielleicht seufzte er auch nur." lockern den teilweise sehr tristen Inhalt sprachlich auf und machen den Roman zu einem wahren Lesevergnügen.
"Der unglückliche Mörder" war das erste - aber bestimmt nicht das letzte - Buch das ich von Hakan Nesser gelesen habe. Warum ich nicht mit dem ersten begonnen habe? Nun eine Arbeitskollegin hat mich darauf hingewiesen, dass sie es so gemacht habe und aufgrund der Qualität beschlossen hatte kein weiteres Buch mehr zu lesen. Wie der Zufall es so wollte hat er ihr danach dieses Buch in die Hände gespielt und nun gab sie mir den Tipp Nesser zu lesen, aber eben hier zu beginnen.
Der Titel passt zu dem Buch wie die Faust aufs Auge. Der Mörder ist nicht unglücklich, sondern sieht sich als Spielball des Schicksals. Dieses aber nimmt er mehr oder weniger emotionslos zur Kenntnis. Mit dem schwedischen Originaltitel "Carambole" hat sich Nesser schon etwas überlegt, immerhin ist es der Ausgangspunkt für die Story (eine Karambolage zwischen KFZ und Fussgänger mit tödlichem Ausgang). Weiters denkt der Mörder des öfteren den Gedanken einfach ein Spielball im Billard des Lebens zu sein. Auch hier wird die Karambolage explizit angesprochen.
Zum Inhalt: Der Roman beginnt mit dem Tod eines Jungen durch einen betrunkenen Autofahrer. Dieser begeht Fahrerflucht wird aber von jemandem erkannt, der beginnt ihn zu erpressen. Bei der Geldübergabe greift er zu einem Rohr und erschlägt den vermeintlichen Gegner. Doch weit gefehlt, der Erpresser hat bloß einen Mittelsmann geschickt, den Sohn des ehemaligen Hauptkomissars Van Veeteren.
Nesser schildert die Handlung - ständig wechselnd - aus den Augen der verschiedensten Personen. Dabei gelingt es ihm ausgezeichnet sich in die unterschiedlichsten Personen zu denken. Er beschreibt die Sicht des Täters, die Sicht des verzweifelten Vaters aber auch die Sicht der ihn eifrig verfolgenden Polizei.
Sprachlich ist das Werk sehr gut gelungen. Der äußerst blumigen, metaphernreichen Sprache mangelt es auch nicht an sprachlichem Witz. Sätze wie: "Er konnte hören, wie Krause ein Klavier verschob. Aber vielleicht seufzte er auch nur." lockern den teilweise sehr tristen Inhalt sprachlich auf und machen den Roman zu einem wahren Lesevergnügen.
March 18, 2010
Das einzige was an diesem Buch wirklich scheußlich ist, ist die Wahl des Titels in der deutschen Übersetzung (Original "Carambole"), ansonsten ist es ein brilliantes Meisterwerk ohne Makel.
Ein Mensch begeht einen Unfall mit Fahrerflucht und wird anschließend erpresst. Darauf folgen mehrere Morde. Der pensionierte Inspektor Van Veteren ist betroffen, denn sein Sohn ist eines der Opfer und die Polizei bemüht sich aus diesem Grund besonders intensiv, den Mörder zu finden.
Das erste was dieses Buch auszeichnet, ist die Erzählweise aus unterschiedlichen Sichten: Der Mörder redet sich die Sache schön und behauptet, dass ihn nur die Umstände zum Verbrecher gemacht haben. Wie bei der Karambolage von Billardkugeln konnte er gar nichts machen - "die Ereignisse haben ihn in eine falsche Richtung gezwungen".
Die Überlegungen der ermittelnden Beamten kommen in fast allen Krimis vor. Was aber für mich aber völlig neuartig und genial thematisiert wird, ist die Sicht der betroffenen Angehörigen: Wut, Hass, Selbstvorwürfe, Schlafstörungen, sich in Trauer vergraben, die Frage nach dem Warum, Selbstjustiz ... -
Ein weiterer bemerkenswerter Punkt ist die bildhafte intelligente Sprache dieses Romans und auch die dahintersteckenden philosophischen Ideen z.B.: Gott hat seit Schubert nicht mehr zu den Menschen gesprochen oder im Himmel herrscht Chaos in der Hölle Struktur.
Dann auch noch diese dichte Atmosphäre, die durch die wunderschöne Sprache kreiert wird. Eine feuchte, eiskalte nordische Welt - mich hats beim Lesen permanent gefröstelt, obwohl ich im warmen Zimmer saß.
Ach ja und abschließend noch die Geschichte - bis zur allerletzten Seite spannend und nicht durchsichtig, da man ja nur die Gedanken des Mörders aber keine Identitäten kennt.
Diese vier Punkte kummuliert ergeben dann natürlich zwangsläufig ein Meisterwerk, das seinesgleichen sucht.
Ein Mensch begeht einen Unfall mit Fahrerflucht und wird anschließend erpresst. Darauf folgen mehrere Morde. Der pensionierte Inspektor Van Veteren ist betroffen, denn sein Sohn ist eines der Opfer und die Polizei bemüht sich aus diesem Grund besonders intensiv, den Mörder zu finden.
Das erste was dieses Buch auszeichnet, ist die Erzählweise aus unterschiedlichen Sichten: Der Mörder redet sich die Sache schön und behauptet, dass ihn nur die Umstände zum Verbrecher gemacht haben. Wie bei der Karambolage von Billardkugeln konnte er gar nichts machen - "die Ereignisse haben ihn in eine falsche Richtung gezwungen".
Die Überlegungen der ermittelnden Beamten kommen in fast allen Krimis vor. Was aber für mich aber völlig neuartig und genial thematisiert wird, ist die Sicht der betroffenen Angehörigen: Wut, Hass, Selbstvorwürfe, Schlafstörungen, sich in Trauer vergraben, die Frage nach dem Warum, Selbstjustiz ... -
Ein weiterer bemerkenswerter Punkt ist die bildhafte intelligente Sprache dieses Romans und auch die dahintersteckenden philosophischen Ideen z.B.: Gott hat seit Schubert nicht mehr zu den Menschen gesprochen oder im Himmel herrscht Chaos in der Hölle Struktur.
Dann auch noch diese dichte Atmosphäre, die durch die wunderschöne Sprache kreiert wird. Eine feuchte, eiskalte nordische Welt - mich hats beim Lesen permanent gefröstelt, obwohl ich im warmen Zimmer saß.
Ach ja und abschließend noch die Geschichte - bis zur allerletzten Seite spannend und nicht durchsichtig, da man ja nur die Gedanken des Mörders aber keine Identitäten kennt.
Diese vier Punkte kummuliert ergeben dann natürlich zwangsläufig ein Meisterwerk, das seinesgleichen sucht.
January 12, 2016
Hour of the Wolf: An Inspector Van Veeteren Mystery (Inspector Van Veeteren Mysteries)
By
Hakan Nesser translated by Laurie Thompson
What it's all about...
A hit and run occurs along a dark and rainy road...the driver does not stop...he has been drinking...he thinks no one has seen him. He...the driver...thinks he is in the clear but someone really does see him and the blackmail begins. But...wait until you see what happens after the blackmail...
Why I wanted to read it...
Normally Swedish books...and this is a Swedish book translated...are really unique and that's what this one was. It's a stand alone but this author has written about this character before...in other books. I really want to read these!
What made me truly enjoy this book...
What can I say to convey how much I loved this book? Beautiful writing, suspense...lots and lots of suspense, a killer who seems to get himself in deeper and deeper every time he sees that certain paper, that familiar writing and the threatening note from...a friend. This book was good. It was a disturbing yet cozy mystery with tons of likeable and unlikeable characters. This book is really truly brilliant.
Why you should read it, too...
Readers who love well written unpredictable mysteries...will really love this one.
By
Hakan Nesser translated by Laurie Thompson
What it's all about...
A hit and run occurs along a dark and rainy road...the driver does not stop...he has been drinking...he thinks no one has seen him. He...the driver...thinks he is in the clear but someone really does see him and the blackmail begins. But...wait until you see what happens after the blackmail...
Why I wanted to read it...
Normally Swedish books...and this is a Swedish book translated...are really unique and that's what this one was. It's a stand alone but this author has written about this character before...in other books. I really want to read these!
What made me truly enjoy this book...
What can I say to convey how much I loved this book? Beautiful writing, suspense...lots and lots of suspense, a killer who seems to get himself in deeper and deeper every time he sees that certain paper, that familiar writing and the threatening note from...a friend. This book was good. It was a disturbing yet cozy mystery with tons of likeable and unlikeable characters. This book is really truly brilliant.
Why you should read it, too...
Readers who love well written unpredictable mysteries...will really love this one.
June 13, 2023
Hakan Nesser'in beni hayal kırıklığına uğratan ilk iki romanından sonra ilaç gibi geldi. Bunda çevirmen Ali Gür'ün kitabın orijinal dilinden yaptığı temiz çevirisinin etkisi de var muhakkak. Ancak yazarın usta anlatımını da es geçmemeli. Hakan Nesser çok iyi bir anlatıcı. Hikayeyi hiç acele etmeden ancak sıkıcılığa da boğmadan anlatıyor. Kurgu da çok iyi. İstemeden birisinin ölümüne neden olan bir adam suçunu itiraf etmeyince başka suçlar işlemeye başlıyor. Ve cinayet masası dedektifleri de katili bulmaya çalışıyor. Yalnız Van Veteeren burada biraz yan karakter gibi. Elbette olayın çözülmesinde büyük katkıları oluyor ama yazar daha çok diğer dedektifleri anlatmayı seçmiş. Güzel bir polis soruşturması romanı.
July 28, 2017
This is the best book in the series, but only if you've been following the Van Veeteren team, cos only then can you identify with the emotional angst the team went through in this book. Very satisfying read that left me wishing for more of Hakan Nesser's books.
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