Crime, Mysteries & Thrillers discussion

This is the discussion thread for Detective Inspector Huss. Your moderator is Suzy

HNR

Jumping in as soon as i finish The Silkworm & The Mystery of the Yellow Room :-)

Hi Everyone - looking forward to your thoughts on D.I. Huss #1. I will pose some questions in the next couple of days to spark our discussion.

Icewineanne wrote: "Jumping in as soon as i finish The Silkworm & The Mystery of the Yellow Room :-)"

I decided not to read MotYR (too many books!), but will be interested what you think. It looked like it could be a fun and different read. Glad you'll be joining in on D.I. Huss, I.W. Anne :)

Suzy wrote: "Icewineanne wrote: "Jumping in as soon as i finish The Silkworm & The Mystery of the Yellow Room :-)"

I decided not to read MotYR (too many books!), but will be interested what you think. It looke..."

Yes, i can't wait but like you said, there's just too many books to read in too short a period of time! But i will do my best to get through everything :-)

I've been wanting to read this book for so long I'm so glad it was voted for this discussion. I plan to join in but it will be a little slow as I have to read another book for a discussion and wlll be reading two at a time. Fortunately, they are different genres so I won't be getting them mixed up:) Thank you Suzy!

Denise wrote: "I've been wanting to read this book for so long I'm so glad it was voted for this discussion. I plan to join in but it will be a little slow as I have to read another book for a discussion and wlll..."

Glad you'll be joining, Denise! I'm glad we have an entire month to discuss, so no worries. I always have 2 books going, one mystery and one "other" for the same reason - so I don't get them confused :)

Holy teensy print Batman! This is a 700 page book squeezed into 372 pages. I just looked at my copy and I admit I have eyesight problems but its really small print. I bet its really good print tho:) Hopefully, it will be on sale by Wednesday for a 99 cent ebook:)

Denise wrote: "Holy teensy print Batman! This is a 700 page book squeezed into 372 pages. I just looked at my copy and I admit I have eyesight problems but its really small print. I bet its really good print tho:..."

If you find it for $0.99, let me know. It's on Amazon, but, they want $7.99.

I read this a while back and I had forgotten that the print copy (which I got from my library) is very tiny print with narrow margins. Denise, you made me laugh with the idea that it's really 700 pages squeezed into just under 400. True, but hopefully worth it.

Ron wrote: "Denise wrote: "Holy teensy print Batman! This is a 700 page book squeezed into 372 pages. I just looked at my copy and I admit I have eyesight problems but its really small print. I bet its really ..."

But, I did just find out that my local library has a copy! Hope the printing isn't a fine as what Denise and Suzy are talking about...

Ron wrote: "Ron wrote: "Denise wrote: "Holy teensy print Batman! This is a 700 page book squeezed into 372 pages. I just looked at my copy and I admit I have eyesight problems but its really small print. I bet..."

I plan to check that out as well. I've been told by reliable sources this is a book I'll really like so either way I'm reading it.

I dug out my copy that i've had for ages. It was brand new but now I've had it for so long that it's starting to yellow LOL

Denise, you are so right - the print is really compact. This is going to take me a lot longer to get through as my eyes will begin to tire, itch, burn...........after just an hour of reading,.,,,....aaahhhhhh!

Confession: I read the first 5 pages to see how "bad" it would be. There is something about the font they used that made it a little easier on the eyes than that thicker font often used in mass market paperbacks. So, for me it isn't so bad. The Compactness was off-putting at first but give it a try and it might not be as bad as you think!

I hope it is easier for you than you think!

I was interested in the Swedish title so I went to one of the free translators online and got The Crushed ....Tanghasten. Tanghasten wasn't translated. The title seems to have been cleaned up for English speakers lol.

Do we have a Swedish speaker to help here?

I agree about the typeface being pretty easy to read even if dense. It's a well-designed font and not too dark, although I kept confusing a ? for an !.

Denise wrote: "I was interested in the Swedish title so I went to one of the free translators online and got The Crushed ....Tanghasten. Tanghasten wasn't translated. The title seems to have been cleaned up for E..."

Denise, I used google translate which said this meant "The crushed tang horse". This will make sense once you read the book! (perhaps a little teaser :))

Hi all - here are a few questions to stimulate discussion once you are into the book. Also, when posting your thoughts, I think we should use the spoiler designation when they include spoilers.

Questions:
This book was published before the big Scandi crime novel explosion, seemingly triggered by The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo in 2005. How do you think Tursten's writing compares with previous and later generations of Swedish crime authors?

Tursten was a nurse and then a dentist before being forced into retirement due to health problems. Do you see any of her medical background come through in her writing?

What do you like best about this D. I. Huss novel?
What do you like least?
Will you read more D.I. Huss books? (8 of the 10 books in the series have been translated to English)

I got a good start and I'm loving it!

I think this won't spoil anything by saying with regards to Tursten being a former dentist, I can't recall ever reading such a detailed description of a dentist office in fiction.

This book has an excellent flow to it as a police procedural. Tursten is a very talented writer as there are surprises to the case that could have been very jarring to the story but she seems to ease each situation into the total picture. I don't know if that made sense but I don't know another way to say it:)

Its rather nice to read a Scandinavian novel where the main character, Irene Huss, isn't deepy troubled or disturbed at least so far in the first 100 pages. The Scandi novels I've read which were written both before and after this one had a much edgier tone and deeply disturbed characters and a lot more social commentary. It is too soon to say Tursten has no social commentary about the state of Sweden but thus far it isn't a main feature of the story.

The characters are interesting and I'm looking forward to getting to know them as the story moves on.

Denise wrote: "I got a good start and I'm loving it!

I think this won't spoil anything by saying with regards to Tursten being a former dentist, I can't recall ever reading such a detailed description of a dent..."

It's been a few weeks since I read this and I had forgotten that one of the people questioned was a dentist. You are right - very detailed descriptions. Also, Denise, I'm not sure I would consider what you put behind the spoiler flag as a spoiler. I had in mind spoilers that would spell out the whodunit, the role of characters in the crime or upcoming action that's important to learn as it happens. So if you want to share your comments to the group, I think they would be good food for thought/conversation.

I'm glad you're enjoying it!

Suzy wrote: "Denise wrote: "I got a good start and I'm loving it!

I think this won't spoil anything by saying with regards to Tursten being a former dentist, I can't recall ever reading such a detailed descri..."

OK - understood.

Yes, I'm so glad this discussion group finally got me to read it because day 2 I'm still loving it.:)

to Chapter 10
(view spoiler)[ Everyone who knew Richard von Knecht seems like a suspect to me. His wife, his son, his daughter-in-law and the whole Old Boys network. Tursten is building up the suspect list and describes the police procedures in what I think is an interesting way. Not sure about bringing in some old hoodlum who owns a store, and lives, across from the bombed building - that seems a bit artificial. But too soon to tell.

Curious about von Knechts's "illegitimate" son and his mother - alibis too iron clad? I'm suspicious of everyone. I wouldn't write them off yet. It's a very sad situation with his son, certainly, and I'd be disappointed if that is the last we hear about them. (hide spoiler)]

I just finished it and was a bit underwhelmed after all of the great reviews I saw.

I thought that the plot was very interesting, and there were nice twists.

But most of the suspects were just very unlikeable, even without being suspects.

The police were interesting, nicely different from each other, and easy to remember. Actually, most of the characters were easy to remember for the most part. I think this indicates it was well written.

However, she threw way too much into this - Hells Angels, white supremists, HIV, Swedes vs Finns, and the book was way too long. I would have appreciated an edit of several hundred pages and more focus on the murder inquiry.

I love maps, and could have used one covering the area between the home and the business address to have a feel for the distance. Or a floorplan of that house? I really could not follow the rooms and the levels.

I did find the writing not nearly as dark as some other Scandi writers, but I concentrate on police procedures or PI novels for the most part, such as Karin Fossum. The Girl With The series was way too dark for me. I enjoyed the snapshot of Irene's family life. I did not enjoy the descriptions of the cold weather and bundling up to go out.

Give me a sunny beach!

Karen wrote: "I just finished it and was a bit underwhelmed after all of the great reviews I saw.

I thought that the plot was very interesting, and there were nice twists.

But most of the suspects were just ve..."

Ahhhh..........living in Paradise.....lucky you!