Nordic Noir discussion

Asa Larsson of the Rebecka Martinsson series

#1 - Sun Storm
#2 - The Blood Spilt
#3 - The Black Path
#4 - Until Thy Wrath Be Past

Looks like you figured it out!

New book out by Larsson and it is part of the Martinsson series called Until Thy Wrath Be Past.

I can't believe how much I am enjoying this book. She is Karin Fossum~ lite..Def. a series I am going to work my way through.

I happened to run to The Blood Spilt before the other books of the series, and I'm struggling to keep the interest.
Again, a murder in a church in Kiruna, and after the murder part, there's a dysfunctional, depressed Rebecka who is definitely not introduced in a proper way for anyone not familiar to the series (such as me): "After she'd killed those men in Kiruna she'd carried on with her job at the law firm of Meijer & Ditzinger as usual. Things had gone well, she thought. In fact they'd gone completely to hell. She hadn't thought about the blood and the bodies. When shed looked back now to the time before she was signed off on sick leave, she couldn't actually remember thinking at all." then on to describe her failed decisions at some other case at work... so wait, what? Fast forward a few chapters and I'm still struggling with the back story. An attorney, not a detective or a police officer, who killed three men is out in the free? How is that relevant to reveal if what happened and why she just happened to kill those people isn't revealed? I thought I'd missed some details while reading sick but I went back and back again, and nope, the whys are not revealed.

So would someone happen to remember or quickly reveal what and who are those three men she happened to kill and why? I suspect it is referring to the first book in the series.

I have this one in my pile to be read if I could get out of my reading slump...I don't remember. I don't remember her killing anyone at the end of Sun Storm.

Great..so the storyline is the same. I wasn't that impressed with the first one!!

I liked Sun Storm but I found it the weakest of the series. I read it several years ago and didn't go on to the next until September last year-and I'm so glad I did.

I've found the rest of the series to be much stronger.

I did get past the initial annoyance of how she was introduced and her PTSD about 50 pages later. So I did add a quick note for what did happen in the first book for my GR review since when I was looking for one for an explanation there was none. So if you can, read in order :) or see a quick explanation to explain stuff.

I agree with Ellie..this one is much stronger. Where is the quick explanation, Anna? I swear I don't remember her killing 3 guys??

Here: in the end of the first book she apparently had to kill 3 people for self-defense (similar murder to the one in the second book by the way, a priest in Northern Sweden). Apparently the legal side of the killings was easy (I wonder - can it really be that easy in the real life if something like that happens, even if for self-defense?), as there didn't seem to be any big legal issues for the aftermath. But she got PTSD as the whole murders, killings, and everything else that happened took a huge toll on her. So she gets some sick leave and that's where she is when this book starts. Depressed, barely functional, on sick leave, still somewhat an attorney, and who did kill three. (I didn't find the method on the second book so please illuminate someone if it makes a difference).

I suspect in the third book she will also be depressed, even more so, as also in the end of this second one there was something that got... well, quite on a personal level with her.

I think you might have read this from me Anna. My memory of the book isn't that good but it seems to me she was under stress when she killed the priest. He was going to kill her. Not sure anymore about the two other people. My books in Austria being read by my daughter.

Asa Larsson 
2003 - Solstorm; English translation: Sun Storm (USA), The Savage Altar (UK), 2006
2004 - Det blod som spillts; English translation: The Blood Spilt, 2007
2006 - Svart stig; English translation: The Black Path, 2008
2008 - Till dess din vrede upphör; English translation: Until Thy Wrath be Past, 2011
2009 - Guds starka arm
2011 - Till offer åt Molok

I just finished reading the first three books in the series. She kills two of the pastors from the church and another church member in the first book when they come to kill her. The Blood Spilt was definitely not the strongest book. I enjoyed the first and the third much more. I'm now on the library wait list for Until Thy Wrath Be Past. :)

Joy wrote: "I just finished reading the first three books in the series. She kills two of the pastors from the church and another church member in the first book when they come to kill her. The Blood Spilt was..."

Yeah, I agree, Joy..it wasn't. I want to monitor Until The Wrath Be Past...I though she went WAY too emotional in this last one..plus it was kind of bland.

I just finished Until Thy Wrath Be Past. I thought it was the strongest book of the 4 I have read. I thought she skilfully blended past and present in it.

I have Sun storm sitting on my kindle, will get to it eventually :)

Joy wrote: "I just finished Until Thy Wrath Be Past. I thought it was the strongest book of the 4 I have read. I thought she skilfully blended past and present in it."

I just finished Until Thy Wrath Be Past. I thought the use of the ghost to tell about history that the real person could not have witnessed was a bit of a gimmick but I enjoyed the book. I enjoy Asa Larsson.

I recently read Sun Storm and enjoyed it. My expectations were lowered by some of the less than stellar reviews. I did feel that the ending left things a bit hanging so I'm really interested to read the next one and see how things turn out. I will definitely stick with this series for a while.

Melissa wrote: "I recently read Sun Storm and enjoyed it. My expectations were lowered by some of the less than stellar reviews. I did feel that the ending left things a bit hanging so I'm really i..."

Hi Melissa the series does not dissappoint; the writing gets better with each book. I have one to read and keep saving it as she is going to stop writing about Rebecka after just 6 books I think

I hope she changes her mind!