New Novel by Mari Jungstedt

Posted on 17 May 2013



We are on the Swedish island Gotland where a two-year-old disappears without a trace from a beauty salon. When another child disappears people become even more terrified. Anders Knutas and the other policemen are back in this eleventh novel in the series. During the course of the series a lot of things have happened to Detective Superintendent Knutas and he is carrying a lot of baggage. Since he is out on sick leave and only working part-time it is Karin Jacobsson who leads the investigation. Anders is divorced and his personal relationship with Karin develops outside the investigation.

My Wish

I really like Jungstedt’s way of writing and she is skilled at creating exciting plot lines. This novel was good but I am getting a little tired of the characters. I would love it if there was a new novel by Jungstedt with a new set of characters but I do not mind if it takes place on Gotland again. But since this novel ended with a cliffhanger it does not seem likely (at least not anytime soon.)

Linda Linda

Newseum

Posted on 13 May 2013

I had wanted to visit the Newseum for a long time, and on our trip to Washington D.C. in April we finally went. We spent several hours there and that was still not enough time to see all the exhibits. Some of the highlights included the Pulitzer Prize Photographs Gallery, First Dogs: American Presidents and Their Pets, 9/11 Gallery, Berlin Wall Gallery, and (of course) the FBI Exhibit.

The FBI Exhibit

The FBI Exhibit: G-Men and Journalists has more than 200 artifacts — including the Unabomber’s cabin, Patty Hearst’s coat and gun, and engine parts and landing gear from the planes that crashed into the World Trade Center — nearly 300 photographs, dozens of historic newspapers and interactive displays.

There are so many great museums in Washington, D.C. and Newseum is definitely one of them! If you are in the area and have a few hours (or more) to spare I really recommend a visit.

Linda Linda

Stars of David by Kristina Ohlsson

Posted on 07 May 2013

Storyline

A preschool teacher is shot and killed outside the Jewish Solomon School in Stockholm, Sweden. A few hours later, two ten-year-old Jewish boys disappear on their way to tennis practice. Are these crimes connected? And who is the Paper Boy who keeps appearing in the investigation? A myth or a real person? The investigation leads the investigators to Israel.

Efraim Kiel is in Stockholm at this time. He has come from Jerusalem to help with the recruitment of a new head of security at the Solomon Parish, but he stays in Sweden after they have filled the position. He and Eden Lundell, the head of the Swedish Security Police, have a past together. So she decides to investigate on her own what he is really doing there.

Best Novel So Far

Stars of David is the fifth novel in the series about Fredrika Bergman and Alex Recht and it is the best one so far! The suspense is kept high from beginning to end. Kristina Ohlsson is also showing the reader fragments of events that will occur in the future which raises the level of suspense even further.

Kristina Ohlsson has worked at the Swedish Security Service, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, the Swedish National Defense College, and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe. You can tell that she uses her experience and knowledge in her writing. Keep it up!

I cannot help but wonder why the title of the book is not The Paper Boy…

 

Original title in Swedish: Davidsstjärnor

Linda Linda
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Error Message 404 by Erik Midander

Posted on 29 April 2013

Error Message 404 is a thriller for young adults, and it is openly targeting a younger audience. It is crucial to catch their interest from the get-go and keep it throughout the novel.

The novel includes quite a few clichés, but for many in the target group it will be the first time they encounter them so it is acceptable.

To fully appreciate the novel you should have some interest in technology and at least basic knowledge of computers/programming.

Storyline

Linn’s dad disappears. Linn starts the search by hacking his computer and she comes in contact with a mysterious young woman who soon turn out to be an artificial intelligence…

Summary

If you know a 10-11 year-old that likes technology and computers but hate to read? Then Error Message 404 would be the perfect present!

 

Translator’s note: This novel is not available in English yet. Original Swedish title: Felkod 404.

Joachim Joachim
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Interview with Erik Midander

Posted on 27 April 2013

Today we welcome Erik Midander to TheCrimeHouse! His debut novel Error Message 404 was recently published. Can you please tell us a little about yourself?

Two things have interested me since I was a child: computers and reading. My interest in computers has shaped who I am, which I partly think is because computers were not as common when I grew up as they are today. Having an interest in computers was more unusual then and I think that is why I see myself as a computer person. The fact that I work as a programmer definitely reinforces that image.

Reading has also always been important. I often read to relax, but I also have an active interest in literature, which resulted in my literature studies. Reading is of course also important for my writing – I find it hard to believe that I would be able to write if I did not like to read.

Why did you decide to write a high-tech/YA thriller?

I work as a programmer so it was a natural choice to write a story where computers play a big role. There is also a cliché that says that you should write about things you know about, which I definitely did. At least to some extent, the novel has some science fiction elements that neither I nor anyone else I know has experienced…

Why it turned out to be a novel for young adults is more difficult to explain. One reason is probably that it is so much fun to write for a younger audience, which in turn can be because I read novels targeted to both young adults and adults.

The story line is very high-tech. For example, there is a character who is a movie loving AI (Artificial Intelligence), how much research did you do?

Artificial Intelligence fascinates me, but I am not familiar with the research. When it comes to that I have taken a step away from reality with the hypothesis that real artificial intelligence in many aspects probably resembles human intelligence. When it comes to research in general I have different methods: I use the Internet, of course, but I also visit the library and I prefer not to write about a place that I have not checked out thoroughly in real life.

What readers do you target?

The target group is young adults, but other than that there is no specific target group. A lot of the content is related to computers and Internet, but you do not have to be interested in computers to read it. With that said, everyone has a relationship with computers today, especially young adults! But I think and hope that a reader who has extensive knowledge of computers will discover things that not everyone will and thus get a different experience from the reading.

Are you currently working on another writing project?

I am working on another novel for young adults, but I do not want to give too much away yet! I can tell you that it is not a sequel, but a standalone story, and the greatest similarity to my debut novel is that they are both thrillers set in Stockholm, Sweden. I do not know when it will be finished, but once I have started a project I will usually find time to work on it.

Joachim Joachim
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New Novel by Anna Jansson

Posted on 25 April 2013

The boy Leo is tired of being bullied and he wants to scare one of the tormentors and her family. He sets their neighbor’s house on fire by mistake. Not long thereafter there are several arsons in the same neighborhood. The bullies’ mom dies in the second fire. Did Leo do it? It becomes Maria Wern’s assignment to find the truth.

Series or Standalone?

This is the fourteenth novel by Anna Jansson about the Swedish policewoman Maria Wern. The quality of the novels has been mixed, but I have still read them all. This one was definitely better than the last one. I am torn when it comes to crime fiction series. A part of me loves the recognition factor but another part of me appreciates the novelty that standalone novels provide. What do you prefer?

 

Linda Linda
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Hannibal

Posted on 16 April 2013

Did I get nightmares after watching The Silence of the Lambs? Did I suspiciously think everyone around me was a potential serial killer when I read Red Dragon on a five-hour bus ride? Yes and yes. Even though I probably will have more nightmares I had to check out the new TV drama Hannibal. The series is based on the characters from Thomas Harris’ classic novels and it is set prior to Lecter’s incarceration.

A given character is Dr. Hannibal Lecter, a renowned psychiatrist, and at this point in time it is only the TV viewers that know his dark secrets. In the first episode he is team up with Will Graham to catch a serial killer. Graham is a criminal profiler/FBI instructor who is haunted by his ability to empathize with psychopaths.

Bon Appetit

Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen portrays Lecter in a subtle, very creepy way, seemingly without much effort. In the first episode we find out how Lecter prepares all his meals with the utmost diligence and when he serves a sausage scramble to Graham you cringe at the thought of what kind of meat may be in that dish.

He Knows How They Think

My personal favorite is Will Graham. His traits are familiar to any crime fiction fan; a crime solving “genius” with a severe lack of social skills, and unique gifts that can be seen as a blessing or a curse, all while struggling with inner demons. Sounds familiar, right? Graham’s vivid imagination torments him and it makes you wonder what he is capable of. Only time will tell.

Linda Linda
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Hitchcock

Posted on 14 April 2013

I have to admit I was a bit skeptic about this movie. The genre (semi-biography) is not one of my favorites. But I happened to be on an airplane where this movie was playing, so I decided to give it ten minutes. It only took five… The movie was awesome! The actors, especially Hopkins and Mirren, are world class and the story is captivating. Highest score!

Storyline

We get to follow Alfer Hitchcock and his wife Alma Reville during the filming of Psycho.

 

Joachim Joachim
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Evil in All Its Disguises by Hilary Davidson

Posted on 09 April 2013

Fun in the Sun

In this novel we get to join travel writer Lily Moore as she travels to Acapulco, Mexico. She is expecting an all-expenses-paid press trip, but the fun in the sun quickly ends when a fellow journalist suddenly disappears. Hotel management refuses to contact the police and when Lily tries to leave the hotel they will not let her. What is really going on? And why are there not any other guests at the hotel?

Luxurious and Creepy Setting

I love how Davidson uses an exotic setting, where dark secrets lurk under the perfect surface in this (almost) locked room mystery. It adds to the suspension that Lily is travelling by herself, and that she does not know who of her fellow journalists she can trust. Evil in All Its Disguises is the third novel by Anthony Award winner Hilary Davidson. I have not read any of her previous novels, but now I will definitely join Lily Moore as she travels to other destinations.

Linda Linda
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Elegy for Eddie

Posted on 04 April 2013

During Easter, I´ve  read the 9th book in the Jacqueline Winspears series about Maisie Dobbs.

 

Maisie Dobbs

… is a woman in the upper 30s living in London in the early 1930′s. By  intelligence and luck she has made ​​a class trip from the poor girl from one of London’s poorer neighborhoods to a wealthy psychologist with her own private detective agency. The series is set during the inter-war period and Winspear manages to create suspense in the growing threat from the facism in Europe. Another theme in the series is Maises difficulties to fit in with the upper class without losing the roots from her less priveleged childhood. Maisie has a lot of similarities to the character Miss Fischer in the Australien TV-series.

Eddie

In this book, some of London’s Costermongers comes to Maisie for help. They knewMaisie when she was a poor little girl in south London and wants Maisie to help them find out what happened to one of their peers. Eddie was a retarded man with a special gift. He could talk to horses. It was him everybody called when a horse became ill or hard to handle. When Eddie dies in an accident at a paper mill his comrades suspects that it was not an accident. The clues lead to a powerful paper magnet but also Maisies best friend’s husband… In the quest for truth one of her employees is exposed to great danger.

 

Impressions

It took a while to really get caught up in the story, but once I did. I didn´t want to stop reading. Maisie is a fantastic character and the portrait of Eddie is beautifully written.

Sara Sara
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