The doctor Mirjam returns to her hometown on the island Gotland with her best friend Hervor, after she has spent several years in Stockholm and in northern Sweden. Hervor encourages Mirjam to use the power of thought to get revenge on three men who have hurt her. When all the men die within a few weeks of each other Mirjam wonders if it really is a coincidence.

“Svinhugg” is Marianne Cederwall’s first novel. You can hardly call it a criminal novel; it is rather a novel about a woman who wants justice. The title of the novel is perfect, since it comes from an expression meaning “an evil that strikes back on the person who acted.”

It took me a while to get into the novel and it was not my style. However, it is still ok as long as you do not expect a classic crime novel.

In the first novel “In the Calmest Waters” a dead man has floated ashore in the middle of the busy tourist season and the police is about to dismiss the case as an accident, but when the man’s relative is found murdered shortly thereafter it is evident that they are dealing with a murderer.

In the second novel “In the Inner Circle” the vice president of the Royal Swedish Sailing Society is murdered right as the sailing race Gotland Runt begins. When another of the society’s members is killed panic spreads. Will the police catch the killer before another member is killed?

The sad part about starting in the wrong end is that I knew how some of the personal relations would develop and the author’s language and the intrigues have developed with each novel, so it felt like taking a step back in terms of quality. But it is not Viveca Sten’s fault that I read them in the wrong order and the novels do get better and better.

Original titles in Swedish: “I de lugnaste vatten” and “I den innersta kretsen”

On the Paperback Fiction List (both Trade and Mass-Market) Stieg Larsson’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is number 1 and The Girl Who Played with Fire is number 2.

]]> http://www.thecrimehouse.com/new-york-times-best-sellers/feed/ 0 http://www.thecrimehouse.com/sjalakistan-by-ann-rosman-2/ http://www.thecrimehouse.com/sjalakistan-by-ann-rosman-2/#comments Sat, 21 Aug 2010 01:02:50 +0000 linda http://www.thecrimehouse.com/?p=1002

Mi reviewed “Själakistan” in July and I agree with her – what a fantastic novel!

Kalmar Castle is mentioned in the novel, which I really enjoy, since I, like the main character Karin Adler, love to imagine what the past was like and wonder what people have  touched the same things as you but a long long time ago. If you have been on a guided tour of Kalmar Castle you will also recognize some facts that are revealed in the book.

”Själakistan” has like Ann Rosman’s first novel ”Fyrmästarens dotter” links to the past and the author ties the treads together in a very clever way. I sincerely recommend both novels.

Rumor has it that two Swedes may find their way into the movie. Stellan Skarsgård is mentioned as a possibility for the role of Martin Vanger and Max von Sydow may play his uncle Henrik Vanger. Rumors also has it that the director David Fincher wants all actors to speak English with a Swedish accent, and using Swedish actors may facilitate that task.

Filming starts in Sweden in September, and the movie will be released December 21, 2011.

Source: http://www.dn.se/kultur-noje/nyheter/max-von-sydow-patankt-for-millennium-1.1154876

A woman is murdered in a park behind the police headquarters at Kungsholmen in Stockholm, Sweden. As always, Hake becomes responsible for the investigation and this time he not only battles with his boss but also a policewoman from another district. The investigation becomes even more difficult when it turns out that a female judge from the Superior Court is involved.

 “Kungsholmsmorden” (Swedish title, I do not know if/when the novel will be translated to English) by Lars Bill Lundholm is his third criminal novel set in Stockholm. In every novel the turn comes to a new part of the city. If you like Lundholm’s two first novels it is worth reading this one, but do not expect any surprises.

We get to follow two Swedish girls from the island of Gotland in the criminal novel The Dangerous Game.

Jenny was discovered by a modeling agency about a year ago and she is now one of the most successful women in the business. Agnes worked for the same agency but lost her contract due to an eating disorder and is currently admitted at a clinic for people with anorexia. It is not a surprise that their lives will cross at some point in the novel, but the question is how.

The fashion photographer Markus gets brutally attacked when he and Jenny are on Gotland for a photo shoot. He ends up in a coma and cannot tell the police about the attacker. When another person in the fashion world gets attacked the police are pressured to find the guilty one quickly before he or she strikes again.

The Dangerous Game is Mari Jungstedt’s eighth novel in her series about Anders Knutas and the police on Gotland. I have read all Mari Jungstedt’s novels and keep reading them since they offer pleasant and relaxing reading. But they are not memorable, and I cannot recall the story in any of her earlier novels. But the novel is definitely perfect reading for the beach this summer.

Original title in Swedish: Den farliga leken

A happy family in North Carolina falls apart after 12-year-old Alyssa Merrimon is abducted. The father abandons the family. The mother turns to drugs and alcohol, and an abusive former boyfriend. Despite everything, Alyssa’s twin-brother Johnny never gives up hope and continues to search for her. So does Detective Hunt, who also keeps a watchful eye on the family.

A year later Johnny becomes witness to a murder, and Johnny is convinced the murdered man knew something about Alyssa’s disappearance. The same day a second girl, a classmate of Johnny, disappears. Are they dealing with a serial kidnapper?

The Last Child by John Hart won the Edgar Award for Best Novel earlier this year, and if any of the other nominees are even close to being as exciting as this novel then I may have to read those as well.

The novel brings new twists every few chapters, and it kept me on the edge of my seat until the very end. One horrifying situation after the other takes place, and I barely dared to take my dog out for her evening walk when I was reading this book. That aside, the novel was awesome and The Last Child is definitely a must read!

In addition to the murder investigation we get to follow a family in Sandhamn in the early 1900s, and the chapters shift between the present and the past. Personal relationships play a big role in both stories and it was not surprising that they would be tied together in the end, but even so I could not figure out how the stories were related.

Basically, without Guilt is the third novel by Viveca Sten in the series set in Sandhamn, Sweden. Somehow I have missed the first two, but now I will definitely keep my eyes open for future novels. I have mentioned before that it is common for crime writers to tie the present to historic events and I think the author does it successfully in this novel.

Original title in Swedish: I grunden utan skuld

 A teacher is killed by a hit-and-run driver in the Belgian town Villette. Several witnesses claim that the car purposely hit her, so investigating judge Martine Poirot gets involved. The case turns out to have a historic connection and Martine suspects that the teacher was about to reveal an old secret that would have had a negative impact on several politicians in the town.

Martine’s husband, Thomas, works as a historian and he gets involved in an investigation of a medieval mass grave that is found in Villette. The novel also has ties to events in the country’s colonial past. In addition, we get to follow events in Rwanda during the Civil War, where Belgian soldiers were killed.

The Teacher in Villette is Ingrid Hedström’s first novel. She is a Swedish journalist based in Belgium, which explains her extensive knowledge about the country.

For present events to have a historic connection is a twist used frequently by crime writers, but few succeeds in doing it in such a brilliant way. I was hesitant when I started reading, but halfway through I could not put the book down.  A weak beginning, but a much stronger ending. Hang in there; it is well worth it!

Original title in Swedish: Lärarinnan i Villette