Murder in the 11th House

… Is an astrological detective story written by an American author named Michelle Scott Lewis. The author is himself an astrologer and is said to have predicted a series of economic events as the crash of the 2008th. The book is not translated into Swedish, but is available on the major international sites such as Amazon.com. This is Scott Lewis’s debut crime novel, and was released this year.

Story

David Lowell is a private investigator who uses astrology to in his detective work. Through a person’s social security number, he can pressent a series of characteristics that the person possesses. That way he can figure out how a person should act / have acted in different situations. I’m not much for astrology as science but the book was still a nice mix between astrology and reasoning reminiscent of Sherlock Holmes. In this book. Davids daughter ask him to him to help to clear a client. The client is a dual nature with a bad temper, and David does not know how he should interpret her, but when both the client, David and his daughter is threatened, he realizes that it’s probably more to the case than a fiery temper.

Style

The book is exciting, but not hard-boiled. Cozy but not wimpy, and has a set of great characters. The main character David belongs to the category of super detectives who both have brains but doesn´t hesitate to use force if necessary. It is certainly an enjoyable read and interesting enough to withstand a stretch reading.

A couple of years ago I read Jed Rubenfelds historical crime novel from 2006 ”The Interpretation of  Murder” a historical crime novel set in New York in the 1920s.

Acts of terrorism and radium

In this book we have moved forward a decade to 1920. Just as in the previous book the author adds true events and real characters to create a possible scenario we can believe in. In the center stands a terrorist act that killed many people in the heart of New York’s business district. Who performed the deed is to this day a mystery. Here’s another true story that Rubenfeld weaves into the action – The radium girls:

“Radium was formerly Distressed in self-luminous paints for watches, nuclear panels, aircraft switches, clocks, and instrument dials. In the mid-1920s, a lawsuit was filed by five dying” Radium Girl “dial painters WHO HAD painted radium-based luminous paint on the dials of watches and clocks. The dial painters’ exposure to radium caused serious health effects Which included Sores, anemia, and bone cancer. “(from Wikipedia)

The story begins and ends in New York with a few detours to Europe, as well as flashbacks from the first World War.

Main Characters

The story alternates between two characters. Dr. Younger, who have returned from Europe after World War 1, and Police Commissioner Littlemore who clearly have “inherited” his analytical abilities from Sherlock Holmes. We are also introduced to Colette Rousseau a French woman, who studied and worked for the famous, Marie Curie who develops a rather pretty love story with Younger. Colette also has a younger brother who is mute after the horrors of war.

Title

The Death instinct refers to one of Freud’s theories that man has a death wish that may manifest itself in destructive behavior against him/herself or others. (Very rough and simplified described.) For those who are interested in psychology the conversations between Freud and Younger are of course, very interesting.

Fascinating but still a bit messy

… is a good way to summarize the book. Rubenfeld has done well with putting real events into fiction. It is at times very exciting and interesting and I like that he brings life in to  people like Freud and Marie Curie, but it is a bit jumpy and messy at times. I think that Rubenfeld simply wanted a little too much and have too many threads running simultaneously. Even so, I will not be able to resist the next book by Rubenfeld!

What comes next?

Will the next book played out 10 years later again? in the early 1930s? President Roosevelt was President, the peniciline was invented and the Empire State Building was built. what could Rubenfeld do with those events?

A while ago I received a review copy by an unknown author (for me) named Bernadette Pajer. A spark of Death is the first book in a series about Professor Bradshaw who lives in Seattle in the beginning of the 20th century.

Story

One day Professor Bradshaw finds his colleague and Nemesis Professor Oglethorpe dead in a Tesla Oscillator Machine that is used for experiments with electricity. It is soon clear that the death was not an accident but a murder. Professor Bradshaw is soon targeted as the most likely suspect and he has to fight for his honour and freedom.

Characters

Bradshaw is a widower who lives together with his son and house-keeper in a pretty little house in Seattle. We also get acquainted with a young women who may? be Bradshaws love-interest in the future and learn how and why Bradshaws wife died.

Historical Crime Novels

I’ve lately read several historical crime novels and this is by comparison a pretty good example except that it was too much technique in it for my taste. I´m not sure I understood all of that, perhaps it would have been easier for me if it were in Swedish?. However Pajer does a great job with the characters and the surroundings.

Murdoch Mysteries

While reading the book i thought of the TV-series Murdoch Mysteries. It also takes place in the beginning of the 20th century (although in Canada) and the Main character Inspector Murdoch uses “new” techniques to help solve crimes. In one episode they even talked about Nikolas Tesla the inventor of the machine used to kill Oglethorpe.

Critique

I have one big critique. It was to technical for me. It could be a matter of taste or knowledge but I didn’t quite follow all the technical turns which dragged down the experience. However Pajer does a great job with the characters and the surroundings so I´m looking forward to read Bradshaw novel nr 2.

A dead Angel (my translation)

…. is the sequel to the Nephilim written by Åsa Schwarz who were released two years ago. I  really liked Nephilim and have been waiting for A dead Angel a long time. The main character in the books is the young environmental activist Nova Barakel who has similarities with Lisbeth Salander but has her own twist. To understand the mystical part of the book you can google the word Nephilim. I also advise you to read Nephilim before reading this book.

Åsa Schwarz

… works as an IT security consultant and besides writing novels and lives  in Stockholm.

Story

In the beginning of the book we find Nova on Mount Ararat in Armenia. Together with her friend Arvid she participates in a Greenpeace project that will build a new Noah’s Ark (Some believe that the ark stranded on the mountain) to raise public awareness on environmental issues The Ark will symolize the modern deluge. On site, she meets the charismatic but mysterious Benjamin and becomes totally and completely in love. However.. the journey ends in a disaster and Nova wakes up in a hospital in Stockholm with amnesia. What really happened? where is Benjamin? And how come her wounds heal so quickly?

International success

In the review of the Nephilim I wrote that the book has all the criteria for an international bestseller. I was right! Since then Nephilim has been sold to several countries abroad, and seems to be going very well.

I like this book and the series because:

* It addresses an important topic and the book makes me think about how we treat the environment

* It feels modern and fresh

* It is a page-turner

* Nova is an amazing character (You can find her on Facebook)

* I like the supernatural elements.

* Despite the supernatural elements, there is a sense of realism in the books which makes the book more convincing.

Volk…

….is short for Alexei Volkovoy an Russian ex-military with a prosthesis who does dirty jobs for the Kreml and a person called “The General” He is the opposite of a cozy detective and in many ways ruthless and cold  but there is a glimpse of soul left in him that makes him almost human.

Story

In this book an old flame and well known journalist (like Anna Politovskaya) is murdered under mysterious circumstances and Volk sets out for answers and revenge. The trail leads him to an area God, if he exist, have forgotten. A place with a lot of nuclear waste, poisoning the soil and the people living there. A Frenchman, a nuclear scientist and two dead Russians takes him to America.

Grayson Stone

In the USA another ex-agent/military is looking for some answers. Who killed two  Russian guys in the desert and why? During one of the wars Stone was in he made a “mistake” witnessed by a Frenchmen who now “owns” him. This makes him a chess-player in a big international political game.

What did I think?

I normally don´t read spy-novels so I may not have that much to compare with but… I liked Volk. He is on the edge of being to unsympathetic as a main character but it is refreshing with characters that´s not only black and white. The Story is believable and a bit terrifying. It has a cold war feeling to it, but is modern.  Even if it is a bit too tough for my taste I wouldn’t mind reading the next Volk-novel.

Recently the Swedish crime author Mari Jungstedt released her 9th crime novel about Inspector Anders Knutas who lives and work in the beautiful Island Gotland (outside the east coast of Sweden).

The fourth victim (may be another title in English)

Mari Jungstedt is one of these author, who is very common i Sweden, that adresses social problems. In this case it is about a young girl who ends up in foster home. A story like this could be very “black and white” put she manage to tell the story without pointing fingers. The message is that people are not just evil or just good.

Storyline

Like so many crime authors these days Jungstedt uses parallel stories and jumps from present to past. A young girl is sent to a foster home in the Island of Gotland but are having trouble adjusting with a family that are “normal”. The book start in the present with a bank robbery that goes terrible wrong. Anders Knutas and his team quickly start the chase, but the police are not the only one who is after the bank robbers….

Characters

Anders Knutas is a nice Inspector with some problems with his wife in this book. We also follow a journalist and his photographer that usually compete with the police on chasing criminals. In this novel the description of the young girl is heart breaking and made the book so good.

”Someone to discover”

I think Mari Jungstedt crime novels are something to discover. It took a while for me to get in to her books but with this book I can honestly say that she is a crime author to be reckoned with and I´m looking forward to her next book.

Anna Jansson

Is a Swedish crime author and a former nurse who recently released her 12th book about the police Maria Wern on the idyllic and exotic Island Gotland in Sweden. I have followed the series since the start and really like it. Some of the books have been made into TV-movies as well. !This book may have a different name when translated in to english!

Story

The theme in this book is alchemy and the story is about the Artist Justus, his beautiful wife and four colleagueswho is bonded together by a terrible secret. The book starts with Maria Werns boss searching for his missing uncle Justus. The search takes them to the mainland and the Kosta Boda Art Hotel. There they discover a body on “display” that is linked to Justus.  The picture above that I took from the hotels website  is a clue to what on “display” means.

Structure

As usual Anna Jansson jumps between past and present as so many crime authors do these days. She does it very well. Another thing that is typical for Anna Jansson is good research and accuracy which adds weight to the story.

Characters

Anna Jansson is good at building interesting characters. I particularly liked Justus but I wish she could have worked a bit more on the main character Maria Wern but I guess it is understandable that the main character goes a bit on auto-pilot after 12 books.

Over all impression

This was perhaps not the best book Anna Jansson has written but Anna Jansson has a very high lowest point. If you haven´t read any of her books before I definitely recommend that you try her books.

Story

The protagonist of the Adler-Olsen’s books is Carl Mörck, director of the small cold case department (department Q) at the Copenhagen Police. The first case Mörck goes through is a five year old case in which a high-ranking politician disappeared. It’s hard to tell much about the document without revealing too much, therefore I stop here.

Carl Mörck

Carl Morck is a fantastic character. He is a lazy person with certain “shortcomings” in his social skills but impossible not to like. Mörck thoughts and reflections on his Muslim assistant or his ex-wife is brilliantly described by the author. All with a great sense of humor.

Thrilling

Just as brilliant as Adler-Olsen is on creating characters, he is at creating a thrilling atmosphere. Especially the creepy feeling you get when something is scary without necessarily being bloody. Again, I do not want to reveal too much of the story but Adler-Olsen gives a great psychological portrayal of a vulnerable person.

High quality

This book is both exciting and keeps a consistently high quality all over. The characters are thoughtful and the author skillfully mixes humor, suspense and psychology. I can really recomend his books!

Jussi Adler-Olsen …

…. Is a Danish crime writer who won the Glass Key (Year’s Best Scandinavian Crime Novel) in 2010 for his third book, message in a bottle from P.

Story

Iris Oakley is pregnant, without a husband (He died in the first book) and degraded to taking care of birds since pregnant women are not allowed to take care of cat-animals. One early morning she is heading to the birds when she hear the elephants trumpet. Something is wrong and she finds her boss lying on the floor in the Elephant house covered in blood. At first they blame the elephant but soon Iris realize something else is going on, also several mysterios events take place, like when dead tiger simply dissapears right before an autopsy.

Characters

I liked Iris she reminds me of a grown up Kitty and above all she is very human. This is a Zoo-dunnit. Which means that one of her colleagues is a killer. As in many who-dunnit the suspects are very stereotypical. That´s a shame. A little more work on the characters (not Iris)  would raise the level of this book.

Something for animal lovers

It would be unfair to say only animal lovers will like this book but of course it does help if you do… Ann has worked in a zoo herself and it shows. We get a serious insight in how it is to work in a zoo. We learn mostly of birds, elephants and clouded leopards. What I really like in this book is that she sneaks in the question of wheter it is good for animals to live in Zoos or not. The given answers is of course that all animals should live in the wild but it´s not always that easy.

To sum it up

I thought the book was ok and for me it was a nice pause from all the bloody, highthrilling crime novels. I don´t think you have to be an animal lover to like it but if you do it helps.  I also think the author could work on her characters (not Iris) a bit but over all it was a cozy Zoo-dunnit.

I’ve recently discovered a new ( new for me) great Danish crime author. His name is Jussi Adler-Olsen and the book I’ve read is called Message in a bottle. With that book he won the Scandinavian crime-prize 2010 “The Glass Key” for best Scandinavian crime novel.

Series

Message in a Bottle is the third book in Adler-Olsen´s series about the Police Department Q, (Cold-case department), located in the basement of the Copenhapen Police House.

Characters

Department Q is run by Carl Mörck, a middle aged man with big problems both at home and in the office. At home he as to deal with his wife, who threatens! to come back to him. In order to keep his estranged wife estranged he bribes his step-son to find her a new lover. At the office he has to deal with a very eccentric assistant and her even more eccentric twin sister. The characters are written with a lot of humor. Carl Mörck may seem a bit stupid but once in a while he surprises us with his intelligence.

Story

One day a man in Scotland walks by the beach when he finds an old Message in a bottle. They figure out that it is a SOS message in Danish and sends it to Denmark where it ends up at Department Q. Little by little the team manage to solve the puzzle with the letter. I´m not going to reveal more then that the cruel story involves sects, old secrets, innocent children and one kidnapper.

Style

As in so many crime novels these days we follow different persons and angles, both perpetrators, victims and the police. The story is thrilling, psychological very interesting and has a good portion of humor in it.

What do I think?

I think you should hope that Adler-Olsens books will be translated in to your language or at least in to English. This is good, very good!