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John Adderley #1
The Bucket List
The Bucket List is the gripping debut novel by writing team Peter Mohlin and Peter Nyström, launching a stunning new Nordic noir series featuring Swedish-American FBI Agent John Adderley.
The Bucket List starts when undercover FBI Agent John Adderley wakes up in a hospital bed in Baltimore with extensive gunshot wounds. He knows he’s lucky to be alive. And just a few beds away is the man who 24 hours ago pointed a gun to his head.
Ten years earlier in Sweden, Emelie, the young heiress to (an H&M-esque) clothing empire AckWe has gone missing. When local police find blood and semen in a deserted area, they arrest a teenage boy. He denies the charges and since the body is never found, he can’t be prosecuted.
Back to the present, Emelie’s high-profile cold case file is sent to Agent Adderley, now living in Sweden (where he’s not lived since he was a boy) in witness protection, hiding until he can testify against the drug cartel he infiltrated back in the States. Adderley is determined to solve Emelie’s case, but, at the same time, he knows that the drug cartel has a price on his head...
The Bucket List starts when undercover FBI Agent John Adderley wakes up in a hospital bed in Baltimore with extensive gunshot wounds. He knows he’s lucky to be alive. And just a few beds away is the man who 24 hours ago pointed a gun to his head.
Ten years earlier in Sweden, Emelie, the young heiress to (an H&M-esque) clothing empire AckWe has gone missing. When local police find blood and semen in a deserted area, they arrest a teenage boy. He denies the charges and since the body is never found, he can’t be prosecuted.
Back to the present, Emelie’s high-profile cold case file is sent to Agent Adderley, now living in Sweden (where he’s not lived since he was a boy) in witness protection, hiding until he can testify against the drug cartel he infiltrated back in the States. Adderley is determined to solve Emelie’s case, but, at the same time, he knows that the drug cartel has a price on his head...
400 pages, Hardcover
First published April 1, 2020
131 people are currently reading
4479 people want to read
About the author
Peter Mohlin
7 books81 followersPeter Mohlin and Peter Nyström grew up together in a Swedish small town and created their first crime novel as 10-year-olds. After working professionally with editorial text and directing/scriptwriting for stage and film for many years, they decided to pick up where they left off in middle school and write a crime novel. They both love crime in all forms and realized their strengths were a fruitful combination: the journalist’s sharp pen mixed with the scriptwriter’s sense of dramaturgy and dialogue. The Bucket List, their debut novel, has been sold in 15 countries.
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August 17, 2021DNF This one was not working for me so I will not be rating or reviewing it. It is only my opinion and I'm sure many would enjoy the book.
June 27, 2021
Excellent.
One can consider it as a tutorial about what you SHOULDN'T do if you are involved into a witness protection programme. But on the other hand it made the story even more thrilling.
One can consider it as a tutorial about what you SHOULDN'T do if you are involved into a witness protection programme. But on the other hand it made the story even more thrilling.
January 14, 2024
4.5★s
The Bucket List is the first book in the Agent John Adderley series by Swedish authors, Peter Mohlin and Peter Nystrom. It has been translated from Swedish by Ian Giles. After a dangerous mission to put away a Nigerian drug cartel in Baltimore, FBI agent John Adderley is forced into witness protection. Much to the Bureau’s chagrin, he insists on being placed in Sweden, as part of a new cold case team in Karlstad.
Their first case is the disappearance, ten years earlier, of clothing chain heiress, Emelie Bjurwall. On August 14th, 2009, she left a party near her home on the Tynas promontory after midnight to meet an unnamed person. Except for a Facebook post of the tattoo on her left forearm a short time later, she has not been seen since. Trace evidence nearby pointed to a young man from Skogall, Billy Nerman, who denied any involvement and was eventually released without charge.
Heading the cold case team is Bernt Primer, who was also part of the initial investigation. John wonders if the case can be solved when the team seems fixated of Nerman as the perpetrator, but is determined to learn the truth. While he does, though, he needs to keep a low profile: there is one very good reason he should not be investigating this case; and the drug cartel will be out for revenge.
John manages to get a quick result that turns the case upside down, is likely to get him thrown off the team, and makes several people very uneasy. His deductive logic is impressive and, along with his partner, the case progresses quickly. But is he guilty of fixating on a new suspect and ignoring wider possibilities?
Adderley is an interesting protagonist: a mixed-race FBI agent with experience as a cop in NYC, and a formative history in Sweden. He’s intelligent and determined, doggedly following his own path, although there will be times the reader will be yelling at him to make a connection. His decidedly loose interpretation of acceptable behaviour under witness protection does nicely ramp up the tension by introducing the potential of danger from abroad.
The authors throw in plenty of twists, turns and red herrings to keep the reader guessing, and even when the murderer’s identity becomes apparent, the exact how and why still keep the pages turning. There’s plenty of scope for further installments, and readers will be hoping that #2, The Other Sister is translated into English soon. Excellent Swedish crime fiction.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Harry N. Abrams.
The Bucket List is the first book in the Agent John Adderley series by Swedish authors, Peter Mohlin and Peter Nystrom. It has been translated from Swedish by Ian Giles. After a dangerous mission to put away a Nigerian drug cartel in Baltimore, FBI agent John Adderley is forced into witness protection. Much to the Bureau’s chagrin, he insists on being placed in Sweden, as part of a new cold case team in Karlstad.
Their first case is the disappearance, ten years earlier, of clothing chain heiress, Emelie Bjurwall. On August 14th, 2009, she left a party near her home on the Tynas promontory after midnight to meet an unnamed person. Except for a Facebook post of the tattoo on her left forearm a short time later, she has not been seen since. Trace evidence nearby pointed to a young man from Skogall, Billy Nerman, who denied any involvement and was eventually released without charge.
Heading the cold case team is Bernt Primer, who was also part of the initial investigation. John wonders if the case can be solved when the team seems fixated of Nerman as the perpetrator, but is determined to learn the truth. While he does, though, he needs to keep a low profile: there is one very good reason he should not be investigating this case; and the drug cartel will be out for revenge.
John manages to get a quick result that turns the case upside down, is likely to get him thrown off the team, and makes several people very uneasy. His deductive logic is impressive and, along with his partner, the case progresses quickly. But is he guilty of fixating on a new suspect and ignoring wider possibilities?
Adderley is an interesting protagonist: a mixed-race FBI agent with experience as a cop in NYC, and a formative history in Sweden. He’s intelligent and determined, doggedly following his own path, although there will be times the reader will be yelling at him to make a connection. His decidedly loose interpretation of acceptable behaviour under witness protection does nicely ramp up the tension by introducing the potential of danger from abroad.
The authors throw in plenty of twists, turns and red herrings to keep the reader guessing, and even when the murderer’s identity becomes apparent, the exact how and why still keep the pages turning. There’s plenty of scope for further installments, and readers will be hoping that #2, The Other Sister is translated into English soon. Excellent Swedish crime fiction.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Harry N. Abrams.
March 2, 2022
Dacă săptămâna trecută vorbeam despre Oameni capabili, o dramă domestică cu accente de thriller psihologic, astăzi trecem la o altă noutate editorială din portofoliul Crime Scene Press - Ultima viață. Încă de la început, cartea promite să fie o lectură crime solidă, fiind răsplătită cu premiul pentru cel mai bun debut al anului 2020, iar drepturile vândute deja în 18 țări.
Ceea ce face ca această carte să fie specială este faptul că este scrisă la două mâini de către prietenii Peter Mohlin și Peter Nystrom, care reușesc să își îndeplinească un vis din copilărie. Poate v-ați gândi că se simte o discrepanță între cele două stiluri, însă din punctul meu de vedere, narațiunea este una fluidă și fără goluri.
https://ciobanuldeazi.home.blog/2022/...
Ceea ce face ca această carte să fie specială este faptul că este scrisă la două mâini de către prietenii Peter Mohlin și Peter Nystrom, care reușesc să își îndeplinească un vis din copilărie. Poate v-ați gândi că se simte o discrepanță între cele două stiluri, însă din punctul meu de vedere, narațiunea este una fluidă și fără goluri.
https://ciobanuldeazi.home.blog/2022/...
April 30, 2024
Din recenzia apărută pe Biblioteca lui Liviu în cadrul blog tourului dedicat publicării în limba română a volumului „Ultima viață”:
În paralel cu teribil de întunecatul caz de crimă pe care John încearcă să-l rezolve alături de o polițistă trecută prin ciur și prin dârmon venită de la Stockholm, cu toate că John fusese nevoit inițial să se retragă din anchetă după ce i se descoperise adevărata identitate și ieșise la iveală conflictul de interese, se desfășoară ciudata poveste a părinților lui Emelie: bogata moștenitoare a imperiului hainelor AckWe, Sissela Bjurwall, și Heimer, mare pasionat de alergări și obsedat colecționar de vinuri extrem de scumpe, pe care dispariția fiicei lor i-a transformat profund, cum era și normal. El s-a închis în sine, ea s-a retras în muncă. El n-a putut trece niciodată peste dispariția fiicei iubite, ea a încercat să își refacă viața și să se ocupe de afacerea familiei. Amândoi erau însă vinovați de depresia profundă care le afecta fiica și pe care ei o puneau doar pe seama stresului provocat de examenele grele de la Facultatea de business la care o trimiseseră, curmându-i visul de-a deveni jucătoare de Counter Strike de talie mondială și făcând-o să se retragă într-o viață promiscuă, drogându-se, chiar prostituându-se, mințindu-și și înșelându-și părinții, în timp ce aceștia credeau că totul e bine și frumos cu fiica lor după internarea la dezintoxicare.
Ei bine, nu, nu era totul bine și frumos în viața fiicei lor, numai că ei erau prea orbi ca să vadă simptomele. Nici măcar tatuajul cu bucket listul de pe brațul fiicei lor nu le-a ridicat semne de întrebare (abia spre final am înțeles de unde vine și titlul cărții – Ultima viață -, după o dureroasă și deprimantă discuție dintre John și fosta prietenă și parteneră de bărbați și doze a lui Emelie), ei trezindu-se din amorțeală și scăpând de vălul de pe ochi abia după ce fiica lor nu s-a mai întors deloc acasă. Și poate că ar fi continuat să-și vadă de viețile lor dacă n-ar fi apărut John ca să răscolească trecutul și să înceapă să facă săpături în stilul caracteristic: agresiv, nesăbuit, insistent, dar determinat și mânat de un sentiment în privința căruia nici măcar el însuși nu este pe deplin lămurit: vrea să-și absolve fratele de vină, vrea să se revanșeze pentru anii în care a lipsit din viața acestuia și-n care nu i-a dat măcar un telefon, vrea să croiască un viitor mai luminos pentru nepoata sa, fiica lui Billy, vrea să aducă pace în sufletele unor părinți aparent sfâșiați de durerea pierderii unicei fiice? Vrea el însuși să reușească să treacă peste atacurile de panică ce-l fac să paralizeze cu totul exact când trebuie să se urnească, să se pună în mișcare, să treacă la fapte, să tragă cu arma, să apeleze la antrenamentul de fost agent FBI?
Ultima viață este un roman nu bun, ci aproape excepțional. În pofida lungimii (peste cinci sute de pagini pline de detalii – eu aș mai fi scurtat un pic povestea lui Heimer, dar poate e doar o chestie de gust personal) și a unor mici scăpări pe care le pun pe seama faptului că este totuși un roman de debut (premiat), este unul dintre cele mai bune romane crime pe care le-am citit de ceva vreme încoace. Atât de apăsătoare și de întunecată este atmosfera descrisă de cei doi autori suedezi, atât de puternic este contrastul dintre, de exemplu, păturile sociale care conviețuiesc la doar câteva sute de metri depărtare în același oraș, atât de profunde sunt analizele de personaje, atât de alambicat e cazul și atât de bine strunită povestea, încât nici nu zici că e vorba de un debut.
O scriitură matură, bine ținută în mână, o temă clasică (întoarcerea unui personaj bântuit de demonii trecutului în orașul natal unde a avut loc o crimă, dispariția misterioasă a unei fete, acuzarea pe nedrept a unui paria convenabil plasat la locul faptei), dar tratată destul de neobișnuit, un personaj cu bune și cu rele (dar mai ales cu rele) și o lume pe care parcă am ajuns să o cunoaștem după atâtea romane crime nordice citite, dar care continuă să ne fascineze prin complexitatea, prin insolitul și prin modurile în care continuă să se reinventeze an de an. Recomandată!
Mai multe: https://wp.me/pz4D9-51V.
În paralel cu teribil de întunecatul caz de crimă pe care John încearcă să-l rezolve alături de o polițistă trecută prin ciur și prin dârmon venită de la Stockholm, cu toate că John fusese nevoit inițial să se retragă din anchetă după ce i se descoperise adevărata identitate și ieșise la iveală conflictul de interese, se desfășoară ciudata poveste a părinților lui Emelie: bogata moștenitoare a imperiului hainelor AckWe, Sissela Bjurwall, și Heimer, mare pasionat de alergări și obsedat colecționar de vinuri extrem de scumpe, pe care dispariția fiicei lor i-a transformat profund, cum era și normal. El s-a închis în sine, ea s-a retras în muncă. El n-a putut trece niciodată peste dispariția fiicei iubite, ea a încercat să își refacă viața și să se ocupe de afacerea familiei. Amândoi erau însă vinovați de depresia profundă care le afecta fiica și pe care ei o puneau doar pe seama stresului provocat de examenele grele de la Facultatea de business la care o trimiseseră, curmându-i visul de-a deveni jucătoare de Counter Strike de talie mondială și făcând-o să se retragă într-o viață promiscuă, drogându-se, chiar prostituându-se, mințindu-și și înșelându-și părinții, în timp ce aceștia credeau că totul e bine și frumos cu fiica lor după internarea la dezintoxicare.
Ei bine, nu, nu era totul bine și frumos în viața fiicei lor, numai că ei erau prea orbi ca să vadă simptomele. Nici măcar tatuajul cu bucket listul de pe brațul fiicei lor nu le-a ridicat semne de întrebare (abia spre final am înțeles de unde vine și titlul cărții – Ultima viață -, după o dureroasă și deprimantă discuție dintre John și fosta prietenă și parteneră de bărbați și doze a lui Emelie), ei trezindu-se din amorțeală și scăpând de vălul de pe ochi abia după ce fiica lor nu s-a mai întors deloc acasă. Și poate că ar fi continuat să-și vadă de viețile lor dacă n-ar fi apărut John ca să răscolească trecutul și să înceapă să facă săpături în stilul caracteristic: agresiv, nesăbuit, insistent, dar determinat și mânat de un sentiment în privința căruia nici măcar el însuși nu este pe deplin lămurit: vrea să-și absolve fratele de vină, vrea să se revanșeze pentru anii în care a lipsit din viața acestuia și-n care nu i-a dat măcar un telefon, vrea să croiască un viitor mai luminos pentru nepoata sa, fiica lui Billy, vrea să aducă pace în sufletele unor părinți aparent sfâșiați de durerea pierderii unicei fiice? Vrea el însuși să reușească să treacă peste atacurile de panică ce-l fac să paralizeze cu totul exact când trebuie să se urnească, să se pună în mișcare, să treacă la fapte, să tragă cu arma, să apeleze la antrenamentul de fost agent FBI?
Ultima viață este un roman nu bun, ci aproape excepțional. În pofida lungimii (peste cinci sute de pagini pline de detalii – eu aș mai fi scurtat un pic povestea lui Heimer, dar poate e doar o chestie de gust personal) și a unor mici scăpări pe care le pun pe seama faptului că este totuși un roman de debut (premiat), este unul dintre cele mai bune romane crime pe care le-am citit de ceva vreme încoace. Atât de apăsătoare și de întunecată este atmosfera descrisă de cei doi autori suedezi, atât de puternic este contrastul dintre, de exemplu, păturile sociale care conviețuiesc la doar câteva sute de metri depărtare în același oraș, atât de profunde sunt analizele de personaje, atât de alambicat e cazul și atât de bine strunită povestea, încât nici nu zici că e vorba de un debut.
O scriitură matură, bine ținută în mână, o temă clasică (întoarcerea unui personaj bântuit de demonii trecutului în orașul natal unde a avut loc o crimă, dispariția misterioasă a unei fete, acuzarea pe nedrept a unui paria convenabil plasat la locul faptei), dar tratată destul de neobișnuit, un personaj cu bune și cu rele (dar mai ales cu rele) și o lume pe care parcă am ajuns să o cunoaștem după atâtea romane crime nordice citite, dar care continuă să ne fascineze prin complexitatea, prin insolitul și prin modurile în care continuă să se reinventeze an de an. Recomandată!
Mai multe: https://wp.me/pz4D9-51V.
August 19, 2021
Never have I ever read a book with such an upleasant and unlikable protagonist.
I mean... if I met him at a party I'd be out of the door after like 5 seconds of convo. His constant complaining how US i better, how Swedish way of life and work is stupid and beneath him, how european cars are tiny and gross, how the police is stupid.
But don't fret here's John. Our American baby. Impeccable FBI agent who solves the muder in like 5 seconds after toutching Swedish ground.
Unfortunately my hatred towards the MC overshadowed any enjoyment this book could have bring me.
I just can't.
I won't even discuss the plot, bc if you've read at least one thriller/murder mustery/procedural in your life you'll guess the murderer just as fast as John did.
I received this book from the Publisher in an exchange for an honest review
I mean... if I met him at a party I'd be out of the door after like 5 seconds of convo. His constant complaining how US i better, how Swedish way of life and work is stupid and beneath him, how european cars are tiny and gross, how the police is stupid.
But don't fret here's John. Our American baby. Impeccable FBI agent who solves the muder in like 5 seconds after toutching Swedish ground.
Unfortunately my hatred towards the MC overshadowed any enjoyment this book could have bring me.
I just can't.
I won't even discuss the plot, bc if you've read at least one thriller/murder mustery/procedural in your life you'll guess the murderer just as fast as John did.
I received this book from the Publisher in an exchange for an honest review
December 1, 2023
The Bucket List (Agent John Adderley #1) - Peter Mohlin & Peter Nyström
في رحلة بحثي عن سلسلة جريمة اسكندنافية جديدة بعد أن اقتربت من الانتهاء من سلسلتي المفضلة مؤخرًا؛ سلسلة يونا لينا للكاتبين لارش كيبلر، وقعت بين يدي هذه السلسلة وهي سلسلة جديدة لذا لن تكونً بديلًا للأسف رغم أنها تملك بعض المقومات، مثل أنه يتشارك في كتابتها كاتبان -تمامًا مثل سلسلة يونا لينا.
البطل "غثيث" نوعًا ما ربما لأنه أمريكي-نصف أميركي، نصف سويدي, نشأ طفلًا في السويد ولكنه عاش أغلب حياته في أميركا .
تبدأ القصة والعميل جون أدرلي في المستشفى بعد عملية تخفي عرضت حياته للخطر وعليه أن يدخل برنامج حماية الشهود ويختفي تمامًا- أو على الأقل حتى يحين موعد إدلائه بشهادته في المحكمة، فيختار بلده الأم السويد، ويختار تحديدًا الانضمام لفريق قضايا قديمة يحقق في اختفاء وريثة إحدى العائلات الثرية قبل عشر سنوات، وسرعان ما نكتشف أن للعميل جون أهدافًا أخرى من اختيار هذا الفريق بالتحديد.
بين الماضي والحاضر تتنقل الرواية وبين القضية القديمة وتبعات قضية التخفي تدورالأحداث.
القصة فوضوية ربما لأنها الجزء الأول، وكانت بها الكثير من العناصر المختلفة.
فكرة البطل الوغد الوسيم المغرور تسيطر على الرواية- وهي فكرة لا تطاق وكادت تفسد عليّ قراءة الرواية، وطبعًا له نقاط ضعف مثل كل أبطال روايات الجريمة الاسكندنافية. بالمجمل عمل ممتع وأتطلع أن تصدر أجزء أخرى من السلسلة وتترجم للإنجليزية -صدرت ترجمة الجزء الثاني مؤخرًا.
في رحلة بحثي عن سلسلة جريمة اسكندنافية جديدة بعد أن اقتربت من الانتهاء من سلسلتي المفضلة مؤخرًا؛ سلسلة يونا لينا للكاتبين لارش كيبلر، وقعت بين يدي هذه السلسلة وهي سلسلة جديدة لذا لن تكونً بديلًا للأسف رغم أنها تملك بعض المقومات، مثل أنه يتشارك في كتابتها كاتبان -تمامًا مثل سلسلة يونا لينا.
البطل "غثيث" نوعًا ما ربما لأنه أمريكي-نصف أميركي، نصف سويدي, نشأ طفلًا في السويد ولكنه عاش أغلب حياته في أميركا .
تبدأ القصة والعميل جون أدرلي في المستشفى بعد عملية تخفي عرضت حياته للخطر وعليه أن يدخل برنامج حماية الشهود ويختفي تمامًا- أو على الأقل حتى يحين موعد إدلائه بشهادته في المحكمة، فيختار بلده الأم السويد، ويختار تحديدًا الانضمام لفريق قضايا قديمة يحقق في اختفاء وريثة إحدى العائلات الثرية قبل عشر سنوات، وسرعان ما نكتشف أن للعميل جون أهدافًا أخرى من اختيار هذا الفريق بالتحديد.
بين الماضي والحاضر تتنقل الرواية وبين القضية القديمة وتبعات قضية التخفي تدورالأحداث.
القصة فوضوية ربما لأنها الجزء الأول، وكانت بها الكثير من العناصر المختلفة.
فكرة البطل الوغد الوسيم المغرور تسيطر على الرواية- وهي فكرة لا تطاق وكادت تفسد عليّ قراءة الرواية، وطبعًا له نقاط ضعف مثل كل أبطال روايات الجريمة الاسكندنافية. بالمجمل عمل ممتع وأتطلع أن تصدر أجزء أخرى من السلسلة وتترجم للإنجليزية -صدرت ترجمة الجزء الثاني مؤخرًا.
February 25, 2022
Am mai spus-o și o repet. Este foarte greu să scrii despre un roman care ți-a plăcut foarte mult. În primul rând, ai impresia că termenii precum fenomenal, magnific sau extraordinar nu reușesc să transmită cu adevărat ce simți, plus că aceștia sunt atât de utilizați, încât nu mai spun aproape nimic. În al doilea rând, afinitatea literară este o chestiune foarte personală și ești conștient că este posibil ca alți cititori să nu fie chiar așa impresionați, ba chiar unora să nu le placă deloc. Acum, vorbind strict despre mine, există câteva momente, pe parcursul unui an, în care mă „izbesc” de niște volume atât de bune, încât îmi stă gândul la ele zile la rând după ce am dat ultima pagină și revin la ele de fiecare dată când mi se cere o recomandare. O astfel de carte este „Ultima viață” de Peter Mohlin și Peter Nyström, un Thriller foarte întunecat și plin de suspans, care, cu siguranță, se va regăsi în topul lecturilor pe 2022.
Recenzia:
http://www.cartilemele.ro/2022/02/rec...
Recenzia:
http://www.cartilemele.ro/2022/02/rec...
March 19, 2023
Perfecta!🌟
March 20, 2021
This was a truly good read. The Bucket List was a play on Emelie's tattoo that she and three of her friends got tattooed on their arms so they would have more lives like Mario. Enough with giving things away. John was a cop in Baltimore with the FBI, although he was from New York and he was now in the Witness Protection Program. He wanted to go back to Sweden where his mother and his half brother was living, for the last 20 years. Mohlin and Nyström do a wonderful job of explaining how the Witness Protection Program doesn't let people go back, etc... But, they did this in this case.
What happened was there was an old case 10 years old which needed to be picked up and gone over with a new look. This was Emelie's missing person case. John was given a new identity and name and was put on the case. I'll let you read about it and you'll get quite a lot from Mohlin & Nyström in their excellent writing. You may or may not come out ahead of either Mohlin or Nyström but what a ride.
What happened was there was an old case 10 years old which needed to be picked up and gone over with a new look. This was Emelie's missing person case. John was given a new identity and name and was put on the case. I'll let you read about it and you'll get quite a lot from Mohlin & Nyström in their excellent writing. You may or may not come out ahead of either Mohlin or Nyström but what a ride.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 27, 2022
Unul dintre cele mai bune Thrillere pe care le-am citit în ultimul timp. Plin de suspans, fără să fie vorba despre prea multa acțiune; de personaje foarte bine construite, trsumatizate, decăzute, pierdute printre vicii și greșeli de neiertat, „Ultima viață" este acea carte pe care nu o vei mai putea lăsa din mână.
February 21, 2022
3,5 zvaigznes apaļoju uz augšu.
Lai arī sākums, manuprāt, ir par daudz izstiepts ar detaļām, tomēr pati vecās lietas izmeklēšana bija pietiekami aizraujoša un dinamiska.
Debijas detektīvromāns ir izdevies, un es labprāt lasīšu sērijas turpinājumus, kad tie būs pieejami.
September 7, 2023
Het laatste leven van Mohlin & Nyström is het eerste deel met John Adderly in de hoofdrol en koos ik uit omdat ik het x aantal keren zag passeren op enkele boekensites met lovende woorden. Bij het lezen van de achterflap was ik ietwat sceptisch. Ik zie daar de woorden infiltratie en drugskartel staan en meestal is dat niet zo mijn ding. Ik wou het boek toch een kans geven en wat ben ik blij dat ik dat gedaan heb. Het verhaal start effectief wel met de undercoveropdracht van John Adderly, maar het verhaal is zo filmisch geschreven en gaat zo vlot dat je blijft lezen. De spanning druipt van de bladzijden af en je leeft oprecht mee met de personages. Als John uiteindelijk onderduikt in Zweden onder een nieuwe naam, neemt hij de taak op zich om te ontrafelen wie er verantwoordelijk is voor de vermissing van Emelie, een rijke tiener die erfgename zou worden van het zeer toonaangevend bedrijf van haar ouders. De familiebanden worden mooi uit de doeken gedaan en ik kon me echt inleven in deze mensen. De ontknoping was onverwacht en had ik totaal niet zien aankomen. Magistraal! Het laatste leven las ik in een ontzettend snel tempo uit en behoort echt tot de favorieten van 2023! Ik kijk dan ook uit naar deel 2! Hoewel de reviews daarvan veel minder goed zijn, geef ik het toch zeker een kans. Niet iedereen kan alles altijd even goed vinden en wie weet is dit tweede deel net zo goed als deel 1. Het zal je na het lezen van mijn review dus ook niet verbazen dat Het laatste leven met de volle buit aan punten gaat lopen en dus 5 schitterende sterren krijgt!
https://elinevandm.wordpress.com/2023...
https://elinevandm.wordpress.com/2023...
July 5, 2021
The Bucket List is the first instalment in the Agent John Adderley series. Set in Sweden, this is a compulsive piece of Scandinavian noir crime fiction. When Swedish-American FBI Agent John Adderley wakes up from a botched infiltration of a Nigerian drug cartel with a gunshot wound at a Baltimore hospital, he knows he needs to get off the radar ASAP. He gets a new identity and leaves for his native Sweden and becomes part of the witness protection program having testified in a high-profile lawsuit. There he becomes part of Karlstad's cold case team that is dealing with a ten-year-old missing person case. The disappearance of teenage girl Emelie Bjurwall has always remained a mystery to everyone. She is presumed to be dead but no body has ever been discovered. The police did find some tracks on a high cliff at the time, but the body of the millionaire daughter was nowhere to be found. With his American mentality, John finds it difficult to find a place among the Swedes, all the more because the case is personal: the main suspect is none other than his half-brother, Billy, who the police have had to cut loose due to lack of evidence.
However, the accusation and rumours are still rife and it's safe to say it has ruined not only Billy's reputation but his life. Billy has maintained his innocence from the very beginning and he believes he is being used as the scapegoat. John bites into the case, but at the same time has to stay on his guard, because when the drug cartel gets wind of an unconventional detective who is in a Swedish provincial town, his life is no longer safe. This is a riveting and engrossing debut from the Mohlin and Nyström writing team and it's an evocative, complex mystery rich in twisty psychological elements and subtleties that elevate the story to a whole new level. It has a quick tempo, smart cliffhangers and psychological depth and is based in a classic scandi noir setting complete with rich, vivid descriptions. The cat and mouse game throughout keeps you on your toes and the various plot threads ensure you race through the pages. It's atmospheric, as with most decent noir novels, and our protagonist, Adderley, seems like he could evolve over the upcoming books into a superb character. Deviously twisty, with believable dialogue and an explosive ending. Highly recommended.
However, the accusation and rumours are still rife and it's safe to say it has ruined not only Billy's reputation but his life. Billy has maintained his innocence from the very beginning and he believes he is being used as the scapegoat. John bites into the case, but at the same time has to stay on his guard, because when the drug cartel gets wind of an unconventional detective who is in a Swedish provincial town, his life is no longer safe. This is a riveting and engrossing debut from the Mohlin and Nyström writing team and it's an evocative, complex mystery rich in twisty psychological elements and subtleties that elevate the story to a whole new level. It has a quick tempo, smart cliffhangers and psychological depth and is based in a classic scandi noir setting complete with rich, vivid descriptions. The cat and mouse game throughout keeps you on your toes and the various plot threads ensure you race through the pages. It's atmospheric, as with most decent noir novels, and our protagonist, Adderley, seems like he could evolve over the upcoming books into a superb character. Deviously twisty, with believable dialogue and an explosive ending. Highly recommended.
December 21, 2020
Det sista livet är en mycket välskriven och spännande debut. Känslan när jag läser den är att det här redan är två drivna författare som vet hur man ska bygga en intrig. De går inte heller i några av de fällor som debutanter ibland kan göra, med för hög detaljgrad. Läsningen flyter på och jag upplever den som lättläst, men ändå med djup. Det sista livet är en trovärdig berättelse som berör.
Karaktärerna är väl beskrivna och intressanta. De är på intet sätt perfekta, men mycket mänskliga. I synnerhet så är det huvudpersonen, John Adderley, som jag tycker är intressant, och jag lär gärna känna honom mer i kommande böcker. I Det sista livet beskrivs en intressant krock mellan det svenska och det amerikanska rättssystemet och samhället. John blir då och då frustrerad och tenderar att vilja göra saker som inte är OK i det svenska systemet. Det blir också helt naturligt att han reflekterar över skillnaderna, samtidigt som man som läsare får ögonen på det. Hans personliga agenda är egentligen den enda invändningen jag har mot intrigen, men samtidigt så är den hela drivkraften för att återvända till hemmiljön, så den är nödvändig för intrigen.
Miljöbeskrivningarna i Det sista livet är bra, man får en känsla av det lokala. Jag tillbringade delar av mina barndoms somrar i Värmland, och vi besökte Karlstad då och då. Tillräckligt för att jag, i kombination med besök senare år, ska känna mig hemma i miljön. På något sätt tycker jag just mellanstora städer passar utmärkt för svenska deckare.
Det finns något skönt i att i deckargenren få läsa något som till största delen handlar om svenskt polisarbete. Dessutom polisarbete som i mångt och mycket innebär arbete, och inte att man slumpmässigt lyckas snubbla över en lösning. Mysteriet är väl uppbyggd och spännande. Jag är lite kluven till upplösningen, men den berör ändå. Själva slutet på Det sista livet lockar till mer läsning.
Det här är en kandidat till årets deckardebut på mina personliga årslistor. Att jag ska läsa del två är i alla fall helt klart.
Omdöme: Välskriven och spännande deckardebut i värmländsk miljö
Betyg: 4+
https://lottensbokblogg.wordpress.com...
Karaktärerna är väl beskrivna och intressanta. De är på intet sätt perfekta, men mycket mänskliga. I synnerhet så är det huvudpersonen, John Adderley, som jag tycker är intressant, och jag lär gärna känna honom mer i kommande böcker. I Det sista livet beskrivs en intressant krock mellan det svenska och det amerikanska rättssystemet och samhället. John blir då och då frustrerad och tenderar att vilja göra saker som inte är OK i det svenska systemet. Det blir också helt naturligt att han reflekterar över skillnaderna, samtidigt som man som läsare får ögonen på det. Hans personliga agenda är egentligen den enda invändningen jag har mot intrigen, men samtidigt så är den hela drivkraften för att återvända till hemmiljön, så den är nödvändig för intrigen.
Miljöbeskrivningarna i Det sista livet är bra, man får en känsla av det lokala. Jag tillbringade delar av mina barndoms somrar i Värmland, och vi besökte Karlstad då och då. Tillräckligt för att jag, i kombination med besök senare år, ska känna mig hemma i miljön. På något sätt tycker jag just mellanstora städer passar utmärkt för svenska deckare.
Det finns något skönt i att i deckargenren få läsa något som till största delen handlar om svenskt polisarbete. Dessutom polisarbete som i mångt och mycket innebär arbete, och inte att man slumpmässigt lyckas snubbla över en lösning. Mysteriet är väl uppbyggd och spännande. Jag är lite kluven till upplösningen, men den berör ändå. Själva slutet på Det sista livet lockar till mer läsning.
Det här är en kandidat till årets deckardebut på mina personliga årslistor. Att jag ska läsa del två är i alla fall helt klart.
Omdöme: Välskriven och spännande deckardebut i värmländsk miljö
Betyg: 4+
https://lottensbokblogg.wordpress.com...
April 25, 2021
Very readable, no reader has to worry about understanding as every nuance is explained. I'd explain my lack of more stars to that because I enjoy being told less, letting the words themselves show me the more. I hope that these authors will get to that place. Plotting wise it is very well laid out and I enjoyed that part of the story the most.
So what about Dear John, well I've come across unlikable traits in my protagonists, the ones that I enjoy most are those that have these while still making me root for them. I did not make this jump for John, so I remained rather lukewarm. I know that John gives the very utmost importance to how he appears to the rest of the world, his clothes must be good (a good brand, absolutely no fading or stains), his car (an American muscle car would be best), his actions (no weakness allowed). And although a person is allowed to have his own personal preferences, I find that I cannot bond with one who gives this amount of importance to these things as a means of being accepted by society. It would have probably worked out more for me if John just enjoyed the feel of good clothes and how he looked in them rather than making sure he got the best suit so that people saw he got the best and 'judged' him on that.
An ARC gently provided by authors/publishers via Netgalley.
So what about Dear John, well I've come across unlikable traits in my protagonists, the ones that I enjoy most are those that have these while still making me root for them. I did not make this jump for John, so I remained rather lukewarm. I know that John gives the very utmost importance to how he appears to the rest of the world, his clothes must be good (a good brand, absolutely no fading or stains), his car (an American muscle car would be best), his actions (no weakness allowed). And although a person is allowed to have his own personal preferences, I find that I cannot bond with one who gives this amount of importance to these things as a means of being accepted by society. It would have probably worked out more for me if John just enjoyed the feel of good clothes and how he looked in them rather than making sure he got the best suit so that people saw he got the best and 'judged' him on that.
An ARC gently provided by authors/publishers via Netgalley.
July 30, 2021
Wauw. Wat een boek was dit. Een goede combinatie van Amerikaanse en Scandinavische thriller. Echt pas aan het einde wordt het hele verhaal duidelijk. Mooie puzzel, spannend verhaal en een twist aan het einde. Benieuwd naar deel 2!
November 13, 2021
VERY JANE HARPER SLOW BURN VIBES!
3.5 ⭐️ rounded up. The cliffhanger was well played, though I saw that coming a 100 pages away 🕵🏻♀️
3.5 ⭐️ rounded up. The cliffhanger was well played, though I saw that coming a 100 pages away 🕵🏻♀️
May 28, 2020
5 Stars - Great Swedish crime. Impressed!!
A new crime series and this first book was a great read with a perfect fitting voice from the male narrator Reine Brynolfsson (a famous Swedish actor). — Much sadness and grief with a main character to believe and truly feel for. Strong men with some human weakness makes my heart warm. — So I’m happydancing glad I tried this new one written by Peter Mohlin and Peter Nyström a combo, for me unknown, debuting thriller/crime authors. - Yay, another fabulous 5 stars read (audiobook) this last month.
🖤🤎🖤🤎🖤 I LIKE!
Read May 27, 2020
A new crime series and this first book was a great read with a perfect fitting voice from the male narrator Reine Brynolfsson (a famous Swedish actor). — Much sadness and grief with a main character to believe and truly feel for. Strong men with some human weakness makes my heart warm. — So I’m happydancing glad I tried this new one written by Peter Mohlin and Peter Nyström a combo, for me unknown, debuting thriller/crime authors. - Yay, another fabulous 5 stars read (audiobook) this last month.
🖤🤎🖤🤎🖤 I LIKE!
Read May 27, 2020
July 30, 2023
I found no reason to like or be interested in this guy. He freezes up on an undercover job, leaves his mother and brother behind without another thought, and doesn’t respond the first time his mom asks for help. He’s a hothead who makes unlikely leaps and repeatedly jeopardizes the investigation with his actions. Just an inept law enforcement officer. I finished to confirm my suspicions, but this would’ve been better off as a DNF.
June 18, 2023
I do not think charismatic, like the book describes Adderley is correct, naïve maybe and out of touch with how witness protection works not to mention lack of common sense when dealing with an investigation is what best describes him. All his bad decisions have repercussions and as readers we are just patiently waiting for them.
Character development is not these authors forte. The emphasis on wealth, their description of possessions from both Emelie’s parents was a little sickening. The portrayal of the police and commissioner in Sweden was borderline cartoonish as well as Adderley’s family, but with Mona they redeemed themselves. Mona was a necessary character.
Apart from Adderley’s blunders and lack of interesting characters at the beginning, this book is a sure winner. It sure is a thrilling page turner. Mona becomes the rock of the investigation and Adderley starts using his training in order to solve the case. The plot became so interesting that I was torn between a 4 or 5 stars but I couldn’t ignore the many flaws at the beginning of this book.
Character development is not these authors forte. The emphasis on wealth, their description of possessions from both Emelie’s parents was a little sickening. The portrayal of the police and commissioner in Sweden was borderline cartoonish as well as Adderley’s family, but with Mona they redeemed themselves. Mona was a necessary character.
Apart from Adderley’s blunders and lack of interesting characters at the beginning, this book is a sure winner. It sure is a thrilling page turner. Mona becomes the rock of the investigation and Adderley starts using his training in order to solve the case. The plot became so interesting that I was torn between a 4 or 5 stars but I couldn’t ignore the many flaws at the beginning of this book.
June 22, 2024
John is misschien niet altijd de rust zelve, maar wel een fijne protagonist. Prettige schrijfstijl en een goed verhaal.
September 7, 2022
Este livro dos Peter's foi uma agradável surpresa. Comecei a leitura sem qualquer tipo de expectativa e entreguei-me completamente às cegas.
Logo nas primeiras páginas senti a primicia de uma dupla de talentos.
Lista de Desejos é um livro fantástico, cheio de reviravoltas, dividido entre uma investigação criminal e laços familiares (im)perfeitos. Adorei, quero muito ler o próximo!
Logo nas primeiras páginas senti a primicia de uma dupla de talentos.
Lista de Desejos é um livro fantástico, cheio de reviravoltas, dividido entre uma investigação criminal e laços familiares (im)perfeitos. Adorei, quero muito ler o próximo!
January 29, 2021
**3.5 stars**
I'm not entirely certain what I feel about this book, because the second half was really really good while the first half was...not as good. But I suppose we need to start from the beginning. Beware of mild spoilers.
This book follows John Adderley, an American infiltrator for the FBI who goes to his home town in Sweden as part of a witness protection program. John moved to the US when he was quite young, but upon his mother's request he returns to Sweden to investigate a cold case (a girl who went missing ten years ago) where his own half-brother is the main suspect. A pretty basic plot with good potential.
Where the plot starts to fall apart is the writing, especially the pacing. The second half was so well paced and I couldn't stop reading because it was just so exciting (some parts felt needlessly drawn out, but it wasn't too big of a deal compared to some stuff at the start). However, the first half was riddled with exposition, being told what characters are like instead of shown, characters summarizing what's been shown right after it's shown, and weird dialogue. The book itself is divided into four parts, with the first taking place in both 2009 and 2019 while the rest are set in 2019 only. We jump between John, the main, and Heimer, the father of the missing girl. I didn't particularly like most of the characters in this book, because most of them felt very stereotypical (the fat cops who protect their own, the superhero main character who figures everything out in a week when the local police force hasn't in ten years, the rich bossy and emotionally cold woman, the lawyer who doesn't care about the truth, etc). John eventually grew on me, but he frustrated me a lot in the beginning because he was so arrogant and prejudiced (whilst blaming the local cops for being prejudiced). His character became way better written during the last two parts and he had a lot more depth to him at that point, but the other characters still felt very stereotypical. John's mom was pretty alright though, character-wise, and also Mona (she was actually really cool).
What made it exciting to read this book for me was that there were a lot of red herrings and none of them felt ridiculous, obvious or out of place. It could've been anyone and the book slowly hones in on the true perpetrator as your own conclusions start to form. That part was actually really well written and I wished the characters had been as well written as the overall mystery.
I had a lot of issue with the dialogue as well, because it didn't feel natural at some points. Since it takes place in Värmland I'm guessing the authors wanted to emulate the dialect, but instead of it sounding like people were speaking dialect, it sounded like people were speaking weirdly archaic. It didn't work as well as they probably hoped or thought it would. Dialects are pretty difficult to write and sometimes it's better to not just write them at all.
The thing about showing and telling that I mentioned earlier was what probably drew this book out more than necessary. So many times we were shown something and then a character tells it to us right after, as if I, as a reader, am incapable of picking it up on my own. You have to have some expectations of your readers, because your readers will otherwise feel like you're calling them stupid. Readers can pick up a lot of information when it is shown and showing is also a lot more interesting than just telling us that "this character is like this, which John can see based on..."
Not sure how to end this review, just needed to write down my thoughts for a bit.
I'm not entirely certain what I feel about this book, because the second half was really really good while the first half was...not as good. But I suppose we need to start from the beginning. Beware of mild spoilers.
This book follows John Adderley, an American infiltrator for the FBI who goes to his home town in Sweden as part of a witness protection program. John moved to the US when he was quite young, but upon his mother's request he returns to Sweden to investigate a cold case (a girl who went missing ten years ago) where his own half-brother is the main suspect. A pretty basic plot with good potential.
Where the plot starts to fall apart is the writing, especially the pacing. The second half was so well paced and I couldn't stop reading because it was just so exciting (some parts felt needlessly drawn out, but it wasn't too big of a deal compared to some stuff at the start). However, the first half was riddled with exposition, being told what characters are like instead of shown, characters summarizing what's been shown right after it's shown, and weird dialogue. The book itself is divided into four parts, with the first taking place in both 2009 and 2019 while the rest are set in 2019 only. We jump between John, the main, and Heimer, the father of the missing girl. I didn't particularly like most of the characters in this book, because most of them felt very stereotypical (the fat cops who protect their own, the superhero main character who figures everything out in a week when the local police force hasn't in ten years, the rich bossy and emotionally cold woman, the lawyer who doesn't care about the truth, etc). John eventually grew on me, but he frustrated me a lot in the beginning because he was so arrogant and prejudiced (whilst blaming the local cops for being prejudiced). His character became way better written during the last two parts and he had a lot more depth to him at that point, but the other characters still felt very stereotypical. John's mom was pretty alright though, character-wise, and also Mona (she was actually really cool).
What made it exciting to read this book for me was that there were a lot of red herrings and none of them felt ridiculous, obvious or out of place. It could've been anyone and the book slowly hones in on the true perpetrator as your own conclusions start to form. That part was actually really well written and I wished the characters had been as well written as the overall mystery.
I had a lot of issue with the dialogue as well, because it didn't feel natural at some points. Since it takes place in Värmland I'm guessing the authors wanted to emulate the dialect, but instead of it sounding like people were speaking dialect, it sounded like people were speaking weirdly archaic. It didn't work as well as they probably hoped or thought it would. Dialects are pretty difficult to write and sometimes it's better to not just write them at all.
The thing about showing and telling that I mentioned earlier was what probably drew this book out more than necessary. So many times we were shown something and then a character tells it to us right after, as if I, as a reader, am incapable of picking it up on my own. You have to have some expectations of your readers, because your readers will otherwise feel like you're calling them stupid. Readers can pick up a lot of information when it is shown and showing is also a lot more interesting than just telling us that "this character is like this, which John can see based on..."
Not sure how to end this review, just needed to write down my thoughts for a bit.
December 5, 2020
Meh. Ehkä sellainen 2,5 tähden kirja, mutta odotuksiin nähden todella pettymys. Lähtökohdat oli kunnossa: todistajansuojeluohjelman kautta Ruotsiin päätyvä yhdysvaltalaispoliisi, vuosikymmen aiemmin kadonnut perijätär, pienehkö kaupunkin jossa kaikki tuntevat kaikki. Mutta kun ei niin ei. Isoin ongelma tässä oli tyhjäkäynti. Tuntuu, että sivukaupalla keskityttiin asioihin, jotka muka liittyivät juoneen, mutta jotka olisi oikein hyvin voinut myös jättää pois. Alku lähti käyntiin hitaasti ja sitten lopussa oli taas hirveä kiire, kun kaikki langanpätkät piti saada solmittua. Ja lopulta tuo kadonneen tytön (koska totta kai kyseessä on nuori nainen eikä koskaan esimerkiksi poika...) tapaus ei ollut erityisen mielenkiintoinen tai erityinen. Lopun cliffhanger toki varmistaa sen, että paremman tekemisen puutteessa seuraavakin osa ehkä tulee luettua.
February 7, 2022
Der FBI-Agent John Adderley wird nach einem Undercover-Einsatz gegen eine nigerianische Drogen-Gang vor Gericht aussagen und erhält im Gegenzug Zeugenschutz und eine neue Identität. So weit so gut. Doch John Adderley ist in Schweden aufgewachsen und als Jugendlicher mit seinem nigerianischen Vater in die USA ausgewandert. Als Reaktion auf einen Anruf seiner Mutter hin will er ausgerechnet eine neue Identität im schwedischen Karlstad. Dort soll ein Ermittlungsverfahren wieder aufgenommen werden in einem ungelösten Alt-Fall, in dem vor Jahren sein jüngerer Bruder verdächtigt wurde. Die Leiche des Opfers war nie gefunden worden und Billy hatte – erstaunlich mürrisch für einen Mordverdächtigen – die Tat stets geleugnet.
Das Szenario wirkt absurd; denn wie soll ausgerechnet der Sohn eines nigerianischen Vaters in seiner Heimatregion untertauchen, ohne dort erkannt zu werden. John steigt als amerikanischer Kollege Adamsson ins Cold-Case-Team ein. Er muss sich an manche schwedische Eigenheit erst wieder gewöhnen; kein Alkohol im Dienst, kein Alkohol am Steuer. Wundern sollte er sich auch darüber, dass die Ermittlungen unter der Fuchtel des Leiters von damals organisiert werden. War der Sinn einer Cold-Case-Ermittlung nicht gerade, dass „neue Besen“, neue Ideen und verbesserte Untersuchungsverfahren einen neuen Blick auf einen ungelösten Fall liefern sollten? John hat eher den Eindruck, dass der Ruf der Polizei nicht angetastet werden darf und sein Bruder – der wirklich kein Unschuldslamm ist – das Bauernopfer bleiben wird.
Das Autoren-Duo Peter Nyström/Peter Mohlin lässt sich sehr viel Zeit, die beteiligten Personen mit allen Ecken und Kanten zu charakterisieren. So hatte ich beim Lesen genug Muße, mir Gedanken über Widersprüche und Ermittlungsfehler zu machen und nach dem schwächsten Punkt in diesem ungewöhnlichen Setting zu suchen. Würde John nach einer schweren Schussverletzung wirklich dienstfähig sein? Würden seine Mutter und Bruder Billy seinen Anordnungen folgen? Waren die Familienverhältnisse der vermissten Emelie nicht sehr sonderbar? Warum hatte niemand ermittelt, warum sie so verändert aus ihrer Drogen-Therapie zurückkehrte? Und warum sind die Ermittlungsakten unvollständig?
Ein psychologisch hochinteressanter Roman, dessen Plot-Splitter zwar nicht völlig neu sind, der mich als Serien-Einstiegsband jedoch bis zum letzten Kapitel fesseln konnte.
Das Szenario wirkt absurd; denn wie soll ausgerechnet der Sohn eines nigerianischen Vaters in seiner Heimatregion untertauchen, ohne dort erkannt zu werden. John steigt als amerikanischer Kollege Adamsson ins Cold-Case-Team ein. Er muss sich an manche schwedische Eigenheit erst wieder gewöhnen; kein Alkohol im Dienst, kein Alkohol am Steuer. Wundern sollte er sich auch darüber, dass die Ermittlungen unter der Fuchtel des Leiters von damals organisiert werden. War der Sinn einer Cold-Case-Ermittlung nicht gerade, dass „neue Besen“, neue Ideen und verbesserte Untersuchungsverfahren einen neuen Blick auf einen ungelösten Fall liefern sollten? John hat eher den Eindruck, dass der Ruf der Polizei nicht angetastet werden darf und sein Bruder – der wirklich kein Unschuldslamm ist – das Bauernopfer bleiben wird.
Das Autoren-Duo Peter Nyström/Peter Mohlin lässt sich sehr viel Zeit, die beteiligten Personen mit allen Ecken und Kanten zu charakterisieren. So hatte ich beim Lesen genug Muße, mir Gedanken über Widersprüche und Ermittlungsfehler zu machen und nach dem schwächsten Punkt in diesem ungewöhnlichen Setting zu suchen. Würde John nach einer schweren Schussverletzung wirklich dienstfähig sein? Würden seine Mutter und Bruder Billy seinen Anordnungen folgen? Waren die Familienverhältnisse der vermissten Emelie nicht sehr sonderbar? Warum hatte niemand ermittelt, warum sie so verändert aus ihrer Drogen-Therapie zurückkehrte? Und warum sind die Ermittlungsakten unvollständig?
Ein psychologisch hochinteressanter Roman, dessen Plot-Splitter zwar nicht völlig neu sind, der mich als Serien-Einstiegsband jedoch bis zum letzten Kapitel fesseln konnte.
August 16, 2021
John Adderley, FBI agent and all around suave dude, helps take down a major Nigerian drug trafficking group, and then heads into witness protection after being shot. His mother, who lives in Sweden, sends him a packet containing information related to the arrest of his brother, also in Sweden, for the murder of a young girl. It's a cold case, now, and his mother insists that his brother is innocent. Instead of sitting around, waiting for the case against the Nigerians to wind its way through the legal system - and petty much blackmailing his boss - Adderley heads to Sweden to look into the case of Emile, the subject of the cold case.
Generally speaking, I really do enjoy Nordic noir. This was....ok. The idea of it was good: guy born in Sweden is taken by his father to the US, joins the FBI, goes undercover to bust up a drug ring, then goes to Sweden, undercover again under another name, to help with a cold case. It's rather unusual, but I can go with it.
The book switches between 2009 and 2019, telling the backstory of Emile's murder, and Adderley's progression from undercover FBI agent to undercover cold case investigator in Sweden. The first half is chocked with quite a lot of first date information: who Adderley is, who the people around him are, and the situations both in the US and Sweden. I expect this from the first book in a new series, so I won't ding it for that.
I will, however, ding it for taking up the entire first half of the book. We don't need to know every single little detail - the descriptions of everything take forever to get through, and the book doesn't really pick up the pace until about the 60% mark (on a Fire tablet).
In addition, Adderley is supposedly scare of a Nigerian hi team coming after him and the other FBI agent who was embedded in the same cell. But he dresses in (impeccable) suits and drives an American muscle car all over the place while at the same time ensuring that people remember him due to the way he acts an how perilously close he comes to revealing that he has been in contact with his family,which is a no-no, per his new Swedish handlers.
More bodies pile up, and I will give give credit to the authors for having a number of suspects, all with motives that could cast suspicion on them to be the culprit. The real culprit, though, is eventually caught, and Adderley and his Swedish handler do an absurdly ridiculous thing with him and the dead girl's father.
Overall, it's a good enough read that I'll put it down with three stars.
Thanks to Abrams and NetGalley for the reading copy.
Generally speaking, I really do enjoy Nordic noir. This was....ok. The idea of it was good: guy born in Sweden is taken by his father to the US, joins the FBI, goes undercover to bust up a drug ring, then goes to Sweden, undercover again under another name, to help with a cold case. It's rather unusual, but I can go with it.
The book switches between 2009 and 2019, telling the backstory of Emile's murder, and Adderley's progression from undercover FBI agent to undercover cold case investigator in Sweden. The first half is chocked with quite a lot of first date information: who Adderley is, who the people around him are, and the situations both in the US and Sweden. I expect this from the first book in a new series, so I won't ding it for that.
I will, however, ding it for taking up the entire first half of the book. We don't need to know every single little detail - the descriptions of everything take forever to get through, and the book doesn't really pick up the pace until about the 60% mark (on a Fire tablet).
In addition, Adderley is supposedly scare of a Nigerian hi team coming after him and the other FBI agent who was embedded in the same cell. But he dresses in (impeccable) suits and drives an American muscle car all over the place while at the same time ensuring that people remember him due to the way he acts an how perilously close he comes to revealing that he has been in contact with his family,which is a no-no, per his new Swedish handlers.
More bodies pile up, and I will give give credit to the authors for having a number of suspects, all with motives that could cast suspicion on them to be the culprit. The real culprit, though, is eventually caught, and Adderley and his Swedish handler do an absurdly ridiculous thing with him and the dead girl's father.
Overall, it's a good enough read that I'll put it down with three stars.
Thanks to Abrams and NetGalley for the reading copy.
June 22, 2022
“Like I said, I don’t know anything about your baggage. But I know one thing: you are in charge of deciding how to deal with it. What’s done is done and there’s nothing you can do to change that. You can only do it differently next time. And you have the power. It’s there. You just haven’t found it yet.” P 339
Lifelong friends, Peter Mohlin and Peter Nyström are a bit of a dynamic duo as co-authors of their debut novel, The Bucket List. This is the first is the Agent John Adderley series and honestly is an excellent new addition to the Scandi Noir collection.
Set in central southern Sweden in the town of Karlstad, The Bucket List follows the story of a ten year old cold case, reopened and piquing the interest of Adderley for a variety of personal reasons. The case sees Adderley return to his home town in an attempt to clear his brother’s name as a suspect in the suspected murder of teenager Emilie Bjurwall. Complicated by being in witness protection along with the blur of lines between police work and family, John aka Frederik Adamsson finds himself embroiled in controversy at just about every turn.
While the novel and characters are slightly linear and a bit one dimensional for my liking I still thoroughly enjoyed the read. Mohlin and Nyström are talented storytellers and have crafted a great story that honestly kept me glued to the pages at every opportunity. The cliffhanger at the finish of the book makes me super keen to read the next one when I can. 4.5 stars ... rounded to 5.
Lifelong friends, Peter Mohlin and Peter Nyström are a bit of a dynamic duo as co-authors of their debut novel, The Bucket List. This is the first is the Agent John Adderley series and honestly is an excellent new addition to the Scandi Noir collection.
Set in central southern Sweden in the town of Karlstad, The Bucket List follows the story of a ten year old cold case, reopened and piquing the interest of Adderley for a variety of personal reasons. The case sees Adderley return to his home town in an attempt to clear his brother’s name as a suspect in the suspected murder of teenager Emilie Bjurwall. Complicated by being in witness protection along with the blur of lines between police work and family, John aka Frederik Adamsson finds himself embroiled in controversy at just about every turn.
While the novel and characters are slightly linear and a bit one dimensional for my liking I still thoroughly enjoyed the read. Mohlin and Nyström are talented storytellers and have crafted a great story that honestly kept me glued to the pages at every opportunity. The cliffhanger at the finish of the book makes me super keen to read the next one when I can. 4.5 stars ... rounded to 5.
August 3, 2022
John Adderley é um ex agente do FBI que regressa à sua cidade natal na Suécia, para ilibar o seu irmão de uma acusação de homicídio ocorrido há 10 anos.
Esta é a permissa do livro A Lista de Desejos que nos mostra a investigação de John, agora integrado na Policia sueca, e que através de várias reviravoltas vamos perceber que nem tudo é o que parece!
O início tem um ritmo lento mas que vai evoluindo para uma escrita viciante, cheia de plot twists onde só descobrimos a identidade do verdadeiro assassino no final.
Esta é a permissa do livro A Lista de Desejos que nos mostra a investigação de John, agora integrado na Policia sueca, e que através de várias reviravoltas vamos perceber que nem tudo é o que parece!
O início tem um ritmo lento mas que vai evoluindo para uma escrita viciante, cheia de plot twists onde só descobrimos a identidade do verdadeiro assassino no final.
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