English Translations of Scandinavian/Nordic Mysteries & Thrillers discussion

Have you started? What do you think so far?

I'm enjoying this one a lot more than "The Man on the Balcony" so far. I really enjoy the character descriptions, and feel that this one already, 50 pages in, gave more insight into Martin Beck that all of the last book.

I actually liked it quite a bit. This is my first Maj Sjowall novel and it won't be the last. I liked the character backgrounds and descriptions. There was just enough personal info without it being overkill. sometimes an author delves too much into establishing a main character in a series that the crime itself seems like an after thought.

I'm enjoying this one quite a lot. Definitely more so than "The Man on the Balcony" (which I did actually like until the ending, which I thought was completely anti-climactic). I'm also enjoying the side characters introduced in this one and the subtle humor. I'm about 75% done, but I'll say that I still think Roseanna is my favorite of the first four.

I really enjoyed this one! I won't give anything away, but I thought the ending was great. Overall a very close tie with Roseanna for my favorite and much much better than the Man on the Balcony.

Kinda interested to see the American movie version of this starring Walter Matthau as Sergeant Jake Martin and set in San Francisco.

I would agree with Dave. It shows how they work as a team, finding out little tidbits and how being dead is not a hindrance. The ending is a classic.

I would prefer to see it as a movie shot in Sweden. All the characters were brought out in this book, they interest me.

I really, really liked this one too!

**POSSIBLE SPOILER ALERT***

I like thinking about class warfare, so this was pretty interesting for me on that level. Gunvald Larsson's speech (of all people!) at the end was great:

"I feel sorry for nearly everyone we meet in this job. They're just a lot of scum who wish they'd never been born. It's not their fault that everything goes to hell and they don't understand why. It's types like this one who wreck their lives. Smug swine who think only of their money and their houses and their so-called status. Who think they can order others about merely because they happen to be better off. There are thousands of such people and most of the are no so stupid that they strangle Portuguese whores. ASnd that's why we never get at them. We only see their victims. This guy's an exception."

I think that Gunvald Larsson has been set up to be a bad cop. Even when you get a comment like Molly's. You see him as a individual when he says this, but you still have the doubt.

Kenneth wrote: "I think that Gunvald Larsson has been set up to be a bad cop. Even when you get a comment like Molly's. You see him as a individual when he says this, but you still have the doubt."

I know! He's kind of fascinating. I wasn't expecting him, of all people, to come out with something so poignant. I'm really excited to see how he develops as a character.

It amazes me that Ahlberg was not used in this story. I guess he's been relegated to being a friend and a fishing buddy. But then they use Mansson and Ronn to be picked on as being sub-par detectives.
But they showed how even being sub-par was o.k.

I thought the same. I was expecting Ahlberg to play a bigger role and perhaps develop as more of a sounding board / comrade to Martin Beck in this story.

I am happy to see some of the minor characters developed though and have become especially fond of Kollburg and his interactions with his wife. A nice juxtaposition to that of Martin Becks personal life.

So sorry about the happenings in Norway. My heart goes out to those people. I guess it shows that it can happen anywhere. Sort of scary. I have friends that live in Tingsaker, Norway. Lisbeth and Tor Danielsen and family. Hope no harms come to them.

It's terrible, 92 people dead....

http://www.thelocal.se/35124/20110723/

The whole thing is completely gutting. This type of crime should stay in the novels, you know?

An I am reading the Snowman by Jo Nesbo. It's spooky.

Molly wrote: "The whole thing is completely gutting. This type of crime should stay in the novels, you know?"

Totally agree. Things like this should never happen in real life.

Okay, The Laughing Policeman finally arrived at my library branch. But I'm a fast reader! The first chapter is good!

I'm only halfway through, but what makes a huge impression on me is how contemporary the book seems. Obviously there are no hackers or cell phones or whatever, but the writing, the pace, even the language make me feel that I'm reading something that was written today.

Marie wrote: "I'm only halfway through, but what makes a huge impression on me is how contemporary the book seems. Obviously there are no hackers or cell phones or whatever, but the writing, the pace, even the l..."

That was something I noticed and appreciated as well. Other than the very minimal mention of the vietnam war protests, this could have been written anytime. I think that in fact the lack of technology used almost promotes the timelessness of these books.

My father-in-law was a NYC detective who worked the Son of Sam case and they solved it by good old fashion police work-no fancy gadgets. This book reminds me of all the minute details and hunches that they endlessly went over till something clicked. I passed this book onto my mother and she agrees it is a timeless detective story too.

I liked it, but was not as drawn into it as I have been with some of the other books I have been reading. I found it a bit dry in the beginning and only when they started to develop the characters more did I become more interested. I am not sure if that is because it is part of a series or the writing style or the translation.