CELL 8

by Anders Roslund and Borge Hellstrom - to be released January 2012

John Meyer Frey was sentenced to death at the age of 17 in Ohio.  Tried as an adult, he was convicted of brutally murdering his girlfriend Elizabeth Finnigan.  John steadfastly proclaims his innocence and is befriended by guards and fellow prisonsoners during his decade on death row.

Edward Finnigan, Elizabeth's father, longs for the day when he can watch John Frey die.  He feels cheated when Frey dies of heart disease before he can be executed, and he's unable to let go of the grief and hatred that have consumed his life.

Fast forward a few years and John Schwarz, a singer on a ferry between Finland and Sweden is arrested for violently attacking a drunken ferry passenger.  Detective Inpsector Ewert Grens of the Stockholm Police is intrigued when the police begin to realize that Schwarz has been living in Sweden under an assumed name.  As dogged an investigator as he was in THREE SECONDS, Grens won't rest until he knows Schwarz's real identity.  As the facts come to light, reaching all the way to the United States, Grens finds himself in the unusual position of trying to keep a criminal from being extradited to a country that condones and enforces the death penalty.

Inspector Grens is almost as solitary as he was in THREE SECONDS, but it's heartening to note that Roslund and Hellstrom have given more depth to this likable character in CELL 8, as he begins to enjoy life a little more.

CELL 8 is a fine mystery, but it's more than that.  It's also a thought provoking discourse on the death penalty and of the politics and machinations involved in extradition between countries with differing views of this form of punishment.

ISBN 978-1-4027-8715-7
Pub. Date:  January 3, 2012
376 pages
Hardcover and eBook

THE BOY IN THE SUITCASE - A Nina Borg Mystery

by Lene Kaaberbol and Agnete Friis - just released

Nina Borg's life is a busy one.  With two children of her own, her job is to help people; working as a nurse for a secret organization that provides medical care to illegals. When she agrees to meet her longtime friend Karin for lunch, Karin begs her to fetch a package from a public locker at the Copenhagen train station.  Unwilling to explain what's in the locker, Karin's parting words send Nina down the rabbit hole.

Nina discovers a drugged and naked young boy in a suitcase inside of the locker.  The boy, Mikas, is unable to speak Danish and when Nina discovers that Karin has been murdered, she doesn't know where to turn or who or what she's running from, trying to stay a step ahead of some very dangerous people searching for Mikas.

Another woman is equally desperate; Sigita Ramoskiene, a Lithuanian woman, wakes up in a hospital, the victim of an apparent alcohol overdose.  She doesn't have any memory of what happened to her and discovers that her young son Mikas is missing.  The tension builds as Nina struggles to identify and protect the boy, while miles away Sigita frantically searches for her son .  Unknown to each other, both women become deeply immersed in the horror of human trafficking.

THE BOY IN THE SUITCASE is a taut and satisfying Scandinavian thriller.

ISBN 978-1-56947-0
Pub. Date:  November 2011
313 Pages
Hardcover and eBook

THE REDBREAST - Harry Hole Novel No. 1

by Jo Nesbo
Translated by Don Bartlett

Inspector Harry Hole has somehow embarrassed the department.  As punishment, he's assigned to surveillance of neo-nazi activity in Oslo.

Expecting this to be a dull and annoying assignment, Harry is soon knee deep in murders; someone is targeting disgraced old solders and using an old, rare gun to do it.  Travelling back decades, THE REDBREAST reflects on the Norwegian government's collaboration with the Nazis during WWII, a dark period for Norway.

I came to this series more than a little late and read the Harry Hole novels completely out of order.  That said, THE REDBREAST was still wonderfully written, and is a compelling mystery from Jo Nesbo.  I do recommend that you start with this one if you're going to venture into this series, to better appreciate the interaction of the characters.

Pub. Date - 2000 and 2006
ISBN 978-0-06-113400-5
512 pages
Available in paperback

THE SNOWMAN - Insp. Harry Hole Series

by Jo Nesbo
Translated by Don Bartlett

One of the finest Scandinavian policemen, Harry Hole, is back is this new release from Nesbo. 

During the first snow of the season in Oslo, a young boy wakes up to find his mother has disappeared.  Outside of his window there is a new snowman wearing his mother's scarf.  Harry Hole and Katrine Bratt are investigating the disappearance when another woman goes missing during a new snowfall, and again, a snowman suddenly appears.  But this time, the killer has added part of the woman's body to his icy sculpture. 

Harry received a strange letter months earlier that made reference to snowmen and a serial killer from early in his career.  He realizes that the anonymous letter is connected to these new murders but he doesn't yet know what the connection is.  As the investigation and murders continue, it's apparent that the killer is taunting Harry personally.  With his bosses and the press breathing down his neck, the race is on to find the killer. 

Nesbo continues to paint Hole as an intelligent and intuitive investigator, but at the same time a lonely and damaged man.  Harry still struggles with his drinking problem and his relationship with Rakel is all but over.  She has moved on, but Harry is having trouble letting go, in part because of the sexual tension between them. 

Darker than Nesbo's previous novels, THE SNOWMAN is a stunning and complex mystery that deserves to go to the top of your reading list.

Pub. Date May 2011
ISBN 978-0-307-59586-7
400 pages
Available in hardcover and eBook

NEMESIS - Insp. Harry Hole Series

by Jo Nesbo
Translated by Don Bartlett

I read NEMESIS after reading and enjoying Jo Nesbo's latest Harry Hole mystery, THE SNOWMAN (which I'll review next).

An Oslo bank is robbed and the thief holds a gun to a cashier's head.  He tells her to count to 25; the number of seconds he allows the manager to open the cash box.  When the countdown is exceeded by just a few seconds, the robber shoots and kills the cashier before disappearing with the money.

Inspector Harry Hole is investigating, joined by Det. Beate Lonn who has an interesting talent; she can remember every face she's ever seen. 

There are so many things going on in Harry's life.  His girlfriend Rakel is in Russia fighting a custody battle with her son's father.  While she's away, Harry has been contacted by a former girlfriend to get together for old times' sake.  He's determined to remain true to Rakel, but after meeting up with Anna Bethsen, he wakes up the next morning with a blinding hangover and no recollection of anything from the previous evening.  Harry's problems are multiplying and the story is heating up when he's called to the scene of Anna's apparent suicide that day.

Nesbo's intricate novel is as much about his imperfect and troubled lead detective as it is about the crimes he's investigating.  Harry is a recovering alcoholic who constantly battles his impulse to imbibe; something that is well known to police hierarchy.  He's also learning to work with Lonn who struggles with the ghost of how her father died in the line of duty.  Harry is dogged by Tom Waaler, a mean and narcissistic character and Harry's long time adversary.  Waaler wants nothing more than to take Harry down. 

Nesbo deftly weaves all of the plot lines together in a totally satisfying and intelligent mystery. 

Pub. Date January 2009
ISBN 978-1-616-83565-1
440 pages
Available in hardcover, paperback and eBook

MISTERIOSO

by Arne Dahl - to be released July 11, 2011

The powers that be have decided to use Det. Paul Hjelm as a scapegoat following his handling of a hostage situation at the immigration office.  Although Hjelm diffused the situation, it wasn't by the book and he knows he's in trouble. 

Fully expecting to be unemployed, instead he is picked to be part of an elite team  of officers from across Sweden; hand picked because of their ability to think outside the box.  The six member team is led by Jan-Olov Hultin and has been assigned the task of trying to identify and catch the killer who has been executing Swedish businessmen.

With seven different egos to deal with, it takes the team a while to coalesce, but once they're up and running they're quickly immersed in their task.  Following the theme of many Scandinavian novels, the team's investigation finds them wading through ties to the Russian mafia as well as dealing with the national problem of the Swedish  fear and loathing of immigrants.

Ever since I read Stieg Larsson's wonderful trilogy I've discovered more authors from that chilly section of the globe.  Perhaps it's because of the long winters that force them indoors, or just that the Scandinavian publishing industry has decided to follow the coattails of Larsson's amazing success, but whatever the reason and lucky for us, intelligent and intricate Scandiavian mysteries have reached our shores in abundance.  Jo Nesbo of Norway, the writing duo of Anders Roslund and Borge Hellstrom from Sweden, as well as Arnaldur Indridson of Iceland have all produced solid and enjoyable mysteries and thrillers that have been translated for the English speaking market.  Award winning Swedish author Arne Dahl joins this esteemed group and MISTERIOSO is the first book in his crime trilogy. 

ISBN 978-0-375-42535-6
352 pages

BOX 21

by Anders Roslund and Borge Hellstrom - available in paperback

BOX 21 is another gritty Swedish thriller from the authors of THREE SECONDS (which I reviewed in December).  

Written before THREE SECONDS, this novel is the story of Lydia and Alena, two beautiful young girls from Lithuania, who were enticed to Sweden with the promise of good jobs and a better life.  Instead, they were two more victims of human trafficking and were quickly locked away, beaten and sexually abused repeatedly and used as prostitutes. 

When Lydia is beaten injured, the police intervene and we're reintroduced to Det. Inspector Ewert Grens, the sad and lonely protagonist from THREE SECONDS.  Hospitalized for her injuries, Lydia is aided by Alena in obtaining a weapon and explosives and, after taking hostages in the hospital, she demands to talk to Bengt Nordwall, Grens' longtime friend and colleague. The hostage situation is quickly out of control, and coincides with Grens' hope of finally arresting the man who destroyed his life when he permanently injured Anni, Grens' love and fellow officer many years before.

All of the evidence Lydia has amassed about the horrors she and Alena endured are on a videotape in Box 21 at the Central Rail Station.  But Grens has to make a tortured decision about who is best served by revealing the evidence, risking his career in the process.

Once again Roslund and Hellstrom have lifted the veil on a small part of the bleak underbelly in Sweden as well as the hopelessness of actually stopping the flow of human trafficking.  Missing was a more in-depth view of Grens' character, but BOX 21, though not as intricate as THREE SECONDS, was still a compelling mystery.