A very enjoyable and entertaining Swedish crime thriller. In Sweden the Minister of Justice steps out of the Parliament House and disappears. In Denmark a woman is attacked in her home. In Sweden the disappearance of the Justice Minister is secretly assigned to Fabian Risk, In Denmark the murder is assigned to Dunja Hougaard to the fury of some of her fellow detectives. Further murders in both cities put pressure on both investigations. When it appears that suspects have been identified in each investigation the investigations are pushed into a new direction that leads to a very dark conclusion.
This is a big story and it takes a little time for the momentum to build sufficiently to really compel the reader. There is a huge cast and a constantly shifting narrative which means that the reader is getting a lot of new information before the rhythm of the story clearly emerges.When it does the superb plot mechanics and the deeply engaging cast are very compelling.
The plot mechanics are constantly unexpected, setting up reader expectations and defying them in a very smart and considered way. The structures of the story reveal themselves steadily, the major and minor reveals are superbly staged and the deeply laid connections emerge to complicate everything just as they should.
The cast are great, Fabian Risk, Malin Rehnberg and Dunja Hougaard are given the chance to emerge as fully developed personalities as well as competent, committed police officers. Their personal lives are not just tacked on to their work, they extend and develop who they are in meaningful way. Malin Rehnberg’s pregnancy is both realistic and is never used to undermine her position, competence or authority. The supporting cast, including the victims are all given time to register as much more than plot devices, they have time and opportunity to make themselves heard. Stefan Ahnhem has solved the problem presented by a fabulously effective super-villain, the motive is forceful and weighty and he solves the how with economy and credible detail.
There is a event in the story that takes place at a critical time that did not ring true, one of the leading cast members finds themselves in a very difficult position, their response was deeply unsatisfactory, not from a story point of view but as a character. Either the response was wildly uncharacteristic and needed further explanation or the needs of the plot forced the writer to shortchange the character. In such a carefully constructed book it stands out more that it might in another.
Paul Norlen’s translation is transparent, the story and cast are all naturally and completely Swedish and Danish, the cultural differences between both being a thread in the story, the English flows without ever being less than natural. Excellent crime fiction.
