The Inspector and Silence

[Van Veeteren] tackles a murder investigation as if it were a knotty chess problem. . . . There's much to be said for a quiet man with a good mind. The New York Times Book Review Elegantly penned. . . . Thoroughly enjoyable. . . . [A] twisty layered tale that should keep even seasoned mystery fans guessing. . . . Just as Van Veeteren is no typical fictional detective, Nesser is no typical mystery writer. And The Inspector and Silence is no typical summer read: a Swedish vacation tale that visits the darkness with appropriate gravity but doesn't wallow in itall the while managing to entertain. Cleveland Plain Dealer A thrilling investigation. Newsweek What's surprisingly refreshing about Nesser's writing, given the subject matter, is the wry humor and sarcasm of his characters, that and a storyline that will keep you riveted till the final page. . . . Where Jo Nesbø's approach is more physical, visceral, Nesser's Chief Inspector Van Veeteren is much more cerebral. A chess player and lover of classical music and art films, Van Veeteren is nevertheless a bit of a curmudgeon, world-weary and nearing retirement, not unlike Henning Mankell's Kurt Wallander. San Antonio Express-News Evocatively drawn. . . . A work of great moral complexity. . . . The clarity of Nesser's vision, the inner problems of good and evil with which Van Veeteren struggles, recall the films of Bergman. The Independent (London) [A] riveting tale. . . . [Van Veeteren] is the perfect detective for the jobploddingly thorough and cerebral, with keen intuition about the darker reaches of the human character. Minneapolis Star Tribune This is stylish, atmospheric crime fiction with a strong moral core from an award-winning author; essential for readers of the genre. Library Journal Nesser concentrates on character and relationships in his novels. . . . His latest moves along leisurely, giving readers the opportunity to savor the style of his hero without worries of international conspiracies lurking in the Swedish forests. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette A taut and compelling mystery in a consistently outstanding series. Booklist Satisfying. . . . Van Veeteren, disengaged, thinking of retirement and wonderfully enigmatic, makes an enjoyable change from all those fictional policemen who persist in taking their work home with disastrous consequences. The Guardian (London) Informationen zum Autor Hakan Nesser was awarded the 1993 Swedish Crime Writers' Academy Prize for new authors for Mind's Eye , and he received the best novel award in 1994 for Borkmann's Point and in 1996 for Woman with Birthmark. In 1999 he was awarded the Crime Writers of Scandinavia's Glass Key Award for the best crime novel of the year for Carambole. And in 2010, he was the second recipient of the European Crime Fiction Star Award (the Ripper Award); the first recipient was Henning Mankell. Nesser lives in Sweden and London. Klappentext In this enthralling new addition to Hakan Nesser's acclaimed Inspector Van Veeteren series, the Swedish detective must crack a secretive and uncooperative religious sect in order to solve a string of brutal murders. When one of the Pure Life's members is found raped and strangled in the forest near the group's camp, the Chief Inspector is called to investigate. The Pure Life has chosen to remain silent about the incident rather than defend itself, so Van Veeteren's only lead is the anonymous caller who reported the body. As the unidentified woman continues to assist the authorities, her knowledge suggests she's more than just a passing Good Samaritan, but her tips become doubly perplexing as a new string of increasingly horrifying crimes defy everything Van Veeteren and his team thought they knew about ...

Autorentext

Hakan Nesser was awarded the 1993 Swedish Crime Writers’ Academy Prize for new authors for Mind’s Eye, and he received the best novel award in 1994 for Borkmann’s Point and in 1996 for Woman with Birthmark. In 1999 he was awarded the Crime Writers of Scandinavia’s Glass Key Award for the best crime novel of the year for Carambole. And in 2010, he was the second recipient of the European Crime Fiction Star Award (the Ripper Award); the first recipient was Henning Mankell. Nesser lives in Sweden and London.

Klappentext

In this enthralling new addition to Hakan Nesser's acclaimed Inspector Van Veeteren series, the Swedish detective must crack a secretive and uncooperative religious sect in order to solve a string of brutal murders. When one of the Pure Life's members is found raped and strangled in the forest near the group's camp, the Chief Inspector is called to investigate. The Pure Life has chosen to remain silent about the incident rather than defend itself, so Van Veeteren's only lead is the anonymous caller who reported the body. As the unidentified woman continues to assist the authorities, her knowledge suggests she's more than just a passing Good Samaritan, but her tips become doubly perplexing as a new string of increasingly horrifying crimes defy everything Van Veeteren and his team thought they knew about the case.

Zusammenfassung

In this enthralling new addition to Hakan Nesser’s acclaimed Inspector Van Veeteren series, the Swedish detective must crack a secretive and uncooperative religious sect in order to solve a string of brutal murders.
 
When one of the Pure Life’s members is found raped and strangled in the forest near the group’s camp, the Chief Inspector is called to investigate. The Pure Life has chosen to remain silent about the incident rather than defend itself, so Van Veeteren’s only lead is the anonymous caller who reported the body. As the unidentified woman continues to assist the authorities, her knowledge suggests she’s more than just a passing Good Samaritan, but her tips become doubly perplexing as a new string of increasingly horrifying crimes defy everything Van Veeteren and his team thought they knew about the case.

Leseprobe

1
 
The girl in bed number 12 woke up early.
 
A summer morning. The gentle light of dawn sneaked in through the inadequate curtains. Started thawing out the night, a bit at a time. Levering up the darkness out of corners, prying into the other girls’ innocent dreams. Their contented sniffling. She lay there for a while, listening to them. Trying to identify them. Kathrine was lying on her back as usual, snoring gently through her open mouth. Belle was hissing like a snake. To her right, Marieke was puffing away; one arm was dangling down by the side of the bed, and her mop of red hair was spread like a fan over her pillow. A drop of saliva trembled in the corner of her mouth—perhaps she should creep over to her and use a corner of the sheet to wipe it away? But she desisted.
 
She would have liked to tell Marieke what she was going to do. Marieke if nobody else. Say something; leave a message, anything. But she still hadn’t made up her mind the previous evening. She’d been hemming and hawing. It wasn’t an easy decision to make. She’d lain there, brooding over it, tossing and turning and making the iron-framed bed groan and creak until well into the night—both Marieke and Ruth had wondered if she was ill, and Belle had begged her several times to stop making such a racket.
 
Belle was a bit of a pain, but her dad was a close friend of Yellinek’s so it was advisable to keep well in with her. That’s what they said, at least. But then, they said all kinds of things at the Waldingen camp.
 
Anyway, she’d been tossing and turning. She had no idea when she’d eventually fallen asleep, nor did she know what time it was now—but her body was telling her that she hadn’t had all that much sleep. In any case, now the moment had arrived—and, ah well, …