Books 157-158: The Blinded Man and The Flesh Tailor
Book 157: The Blinded Man (Intercrime #1).
Author: Arne Dahl, 1998. Translated from the Swedish by Tiina Nunnally, 2011.
Genre: Crime Thriller. Police Procedural. Nordic Noir.
Other Details: Paperback. 448 pages.
Sweden's elite are under attack. Two rich and powerful men have been murdered, and in the face of mounting panic - and media hysteria - a task force has been created to catch the killer. To his surprise, Detective Paul Hjelm, currently under investigation for misconduct after shooting a man who took the staff of an immigration office hostage, is summoned to join the new team. But the killer has left no clues, even removing the bullets from the crime scenes, and Hjelm and his new teammates face a daunting challenge if they are to uncover the connection between the victims and catch the murderer before he kills again. - synopsis from UK publisher's website.
Unusually for Scandinavian crime fiction this was published in the US a year ahead of its UK publication under its original Swedish title: Misterioso, a title that I actually felt worked better than The Blinded Man once its relevance to the plot is made apparent.
I got very caught up in the BBC 4 showing of the Swedish TV adaptation of this series of crime thrillers. Reading the source material I thought it was quite a faithful adaptation from novel to small screen though the gender of lead police detective was changed. Even though I was familiar with the plot there were plenty of added details in the longer treatment of the novel. I found it a highly engaging read in which the case unfolded elegantly clue by clue. I can hardly wait to read the next book recently translated into English and hope that others in the series, 10 to date, follow in due course.
Book 158: The Flesh Tailor (Wesley Peterson #14).
Author: Kate Ellis, 2010.
Genre: Crime Thriller. Police Procedural. Historical Mystery.
Other Details: Large Print Hardback. 413 pages.
When Dr James Dalcott is shot dead in his cottage it looks very much like an execution. And as DI Wesley Peterson begins piecing together the victim's life, he finds that the well-liked country doctor had been harbouring strange and dramatic family secrets. Meanwhile archaeologist Neil Watson has discovered a number of skeletons at nearby Tailors Court that bear marks of dissection and might be linked to tales of body-snatching by a rogue physician in the sixteenth century. But when Neil finds the bones of a child buried with a 1930s coin, the investigation takes a sinister turn. - synopsis from author's website.
Although I certainly enjoyed this instalment it didn't grab my attention as much as the last few of the series have done. It felt a little flat in comparison and I'm not really certain why; maybe the plot was a little too twisty or I just felt that Wesley and Co weren't quite on form during this outing? Hopefully the next one will bounce back.
Cross-posted to 50bookchallenge.