Asa Larsson
Book 2 of Rebecka Martinsson
Language: English
Amazon ISBN
Fiction General Legal Suspense
Publisher: Penguin
Published: Jan 1, 2004
Huber's slightly nasal, vaguely Middle-American drawl is a strange fit for a murder mystery set in northern Sweden. I The strategy is mostly effective, though, rendering Larsson's novel about the puzzling death of a priest more familiar to American listeners than it might otherwise appear. In her reading, Sweden is just next door to Michigan, and the aggressive normalcy of Huber's no-nonsense voice brings the terrible conundrum of lawyer Rebecka Martinsson, embroiled in guilt and anger and a desire to understand after an accidental death, to life. Huber makes no effort to sound Swedish, other than pronouncing names and places properly, and in the end, this gives Larsson's mystery a familiar, well-worn feel it might otherwise lack. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Starred Review Larsson's chilling American debut, Sun Storm(2006), won Sweden's Best First Crime Novel award in 2003. In it, she introduced readers to Rebecka Martinsson, a Stockholm tax attorney who kills three men to stop a bizarre homicidal spree. (The trouble began with the slaying of a church founder in Rebecka's native Kiruna, the northernmost city in Sweden). Two years later, just as Rebecka is finding some semblance of sanity in her life, a case brings her back to Kiruna, where another member of the clergy has been murdered. (The victim this time is Mildred Nilsson, an outspoken feminist priest who had as many enemies as friends.) Rebecka soon renews her acquaintance with shrewd but kindly policewoman Anna-Maria Mella and meets a host of townspeople who run the gamut from suspicious to serene. Rebecka's return to her hometown prompts memories of her childhood, which keep her grounded as she plunges deeper into the case. Larsson, who was born and raised in Kiruna, delivers plenty of suspense, but her real gift lies in her ability to climb inside the minds of her characters, analyzing their motivations for doing damage and good. She vividly evokes midsummer in rural Sweden, where endless daylight is no deterrent to dark deeds. Allison BlockCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Description:
From Publishers Weekly
Huber's slightly nasal, vaguely Middle-American drawl is a strange fit for a murder mystery set in northern Sweden. I The strategy is mostly effective, though, rendering Larsson's novel about the puzzling death of a priest more familiar to American listeners than it might otherwise appear. In her reading, Sweden is just next door to Michigan, and the aggressive normalcy of Huber's no-nonsense voice brings the terrible conundrum of lawyer Rebecka Martinsson, embroiled in guilt and anger and a desire to understand after an accidental death, to life. Huber makes no effort to sound Swedish, other than pronouncing names and places properly, and in the end, this gives Larsson's mystery a familiar, well-worn feel it might otherwise lack.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Booklist
Starred Review Larsson's chilling American debut, Sun Storm(2006), won Sweden's Best First Crime Novel award in 2003. In it, she introduced readers to Rebecka Martinsson, a Stockholm tax attorney who kills three men to stop a bizarre homicidal spree. (The trouble began with the slaying of a church founder in Rebecka's native Kiruna, the northernmost city in Sweden). Two years later, just as Rebecka is finding some semblance of sanity in her life, a case brings her back to Kiruna, where another member of the clergy has been murdered. (The victim this time is Mildred Nilsson, an outspoken feminist priest who had as many enemies as friends.) Rebecka soon renews her acquaintance with shrewd but kindly policewoman Anna-Maria Mella and meets a host of townspeople who run the gamut from suspicious to serene. Rebecka's return to her hometown prompts memories of her childhood, which keep her grounded as she plunges deeper into the case. Larsson, who was born and raised in Kiruna, delivers plenty of suspense, but her real gift lies in her ability to climb inside the minds of her characters, analyzing their motivations for doing damage and good. She vividly evokes midsummer in rural Sweden, where endless daylight is no deterrent to dark deeds. Allison Block
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved