Death Angels
A Chief Inspector Erik Winter Novel
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3.7 • 48 Ratings
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- $9.99
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
The debut thriller in the internationally acclaimed series? available for the first time in the United States
A long-time number one bestseller in his native Sweden, Åke Edwardson?s profile was conspicuously raised when his novel Frozen Tracks was chosen as a finalist for a 2008 Los Angeles Times Book Prize. Until now, however, the novel that launched Edwardson?s critically acclaimed Erik Winter series has never been available in the United States. With a new series translator who fully captures Edwardson?s signature atmospheric style, Death Angels is America?s introduction to Sweden?s youngest Chief Inspector as he teams up with Scotland Yard to solve the mysterious parallel killings of young British and Swedish tourists. Richly evocative of mid-nineties South London and Gothenburg, Sweden, Death Angels is a brilliant opening to a mesmerizing series that has become a phenomenon in international crime fiction.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Edwardson's middling fourth police procedural to be made available in the U.S. (after 2007's Frozen Tracks) lacks the sophisticated plot and characters that mark the work of such other Swedish crime authors as Helene Tursten and Stieg Larsson. Chief Insp. Erik Winter joins forces with his British counterparts after a series of brutal murders of young men in London and his own city of Gothenburg. The killer, dubbed Hitchcock, appears to have filmed the butchery, as evidenced by traces of a tripod stand in the victims' blood. The trail naturally leads into the seamy world of snuff films, but the big break comes from a burglar who noticed some blood-stained clothing in an apartment he broke into. The smooth translation is perhaps the book's best feature. Edwardson has won the Swedish Academy of Crime Writers' Award three times.
Customer Reviews
Reels you in and holds you tight
This books starts off out of the gate with its tight, compelling prose. I read it twice, it had such an impact. It's the first time I can recall reading something that triggered a memory of a car accident I was in as a kid. The kind of trauma that, while you are in it, everything is ringing, and incoherent, and you observe and experience without processing. I immediately knew I would want to read the book in one sitting
Cut to two detectives, one in London, the other in Gothenberg, Sweden, both tough dicks who wax poetic and humorous, in bars and cafes, in the atmospheres and manners one expects out of this sort of thing. I never felt like anything was cliche, just simple and effortless. Short, sparse sentences with great descriptions, funny or poetic insights. It made you connect. Maybe the translator can be credited for this, partly.
This ease into it all makes you participate, instead of observe, which makes it impossible to step back for the horrible crimes and the sadness that seeps through. The dialogue is layered with subtext (without eliciting an eye-roll), the inevitable tragedy of discovering more and more wrong with the world, Erik's feel of responsibility of those under him--they all lend to the humanity of the mystery. It really makes you feel for cops and the things they deal with day after day. This is exemplified in the conversation between Bergenhem and Martina, who explore why there are disadvantages between being too hard or too soft as a cop.
This may not have been as "action-packed" as you'd expect, but still packs many a punch, especially when you connect with the characters. Conventionally, the "AHAS" are really big, and there are a couple here, but also, very subtle shifts, babysteps, little back and forth that really nipped at you, and made it all so much more meaningful than the norm.
There is very natural humor, like the author didn't have to try hard to construct jokes. I suspect he's naturally a funny guy. I was also reminded of Sonchai Jitpleecheep, who is also a fashion w**re. This first in the series (not #4 like some websites say) is by far better than Stieg Larson, and I have Sail of Stone on pre-order. Can't wait to read the in-betweens.