Unwanted …a review

It’s been a while since I finished a book. The main reason for that is, I was reading one during journeys, another one in bed, and yet another one at other times. Anyway, this book, I got it on my Kindle because it is by a Swedish author, Kristina Ohlsson. My experience with the Millenium trilogy and then again with the Hundred year old man book has told me that when it comes to crime fiction, the Swedes know how to make a plot work, obviously, when translated well.

I wasn’t disappointed. This first time author put a woman on the police force. Not as a love interest, but an actual contributor to the investigation. Dead kids are cropping up all over Sweden, branded by their killer as ‘Unwanted’ and it is up to Alex, Peder, and Fredrika to figure out who’s behind the murders.

The book is long, it spans over the period of one week and the chapters are divided by days, as one would guess. But each day is very long, so I’d have liked the chapters broken up a bit more, sort of like Robin Cook, when he divides them up by time of day. But aside from that minor fact, the storyline is good! The plot is predictable, but the way it is written makes one want to keep reading anyway. It is the best kind of train read. No dry courtroom scenes, no therapy sessions, just hopping on from one bit of Sweden to another. This woman will go a long way with her later works for sure!

Cross Fire …a review

For all practical purposes, this was my first Patterson novel. I had read one a long long time ago and I can’t remember what it was about, so that doesn’t count.

When Random House wanted me to review for them, I happened to mention to R that I did like crime thrillers now and then. And what a recommendation this was! It was two weeks of pure bliss, and I’ll tell you why.

Caught in the crossfire!

First off, I am an avid reader. So I read when I eat, travel, get into bed, go in a bus or even rickshaw… I like my books to be easy to handle, physically. And this copy was just that. The weight was just right, the font size brilliant, the pages, bright and crisp. It made for a very good reading experience overall.

Then, in a crime thriller, what more do want eh? Famous dashing detective? Check. Sniper? Check. Villain from the past? Check. This book has it all! Detective Alex Cross is about to get married to Bree, but his plans are thrown out of gear when  he is asked to investigate the dark and brooding murders of a dirty congressmen and an underhanded lobbyist.

The murders of dirty, corrupt men continue and Alex has to deal with this unseen murderer and deal with Max, a not very pleasant agent from the FBI. As if all of this is not enough, there is the villain from the past, out to hunt him and his innocent family.

The book is a cracker! It is well-written and tightly packed. It has an easy flow, doesn’t take much effort to read it. Definitely recommend! Thanks for the reco, R.

Quote: ‘It took me about ten seconds for me to figure out what Max Siegl was all about, and I wasn’t going to have any of it.’