I read this after enjoying Henning Mankell and Per Wahloo. Nesser's story in nameless fictional Scandinavian-like location is without depth or nuance. Could change names of towns and people and easily place this story in any European country.

These other authors achieve a more authentic feel by placing their stories specifically in Sweden at a particular time within a specific Swedish political environment. I like to feel I'm learning about another culture when I read a mystery set in another country.

Story it is not bad, it is just not anything special. With only limited time to read a good book, can skip this one.

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When an ex con & a successful Real Estate entrepreneur are both the victims of the ax killer, there are few connections between the 2 and minimal evidence or clues. Inspector Van Veeteren is called in to assist. Great "debut" -- not sure if this is the 1st in the series, but it's the 1st English translation -- hopefully there will be more to come.

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Well developed characters and well paced. I would read another of this author's works-with pleasure.

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For those of you who are not yet hooked on the Euro writers, give Hakan Nesser a try. The build up of the characters is great and the story is interesting. I for one am always looking for the mext one and in this case the Inspector Van Veeteren series has me hooked

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Story idea was good, but not well executed/translated. Very often subjects would be introduced without reference anywhere else in the book.

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