Disappointing, in the end (which is the only place that counts, really ...)
This begins well. if a bit off-beat and even whimsical. A body that is (almost) completely unidentifiable is found. A team of detectives, whose domineering chief is side-lined in hospital for surgery, start to investigate. Flashbacks hint at who the body might have been, and the true circumstances of two long-ago murders that sent a man who might have been innocent to prison for over 20 years.
The first half of the novel is very entertaining: lots of black humor, as the team of detectives stumble around, trying to get a grip on the case, and a frustrated Inspector van Veeteren steers the investigation from his hospital bed. I liked that, I thought it was well-written (and well-translated), and felt that it was doing something interesting -- they weren't so much investigating the modern-day crime as the historical events that might have led up to the modern day crime.
And then it all went horribly wrong. Van Veeteren gets out of hospital, and the focus shifts from the murder(s) to his philosophizing about his obligations to solve the murder. He's supposed to be charming, in the style of grumpy, inspired, impossible detectives the world over, but he just comes across as impossible -- his "insights" come from nowhere. Much of the narrative shifts to the transcripts of interviews with suspects, cross-examinations in court, newspaper articles and police reports -- when Nesser remembers to bring back van Veeteren's team of misfits, who had been so entertaining, it's for diversions that have very little to do with the investigation at hand.
But, crucially, Nesser gives van Veeteren (and the reader) very little to work with in solving the crime(s) -- the tragedy of the modern-day murder victim is never really developed, and he remains a complete cipher. I don't think it's a spoiler to say that no clearly defined "pool" of suspects is ever developed, or given distinctive personalities, so that when the murder is revealed, it feels like a big so-what.
This begins well. if a bit off-beat and even whimsical. A body that is (almost) completely unidentifiable is found. A team of detectives, whose domineering chief is side-lined in hospital for surgery, start to investigate. Flashbacks hint at who the body might have been, and the true circumstances of two long-ago murders that sent a man who might have been innocent to prison for over 20 years.
The first half of the novel is very entertaining: lots of black humor, as the team of detectives stumble around, trying to get a grip on the case, and a frustrated Inspector van Veeteren steers the investigation from his hospital bed. I liked that, I thought it was well-written (and well-translated), and felt that it was doing something interesting -- they weren't so much investigating the modern-day crime as the historical events that might have led up to the modern day crime.
And then it all went horribly wrong. Van Veeteren gets out of hospital, and the focus shifts from the murder(s) to his philosophizing about his obligations to solve the murder. He's supposed to be charming, in the style of grumpy, inspired, impossible detectives the world over, but he just comes across as impossible -- his "insights" come from nowhere. Much of the narrative shifts to the transcripts of interviews with suspects, cross-examinations in court, newspaper articles and police reports -- when Nesser remembers to bring back van Veeteren's team of misfits, who had been so entertaining, it's for diversions that have very little to do with the investigation at hand.
But, crucially, Nesser gives van Veeteren (and the reader) very little to work with in solving the crime(s) -- the tragedy of the modern-day murder victim is never really developed, and he remains a complete cipher. I don't think it's a spoiler to say that no clearly defined "pool" of suspects is ever developed, or given distinctive personalities, so that when the murder is revealed, it feels like a big so-what.
