Segundo Borkmann, todas as investigações atingem um ponto em que já foi reunida informação suficiente para resolver o crime com nada mais do que o simples pensamento lógico. Cabe ao responsável pelo caso saber quando este ponto é atingido. E é isto que distingue um bom de um mau policia. Um mau policia continuará a reunir informação que, na pior das situações, irá prejudicar a resolução do mistério. Será Van Veeteren um bom ou mau policia?O livro "Borkmann's Point" é o segundo livro da série do Inspector Van Veeteren, criado pelo brilhante autor sueco Håkan Nesser. Foi escrito em 1994 e, no mesmo ano, foi-lhe atribuído o Prémio de Melhor Romance pela Swedish Crime Writers’ Academy.Van Veeteren é um inspector facilmente irritável, cujo mau-humor é mais do que bem conhecido pelos colegas e, principalmente, notado por Münster, o seu colega de trabalho preferido e eterno parceiro de Badminton.Em "Borkmann's Point" o inspector encontra-se no final das suas longas e solitárias férias quando o seu chefe lhe pergunta se está disposto a ajudar o departamento da policia de Kaalbringen a encontrar o culpado de dois assassinatos violentos.Aborrecido e inquieto, Van Veeteren aceita o trabalho e sente-se feliz por poder contribuir com a sua experiência e conhecimentos. O seu único pedido é a ajuda do seu colega Münster, que relutantemente acaba por se lhe juntar. Como em todas as investigações, Van Veeteren sabe que o assassino será apanhado: é apenas uma questão de tempo. O inspector acredita nos seus instintos e sabe que quando olhar directamente nos olhos do culpado, saberá que é ele. Na sua longa carreira apenas deixou um caso por resolver e não está previsto que tal situação se venha a repetir.Contudo, no decorrer da investigação, mais do que cansado da dificil vida de policia, Van Veeteren sente nos seus ombros o peso, cada vez maior, dos crimes perpetuados na pequena cidade e sente-se na obrigação de resolver o mistério. O assassino, que ataca com um machado, é impiedoso e cauteloso. Não há pistas, nem ligação aparente entre as vitimas. Van Veeteren está confiante que a solução lhe ocorrerá, mais cedo ou mais tarde, apesar de saber que não têm nada em mãos que lhe permitam avançar. Entretanto, nada mais podendo fazer, aprecia a comida local e joga xadrez com o chefe da esquadra local, Bausen, ao mesmo tempo que bebe magnificas garrafas de vinho e discute a investigação que os atormenta.Tal como o inspector Kurt Wallander, nos livros de Henning Mankell, também Van Veeteren ouve música clássica e trabalha metodicamente para resolver os crimes. Recentemente divorciado, com uma filha casada e um filho a cumprir pena de prisão, o nosso herói é um homem solitário. Fumador incorrigível, luta contra o seu vicio estando constantemente com um palito entre dentes. Apesar disso, nem tudo são maus hábitos, a sua persistência e determinação, aliadas à sua inteligência, fazem dele um homem indispensável à força policial.Este livro é terrivelmente bem escrito. A narrativa de Nesser tem um tom de humor estimulante, sério, divertido, assustador e convidativo, dependendo da situação em que nos encontramos e a linha de investigação é perspicaz e francamente bem escrita. "Borkmann's Point" destaca os procedimentos da policia, a arte e as dificuldades da investigação e detenção, sem por de parte as pessoas, os seus sentimentos e vidas pessoais.Com um desfecho impressionante, este livro deixou-me me pulgas para o seguinte: "The Return". Sinto-me privilegiada por ter a oportunidade de ler as obras Håkan Nesser e é com imenso prazer que continuarei acompanhar o inspector Van Veeteren.
One is reminded of the Martin Beck procedurals of Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö, the prose as clear as Nordic air, the clues as slippery as melting ice. Not that Nesser doesn't have his moments of song. As sibilant and ethereal as a Sibelius passage, our author will wax poetic:"What we can be sure of , what we can rely on absolutely, is evil. It never lets us down. Good... goodness is only a stage set, a backdrop against which the satanic performs. Nothing else .....nothing."But these are a sparse as the mountain treeline, something Nicci French could do well to learn: great prose can be appreciated most when it stands out in the mundane.Let others tell you about the three axe murders, the reticent Inspector Van Veeteren, the retiring (actually) Inspector Bausen and Mr Nesser's literary credentials. What interests me is when the book suddenly turns into a Samuel Beckett play. It involves the lovely young officer Beate Moerk when she is kept underground in the dark by the murderer...I'm not giving anything away here for chrissake, it's on the back cover, "and one of Van Veeteren's colleague's, a young female detective disappears without a trace..."In the dark then, a litany from the killer's lips of lost time. A faint cigarette glow in the dark and a voice devoid of hope, bereft of future, only a briefest point of happiness in the past:"...perhaps there was a faint glimmer of hope left, a possibility...That's what we told ourselves. The desperate illusion of vain hope. We believe what we have to believe...That's what this damned life looks like. We cling on to whatever is at hand.Anything at all..."Until there is nothing left to cling to but a snapshot memory. Of a time when there seemed to be hope and promise."He fell silent. She opened her eyes and saw the cigarette glow illuminate his face, and pulled the blankets more tightly around her. She felt and sensed the extreme hopelessness that came flowing out of him uninterruptedly. Coming in waves, and for a moment it seemed to compress the darkness, making it solid and impermeable even for words and thoughts.I understand, she tried to say, but the words wouldn’t come out. They stayed deep inside her. Frozen and meaningless."This could be Krapp listening to old tapes or the two of them, the killer and Moerk, just heads in urns unable to communicate with each other for the words of man and women fall short in the void...or the memories of Winnie in 'Happy Days'...the open mouth of 'Not I'...For those that read mysteries for puzzles, this book will disappoint. But for those who have turned to crime novels because it seems to be the only venue left for originality, this book will please, nourish and give one a blessed pause to ponder. That's what the best novels do...
What do You think about Borkmann's Point (2007)?
This is the second in the Van Veeteren series. This isn't as dark as most Scandi crime fiction, but Nesser does a great job keeping his readers in suspense until the very end.In this book, an ax murderer has killed 3 people in a small town. The local constabulary have no experience with murder and Van Veeteren is called in to offer some assistance. There are no clues and no apparent motive. No witnesses or at least no reliable witnesses and most frustratingly, no apparent connection between the 3 men. I like the way the story builds. I had thought I figured out who the killer was and possibly what the motive was, but I was completely blown away when I discovered at the end that I was wrong and that I'd been barking up a wrong tree in a completely different forest.
—Caroline
Nesser was recommended in a review. As I enjoy a good crime fiction story, I thought I’d try him.What I like about the Van Veeteran series is that, for once, the police aren’t quarrelling and competing with one another. Van Veeteran isn’t seen as some sort of rogue elephant going off on his own tangent like the Rebuses in the world of crime fiction.However, I found Borkmann’s Point slow to the point of sludge. Also, the number of times VV said or thought that no evidence on the three axe murders would solve the crime, the answer would simply ‘occur’ to him, was tediously overdone.The fact that one of their colleagues, Inspector Moerk, goes missing is very disconcerting when no one seems sufficiently bothered to make a concerted effort to find her. ‘Either she’s dead or she’s alive,’ says VV. Gosh. Don’t think I’ll be applying to join the Swedish police force any time soon.A great deal of this book was filler and waffle. When the case is solved and the culprit known, the cause of the three murders wasn’t very convincing unless you believe that (1) parents have no meaningful influence on their children and the lives those children go on to live; and (2) that there is no such thing as free will – we are simply pawns to anyone who cares to play a came of chess with out lives.
—S.H. Villa
3.5 starsThis is another Scandinavian author whose catalogue is gradually being translated for the North American audience. It features CI Van Veeteren, a Swedish cop with more than 30 years on the job.Van Veeteren is currently enjoying the last days of his summer vacation when his chief calls. Seems they're having a little problem with an axe murderer in nearby Kaalbringen. Would he mind popping over & having a look around?There he meets Bausen, the soon-to-retire chief & his crew, one of whom is a young, ambitious detective named Beate Moerk. Unfortunately they're spinning their wheels. After exhaustive investigation, there seems to be no rhyme or reason behind the murders. And while they shift through endless reports & interviews, another victim falls to the axe.If you're into fast paced thrillers with lots of car chases & things that go boom, this is not for you. Yes, it's a police procedural but it's also a character study of its' star, Van Veeteren. He's a man of a certain age who has closed every case in his career, save one. His personal life has not been as successful. He's divorced & alone with a son currently out on parole.He's not a flashy or aggressive character. Instead, he's the soft spoken guy on the periphery who sees & hears everything. Long walks & playing chess allow him to let all the information percolate in his head until the connections start to appear. It can be frustrating for those around him as he doesn't appear to be doing anything. Beate reacts by striking out on her own, desperate for action & to make a name for herself. It could cost her life.This is a slow, introspective read that is more about the characters than the case. Even the killer gets a chance to tell his gut wrenching story about his quest for revenge. The pace pick up in the final few pages as his identity is revealed but the resolution brings the team more sadness than satisfaction.As for the eponymous Borkmann, well...he shows up more in spirit than in person. For fans of Barbara Fradkin, David Whellams or Quentin Bate's "Gunnhildur" series.
—Sandy
