Police Inspector Eva Moreno is not overly impressed when she is asked to interrogate a “scumbag” criminal (and police informer) on the first day of which was supposed to be a relaxing holiday by the seaside with her new lover. On her way to the dreaded interview, Ewa meets a young weeping girl on the train – and finds out that the girl, too, is on her way to a difficult meeting. Having just turned eighteen, Mikaela Lijphart has finally found out the identity of her birth father, who has been incarcerated in a mental institution for the last 16 years. She is on her way to see him to find out about the events that saw him imprisoned and her own mother reluctant to ever utter his name again. A few days later, Mikaela Lijphart disappears. Drawn into the investigation by the impression the young girl left on Ewa, and the local Chief Inspector’s reluctance to take the disappearance seriously, Ewa conducts a few investigations of her own – and gets drawn into an old murder case which may not have been as straight forward as it appears on paper ….Like Nesser’s previous novels (which I have not read), this story takes place in a fictional Northern European country which seems to be a hybrid of Denmark, Netherlands, Germany and Sweden – and features characters with names from various different European nationalities. This totally confused me at first, until I googled one of the featured town names (Maardam) and found out that it is not a real location – well, one mystery solved! I also found out that The Weeping Girl is the eighth book in Nesser’s Van Veeteren series, and the first one to feature Ewa Moreno as a central character.I really liked Ewa – in her thirties, with a failed long-term relationship behind her, Ewa is at the stage where she is questioning her life and career and longing for a family of her own. Her relatively new love affair with psychologist Mikael Bau offers a small glimmer of hope for her dream to come true, but pragmatic Ewa has her doubts about any happily-ever-after, knowing only too well that her police career usually interferes with her private life. And Ewa is a conscientious, compassionate and dedicated police officer, who will sacrifice her own needs to find justice – and is not afraid to go behind the back of the inept local Chief of Police Vrommel (termed affectionately by one of his own team as “the skunk in uniform”). Resourceful and determined, Ewa follows her leads tirelessly to get to the bottom of the mystery. And despite some personal issues, Ewa is not the seriously damaged character depicted in many other Scandinavian crime thrillers, but a person most of us will be able to relate to on some level.Nesser’s police procedural is not the typical Scandinavian thriller I have come to expect – with a very dark and brutal element dominating the storyline. I have seen the story categorised by one reviewer as “Eurocrime”, and with Nesser’s setting being modelled on several European countries, this is not a bad name for the genre. Readers who find writers like Nesbo, Mankell and Larssen a bit too bloodthirsty may be pleasantly surprised by this author, who focuses more on the actual police investigation than the dark foreboding atmosphere and lurid descriptions of crime scenes found in other Nordic thrillers.I did find the book a bit slow in the beginning, but was quickly drawn into the mystery once it unfolded. At times the translation seemed clunky, which made for a few laughs (not sure if the humour was intended by the author or if it was courtesy of the translation only) – one description of a “coagulating head” sticks in my mind. A case of a quite literal translation of a Swedish idiom? Nesser’s writing style is sparse, with few words wasted on flowery descriptions or explanations, which may not appeal to everyone, but which I found quite refreshing and unique (although I thought it did make it a bit harder to connect to the characters).In a new class of Scandinavian (or European) thriller, The Weeping Girl may appeal to a wider audience of readers who enjoy police procedurals without all the gore. And although it did not grip me as much as some of my favourite Scandinavian authors (Nesbo included), I enjoyed reading The Weeping Girl and will look up some of Nesser’s other work in the future.Thank you to the Reading Room and the publisher for providing me with a free preview copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.
Ein Fall aus den 80ern und einer aus den 90ern treffen hier aufeinander. Ein Fehler, der 1983 passiert, hat schwere Auswirkungen auf das Leben einer ganzen Familie und 16 Jahre später gibt es einen Toten am Strand. Bis dorthin gibt es viele Wendungen und nicht alles ist so, wie es scheint.Zentrale Themen dieses Krimis sind Schuld, Familie, Betrug und dessen Bezahlung.Besonders die Gründlichkeit, mit der dieser Krimi erzählt wird, hat mir sehr gut gefallen. Ich fand es auch interessant, einen kleinen Einblick in Ermittlerin Morenos Privatleben zu erhaschen, bin dem Autor aber dankbar, dass er es damit nicht übertrieben hat, sondern sich weiterhin sehr stark auf den Fall, die Verhöre und Schlussfolgerungen konzentriert hat. Auch wenn der Krimi eher langsam voran kommt, ist er spannend und auch wenn Teile der Auflösung schon ein bisschen vorhersehbar waren, las ich doch gerne die Hin- und Beweisführung. Von anderen Elementen war ich wiederum sehr überrascht. Auch die Zeitsprünge bzw. Rückblenden fand ich ebenso auflockernd wie spannungssteigernd. Der einzige Grund für mich, keine 4 Sterne zu geben, waren die unregelmäßigen "anzüglichen" bis vulgären Einsprengsel in den sonst so nüchternen Text...ich möchte nur auf die Brustwarzenplätzchen verweisen :D Hätten sie ins Gesamtkonzept gepasst, wäre das alles okay gewesen (es war nichts dabei, von dem man sich angeekelt abwenden müsste ;) es wirkte nur einfach sehr fehl am Platz in dieser gründlichen Schilderung der Ermittlung).Ein netter nordischer Krimi, ein kleines bisschen düster, sehr detailreich und meiner Meinung nach spannender als die Mankells, die ich bisher gelesen habe. Auf Brustwarzenplätzchen und ein paar andere Ausdrücke hätte ich jedoch gerne verzichtet ;)
What do You think about Der Tote Vom Strand. (2004)?
Il volume appartiene alla serie del commissario Van Veeteren, in Italia meno fortunata di quella che ha per protagonista l'ispettore italo-svedese Barbarotti. Per qualche insondabile motivo l'editore, tutt'altro che unico in questo mal vezzo, continua a pubblicare la serie senza seguire l'ordine originario (forse in questo caso perchè il titolo lo rendeva adatto al pubblico estivo?), cosa che contribuisce a spiazzare non poco il lettore. Da una ricerca fatta su internet, che spero attendibile, questo dovrebbe essere l'ottavo titolo di una serie di dieci, ma è solamente il sesto a essere tradotto in italiano...Caratteristica unica nei romanzi di Van Veeteren è quella di essere ambientati in una collocazione geografica imprecisata: la città in cui opera il commissario, Maardam, è infatti del tutto immaginaria e non si sa esattamente in quale nazione sia situata (i nomi sono spesso olandesi, così come il gulden, il fiorino olandese che precedette l'euro, ma il paesaggio è più tipico della Svezia e alcuni critici hanno trovato similitudini anche con Germania e Polonia). Il commissario è già in pensione e fa solo un'apparizione fugace nel romanzo: l'indagine è condotta da una delle sue sottoposto di un tempo, mentre quello che era il suo collaboratore più assiduo sembra che nel frattempo sia morto (probabilmente in un romanzo precedente a questo che però deve ancora essere tradotto...).Per tutta questa serie di motivi la lettura risulta a volte faticosa e il romanzo, seppure molto piacevole, non pare all'altezza dei migliori scritti di Nesser.
—Marcello Nucciarelli
Liked this one better than some of the others in the series (perhaps I've got used to the idea of the imaginary country!) Van Veeteren is well and truly retired and out of the picture, and it is Ewa Moreno who is the lead detective. The story is split between 1983 and 1999; an old case is revived by the coming of age of the daughter of a supposed murderer, at which point she has been told about her father and his past. I rather wished Ewa would sort herself out - her abrupt dismissal of her boyfriend seems a bit unnecessary in the circumstances. Otherwise, this is a good story with some red herrings and misleading cliffhangers.
—Helen
"Life is what happens when you're busy making other plans."O Inspetor Van Veeteren reformou-se há três anos da força policial e neste livro está igualmente reformado para os seus leitores. Porém está sempre na mente dos seus colegas e tem uma pequena contribuição para a história, ainda que só pareça na última cena. A série continua sem o protagonista que lhe dá o nome e apesar de deixar saudades, dá-os a oportunidade de conhecer a Inspetora Moreno."Cut out the psychology and live according to instinct instead."A Inspectora Moreno, da força policial de Maardam, interrompe as suas férias mesmo antes de começarem, quando o chefe lhe pede para interrogar um suspeito que a requisitou especialmente. Na viagem ao seu encontro, conhece Mikaela, a "rapariga que chora" e cujas lágrimas lhe suscitam curiosidade e simpatia."It's not as easy to turn one's back on things as a lot of people seem to think."Mikaela acabou de fazer 18 anos, dia em que a sua mãe lhe decidiu revelar a identidade do seu pai verdadeiro. Arnold Maager encontra-se numa instituição psiquiátrica e a filha exige saber o que o levou até lá."Everybody has to pay for a moment of thoughtlessness. Some with their life, others with their sanity. You get the impression that the gods sometimes overdoo the retribution thing."A acção desenrola-se em dois anos diferentes, que apesar de muito distantes no tempo, estão unidos por um evento trágico. Em 1983, um professor envolveu-se com uma aluna e apesar de este tipo de relação imoral ser quase normal, neste caso as consequências têm um peso significativo na vida de várias pessoas. Um peso destrutivo e, até certo ponto, secreto."What a strange collection of people I find myself surrounded by. They all seem to be a sort of caricature. Comic-strip chacters.""The Weeping Girl" é o oitavo livro de uma série que não perde a qualidade à medida que avança. Håkan Nesser é consistente no seu estilo de escrita, proporcionando-nos uma visão privilegiada dos procedimentos policiais. O livro é particularmente excecional na exposição do dilema de uma mulher polícia que dá valor à sua liberdade e independência, bem como aos desafios que o seu trabalho lhe impõe, criando ondas na sua vida pessoal. Moreno é uma boa sucessora de Van Veeteren e se Nesser assim o desejar, pode continuar a série do ponto de vista feminino.Com personagens dotadas de personalidades fortes, o enredo divide-se entre dois mistérios distintos: um central e outro secundário. Contudo, apesar dos diferentes destaques, são ambos igualmente interessantes e no desfecho as suas resoluções não desiludem.Håkan Nesser é um dos meus escritores favoritos e espero ler o livro seguinte "The Strangler’s Honeymoon" num futuro muito próximo!"Every day has enough trouble of its own to cope with."
—Maria João Fernandes
