Borkmann's Point: An Inspector Van Veeteren Mystery [2]

This was my first book for Hakan Nesser that I have read and it was disappointing. However, I did order most of the authors other books and will continue to read them, hoping it will improve. The ending was a surprise but seems unbelievable.

Nesser's book was published 12 years ago in Swedish and is finally available in English. He joins Henning Mankell as one of Sweden's premier crime novel writers. This novel is one of Nesser's Van Veeteren series and it's a doozie. Inspector Van Veeteren is called in to help the police officers in Kaalbringen, a small Swedish city, with what appears to be a serial murder. In his long career Van Veeteren has left only one case unsolved. Naturally the Kaalbringen police expect he will come in and take over their case. But they are pleasantly surprised when the famous detective finds a kindred spirit in the Kaalbringen chief of police, Bausen, and treats his team with deference and respect. Van Veetern is especially impressed with the obvious intelligence of the lone woman officer on the team, Beate Moerk. What follows is not only a very cleverly constructed mystery but also a portrayal of major characters, each with a "back story". Van Veeteren's customary finesse is hampered by a string of murders which appear to have no connection and then finally the disappearance of a member of the Kaalbringen police force. This reader was satisfied but disappointed when the book ended - I had to remind myself the next day that there was no more Van Veteeren to read about. Needless to say I hope the translator, as good as she is, is also quick! Highly recommended.

An axe murderer is on the loose in the quiet seaside town of Kaalbringen. After the gruesome deaths of two victims, the unorthodox but gifted Inspector van Veeteren, who is holidaying nearby, is asked to step in to assist the local police force. Hours of information gathering and interviews appear to achieve nothing, and soon the axe murderer strikes again. With the entire community in a paroxysm of fear, and the retirement date of the Kaalbringen police chief looming, van Veeteren and the investigation team desperately seek to establish some link between the three victims. Is there a rationale behind the murders or are they dealing with the random killings of a lunatic? Will he strike again? The situation threatens to escalate beyond control when one of the police team disappears. Van Veeteren concludes that 'Borkmann's Point' (named after a mentor of his) has been reached--the point where sufficient information is available to provide the solution, and where any more information may obscure it. He must now apply all of his experience and instinct to secure the all-important breakthrough. Borkmann's Point is an edgy, intelligent thriller that slowly builds in tension and finally accelerates rapidly towards the shattering and startling climax. The narration switches between the different members of the investigation team: the languid pair of van Veeteren and police chief Bausen; the pedantic Kropke, the dynamic Beate Moerke; and occasionally into the mind of the axe murderer. The hard work and frustration of a difficult police investigation is communicated in a very realistic manner. The interplay between the different characters and personalities in the investigation team provides the story with a very human, and occasionally very humorous, backdrop. This is a top-notch thriller, with an intricately woven plot that is immensely satisfying, and strangely touching, in its resolution. Armchair Interviews says: An elegant and ingenious whodunit any thriller fan would love.

I am not sure what is it about Sweden that produces such great writers of crime fiction. Perhaps it is the cold dark winters that are conducive to writing or the influence of classical music. Hakan Nesser's first mystery to be published in English joins those of that other wonderful Swedish writer Henning Mankell as first class novels. Nesser's protagonist is Inspector Van Veeteren, a crusty police officer who like Mankell's inspector listens to classical music and works methodically to solve crimes, as do most police officers. He also plays chess, is recently divorced, has the vice of smoking but loves fine wines. An ax murderer is shaking up the citizens of Kaalbringen as one, two, then three victims are found with apparently nothing in common but that they are all killed in the same, cold-blooded way. The plot moves along gingerly; the ending is not to be believed. The title (this doesn't spoil the novel) refers to an older police officer named Borkmann whom Van Veeteren knew when he was just beginning his law enforcement career, "one of the few police officers he'd come across for whom he had nothing but respect and admiration." Borkmann's rule was that "in every investigation. . . there comes a point beyond which we don't really need more information. When we reach that point, we already know enough to solve the case by means of nothing more than some decent thinking." When Van Veeteren reaches that point, he sets about to solve the murders. BORKMANN'S POINT is a welcome addition to the current crop of crime fiction published in English.

In Kaalbringen, a quaint seaside town in Sweden, the population lives in fear. Two men have been killed by an ax murderer. One is an ex-con while the other is a wealthy businessman. The relentless detective Chief Inspector Van Veeteren is assigned to the case. The stakes get higher when another body is found. Can Van Veeteren and the local police solve the crimes before more lives are lost? Hakan Nesser is a well known crime fiction writer in Europe. He has written a series of bestselling novels starring Inspector Van Veeteren. BORKMANN'S POINT is the first to be translated into English. The major strength of this work is the character of Van Veeteren. He is a likable detective, highly competent at what he does. The minor characters are also solid creations. This mystery is so character-driven that despite of the somewhat simple solution, the book as a whole works remarkably well. The setting of the seaside village is also described with great care. BORKMANN'S POINT won the best novel award for the Swedish Crime Writers' Academy in 1994. It is easy to see why.

Five Stars? No, SIX 'TOTALLY ENJOYABLE' Stars! To me, it's a MASTERPIECE of a detective novel. Hakan Nesser is an AWESOME storyteller of the first water with this award-winning novel in it's international debut, transparently translated from Swedish. "My Best Read" this year in the murder mystery/thriller genre! Premise: There's a brutal killer on the loose in the seaside town of Kaalbringen and everyone's terrified! Inspector Van Veeteren is called in to help the local police. They have a self-imposed 14 days to catch the killer or the case may go cold. The reader will realize early on that the novel's title itself is almost as elusive as the guilty. Many of us will be meeting the relentless Detective Chief Inspector Van Veeteren for the first time and he is a no-nonsense, very detailed, logically-thinking, but personally flawed sleuth. And his investigative associates are no less impressive. Nesser grabs us from the first sentence and ramps up all the way to the end. Trust me, it gets better and more engrossing as it goes along. I actually slowed down to enjoy the paragraphs, re-reading some passages over and over, stretching a day's read over a few enjoyable days. The dinner scene, for instance, between Police Chief Bausen and Inspector Van Veeteren is a pure joy to read (and re-read) as they discuss the clues over chess, revealing the ability of this writer to create wonderous scenes and dialogue out of the most mundane of situations. Nesser even introduces us to the unknown guilty several times, early on, putting us directly in their mind. Somewhat gory and very technical (in a murder, he tells exactly where the weapon hits the body and the damage done, right down to the 'gurgling sound' as the body is dragged off). This is a fabulous 'police procedural' with unusually deep, totally believable examinations of the human condition and of the crimes. All while letting us superimpose our own impressions of the physical characteristics on each player with just a few hints. He even boldly reveals the guilty to the observant reader by three quarters through the novel, so that we can watch the cat and mouse game that ensues from that point. For those who miss the big clue, the resolution is a double jolting surprise. Either way, Nesser's got us boxed in; right where he wants us. "The right questions...the right haystacks", Indeed! More Van Veeteren, please! It doesn't get much better than this. Five Stars? Let's call it SIX!! My Highest Recommendation! (Notes: *Thanks to Laurie Thompson for his wonderfull translation. This review is based on an unabridged Digital Download in Adobe Reader 7.0. Save a tree, download! *Maybe now the Van Veeteren films available on DVD will be closed-captioned in English and recorded in Region 1 DVD format for the enjoyment of fans in the US and Canada.)