Yksi Stenin parhaimmista. ( )

C’est l’été sur l’île de Sandhamn. Nora et sa famille comptent bien en profiter et font la connaissance du couple qui emménage dans une somptueuse maison non loin de la leur. Un roman policier qui commence comme un récit social de cohabitation et de jalousie et se poursuit dans la tension. Le septième volet d’une série qui ne fait que s’améliorer. ( )

In this installment, Thomas ponders his future--will he seize an opportunity or remain on the force? A man chooses Sandhamn to build his monstrosity home, infringing upon other people's right-of-ways. When a building which housed his construction workers goes up in flames and a charred corpse turns up in the ashes, the team including Thomas goes in to investigate. No persons matching the victim's description appear missing, but with so many persons apparently withholding information, the situation lacks clarity. Nora, living on Sandhamn, attended the party the night of the fire, but her efforts to befriend the family fail. A newer investigator Aram played a key role in this installment. Margit stayed behind most of the time, only appearing in briefings and at the station. I put my finger on what did not work for me in this story. With the mystery not told from the perspective of a single person, the reader witnesses too much action first-hand. While the reader does not necessarily know the identity of the person committing the crime, more of the story needs to come from the detective or from Nora. Readers must wait until the next installment to learn Thomas' decision. ( )

I enjoy the Sandhamn Murder series because of its setting in the Swedish Archipelago, and its strong cast of characters. Over the series arc, the mysteries have become more sophisticated and suspenseful. But despite that, this seventh book was my least favorite. To begin with, it opens 5 years after the end of the previous book, and cliffhangers from that book have been neatly resolved “off camera.” I had to pause and make sure I hadn’t skipped a book. The murder mystery initially appeared to focus on an unidentified arson victim, but attention quickly transferred to the building’s owner, a newly-arrived outsider mixed up in shady business dealings and generally up to no good. Identifying the victim and the arsonist seemed to take a back seat, which just felt wrong.

In the author’s note, Viveca Sten acknowledges that this book was difficult for her to write due to personal circumstances at the time. The 5-year time lapse also coincides with the time between published books, which makes me wonder whether the decision to bring her characters up to the present day was a function of the delay, or a convenient way to move beyond certain plot developments. Either way, I think I’ll just write this book off to Sten’s circumstances during the creative process and move on to the eighth book, which was recently released in English. ( )

Viveca Sten skriver bra och det är småtrevliga deckare men det är inte speciellt spännande och det är oerhört förutsägbart. ( )