This is the second time I've giving a Nesser book one star. And the second time I couldn't even get half-way through the text. Goodreads gives this four stars - very interesting. I found the start of the book so unrelentingly depressing that I couldn't be bothered going on another chapter. An old woman is being buried. It's raining - hard. Only one mourner is present, her daughter. Whose life is utter failure and misery. Are we having fun yet? Apparently, many readers are. Here, we need to account for taste. As a fan of the mystery genre, and to some degree, police procedurals, I just couldn't generate enough interest to continue reading this story. And before you think that this is reality, I don't read genre books for reality - there is no shortage of pain and misery in real life. Read other reviews, and determine whether you're more like me or the four-star crowd. A procedural, slow-moving, no ticking clock, all the time in the world ... or so it seems. A man gets shot and killed, two bullets in the chest, two below the belt. This repeats itself and the police is clueless to find that classic something in the distant past that connects the victims. This story might leave you cold, where it not for the author, his characters and a powerful final act.Håkan Nesser has created Chief Inspector Van Veeteren, another iconic cop - a bit of Wallander but older, slower, wiser. His ruminations are simple and beautiful - when he ponders, it's just nice to be with him - the same goes for his cohorts like Reinhart, Münster and Moreno.I love the fact that the whole tale is spun in a fictional city, Maardam. It's somewhere northern Europe, that's all we know. The names of the towns, streets, characters - sometimes it feels Dutch, sometimes German ... Nesser has created it in wonderful detail - when I read the novel the first time it never entered my mind that all of that setting might be made up.Nesser's writing is economical, I like his style. And even if the plot sometimes stops dead, the characters are worth sticking around, their observations, the glimpses into their lives original and often poignant. As for the ending ... wow.
What do You think about Kobieta Ze Znamieniem (1996)?
Excellent tale as expected from Nesser. Not a whodunit, more of a what will happen next!
—Andjxxl
Really enjoyed this and found it quite gripping. Slightly disappointed with ending
—Reader
An amazing display with humor, great character sketches, and a tightly woven plot.
—haliewritesthings
Creepy crime but a nice sparse procedural with dry humor.
—mariepang94
