DP54Cover - Deadly Pleasures

14
Deadly Pleasures
� THE TORSO (Soho Crime, $24.00, 2006)
Rating A [Reviewed by Bev DeWeese] Detective Inspector
Irene Huss and her fellow Swedish cops are appalled
when an eviscerated, dismembered, headless torso washes
ashore on one of the nearby beaches. They can’t even tell
at first if it is a man or a woman. But the torso does have
a gorgeous dragon tattoo, a tattoo which leads Irene and
her alcoholic partner Jonny Blom from Goteborg to
Denmark, to an unusually vicious serial killer and a
surprising resolution.
The plotting in TORSO is intricate, richly detailed,
and fast moving, with lots of red herrings and
ambiguous evidence. Even a subplot involving a missing
Swedish teen is skillfully interwoven into the overall story.
A fascinating aspect of the plot is the different approaches
the Swedish and the Danes use in their murder investigations.
Though the methodology is sometimes the same, the
attitudes toward policing seem very different.
DI Irene Huss is a strong, multifaceted character.
Though she is intense about her police work (too intense for
some of her peers), she has a personal life too: an easy
going chef husband, two difficult teenagers, and a dog.
However, the details of her personal life do not impede the
plot or take over the story. Irene is conscientious and
caring, but she is not afraid to take risks and break a few
rules to find killers. On the other hand, Irene brings a
genuine sympathy and concern to the friends and family of
the victims. More than the other cops, she seems to
understand that gays are often rejected by their parents
and that some gays have very passionate relationships that
can lead to murder.
The Swedish setting, where Irene works and lives
is well portrayed, with lots of passing references to good
restaurants and the difficulties of a working mother. The
Copenhagen setting is very noir. Much of the locale there
seems dirty, smelly, brutal, and very scary.
Overall, meticulous plotting, carefully observed
settings, good writing, a provocative ending, and very
believable, often unusual characters make this a winner.
� THE GLASS DEVIL (Soho Press, $24.00, 2007).
Pastor Sten Schyttelius, his wife, and his son, a schoolteacher,
have been shot dead. Could this be the work of a
cult of Satanists, as the clues left by the murderer indicate?
FINLAND
Population: 5,238,000 (approximate
population of Minnesota, 21 st largest state)
Area: 130,558 square miles
(slightly larger than Norway, hence a bit
larger than New Mexico)
Capital: Helsinki
Matti Joensuu
Series Character: Detective Sergeant Timo Harjunpää
� THE STONE MURDERS (St. Martin’s, 1987).
While investigating a series of murders and muggings in
Helsinki, Detective Timo Harjunpää of the Finnish Police
Service discovers that a vicious gang of teenagers may be
responsible. The 4 th book in series.
� THE PRIEST OF EVIL (Arcadia, £11.99, 2006).
There have been a strange succession of deaths at Helsinki
tube stations. The police are baffled: nobody has seen
anything and the tapes from the CCTV show nothing.
Detective Sergeant Timo Harjunpää of the Helsinki Violent
Crimes Unit is called in to solve the case. The 10th
book in series.
� TO STEAL HER LOVE (Eurocrime, £11.99,
July, 2008). A strange nocturnal visitor tiptoes through
apartments in Helsinki. Nothing is stolen, nothing is destroyed.
Numerous women wake to an unknown presence
in their bedroom, but in the light of morning, it all seems
a dream. At first the police take little notice, and the
women themselves begin to doubt their own sanity. But
evidence accumulates, and the net closes — Tipi, a skilful
picker of locks, falls in love with one of his night-time
women. He shadows her, daring to approach her secretly
only at night. But then Tipi’s lock-picking skills are needed
for a break– in by some of his professional criminal
brothers. The results of falling in love and a life of crime are
tragic for Tipi.
DENMARK
Population: 5,468,000 (approx. population
of Wisconsin, the 20 th largest state)
Area: 16,639 square feet
(about half the size of Maine)
Capital: Copenhagen
Leif Davidsen
The author is known for his standalone international
thrillers. I would call him the Danish Dan Fesperman. I
read his THE RUSSIAN SINGER (1991) just before I
started Deadly Pleasures and reviewed it quite favorably
for The Crime File.
Here is his latest:
� THE SERBIAN DANE (Arcadia, £11.99, 2006).
A controversial female author with a fatwa hanging over
her is due to visit ”Copenhagen. A Serbian Dane is hired
to kill her for four millions dollars. Enter the policeman
charged with protecting the author and a journalist who
is to be her host. These twofall in love at an early stage!