DP54Cover - Deadly Pleasures

Peter Hoeg
� THE QUIET GIRL (Harvill, £16.99, 2007).
Peter Hoeg’s first novel in ten years takes the reader on a
trip through an almost psychedelic world of circus clowns,
children with mystical abilities, powerful nuns, evil financiers,
mysterious security agencies, and bizarre foundations.
Kasper Krone, a circus clown, has discovered that
“SheAlmighty has tuned each person in a musical key,”
and he is able to hear the music that SheAlmighty has
created for each person. By tapping into the music of
people’s psyches, he can understand their moods and
thoughts.
Eventually, he learns that the nuns from the Rabia
Institute have been protecting a group of children, including
“the quiet girl,” KlaraMaria, believing that “Some
children are born with a gift for coming close to God faster
than others.” All are possessed of mystic gifts, and a group
of evil men, wanting to use these children for their own
unstated purposes, have kidnapped six of them from
around the world. The nuns seek Kasper’s help. ”
Christian Jungersen
� THE EXCEPTION (Weidenfeld & Nicolson,
£12.99). Rating B+ [Reviewed by Jeff Popple] The
novel contrasts the safety of an academic concern with
genocide with the real personal terror of being stalked by
a killer. When four women working at the Danish Centre
for Genocide are sent death threats they suspect that they
are being targeted by a Serbian war criminal. The threats
gradually escalate and the women begin to turn on each
other as it becomes clear that the person behind the
threats is much closer than they expected.
This is an interesting and unusual thriller that
twists its way through a few good surprises. The
characterisations and the settings are interesting, but the
story takes too long to unfold and the pace often lags.
Nevertheless it is quite enjoyable for its European perspective
and the fascinating background information.
ICELAND
Population: 301,931 (about 60% of the
population of Wyoming, the smallest state)
Area: 39,968 square feet (about the size of
Kentucky)
Capital: Reykjavik
Arnaldur Indridason
(See spotlight on this author at beginning of article)
Deadly Pleasures
Yrsa Sigurdardottir
15
� LAST RITUALS (Morrow, $23.95, October,
2007; Hodder, £19.99, January, 2008). After the body
of a young German student—with his eyes cut out and
strange symbols carved into his chest—is discovered at a
university in Reykjavík, the police waste no time in making
an arrest. The victim’s family isn’t convinced they have the
right man, so they ask Thóra Gudmundsdóttir, attorney
and single mother of two, to investigate. The fee is
considerable—more than enough to make things a bit
easier for the struggling lawyer and her children.
♦ Well, there you have it -- probably the highest
quality list we've ever had in a cover article. Did you notice
how many of the reviewed titles received an A rating? I
know that I've got a short list of books that I now want to
read -- starting with Jo Nesbo's works.
Sources for more information:
1. Mystery Readers Journal (The Journal of Mystery
Readers International), Volume 23, Number 3, Fall 2007).
Excellent collection of articles and reviews. I especially
enjoyed the insight of the article about translation.This
back issue can be ordered for $10.00 in USA or $15.00
foreign shipping on the magazine’s website
(www.mysteryreaders.org/)
2.www.eurocrime.co.uk -- contains the most complete
list of Scandinavian crime writers published in English, as
well as many reviews of same.
Five Scandinavian Crime
Novels to Read Before You Die
THE LAUGHING POLICEMAN
by Per Wahloo and Maj Sjowall
JAR CITY by Arnaldur Indridason
THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO
by Stieg Larsson – not for everyone’s tastes
WHAT IS MINE (in U.K., PUNISHMENT)
by Anne Holt
DON’T LOOK BACK by Karin Fossum