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Jun 12, 2012 | ISBN 9780307387240 Buy
Jun 14, 2011 | ISBN 9780307379825 Buy
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Jun 12, 2012 | ISBN 9780307387240
Jun 14, 2011 | ISBN 9780307379825
In this enthralling new addition to Hakan Nesser’s acclaimed Inspector Van Veeteren series, the Swedish detective must crack a secretive and uncooperative religious sect in order to solve a string of brutal murders. When one of the Pure Life’s members is found raped and strangled in the forest near the group’s camp, the Chief Inspector is called to investigate. The Pure Life has chosen to remain silent about the incident rather than defend itself, so Van Veeteren’s only lead is the anonymous caller who reported the body. As the unidentified woman continues to assist the authorities, her knowledge suggests she’s more than just a passing Good Samaritan, but her tips become doubly perplexing as a new string of increasingly horrifying crimes defy everything Van Veeteren and his team thought they knew about the case.
It’s a sweltering summer in Sweden and Chief Inspector Van Veeteren is long overdue for a holiday when a secretive and dubious religious sect comes under investigation. One of its members, a girl on the cusp of adolescence, is found dead in the forest near their holiday camp, brutally raped and strangled; the discovery of her body has been phoned in by an anonymous caller. The members of the sect, the Pure Life, are led by Oscar Yellinek, a charismatic but unnervingly guarded messiah figure. In an act that mystifies and infuriates Van Veeteren and his associates, the members of the Pure Life choose to remain silent about the incident rather than defend themselves. But an unidentified woman is continuing to assist the authorities, and her knowledge suggests she’s more than just a passing Good Samaritan. Her tips become doubly perplexing as a new string of increasingly horrifying crimes defy everything Van Veeteren and his team thought they knew about the case. A riveting new addition to Håkan Nesser’s acclaimed series, The Inspector and Silence is suspense at its haunting best.
HÅKAN NESSER is one of Sweden’s most popular crime writers. He has received many awards for his novels featuring Inspector Van Veeteren, including the European Crime Fiction Star Award, the Swedish Crime Writers’ Academy prize for best crime novel (three times),… More about Hakan Nesser
“[Van Veeteren] tackles a murder investigation as if it were a knotty chess problem. . . . There’s much to be said for a quiet man with a good mind.”—The New York Times Book Review “Elegantly penned. . . . Thoroughly enjoyable. . . . [A] twisty layered tale that should keep even seasoned mystery fans guessing. . . . Just as Van Veeteren is no typical fictional detective, Nesser is no typical mystery writer. And The Inspector and Silence is no typical summer read: a Swedish vacation tale that visits the darkness with appropriate gravity but doesn’t wallow in it—all the while managing to entertain.”—Cleveland Plain Dealer “A thrilling investigation.”—Newsweek “What’s surprisingly refreshing about Nesser’s writing, given the subject matter, is the wry humor and sarcasm of his characters, that and a storyline that will keep you riveted till the final page. . . . Where Jo Nesbø’s approach is more physical, visceral, Nesser’s Chief Inspector Van Veeteren is much more cerebral. A chess player and lover of classical music and art films, Van Veeteren is nevertheless a bit of a curmudgeon, world-weary and nearing retirement, not unlike Henning Mankell’s Kurt Wallander.”—San Antonio Express-News“Evocatively drawn. . . . A work of great moral complexity. . . . The clarity of Nesser’s vision, the inner problems of good and evil with which Van Veeteren struggles, recall the films of Bergman.”—The Independent (London) “[A] riveting tale. . . . [Van Veeteren] is the perfect detective for the job—ploddingly thorough and cerebral, with keen intuition about the darker reaches of the human character.”—Minneapolis Star Tribune “This is stylish, atmospheric crime fiction with a strong moral core from an award-winning author; essential for readers of the genre.”—Library Journal “Nesser concentrates on character and relationships in his novels. . . . His latest moves along leisurely, giving readers the opportunity to savor the style of his hero without worries of international conspiracies lurking in the Swedish forests.”—Pittsburgh Post-Gazette “A taut and compelling mystery in a consistently outstanding series.”—Booklist “Satisfying. . . . Van Veeteren, disengaged, thinking of retirement and wonderfully enigmatic, makes an enjoyable change from all those fictional policemen who persist in taking their work home with disastrous consequences.”—The Guardian (London)
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