THE KILLING by David Hewson
I purchased this book because I was a firm fan of the Danish television series written by Soren Sveistrop. When it was shown on BBC4 television it became something of a cult series and has won various awards. So I was already prepared to love the novel written by a very experienced crime writer in his own right.
This book is a lot more than just a translation of the original story. It contains its own twists and turns as well as some deeper insights into several of the main characters. Fast-paced from the start and gripping throughout, the reader will find it difficult to put this book down. Even so there were times when I would have liked more exposition regarding some of the places and times, because I found the style too lean. I noted that one previous reviewer commented that the style was “almost like a film script” – not surprising I suppose.
A detective, who is moving from the police force in Copenhagen to join one in Sweden, has to change her plans when a teenager is raped and murdered in nearby woods. Her change of plans in order to lead the investigation back in Denmark is resented by her detective colleague. There are links between the murder and local politicians, and the detectives’ focus on suspects is constantly changed in the hunt for the murderer. All through the novel we are made aware of the pain felt by the family of the murdered girl.
I find my own comment about too little description surprising and perhaps that lean style is required here in order to retain the definite page-turning aspect of the book. Indeed, with the addition of much exposition the number of pages would expand from the rather imposing 700-plus to a figure that could rival the novels of Proust and Tolstoy!
The author introduces many new and different twists and turns to the TV plot and, unfortunately, this reader found the final twist just one too many.
Rating: 4 stars (WOW BLOG)
I purchased this book because I was a firm fan of the Danish television series written by Soren Sveistrop. When it was shown on BBC4 television it became something of a cult series and has won various awards. So I was already prepared to love the novel written by a very experienced crime writer in his own right.
This book is a lot more than just a translation of the original story. It contains its own twists and turns as well as some deeper insights into several of the main characters. Fast-paced from the start and gripping throughout, the reader will find it difficult to put this book down. Even so there were times when I would have liked more exposition regarding some of the places and times, because I found the style too lean. I noted that one previous reviewer commented that the style was “almost like a film script” – not surprising I suppose.
A detective, who is moving from the police force in Copenhagen to join one in Sweden, has to change her plans when a teenager is raped and murdered in nearby woods. Her change of plans in order to lead the investigation back in Denmark is resented by her detective colleague. There are links between the murder and local politicians, and the detectives’ focus on suspects is constantly changed in the hunt for the murderer. All through the novel we are made aware of the pain felt by the family of the murdered girl.
I find my own comment about too little description surprising and perhaps that lean style is required here in order to retain the definite page-turning aspect of the book. Indeed, with the addition of much exposition the number of pages would expand from the rather imposing 700-plus to a figure that could rival the novels of Proust and Tolstoy!
The author introduces many new and different twists and turns to the TV plot and, unfortunately, this reader found the final twist just one too many.
Rating: 4 stars (WOW BLOG)
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