Customer Reviews

Bomber

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Already a best seller in Europe for over one year, THE BOMBER gives a terrific behind-the-scenes view of the Swedish tabloid business as told by author-journalist Liza Marklund. This is the tale of Annika Bengtzon and her courageous attempt to catch a killer while struggling with the stress and demands of a deteriorating family life.

Just a few days before Christmas, a bomb rips through the Olympic Stadium in Stockholm Sweden, killing the head of the Olympic Organizing Committee. In the media frenzy that follows, insistent crime tabloid reporter Annika Bengtzon uses shrewd investigation skills to keep her newspaper a step ahead of the competition. As she deftly unravels the layers of an apparent cover up, Annika finds a source within the police department who tells her that this was not the act of a deranged terrorist group as many have thought; but rather a cold-blooded execution designed by one lone murderer. Annika becomes completely consumed by the story, and in the process neglects her husband and small children. The plot goes into warp drive as she simultaneously juggles the high demands of her family life with the increasing stress of her male-dominated editorial job, and the looming threat of a malicious, cold-blooded assassin bent on making her his next victim.

THE BOMBER is a spectacular debut novel that focuses on investigative reporting and the increasing demands placed on working mothers. While the suspense may not be as calculating as other more well known bestsellers, it certainly works within the framework of the storyline. The only aspect of the novel which presented more of a mystery to me than the identity of the bomber is inclusion of a few "letters" intermittently dispersed throughout the book covering topics such as love, lies, humanity, happiness, etc. (what was THAT all about???????)

4 stars. Although the mystery gets light treatment and the puzzle is not very challenging, the translation by Kajsa Von Hofsen is superbly written.

This was one of the most spell-binding novels I've read in quite some time. It was excellent. So much so that I have just ordered another of Marklund's thrillers -- Studio Sex: An Annika Bengtzon Thriller. Just knowing that I again will be treated to another story woven around this very savy crime reporter, Annika Bengtzon, leaves me filled with anticipation.

The story of the bomber unfolds around pending Olympic Games to be held in Stockholm and; in particular, the life of the managing director. The author has done an outstanding job of making her characters very realistic. Indeed, one is most certainly able to identify with their day to day struggles. As I do with all books I have enjoyed, I dreaded finishing it; while at the same time I found myself unable to put it down. It was very gripping and intense to say the least.

This is a good piece of work that is undone by a somewhat loose denouement, and the villain's motivations do not appear meaty enough to result in the carnage produced. Of course, we could attribute this disconnect to the murderer's psychopathy, but even that revelation is so late in the book that it appears almost as an afterthought. But I liked the book overall for its acute description of a workplace that is suffused with rivalries, political and professional, and the difficulties faced by working women (especially working women who are good at and passionate about their work) vis-a-vis their families. This book is written from the perspective of a journalist, Annika Bengtzon, who is deep in the investigation of a bomb that has destroyed Stockholm's Olympic arena, killing one person, and who, despite having a police contact, is not entirely certain how the police investigation is going. She herself does not aim to solve the mystery; rather, she chases separate strands of possibilities raised by the information dug up by herself and her team. This is a neat trick on Marklund's part - the real police story is elsewhere but we get glimpses of it at third-hand, as it were, and Bengtzon's investigation reveals various side stories, which eventually all combine at the climax (which is where it all begins to go downhill, as I mentioned above). This is a very good thriller for a long flight, and I guess the Swedes must travel a lot, for the book has done phenomenally in their country.

Some detective writers are novelists first, detective writers second.

Robert Crais, Robert Barnard, Sara Paretsky, Lawrence Block (in the Matt Scudder books).

Add Liza Marklund to the number.

This is a fine novel that incidentally happens to be a thriller.

The novel-qualities are more important than the thriller-qualities. Good characterization, fine sense of setting, good pacing, interesting view of social issues--these are all as well done as any novelist would do them.

And the thriller-elements aren't bad, either.

More than just a whodunnit, author Marklund also looks at the role of women in power positions and how they are viewed by their mostly male peers as she presents a solid plot revolving around the bombing of the Olympic stadium for the forthcoming Stockholm Games.

Main character Annika is a journalist who has recently been promoted to be chief of her newspaper's crime desk. Juggling her job with her life as a wife and mother of two young children is tough, especially when such a big story occurs. Smart and resourceful, but also feeling the pressure of her life and new position, Annika soons finds plenty of leads on "The Bomber" - inevitably she and they are headed towards confrontation with each other.

While the newspaper industry stuff could have been cut a bit, the story still moves reasonably quickly. Maybe a bit more mystery, some extra suspects and the odd red herring could have been built into the plot, but I still found the novel interesting enough to be keen to read on. 3.5 stars.

It's been over a year since I read this so it's not fresh in my head. This book was entertaining and the first book I had read that was set in Sweden, giving it a little something extra. I don't recall too much about the main character which probably means she wasn't that impressive. This is probably a good book if you just want a fun read/thriller. It's not really a keeper.

Bought this one for my Kindle 2 when I had to spend a weekend in bed while on a business trip in Japan recently. Although my mobile was out of power my Kindle was not and I was able to order have this book delivered in less than 2 minutes to my device. That in itself was pretty amazing.

And the book is a marvel. Well written and never a dull moment. Reading it is like watching an intelligently done and highly entertaining movie - just a lot better!

I wish I could order more books like this for my Kindle. I noticed a whole wall of books from this author in the airport - only two of those are available in the Kindle store. Hope to see more in the shop soon...

A good look in a life of a journalist and priting industry. The intrigues and the chaos that goes beyond one story line.

I picked this up thinking it would be a good mystery. Instead, it was way too verbose and the storyline was awful. There's just too much description for parts, and I found myself skipping ahead (not missing much!).

Too much bs about the paper, and not enough on the bomber plot. Only at the end does it pick up. The soloquy from the bomber is TOO LONG!!!

Skip it, life's too short!!

At first glance this book is a bit disappointing, but if you are not immediately enthralled following the first few pages, carry on, it gets better. The real treat of this book is not the actual plot, which is entertaining, but quite frankly unoriginal, but is the character Annika Bengtzon. This is perhaps why she has now appeared in five (going on six) books by Marklund. Annika is confident, determined, and continually flying off the handle, which makes for humorous bits, at least for those of us who can relate. The plot centers around Annika and draws the reader in despite the blah beginning. There are several twists to keep the interest level high. Annika must also deal with balancing her family and her struggle for respect in her male-dominated work place.
[I will skip a plot description as previous reviewers have adequately done so already.]
The translation is very straightforward; again this is no literary masterpiece but an interesting piece of escapist fiction. The English used in this translation is definitely British English, which again adds a bit of humor. Marklund is no Peter Høeg (author of Smilla's Sense of Snow, one of my favorite books), but The Bomber is still worth picking up.