Customer Reviews

Glass Devil (Inspector Irene Huss Investigation)

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

In this the third novel of the "Huss Series" to be published in English, Tursten concentrates on a growing problem. Because there a few ways to trace anonymous people on the internet, it has become a 'home' for pornographers and pedophiles. In permissive Sweden it's the pedophiles who have taken to the net in droves, using it to contact other pedophiles and spread their poison all over the world.

Into a triple murder of a pastor, his wife and son, steps Huss who will need hip-boots before this is all over. There is less procedure and more character development in this book and she is becoming more like
'Pepe Calvalho' each episode by describing the cooking of her husband and chef Krister. Though very subtle, there seems to be a polemic about the Swedish Church but I'm not sure what her point is supposed to be. We are also treated to a more in depth study of her colleagues especially Superintendent Anderssen. Though he should be retired (sixty is mandatory retirement for Swedish cops) she is keeping him on for at least one more novel. Is she setting Hush up as his replacement?

We are also treated to a visit with English DI Thompson, who is half brazilian, his mother, sister, wife and twins. It seems that Tursten has a 'thing' for twins, she has one set and two cousins are also described as 'looking like twins'. Tursten's descriptions of Huss' shopping trips in London look like a way of turning her own trips (if she does shop there) into 'research'. It's interesting to see the growth of her daughters and the changes to her fellow cops.

She never misses a chance to hit out at the number one problem in Sweden, alcohol abuse. Her fellow cop who is always drinking on the job and calling in sick (on the 'morning after') is admitted to the hospital for 'stomach' problems, which Huss says to herself must be his liver, is very telling as to a major problem among Swedes.

There are eight novels in the series that have been published so far but this is only the third that has been translated. I'm looking forward to following Huss et al for many years to come.

Zeb Kantrowitz

This is Tursten's third mystery in the Irene Huss series. It is a great improvement over her first (Detective Inspector Huss) and at least as good as her second (The Torso). DI Huss was too long---one of the very few mysteries I would describe that way--but Tursten now writes more compact narratives. The crimes she describes are EXTREMELY "noir," which may upset some readers; but the descriptions of DI Huss's home life provide a contrasting "normalcy." It's hard to say what separates Tursten from the top Scandinavian mystery writers (Sjoewall, Mankell, Fossum, Indridason), but her stories are well worth reading and, if she keeps improving, may be more than that.

While it isn't quite as gripping as The Torso, this is yet another fine work by Helene Tursten featuring Detective Inspector Huss. Tursten once again creates a believable, intelligent, and interesting character, as well as her fellow detectives and family, resulting in an engaging and intriguing mystery.

I enjoyed this book. i really like inspector irene huss novels, she is a delightful character that lives a convincingly real life. this novel developed her character very well and was entertaining in that regard.
i was much less than engaged by the actual mystery that was going on.
i recommend that you read this book and all the others in the series because they are well written and engaging, but the torso was more interesting as a case, so read that first. if you like it, you'll get something out of this too.

Good police procedural set in Sweden.
Characters and plot are realistic.
This is the third of a series, and I liked it, but I liked the earlier ones even better.

His cousin Georg, the principal of a high school, calls worried about dedicated teacher Jacob Schyttelius not coming to work or calling in. Though vague, Goteborg Criminal Superintendent Sven Andersson drafts Detective Inspector Irene Huss to accompany him when he drives out to the man's isolated cottage. Huss who has worked with Anderson for fifteen years is shocked that he has a relative. However, she more stunned at the cottage where they find a dead Jacob shot in the head by a rifle. His computer monitor is loaded with upside down pentagrams.

After insuring control of the crime scene, the two cops visit Jacob's elderly parents, Pastor Sten Schyttelius and his wife Elsa only to find both shot in the eyes; once again their monitor displays upside down pentagrams. Neither computer contains information as a pro deleted everything. Huss turns to Jacob's anguished sister, Rebecka, who lives in London, but she is clueless. With no leads, Huss chooses to follow Sten's activities first because he was investigating a Satanist cult, which may tie to the upside down pentagrams.

The third translated Huss Swedish police procedural (see DETECTIVE INSPECTOR HUSS and THE TORSO) is an excellent tale from the opening phone call until the final climax. Huss is terrific as she investigates the triple murders, but makes little progress until she makes inquiries into the Pastor's investigation. Sub-genre fans will appreciate this superb tale hat brings a taste of Sweden to the reader as well as a strong police investigation.

Harriet Klausner

The third in the Swedish police procedural series, a young teacher, Jacob is found shot and murdered in his family's cottage by the woods. His pastor father and mother are later also found shot and murdered in their beds at home. In both places, a pentagram has been painted on their computer monitors in their blood, and the crucifix in the house has been turned upside down. Everything points to Satanism at work and Inspector Huss and her team are left grasping at straws in their investigation.

The only person left in the family, a daughter, is living in London and Inspector Huss makes a trip to London to speak with her, but finds a sick woman who clearly fears something, but is unwilling and unable to shed any light on the gruesome murder of her family. Will the secret she's keeping be what puts her in the sights of the murderer as well?

As the investigation proceeds, the lives of others in the religious community come under scrutiny and scandals erupt. Their dogged pursuit of even the smallest possible clues eventually leads the team to a secret and most vile group.

While this novel deals with yet another dark side of human nature, it's not as gritty as the first 2 in the series.

First Line: Everything had seemed perfect.

After finding Jacob Schyttelius shot to death in his isolated cottage, Detective Inspector Irene Huss and her team from the Violent Crimes Unit in Göteborg, Sweden, visit his parents. Schyttelius's parents have also been shot to death, and the computer monitor in their home-- like Jacob's-- has a Satanic symbol painted on it in their own blood. Both computers' hard drives have been professionally wiped, and the only lead Huss has-- Jacob's sister in London-- is so devastated by the tragedy that she's unable to be of much help. It will be a long and difficult investigation before Irene Huss can solve this case.

There's really not that much mystery to this book. I found the whodunit easy to put together, and how the murderer's confession was handled didn't quite set well with me. (It was a case of tell rather than show.) Be that as it may, I really enjoyed the book for Tursten's portrayal of a female detective inspector trying to juggle her profession and her family life. Huss is one of the few members of the fictional police force of the world that I know who actually has a good family life.

Huss got to travel to London, and it was interesting to see England through the eyes of a Swede. There's also a scene in London that came out of nowhere and startled me, which was a definite plus. I do tend to like surprises that make me blink and reread a paragraph because something happened that I did not expect.

Tursten not only does an excellent job of portraying Irene Huss, she brings a homicide investigation to life with its slow, methodical piecing together of conjecture, clues and evidence. I almost felt as though I were a part of the investigative team.

There are only three books in the Irene Huss series so far, and I have come to the end, which is sad. I like this series, and I hope that there will be more in the future.

unlike other swedish writers of police procedurals, tursten's series lacks bite, interesting character development and intriguing story line.