Woman with a Birthmark [Paperback]

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Pan Publishing
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0330492799
• ISBN-13: 978-0330492799
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,702,578 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Engrossing Scandinavian police procedural, April 28, 2009

By 

Z Hayes (TX, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 50 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Woman with Birthmark: An Inspector Van Veeteren Mystery (Inspector Van Veeteren Mysteries) (Hardcover)

Lately, I've been on a Scandinavian mysteries book binge - Karin Fossum ["The Indian Bride", "Don't Look Back"] is my favorite author, but I've also enjoyed the works of Arnaldur Indridason ["The Draining Lake"], Henning Mankell etc.

Hakan Nesser does not disappoint in his latest Insp Van Veeteren mystery, "Woman With Birthmark". The storyline itself is intriguing - a young woman is so affected by her mother's dying words that she undertakes a vendetta against those she deems wrongdoers. She undergoes a major transformation, changes her appearance, and `returns' as a sort of grim reaper, dispatching said wrongdoers with aplomb. Prior to each murder, there is a phone call, with identical music [in each case] being heard in the background.

Enter Insp Van Veeteren, a veteran who has had his share of disturbing cases [the Insp Van Veeteren Series]. As the body count rises, Van Veeteren finds himself on the heels of a remarkably able and clever nemesis. The characters in this novel are well-delineated and complex, and the pacing of the plot is just right, drawing readers in and engaging our attention for the duration. Highly recommended for fans of psychological thrillers and suspense novels, and especially for those who have developed a literary taste for Scandinavian thrillers.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A police procedural, and yet a deeply tragic tale, August 9, 2009

By 

Neal C. Reynolds (Indianapolis, Indiana) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Woman with Birthmark: An Inspector Van Veeteren Mystery (Inspector Van Veeteren Mysteries) (Hardcover)

The Scandinavian mysteries by writers like Karin Fossum and Jo Nesbo have especially tragic themes. While most of this novel centers on the police investigation, those sequences told from the murderer's or the targetted victims' perspective heighten that tragic aspect. This is no whodunit. You know the murderess from the start and can pretty well figure her motivation for revenge. Nor iis there much in the way of true suspense. However, the author holds us in a hypnotic spell as if on is witnessing a train wreck....horrified by the events but unable to avert one's eyes. If you haven't yet encountered any Scandinavian crime novels, this is a good plce to start. And if you're already familiar with the crime literature from those countries, Hakan Nesser is one more author to add to your reading list.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Revenge Is Swedish, April 28, 2009

By 

Tom S. "filmfan3" (New York City) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Woman with Birthmark: An Inspector Van Veeteren Mystery (Inspector Van Veeteren Mysteries) (Hardcover)

A mother's deathbed request. An obsessed young woman. A sudden spate of identical murders where the victims are seemingly unrelated. These ingredients are familiar to mystery fans, but Hakan Nesser finds a fascinating new way to tell the story. His melancholy Scandinavian cop, Inspector Van Veeteren ("VV" to his loyal assistants), takes on the case the way he always does, slowly and carefully. As the police begin to close in on the shadowy perpetrator, VV can't help but feel a grudging admiration for his opponent. And the killing isn't over....

This is the 4th of Nesser's award-winning series to arrive in the U.S., and it's a good one. The moody Van Veeteren and his colorful team are always entertaining, and they work well together to solve even the toughest cases. And this case, with its back-and-forth shifts between the good guys and the mysterious woman, is constantly lively. If you're a fan of police procedurals in interesting places, you'll definitely want to add Nesser to your list of "must-reads." Recommended.