Unseen: A Mystery (Inspector Anders Knutas Mysteries) [BARGAIN PRICE] (Hardcover)

by Mari Jungstedt (Author), Tiina Nunnally (Translator)
Key Phrases: same perpetrator, regional news, Frida Lindh, Helena Hillerström, Gunilla Olsson (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Swedish journalist Jungstedt's first mystery, set on the island of Gotland, a popular tourist destination, opens with some promise. After a gathering of friends dissolves amid jealous accusations, the source of the conflict, Helena Hillerström, vanishes from her home, only to turn up the victim of a savage ax murder. This violent act shocks the residents of the normally sleepy resort island. Despite the dedicated efforts of Insp. Anders Knutas, the killer strikes twice again. The killer's clichéd motive for these crimes and the police's failure to connect some obvious dots will disappoint those expecting another Henning Mankell. Still, the unusual setting is nicely described, and hopefully, later entries in the series will focus on issues that are particular to Sweden as this debut effort does not. (Sept.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist
The Scandinavian invasion continues with the arrival in the U.S. of another talented crime writer from Sweden. Jungstedt's first novel takes place in Gotland, where a serial killer has tourists (in the area during the region's midsummer tourist season) running scared. The sleuth here is Gotland inspector Anders Knutas, who is out of the intuitive-provincial school of crime solving. He is thoroughly engaging in that Maigret way--reminiscent, too, of fellow Swede Van Veeteren (in Hakan Nesser's Borkmann's Point, 2006) and French police commissaire Adamsberg (in Fred Vargas' Have Mercy on Us All, 2005). Knutas has the help of an enterprising Stockholm journalist, Johan Berg, who becomes involved with one of the victim's friends. Like Ake Edwardson in Never End (2006), Jungstedt shows that Scandinavian summers can provide just as effective a backdrop for crime drama as the region's icy winters. If this strong combination of pacing, suspense, and character study is any indication of what is to come from Jungstedt, we have another fine import on our hands. Bill Ott
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Minotaur (September 5, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312351577
• ASIN: B0012BR8EC
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #462,502 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars entertaining serial killer Swedish police procedural , September 10, 2006

By	Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews (#1 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Unseen: A Mystery (Inspector Anders Knutas Mysteries) (Hardcover)

The friends meet at a resort on the Swedish island of Gotland in the Baltic Sea. Helena is with Per; Emma with her spouse; Olle and his neighbors Eva and Rikard; and finally Beata and her American husband are all there. However, instead of an amiable get together at the trendy tourist locale they chose, jealousies explode leading to accusations and rage.

Not long afterward, the prime focus of the dispute Helena vanishes from her home on the island. However, she is quickly found dead, someone brutally used an ax to hack her to death. Police Inspector Anders Knutas leads the island investigation, but makes no progress as everyone is in shock and denial. As he struggles with the homicide investigation two more brutal murders of females occur amongst the friends, Anders wonders if this is a case of nine little Indians leading to one or just no female survivors.

This is an entertaining serial killer Swedish police procedural in which the audience will have solved the case before Anders figures out what is going on. That is the strength of the story line as it brings freshness that the detective is average not a Wallender offspring or a Clouseau clone which still can frustrate the audience that he cannot see the obvious links. The setting is terrific for this fine Swedish whodunit.

Harriet Klausner

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A Chick Book Disguised, July 20, 2008

By	Andrew Simmons (Fresno, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is as much a romance novel as it is a story about a serial killer. Most of the female characters have extensive experience in affairs of the heart, and it least one of them is falling "head over heels in love" with one of the protagonists. Should she leave her husband for this hot new guy, or will she stay with her nice but dull husband and kids? Gimme a break. If you are lookiing for a "noirish" detective or police novel, this isn't it!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Unseen a moody mystery, March 8, 2009

By	Linda A. Relias "austen fan" (Wilmette, Illinois United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I enjoyed Unseen, which I picked up in London where Swedish mysteries
are very popular. THis writer was new to me but she certainly creates
an environment of mystery and suspense on the island of Gotland where a
brutal murder of a woman and her dog occurs. You will have trouble guessin
who is murdering women on the island, while Insp. ANders takes you along
on his investigation. There is also a love story that develops between a news reporter Johan and Emma, a schoolmate of the victim. I am reading the
next mystery soon.