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International Bestseller
Håkan Nesser is firmly established as one of the world's bestselling crime novelists. And now the novel that introduced Chief Inspector Van Veeteren is available for the first time in English.
The swift conviction left Van Veeteren uneasy: Janek Mitter woke one morning with a brutal hangover and his wife dead in the bathtub. With only the flimsiest defense, he is found guilty and imprisoned in a mental institution. But when Mitter is murdered in his bed, Van Veeteren regrets not following his gut and launches an investigation into the two murders. As the chief inspector delves deeper, the twisted root of these violent murders will shock even him.
World-weariness in a detective is well and good—but what if it ends up costing innocent victims their lives? That's the predicament in which Detective Chief Inspector Van Veeteren finds himself in this moodily affecting mystery, the first to appear in Nesser's native Sweden but the third to be published in the U.S. (after The Return and Borkmann's Point). Though the melancholy cop suspects accused killer Janek Mitter is innocent of drowning his new bride during an alcoholic blackout, Van Veeteren opts to focus on such more personally compelling matters as his own ruptured marriage and to let the judicial process run its course—until a second, truly shocking murder boots him and the book into high gear. The suspense intensifies as it becomes apparent that the initial killing was no garden-variety domestic drama but part of a bloody tapestry worthy of Greek tragedy. Even if you guess the book's final twist a bit early, this is a hauntingly powerful tale you won't soon forget. (June)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.When Janek Mitter wakes up from a night of too much alcohol and sex, he must break into the locked bathroom, where he finds his wife dead in the bathtub. Suffering from amnesia as a result of his drinking, he falls into a lethargic state that lasts throughout his murder trial, conviction, and imprisonment in a mental hospital. Detective Chief Inspector Van Veeteren launches a new investigation when Mitter is murdered. Finally being published in the United States, this 1993 noir crime novel, set against the bleak, cold backdrop of Maardam, Sweden, launched Nesser's popular police procedurals (The Return; Borkmann's Point). For readers of Henning Mankell and those who remember Per Wahlöö and Mai Sjowald. [See Prepub Mystery, LJ2/1/08.]
Excerpted from Mind's Eye by Hakan Nesser Copyright © 2008 by Hakan Nesser. Excerpted by permission.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.
In Sweden the evidence overwhelmingly condemns drunken schoolteacher Janek Mitter in the killing of his wife and a colleague who apparently was with her. Detective Chief Inspector Van Veeteren arrests the distraught husband who has no alibi and was found in a drunken stupor at the crime scene; Janek is easily convicted and sent away to spend the rest of his life either in a mental institution or if his mind heals a prison.
Van Veeteren has some issues with the conviction although it appears reasonable and he is a prime reason Janek was nailed. Although he keeps mentally reviewing the case making him bone weary, he does little to follow up on his hunch until it is too late. Someone murders Janek leaving Van Veeteren feeling guilty that he failed to follow his instincts. He vows to find the link between the homicides of the Mitter couple and subsequently their killer while personally vowing never to ignore his gut instincts ever again.
MIND'S EYE is an excellent Swedish police procedural (see THE RETURN and BORKMANN'S POINT) starring a great investigator who is filled with remorse for not following up on his belief something was off kilter in the case even as he received acclaim for solving an obvious domestic dispute that turned ugly, but proved to be something else. Fans will enjoy this terrific tale as a good likable cop struggles with his mistake by chasing down the real culprit in a great twisting thriller.
Harriet Klausner
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted May 5, 2010
Readers of Henning Mankell's Wallander series or Per Wahlöö and Maj Sjöwall's Martin Beck series should enjoy this, the first of Håkan Nesser's Inspector Van Veeteren series. It runs in the same vein of police procedural, with a somewhat world-weary main detective, faced with a challenging case. In an unusual twist, the story starts with the suspect already in custody and runs from there. The novel is cleverly plotted, and keeps the reader engrossed, but there are also lighter moments of real humor as well. I've since gone on to read the second book in the series, Borkmann's Point, and look forward to reading the rest, which will hopefully continue to be translated in the coming years (this novel was originally written in 1993, but only translated into English in 2008).
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.I love this author. A Swede who is not quite as dark and depressing as some of the other Swedish authors, but true to the genre. I am reading the second in the series-"Borkmann's Point" and loving it even more. He has a trick of inserting little bits of wry humor into his books.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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Posted December 31, 2009
Some very witty lines and sage observations. The detective is wise, but a bit off-putting with his ubiquitous toothpicks. The ending ties everything together in a neat, if shocking, package, but is somewhat reminiscent of Agatha Christie, i.e., not enough herrings (red or otherwise) to figure out the real cuprit till the end.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.I watch lots of Scandinavian films and this book reads like one of those movies. Very bleak landscape, cold and dreary, lots of smoking and very gritty characters make a terrific story of murder. It's well worth your time and you won't figure this one out- James Patterson fans!
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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Posted February 16, 2009
Terrific debut for series made famous by Borkmann's Point. Inspector Van Veeteren is an original character and the Scandinavian setting adds to the interest.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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Posted September 14, 2011
I found Hakran Nesser's narritive completly different from those of Mankell, Lackberg, and Nesbo. If you are reading a series and need a quick change of pace this is the book for you. I enjoyed the characters. But most of all it was fun to read a book where you actively have to participate if figuring out whose character you are listening to and putting the pieces together, from your perspective and then seeing if you've got it right in the end.
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Posted February 11, 2011
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Overview
International Bestseller
Håkan Nesser is firmly established as one of the world's bestselling crime novelists. And now the novel that introduced Chief Inspector Van Veeteren is available for the first time in English.
The swift conviction left Van Veeteren uneasy: Janek Mitter woke one morning with a brutal hangover and his wife dead in the bathtub. With only the flimsiest defense, he is found guilty and imprisoned in a mental institution. But when Mitter is murdered in his bed, Van Veeteren regrets not following his gut and launches an investigation into the two murders. As the chief inspector delves ...