Tuesday, November 25, 2008

19. Unseen


Unseen, by Mari Jungstedt

I'm really behind on posting these, so some of my reading is kind of hazy. This summer I decided to expand my mystery horizons and try out some Swedish authors. This one is a debut novel by Mari Jungstedt, who worked as a journalist. It's not surprising that one of the main characters is a reporter from Stockholm, who comes out to Gotland to cover a gruesome murder.

I'm not sure why, but all the Swedish mysteries I've read so far have a really dispassionate tone. Maybe that's a function of the translation, but it's keeping me from really getting into the stories. I should really start studying Swedish again and try to read something simple in the original language, but it will take me a while to get to that point.

Anyway, Unseen follows the investigation of the murder, which is followed by two more deaths. The serial killer has a pretty cliched motive, and I figured out who did it too early to really enjoy the climax of the story. Still, it was a good story. I think Jungstedt is a good writer and I'll be on the lookout for her other stuff.

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