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margiep59's review
5.0
I saw the TV movie about this first. Lots had to be changed to make it endurable for a home audience. This story is incredibly intense and disquieting. The characters both good and bad will stay with me for a long time.
kchisholm's review
3.0
This is the second book translated from this author and it starts out with a torso in a bag being found on a beach in Sweden. The only clue to the identify of the body is a tattoo, and the body, as well as dismembered, has been horribly mutilated.
This crime is soon connected with a similar mutilation murder in Denmark, so the investigation moves between Goteborg, Sweden and Copenhagen in Denmark with Irene Huss and her colleagues working closely with Danish police. The mutilations are pretty graphic and the violence is extreme, but strangely there are suddenly a series of what seemed to be connected murders, although the mutilation is not as severe. The murderer seems to be very close to Huss and her movements.
Huss is a great character - a bit grumpy, a bit dismissive, prickly but not self-indulgent with it. The supporting cast of characters are also well drawn out and Huss's family life is interwoven into the story but not to the point where it distracts from the investigation itself.
The first book in the translation series is Detective Inspector Huss, which I've got but haven't read yet. I picked this one up because of an upcoming discussion at 4_Mystery_Addicts and now I'm really going to have to excavate the earlier book.
This crime is soon connected with a similar mutilation murder in Denmark, so the investigation moves between Goteborg, Sweden and Copenhagen in Denmark with Irene Huss and her colleagues working closely with Danish police. The mutilations are pretty graphic and the violence is extreme, but strangely there are suddenly a series of what seemed to be connected murders, although the mutilation is not as severe. The murderer seems to be very close to Huss and her movements.
Huss is a great character - a bit grumpy, a bit dismissive, prickly but not self-indulgent with it. The supporting cast of characters are also well drawn out and Huss's family life is interwoven into the story but not to the point where it distracts from the investigation itself.
The first book in the translation series is Detective Inspector Huss, which I've got but haven't read yet. I picked this one up because of an upcoming discussion at 4_Mystery_Addicts and now I'm really going to have to excavate the earlier book.
dancingdane's review against another edition
3.0
This one was definitely disturbing. The murderer is a sadistic necrophiliac who dismembers and completely hits his victims.
At the same time, it was hard to really get involved in the story. Some of that is probably due to the translation, as quite often the writing seems stilted and juvenile.
I'm also not happy about the ending, as in, the book literally just ends. It doesn't feel wrapped up, but also doesn't really leave anything to ponder.
At the same time, it was hard to really get involved in the story. Some of that is probably due to the translation, as quite often the writing seems stilted and juvenile.
I'm also not happy about the ending, as in, the book literally just ends. It doesn't feel wrapped up, but also doesn't really leave anything to ponder.
lawyerperson's review
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
3.0
shadedelight's review
4.0
Excellent story, wonderful characters, love Irene Huss, the first true to life protagonist in a series like this. Irene is a formidable police inspector who is dedicated to her job and guilt ridden as a mother and wife. So she is typical of many women in demanding careers. Her nasty job makes it even more guilt ridden because of her long hours and the people she pursues.
In this instance, the necrophilia-sadism is disturbing, but the book is about the journey to find the murderer. The ending is absolutely a surprise.
I love the feeling of place Tursten is able to create, and the comfort level with her characters. Each of the police officers Irene deals with have a distinct character, and some not so great traits, just like us all. The dialogue is well done, the procedural aspects as well. Time is never compressed, it seems to be like it is happening right then.
In this instance, the necrophilia-sadism is disturbing, but the book is about the journey to find the murderer. The ending is absolutely a surprise.
I love the feeling of place Tursten is able to create, and the comfort level with her characters. Each of the police officers Irene deals with have a distinct character, and some not so great traits, just like us all. The dialogue is well done, the procedural aspects as well. Time is never compressed, it seems to be like it is happening right then.
marais90's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
melissa_who_reads's review
3.0
This one was a difficult one -- darker, more tense than the other ones. The story starts with a body part being found -- part of a torso in a black plastic garbage bag, tossed in the sea. As the police move forward trying to identify the body based on the little they have (they eventually find a few more parts in black plastic garbage bags), a tattoo points them to Copenhagen, and so off to Denmark Inspector Huss goes.
There she finds that the story began two years earlier, as the Danish police have an unsolved murder mystery with a similarly mutilated body. The body count, both in Copenhagen and in Goteborg, begins to add up -- and even when the bodies are as completely gutted as in the first two, there are enough similarities that the forensic pathologists in both countries are convinced it's the same murderer.
The plot revolves around as darkly perverse sexual kinks as one can imagine, and was really fairly tense as the murderer seemed to be aware of Irene and her investigation .... and one step ahead. And Irene develops a knack for making a few mistakes in this one, perhaps thrown off by being in Copenhagen for some of the investigation rather than her home turf.
Did like it, was engrossed throughout, but now ... am ready to take a short break from Detective Inspector Huss, just to recover from some of the images at play in this book.
There she finds that the story began two years earlier, as the Danish police have an unsolved murder mystery with a similarly mutilated body. The body count, both in Copenhagen and in Goteborg, begins to add up -- and even when the bodies are as completely gutted as in the first two, there are enough similarities that the forensic pathologists in both countries are convinced it's the same murderer.
The plot revolves around as darkly perverse sexual kinks as one can imagine, and was really fairly tense as the murderer seemed to be aware of Irene and her investigation .... and one step ahead. And Irene develops a knack for making a few mistakes in this one, perhaps thrown off by being in Copenhagen for some of the investigation rather than her home turf.
Did like it, was engrossed throughout, but now ... am ready to take a short break from Detective Inspector Huss, just to recover from some of the images at play in this book.
pannapark's review
3.0
What was I thinking? I’m not a fan of gruesomely detailed thrillers but I read Torso anyway. I am a fan of Inspector Irene Huss though with all her foibles and inconsistencies. I just should have known Torso would take me down a dark path littered with mutilated bodies and twisted necrophiliacs. Hence my 3 star rating! If all the gore hadn’t put me off, I would have given Torso a 4 star rating.
krobart's review
1.0
The novel is ploddingly written with no particular suspense. The characters all remain sketchily depicted except Huss, and her every thought is recorded, no matter how mundane. Unfortunately, many of her thoughts are mundane. Every character is thoroughly described including each person’s changes of outfits.
My biggest negative reaction has to do with unlikeliness in the investigation. Perhaps police procedure is different in Sweden than here, but I was surprised to find the coroner providing a profiler lecture based upon one examination of the body and a lot of supposition. In addition, the reactions of Huss and other offficers to some sights and remarks seem to be implausibly squeamish, considering their positions. It also seems implausible to me that the team would retain the obnoxious alcoholic cop Jonny, who seems to be incompetent to boot. Rather than assume Swedish procedure and police behavior is that different, I am inclined to believe that Tursten doesn’t know anything about criminal investigations.
See my complete review here:
http://whatmeread.wordpress.com/tag/the-torso/
My biggest negative reaction has to do with unlikeliness in the investigation. Perhaps police procedure is different in Sweden than here, but I was surprised to find the coroner providing a profiler lecture based upon one examination of the body and a lot of supposition. In addition, the reactions of Huss and other offficers to some sights and remarks seem to be implausibly squeamish, considering their positions. It also seems implausible to me that the team would retain the obnoxious alcoholic cop Jonny, who seems to be incompetent to boot. Rather than assume Swedish procedure and police behavior is that different, I am inclined to believe that Tursten doesn’t know anything about criminal investigations.
See my complete review here:
http://whatmeread.wordpress.com/tag/the-torso/