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markhoh's review
5.0
“Why? Why not? These two sterile and perpetual questions that resist answer and constantly plague me. There should be clearer signposts.”
I can sense Håkan Nesser fast becoming one of my favourite Scandi Noir authors. The Root of Evil is the third of his books I have read and is the second instalment in his Inspector Gunnar Barbarotti series. Håkan Nesser has a way of writing that is really grounded and earthy and balances people, place and plot in perfect proportion.
The Root of Evil is told in two voices. There is the underpinning story of a group of Swedish acquaintances who happen to be holidaying together in Brittany, France, narrated by an unnamed author. This narrative piece sets the scene for understanding the central crimes occurring and offers tantalising morsels to the reader to try to piece together as the story unfolds. Ultimately all the puzzle pieces come together in a unique and intriguing way. I still had one or two unanswered questions at the end of the book but that didn’t detract at all from the absolute satisfaction of the read.
4.5 rounded to 5 stars. This was a 595 page novel that I couldn’t put down and was almost equally as satisfying as the two previous books I have read.
I can sense Håkan Nesser fast becoming one of my favourite Scandi Noir authors. The Root of Evil is the third of his books I have read and is the second instalment in his Inspector Gunnar Barbarotti series. Håkan Nesser has a way of writing that is really grounded and earthy and balances people, place and plot in perfect proportion.
The Root of Evil is told in two voices. There is the underpinning story of a group of Swedish acquaintances who happen to be holidaying together in Brittany, France, narrated by an unnamed author. This narrative piece sets the scene for understanding the central crimes occurring and offers tantalising morsels to the reader to try to piece together as the story unfolds. Ultimately all the puzzle pieces come together in a unique and intriguing way. I still had one or two unanswered questions at the end of the book but that didn’t detract at all from the absolute satisfaction of the read.
4.5 rounded to 5 stars. This was a 595 page novel that I couldn’t put down and was almost equally as satisfying as the two previous books I have read.
sammysloth's review against another edition
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.75
dealerjohn's review against another edition
3.0
Slow reading. But Hakan Nesser knows how to build a story. The end is a very surprising twist.
juniperusxx's review against another edition
4.0
Innostuin Barbarotti-sarjan ekasta osasta niin paljon, että haalin kirppareilta hyllyyni nämä sarjan seuraavatkin osat. Mielenkiintoinen ja taidokas kirjailija. Tarina oli viipyilevän kuvailevaa, mutta vähän pitkitettyäkin. Sopi täydellisesti kesälomalukemistoon, mutta kiireisempänä ajankohtana olisin ehkä hermostunut. Lähelle kirjan loppua murhaaja tuntui liiankin ilmeiseltä, mutta sitten Nesser käänsi jutun niin päälaelleen, että yllätyin täysin. Nerokasta! Barbarottin henkilökohtainen elämä jäi kirjan päättyessä niin kimuranttiin vaiheeseen, että taidanpa ottaa seuraavankin sarjan kirjan lukuvuoroon vielä kesän aikana.
nataliya_x's review
4.0
“The sense of it in actual fact being this self-willed, cold-blooded perpetrator who was choreographing the whole investigation began to seem inescapable.”Ahhh, a Swedish crime novel… Scandi noir.
In Swedish, this book is titled “A Completely Different Story”, and it’s a perfect title for many reasons (but alas, the translation went with the more sinister-sounding “The Root of Evil” which really doesn’t hit the right note). It *is* a different story, with its own quirks and peculiarities that lend it its slightly awkward yet clever charm.
You see the puppet strings directing the events throughout the book, but who’s the puppeteer? That’s the question, and the one that’s not so easy to answer. And what does a holiday in France a few years ago have to do with a string of murders in Sweden? And can the detectives in Kymlinge, Sweden EVER have an uninterrupted vacation?
“Well, the way I see it, even if ten cops slave away for a hundred days and interview a thousand people, it doesn’t always help.”
(From thomaskinkade.com - “The Beach at Nice”)
Let me spoil one thing for you here — our protagonist Gunnar Barbarotti does not actually solve the crime. Oh, it gets solved, but Barbarotti is just one of the cogs in the machine, made special not by his talents or wits or anything else besides being our eyes into this story — and a person full of seemingly banal and yet interesting oddities. (Yes, he’s still awarding God points to allow God to prove his existence*). And Gunnar’s personal struggles to me were no less interesting than the murder investigation itself.
* “He had a so-called deal with Our Lord, in which Our Lord had to show his existence by heeding at least a reasonable proportion of the prayers his humble servant, Detective Inspector Barbarotti, sent up to him. Then points were awarded: plus points for Our Lord if Barbarotti’s prayers were answered, minus if they were not.”
Life is not always kind to Gunnar Barbarotti, and he really needs a break. Let’s just say, he’s struggling juuuust a bit, and loneliness plays a part in it all.
“So if I can just summarize for a moment,’ she said, stretching a little in her seat, ‘a variety of things have exercised a negative influence on your life in recent months. Your daughter’s left home. You feel lonely and aren’t happy with your job. You’ve found a new woman, but you’re not sure whether she really wants to live with you. You’re receiving strange letters from a murderer. You’ve been reported to the police for hitting a reporter and you’ve been suspended from work. Have I got that more or less right?”
It’s a slow-paced book, full of detours and police not knowing how to make head or tails of the murder investigations, and persistent feeling by all that the murderer is pulling all the strings, and a lot of figurative bumbling around in the dark. Honestly, that’s probably much closer to how real investigations go rather than the string of brilliant insights by the infallible geniuses. And Barbarotti is lucky to be surrounded by good friends and colleagues - his friendship with Eva Backman is a pleasure to witness.
“Why? Why the hell write a letter giving the name of your intended victim?
And why send it to him? Detective Inspector Gunnar Barbarotti? At his home address?
Was it just to tease them? Did it have any real significance at all? Did this person actually know Barbarotti?
And – last but not least – did Barbarotti know the murderer?”
Well, the answers are not immediately obvious, and red herrings abound, and sometimes it ends up, well, “a completely different story”.
(Oh, and have I mentioned that this book is translated by Sarah Death? What a fitting name for a murder mystery novel translator.)
4 stars.
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Thanks to my buddy readers - William, Mark, Nat K and Neale.