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songwind's review against another edition
4.0
Another in my long list of Kindle impulse buys. It took me six months to get around to it, but I'm glad I finally did.
The book centers around Dan Hendricks, a freelance intelligence asset. After a long history of working for the CIA, he finds himself at the wrong end of an attempt to clean house. Before long he finds himself with no real options except a long shot.
The story runs along pretty tightly, interspersing investigation, action and personal development. Enough information about the intelligence game is described to keep it interesting, but not enough to make it drag.
The main characters were likable but not perfect.
All in all, a very diverting read.
The book centers around Dan Hendricks, a freelance intelligence asset. After a long history of working for the CIA, he finds himself at the wrong end of an attempt to clean house. Before long he finds himself with no real options except a long shot.
The story runs along pretty tightly, interspersing investigation, action and personal development. Enough information about the intelligence game is described to keep it interesting, but not enough to make it drag.
The main characters were likable but not perfect.
All in all, a very diverting read.
kberry513's review against another edition
3.0
While I found the story intriguing, I think maybe it was just a little too dark for me. I didn't feel a real emotional connection to any of the characters (except maybe Siri a bit and she was in three tiny scenes). There wasn't anything inherently wrong with the way the characters were written, although the Inger/Dan romance felt somehow forced to me, I just didn't feel strongly about them. And despite Dan being presented as the "good guy", he shoots an awful lot of people right in the face. Inger shows momentary hesitation/guilt over the first guy she kills, but other than that there is no remorse for the killing spree Dan goes on - including guys he'd worked with in the past. I wasn't even that bothered to hear the Charlie had been killed, even though his death is supposedly what spurred Dan on. I think it's because to me there wasn't a big enough difference between Dan's actions pre and post-Charlie's death. Maybe if he hadn't killed so many guys before that and then after Charlie died, he loses it and goes on a vengeance spree? I don't know. I felt especially bad about the poor IT guy that he followed home and shot. Couldn't he have just left that guy tied up for a day? I also didn't like that Inger told him she was a lesbian to get out of having to turn him down - but that's more of a personal thing I disagree with doing in real life, so having a fictional woman do it made me like her a lot less. Making her an actual lesbian would have made the story more interesting and less cliche, also.
All that isn't to say that the story itself wasn't well written. I enjoyed it, but I'm not sure that I'd go out of my way to read it again.
All that isn't to say that the story itself wasn't well written. I enjoyed it, but I'm not sure that I'd go out of my way to read it again.
leaphornlover's review against another edition
5.0
A captiuvatting read
The protagonist is well developed and the story kept me reading He is a little too good at what he does but that's rather common. Unexpected conclusion every satiusfying
The protagonist is well developed and the story kept me reading He is a little too good at what he does but that's rather common. Unexpected conclusion every satiusfying
bkeving_74's review against another edition
4.0
Enjoyable Read
This was shades of Bourne for me. I enjoy a good spy/assassin thriller and this book didn't disappoint. Some of the revelation was predictable and the protagonist came across differently than his background would suggest, like the lovable, merciless killer.
This was shades of Bourne for me. I enjoy a good spy/assassin thriller and this book didn't disappoint. Some of the revelation was predictable and the protagonist came across differently than his background would suggest, like the lovable, merciless killer.
haunted_future's review against another edition
Didn't finish, got bored. Sort of generic espionage.
carlylottsofbookz's review against another edition
3.0
A solid, mystery-spy book set in Europe. Great pick for working around the house while getting some reading in.
rick_k's review against another edition
4.0
In thrillers with "special operative" protagonists there is a tendency to fixate on the physical and perceptive skills of our deadly hero. It becomes a kind of "competence porn" full of descriptive martial arts combinations, firearms taxonomy, and anatomical destruction. In A Death in Sweden our point of view character is Dan Hendricks - a freelance, wetworks operative for the CIA. Dan has all the deadly and analytical abilities of Jack Reacher or countless other mystery/thriller protagonists, but the description isn't sensationalized. There is a matter-of-fact candor to the telling which matches the mindset of the man and keeps the attention focused on the investigation.
Like so many of these stories, much of the case revolves around a horrific act of violence on a young woman. More care is done here to show how this act effected the lives of friends and family, but still it is a tired trope of the genre. There was also more nuance to the female protagonist than typical as well which, while still firmly within the trope, offered greater character depth and interest. Definitely recommended to fans of mystery/thrillers.
Like so many of these stories, much of the case revolves around a horrific act of violence on a young woman. More care is done here to show how this act effected the lives of friends and family, but still it is a tired trope of the genre. There was also more nuance to the female protagonist than typical as well which, while still firmly within the trope, offered greater character depth and interest. Definitely recommended to fans of mystery/thrillers.
a88y's review against another edition
4.0
The prologue intrigued me, and then the story slowed down so much I considered dropping the book. It picked back up and it got more interesting and I liked the ending. It's an easy read with a somewhat done storyline. I would recommend this book.
lwalker77's review against another edition
3.0
Good book. I did struggle to stay engaged in the story at times.