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brittareadsit's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
informative
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
patchworkbunny's review against another edition
3.0
Annika has been promoted to the head of crime at the Evening Post, a major Stockholm newspaper, when a report comes in of an explosion at the Olympic stadium. She's determined to get the best angle on the story and discover the truth before any of her competitors. Is it an act of terrorism against the Olympics or is it murder? And will she get it wrapped up in time to spend Christmas with her family?
What The Bomber does best is portray the inner workings of a busy newspaper. It's refreshing that the characters are just doing their jobs and not taking over from the police like in many crime novels. Annika has a police source but she doesn't work with them and it's a constant struggle to find out information.
But, what angry characters we have! Annika seems to be incredibly irritable, snapping at her husband, children, colleagues and interviewees. The short winter days of Northern Europe makes us all tetchy but I'm not sure it makes for a good protagonist. Maybe Annika rubs of on those around her as they're just as angry back, with exception of her boss at the paper. I get the feeling Marklund is trying to make a statement about equality of the sexes in the workplace but I don't feel that Annika is disliked because she's a woman, more that she's not very nice to her colleagues! The character of Nils, comes across as a stereotypical sexist man without any redeeming features and his presence doesn't have any real relevance on the plot. Now, this is chronologically the fourth book in a series but the first that was written, so perhaps there is a back story that explains more, but as a standalone read, I wish it had concentrated more on the investigation and the bomber's motives.
Overall it's a good read but the angriness has probably cost this book a whole star. The Bomber has been incredibly successful in its original Swedish and a hit film has made made based on the book, with more films based on the series on the way. I would be interested to find out if Annika mellows after the events of The Bomber or if she started out that way, so I wouldn't write Liza Marklund off as a writer.
What The Bomber does best is portray the inner workings of a busy newspaper. It's refreshing that the characters are just doing their jobs and not taking over from the police like in many crime novels. Annika has a police source but she doesn't work with them and it's a constant struggle to find out information.
But, what angry characters we have! Annika seems to be incredibly irritable, snapping at her husband, children, colleagues and interviewees. The short winter days of Northern Europe makes us all tetchy but I'm not sure it makes for a good protagonist. Maybe Annika rubs of on those around her as they're just as angry back, with exception of her boss at the paper. I get the feeling Marklund is trying to make a statement about equality of the sexes in the workplace but I don't feel that Annika is disliked because she's a woman, more that she's not very nice to her colleagues! The character of Nils, comes across as a stereotypical sexist man without any redeeming features and his presence doesn't have any real relevance on the plot. Now, this is chronologically the fourth book in a series but the first that was written, so perhaps there is a back story that explains more, but as a standalone read, I wish it had concentrated more on the investigation and the bomber's motives.
Overall it's a good read but the angriness has probably cost this book a whole star. The Bomber has been incredibly successful in its original Swedish and a hit film has made made based on the book, with more films based on the series on the way. I would be interested to find out if Annika mellows after the events of The Bomber or if she started out that way, so I wouldn't write Liza Marklund off as a writer.
hoserlauren's review against another edition
3.0
Stockholm is getting ready for the Olympics, when there is a bombing in one of the main stadiums, killing one person. The public wants to know if this was a targeted attack or whether it was terrorism. Annika heads up the crime desk at a local newspaper and wants to get to the bottom of who did this and why. She's a female in a male-dominated industry and feels not only the pressure of leading a team of men, but also the difficulties of balancing work and home life. However she has great instincts as a journalist and hunts down some leads before any other journalists do.
This is an interesting mystery/thriller from the journalist's perspective rather than the detective's. And it's set in Sweden, which few mystery books that I read are set in. It makes for an interesting change of pace.
I liked Annika's struggles over being a female not respected by her male peers and her work life balance. However it did get to a point where I thought the author started to overplay it and was really beating our heads with this fact. I would have appreciated it more if it was a bit more subtle.
I felt a little disappointed with the ending. It was a bit predictable and definitely over dramatic.
This is an interesting mystery/thriller from the journalist's perspective rather than the detective's. And it's set in Sweden, which few mystery books that I read are set in. It makes for an interesting change of pace.
I liked Annika's struggles over being a female not respected by her male peers and her work life balance. However it did get to a point where I thought the author started to overplay it and was really beating our heads with this fact. I would have appreciated it more if it was a bit more subtle.
I felt a little disappointed with the ending. It was a bit predictable and definitely over dramatic.
jasmiinaf's review against another edition
4.0
I always try to find new interesting crime novels because I really do enjoy guessing who the killer is and so on. This is my first Liza Marklund book (I got this through bookcrossing) and I must say that I really enjoyed this. And it didn't really matter that I hadn't read the previous volumes. Annika is an interesting main character for a crime novel and I loved it that she wasn't perfect. She's a journalist, who just got promoted and is trying to balance between work and home. Maybe the best part of this book was how real everything seemed and in the end I couldn't stop reading and even in the last pages I got one last surprise.
Quite enjoyable book.
Quite enjoyable book.
myrthekorf's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
relaxing
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
rjvrtiska's review against another edition
3.0
Reading this while in Sweden was especially fun. Marklund has a few rough edges, or needs a better English translator. She goes into minute detail about some more technical subjects, but not for too long. She is also a bit heavy-handed in her feminist views. I don't object to the views, but they do detract from the narrative at times. I would be interested in reading more of her novels, if they don't all rehash the lesson in journalism.
madeleinehelena's review against another edition
3.0
Jag tycker om Marklunds sätt att skriva och att Annika känns mänsklig. Att hon som journalist dras in i rättsfallet känns inte osannolikt eller överdrivet, vilket det annars lätt kan framstå som.
De ingående beskrivningarna av arbetet på en stor tidningsredaktion i slutet av 90-talet är både intressanta och en aning för detaljerade. När boken publicerades var mobiltelefoner och annat en ganska ny företeelse och förklaringar av hur de används var därför motiverade. Att läsa detta 2020 ger mest en känsla av lustig nostalgi. Jag tror kanske att jag skulle tycka det var mer intressant att läsa antingen om hur det är att vara journalist i min samtid eller hur det var innan jag föddes (det vill säga tillräckligt långt tillbaka i tiden för att jag inte skulle ha några minnen eller annan relation till det).
Bör tilläggas att jag lyssnade på Maria Johanssons uppläsning i ljudboksformat och ibland hade lite svårt med tonläget/rösten, men inte så pass att det inverkade märkvärt på upplevelsen av boken.
De ingående beskrivningarna av arbetet på en stor tidningsredaktion i slutet av 90-talet är både intressanta och en aning för detaljerade. När boken publicerades var mobiltelefoner och annat en ganska ny företeelse och förklaringar av hur de används var därför motiverade. Att läsa detta 2020 ger mest en känsla av lustig nostalgi. Jag tror kanske att jag skulle tycka det var mer intressant att läsa antingen om hur det är att vara journalist i min samtid eller hur det var innan jag föddes (det vill säga tillräckligt långt tillbaka i tiden för att jag inte skulle ha några minnen eller annan relation till det).
Bör tilläggas att jag lyssnade på Maria Johanssons uppläsning i ljudboksformat och ibland hade lite svårt med tonläget/rösten, men inte så pass att det inverkade märkvärt på upplevelsen av boken.
jenni8fer's review against another edition
3.0
Hard to really stay focused on. Doesn't keep my attention as well as the Stieg Larsson books.