Sunday, October 27, 2013

Murder in Sydney in a suspenseful plot.

Harry Hole, inspector from Oslo is sent to Sydney to observe a murder investigation of a case involving a high profile case of a young woman from Norway.

He is assigned to work with the Sydney police but not take an active role. Andrew Kingston of the police unit will act as his escort during Harry's stay. Andrew is an Aborigine who has overcome much in his life. He is also a story teller and tells tales of the history of his people during the downtime in the investigation.

As the men work with other members of the crime squad they come across a number of interesting characters. In particular, I enjoyed a man who was a transvestite who worked in a traveling circus.

The investigation uncovers that other women in the same description of the Norwegian girl have been murdered in the same manner so that they believe a serial killer is at work.

We learn more of the Australian history and legends during the story and this adds to the interest and lessens the suspense that is mounting.

The pacing is swift and Harry meets a young woman and they form a romantic relationship. Harry tells her of his days in Oslo and the reason that he has to stay away from alcohol since he was driving a car after drinking and his partner was killed in the accident that followed.

I enjoyed the story and felt that the info on Sydney and the history of the people was very well written. I was disappointed to see that Harry wasn't able to live up to the heroic person I imagined he would become. The frailty of Harry's resolve and the human failings of other characters is well played in the novel.

4 comments:

Felicity Grace Terry said...

Hi Michael, I hope you don't mind my joining you but I saw the comment you left on Alexia's Books and Such site and though I'd drop by to say hello.

Great review. I've only read one book by this author (The Redeemer) and have to admit to having a bit of a love/hate relationship with it.

Anyway nice to meet you. All the best, TT

Alexia561 said...

While I don't usually read this type of book, I like the idea of Andrew being an Aborigine storyteller. Glad to hear that your new meds seem to be working! Take care of yourself!

Unknown said...

Thanks for stopping by Tracy. It's nice to meet you here.
Alexia it's always so nice to hear from you. Thanks for your comments and friendship.
Mike

Unknown said...

Great review that is short and sweet. It really encapsulates the main gist of the entire book and I could already visualize about that particular crime which had occurred in Sydney. The way you bring in the emotions and feelings of the characters helps to put the icing on the cake.

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