Arne Dahl’s The Blinded Man was a book I managed to read before its UK publication via a US copy entitled Mysterioso. It confirmed for me that the accompanying hype was justified as it managed to give us a slightly different style of Scandinavian crime thriller with a strong cast of central characters. We’ve had to wait a while for the next book in series, which has been preceded by its dramatisation on BBC4. However, Bad Blood proved to be an excellent read and not marred by my familiarity with the story.
Detective Paul Hjelm and his team at the special unit within the Swedish National Criminal Police receive an urgent call from the FBI to say that a notorious serial killer has boarded a plane to Stockholm after killing a Swedish national. The ‘Kentucky Killer’ murders his victims by squeezing shut their vocal cords with a torturous implement. When the killer escapes detection at the airport, the team have to try to unravel why the American killer has travelled to Sweden and who his next victims are likely to be.
Dahl’s writing is always a pleasure to read, detailing in equal measure a complex police investigation along with the relationships that form within a tightly-knit unit. The characters that we got to know in The Blinded Man are back but most of the relationships have subtly shifted: Paul Hjelm is back with his wife, his colleague and ex-lover Kerstin Holm is mourning the death of her partner, and former Mr Sweden, Gunnar Nyberg, is trying to atone for past sins. The book’s title is one that has been used by other writers but it sums up the central theme of the novel – how family relationships can often destroy lives.
Dahl has previously stated that he wrote ten books in his Intercrime series partly as an homage to Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö’s Martin Beck series. I could see the influence of the crime writing duo’s series on this book: the trip that Hjelm and Holm take to New York had echoes of Roseanna in it and the tone of the novel had the restrained feel I often associate with Swedish crime fiction, with the exception of the conclusion. The villain, when caught, is a larger than life figure which, while befitting the monstrosity of the crimes, gave the ending a Hannibal Lecter feel.
Overall Bad Blood, written in 1998, is a worthy follow-up to The Blinded Man and there is plenty of mileage left in the series. I just hope the remainder of the books are translated as soon as possible.
I agree with you about Dahl’s writing style, Sarah. It really is a pleasure isn’t it? And I love it that Dahl’s made such a clear connection between his own work and the Martin Beck series. A really interesting way to pay homage.
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Completely agree about the homage to Martin Beck, Margot.I think other writers have probably done the same too.
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I can see I am going to have to really take on Scandi crime, my blank area in crieme fiction, with all these encouraging reviews. This does sound good Sarah.
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Ah, Moira *rubs hands*. There is plenty to recommend on here!
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I enjoyed this one more than the first – I liked the shift in the relationships that you mentioned, and I felt that the rest of the team were better developed than in the first, especially Kerstin. But I also agree about the ending…
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I’m gald we agree on the ending. I find this is often the case with Scandi crime though.
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I still have this one left to read. Thanks for the review Sarah. I almost forgot about it.
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I know we have loads to read, Keishon but I wouldn’t miss out on this one.
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I’m more burnt out on serial killer books than you are, I think, and I think that’s the main reason why I didn’t enjoy Bad Blood as much as Misterioso. It’s still a very strong series despite my misgivings about this particular book. Thanks for the great review, Sarah.
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Thanks Rebecca. The latest Nesbo I’m reading alos features a serial killer. They haven’t gone away!
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I have yet to read Misterioso, but hope to get to it sometime soon. So I am glad you liked the second one. Very nice review, as usual.
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Thanks Tracy
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Lagging behind again – I got Blinded Man recently, which I’ll get to who knows when. Too early to think about anymore from the author before I read that one. My New Year’s resolution for 2014 – has got to be to stop getting anymore books by people unless I have read all the other stuff from them on my shelves. I’ll try and implement it 3 months early.
In the mean-time I’ll just continue to read your reviews and weep!
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I’m trying not to buy too many books but I can’t leave a bookshop empty handed.
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You always make me want to drop what I’m reading and read exactly what I’ve just seen here, Sarah! These sounds great – and I like the idea of a homage to the Beck series.
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Thanks Vicki. Sorry I’ve not been such a frequent visitor to your site – I intend to catch up this week-end.
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I’ve been a pretty slow poster of late — reading a lot, writing but little. 😉
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Oh, serial killers. I think I’m burned out on mysteries featuring these perpetrators. However, I enjoyed the review. I have a gargantuan TBR list and piles of books, so I’m going to try to catch up, including prioritizing Misterioso, which I’ve recommended, but not yet read!
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I know about that TBR pile, Kathy.
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