Death Angels: A Chief Inspector Erik Winter Novel Paperback – September 29, 2009

I like Ake Edwardson. There are novels that keep me in much more suspense. Other novels that make me stay up at night. And others still that let me identify with the main character in a really meaningful way. This one didn't do any of that. But I still liked it a lot, just the way I have thoroughly enjoyed all the other Edwardson novels I've read. I like the almost passionless, detached and detailed descriptions of police procedures and crime scenes. I like the snippets of banter that the book is full of - meaningless small talk that suddenly turns into existential wisdom. Surprisingly, what I love the most is the sense of frustration I experience throughout the story - knowing as much (or as little) as the inspector, desperately looking for more clues and not being able to find clear answers. Somehow, this seems realistic. Credible. Like watching a really well-researched, nicely-paced documentary. It's not for everyone. But I like it.

This crime story, which in one sense could be read as a formulaic `thrilla,' shows uncommon insight into the psychology of a confident, thirty-something homicide detective at the terrifying brink of self-awareness. Erik Winter is the hero of a popular series of Swedish crime novels by Åke Edwardson that are not yet very well-known in the U.S."Death Angels" is the first book in the Erik Winter series, although two of the subsequent books were previously published in English, but with a different translator. If you want to read the series chronologically, "Death Angels" is the place to start. And if the rest of the books are as compelling as this one, bring `em on.The plot of "Death Angels" spins around some grotesque murders of teenage boys that are being committed in both Sweden and London. It makes for some intriguing give and take among investigators in both cities who decide to pool their resources. You're into the first murder right away, and I do mean right in the middle of it. Did I mention I couldn't do Winter's job?One of the things I liked best about the book was Edwardson's depiction of the toll on the living that the homicide grind takes, not just on the families of the victims, but on the men and women who are working the case. The way they talk to each other, the camaraderie, the shorthand, the dark humor and odd bravado, all ring true. You could slap this up on a movie screen just as it is.I liked Erik Winter right away. This detective is not one of those gnarled characters with a wise-acre attitude and hot temper. He's coolly elegant, keenly able, admired and envied by his colleagues in homicide. But he is exceptionally young to be their boss, and he's a complete enigma to them.Turns out Winter is also an enigma to himself and to his family, which makes him an excellent character for Edwardson to build a string of crime novels on. How can you not like a guy who says of soccer, "I could have been something, but I wasn't injured often enough." Or, my absolute favorite, when Winter passes by his sister's house, noticing the lights aren't on, and says to himself, "Nobody's home, you can call tonight." For somebody who works that hard to keep his distance from people who want to get inside his head, he turns out to have terrific intuition for drilling right into the brains of criminals.The supporting characters are great. One bizarre twist involves a young detective, about to become a father, who gets thrust into the world of illicit porn to track down some clues, and you get a real sense of the destabilizing threat that this kind of work involves, and how weird and sometimes touching the coping mechanisms can get to be. I don't want to give away any more of it, but Edwardson does his homework when it comes to character development. The case painfully affects Winter, too, and with good reason.I got caught up right away in the icy-clear language of the saga. Everything that had to do with Swedish half-darkness and sunlight and the penetration of the cold and the intense awareness of any hint of spring -- all that is wonderfully evocative in tone. I could feel Scandinavia in my bones. And music's really important to the story, both indie rock and jazz. You'll pick up a tip or two.

This is the first book in the series (at least of those that have been published in English). It's not as distinctive as later books in the series, but a good read -- and it introduces Winter.I've also read Sun and Shadow, and Never End. Each book has been better than the last. I like the series story arc of the main character, as he progresses in his personal and professional life. The mysteries themselves, and the details of the police procedural are well done. Winter is portrayed as more humane than many fictional detectives.

Edwardson's style is a little disjointed. Sometimes I think I missed a bit. This is , however, an excellent series. This story meanders between London and Gothenberg. I followed along fine until the last 20% where I fell behind. The author cheats a bit and hides things from us while cryptically refering to them. In the end I felt that the solution was not really explored. there were hints as to motivation, and it left me a little puzzled. I enjoyed the journey however and would certainly recommend to read it.

This is the first book in the fantastic Erik Winter series. It is spectacularly violent, even stomach-turningly so (and I have read a lot of detective novels). It opens with a section written from the perspective of someone being sadistically tortured under enigmatic circumstances, which both roped me into the plot and made me a bit leery of what lay ahead. Fortunately, I was in good hands. The suspense built expertly, and the violence stayed just this side of tolerable, keeping me eager to go along for the (convoluted) ride to figure out the killer without getting overly distraught (although some of the book's violence has stayed with me--don't read this if you don't have a strong stomach). What makes this Scandi Noir thriller outstanding and takes it to a higher level than a genre novel is the character of young detective Winter. An elegant, even dandyish bachelor, he is in the gentleman-detective mold of Sherlock Holmes. He also is almost palpably desperate to solve the murders, making him seem very real and sympathetic. The psychic pain inflicted on him during this case, and the cost to his mental health of the brutality to which he exposed, are vividly rendered. The novel raises interesting questions about the price of police work, and how society does (and does not) help officers process the trauma to which they are subjected.

Lots of extraneous wording that does not really contribute to the flow. The denouement also is poor and does not explain why the crimes were committed…. Disappointing

A very clever story set in both Gothenburg and London, a little difficult at first. The charactersaren't introduced so you have to figure out who's who gradually. Not as dark as some Scandinavian crime novels, the horror there but not explicit. Very well written.

habe ich in dieses Buch gesetzt. Für mich war es aber nicht das was ich erwartete. Fairerweise muss ich erwähnen, dass das Buch an sich gut geschrieben ist. Mir hat es aber nicht gefallen. Grund: irgendwie verwirrend. Die langen Dialoge (mag ich zwar grundsätzlich) waren so lange, dass ich gegen Schluss zu nicht mehr wusste, wer was sagte. Vieles wurde nicht ausgesprochen sondern nur angedeutet und niemals klar dargestellt. Auch ist mir der Schluss des Buches nach wie vor nicht ganz klar, was nichts mit der Sprache zu tun hat. Da bleibe ich aktuell lieber bei Kristina Ohlsson.

a fantastic read - I just discovered this author and I have another 6 to read in the series that are translated into English

A good look at how Swedish cops solve crimes. Interesting characters, quite well defined. Suggest reading these books in chronological order beginning with "Death Angels " followed by "Sun and Shadow ", "Never End ", & "Frozen Tracks ".

If, like me, you want to be able to suspend disbelief when you read a book - then you'll have a problem with this if you are British. Whereas it is fine for the (American) translator to use American English in the sections set in Sweden, it simply doesn't work for the parts set in London - especially when 'English' characters speak American dialogue, using terms no English person would use. In general, too, the style of the writing is poor; I can't say if this reflects the original, or is again down to the translation.The story is pretty conventional fare, and does not encourage me to repeat the experience with another book in the series. Not a patch on Fossum, Mankell, Indridason, Nesser or a host of other excellent Scandinavian crime writers, on this evidence.