The Killer's Art (2006)

I got confused which is nothing, absolutely nothing, new. But one night, for some reason, I plucked THE INNER CIRCLE by Mari Jungstedt from the stacks, and started reading. Then I got quite convinced I'd already read the book. So I went to check and found UNSEEN, which I then re-read, ending up very struck by the similarities between the two plots. Which got me wondering if there were similarities in all of them, and as I had a number of the books to hand, I thought I'd read them in order and see what was going on.

Still managed to screw up the order completely. Sigh. Oh, and THE INNER CIRCLE was also published as UNKNOWN just to add to the confusion.

So, anyway, I read UNSEEN, then THE INNER CIRCLE / UNKNOWN, then THE KILLER'S ART and finally UNSPOKEN which got me to the end of the books that were here, waiting to be read. Having spread this little exercise out over a couple of months, I was still struck by the similarities - sometimes in plot elements, always in the ongoing personal elements, and overwhelmingly in the way that the journalistic aspects take precedence over the police investigation, although the last part does seem to moderate a little in the final book - UNSPOKEN.

It comes as absolutely no surprise that the author of these books has worked as a journalist as that viewpoint is undoubtedly the strongest in all of these books. Whilst that aspect is obviously written with authority, it does rather skew the investigative aspects of the various cases. The personal complications of this particular journalist's personal life, absolutely did not help this reader as the whole thing lurched too much into melodrama for my liking. Add to that a rather journalistic, rather than storytelling author style and I will admit I was struggling.

A struggle obviously not helped by the idea of reading all of the books in rapid succession. I could really see the similarities after the second book, and the increasing predictability, and to be frank, tediousness of the personal life was increasingly boring and vaguely irritating. I definitely remember reading UNSEEN the first time round (of course I do, the similarities between it and UNKNOWN were what sent me off on this quest after all), and whilst I was not overly impressed at the time, I wasn't put off completely either. By the end of all four books though I have to confess I was increasingly underwhelmed with the series. Not one that I'd avoid, but not one that I'd shunt to the top of the pile by default.

http://www.austcrimefiction.org/review/killers-art-mari-jungstedt ( )

I found THE KILLER'S ART just a little "flatter" than previous titles in the series, although I will still keep Mari Jungstedt on my list of Swedish authors to follow, and Gotland on my list of places to avoid.

What made it seem "flatter"? To start with, Detective Anders Knutas didn't seem as sharp as he should have been. He has a rather ambivalent attitude to journalists - on the one hand he regards them as a threat to his investigation and on the other hand he wants to maintain a good relationship with Johan Berg from Swedish television in particular. Knutas regards himself as a good judge of character and at least twice in THE KILLER'S ART his judgements receive a bit of a knocking

I thought perhaps Jungstedt tried to incorporate too many story lines in the plot. There is the main murder of Egon Wallin and the spider's threads branching out from there. Then there are the developments in the relationship between Johan Berg and Emma, the mother of his child. This is a relationship that began in the first of the series UNSEEN.The third main story line is the relationship between Knutas and one of his detectives Karen Jacobsson, who is ambitious and wants a more authoritative position. This was in many ways the weakest part of the plot and I felt it detracted from the main story. The decision that Knutas makes is a divisive one that deflects his team from their main focus on the murder for a while.

The resolution of the puzzle of who killed Egon Waller and why takes a long time and a lot of police resources because the original crime scene held so few clues. If the murderer hadn't been so obsessed by the idea of "unfinished business" then the original crime may have gone unsolved. ( )

The Killer's Art is Mari Jungstedt's fourth and latest offering in the Inspector Anders Knutas series. The plot centers on the shocking murder of Egon Wallin, Visby's successful and well-liked gallery owner, whose body is found hanging early one morning from the Dalman Gate in the city wall. The sensational nature of the murder, which occurred during the night after a very successful show at the victim's gallery, attracts the attention of the press, and reporter Johan Berg is again heading to the island of Gotland to cover the story. The ensuing investigation by Knutas and his team raises many questions but precious few answers, and everyone gets discouraged. Not until a small statue by a minor artist is found deliberately placed at the scene of a museum robbery does the investigation gain some traction and begin to move forward again. But it takes a second murder of another gallery owner before the pieces begin to form a coherent picture and Knutas can get the killer in his sights.

In addition to a clever mystery with several possible suspects, Jungstedt provides a very interesting and seductive introduction to Swedish art history by anchoring the plot to the theft of a well-known painting entitled “The Dying Dandy” by Swedish artist August Dardel. What Arnaldur Indridason's Artic Chill does for Icelandic poet Steinn Steinarr, Jungstedt's The Killer's Art does for Dardel by using fiction as an ambassador for her country's flesh-and-blood artists. Jungstedt also weaves other Swedish artists into the narrative as well, along with some biographical tidbits about the artists and their families, friends, and paramours. Additionally, part of the action is set in Gotland's landmark artist colony known as Muramaris, which supplies a bit of romantic intrigue to the overall tone.

The story, however, is somewhat diluted by the crowded cast of characters, and readers will need to pay close attention right from the start to keep them all straight. Along with the murder plot, there are several continuing narrative threads providing updates on returning characters, including the reporter Johan Berg and Emma, the mother of Berg's child. There are also tensions within the detective squad and Knutas must face rebellion at some of his personnel decisions. With the focus constantly shifting it's easy to become disoriented as location and perspective change. But despite these challenges, Knutas fans will cheer the detective's return and new readers will find a rich setting to explore. ( )