"Du skämtar. En serie mördare? Det 'r ju inte klokt? Hur många sådana har vi haft i Sverige?"

Jag vet inte. Jag förstår att det är den första delen i en serie men det Gerhardsen insisterar på att berätta allt om huvudkaraktärerna inom Hammarbypolisen tills man börjar undra om det finns något kvar för de andra sju böckerna.

Samtidigt är själva kriminalhistorien intressant, kanske mest för att den tar upp ett viktigt ämne. Inte endast mobbning i sig utan både hur allvarligt det kan vara (även om jag anser att all mobbning är allvar) men även hur förödande den kan vara; vilka ärr det ofta ger. Men jag vet inte om det var en jättetrevlig läsning eftersom jag hade listat ut mysteriet knappt trettio sidor in. ( )

I liked the book, and especially I was troubled by the secondary plot that describes the abuse the children underwent. There is no doubt that the book made me think about how much our actions affect others even years later.
I enjoyed the twist at the end of it; that wasn't apparent who was the killer the same as I thought at first. ( )

This mystery is a cut above the average page-turner because it evokes compassion and honestly addresses an important social problem. Some questions about character motivation are admittedly left unsettled. The story is briskly plotted, captivating, and often thrilling. ( )

3.5 ★

criminal investigator Conny Sjöberg and the Hammarby police ...Stockholm ( )

A reading friend introduced me very enthusiastically to this author. Our local library has the first two titles in the series, and I'll be reading the second.

The reader sees the story not only from the angle of the police investigators who identify the body of the 44 year old man on the kitchen floor, but also from the point of view of one of his victims. As the bodies of other 44 year olds turn up, the police team tries to identify the thread that connects them. But we, the readers, already know what that thread is.

There is quite a lot of background about members of the police team, as we would expect at the beginning of a new series. A female member of the team is drugged and raped and undertakes an investigation of her own into the perpetrator. That thread provides an interesting second story.

The byline on the front cover of the edition I read says "published by the same team that brought you THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO", and I did think "Oh no, someone else riding on Stieg Larsson's coat-tails". The writing in THE GINGERBREAD HOUSE is not as complex as Larsson's nor the story quite as deep, but the blurb is right when it says "dark, suspenseful, and deep".

So here is a new name in Scandinavian crime fiction for you to track down. The next in the series is CINDERELLA GIRL which I gather may have had the working title of PLAYING HOUSE. ( )