Stefan Ahnhem

This story was a shitshow; every single person is running their own investigation, and none of them can ever stop for 2 seconds and process what is going on around them. Therefore, the bad guys, MULTIPLE Serial Killers have carte blanche access to victims. I know most cops and detectives and security personnel always appear to be highly incompetent, but the Danes and Swedes must take the cake.

The Helsingborg investigation squad is the working definition of a clusterfuck: dysfunctional show more personal and professional lives, everyone pursuing their own agendas whereby fighting and solving crimes is somewhere at the bottom of their list of priorities... on the assumption that fighting and solving crimes even make the list. The bottom line is that it is a miracle Fabian Risk doesn't get a whole lot more people killed; a few dozen innocent dead, pshaw, come on Fabian, you can do better than that!!!

The bad guys have no fear of being caught. I mean, they don't even want to kill Fabian since he is no threat to them, and he is even more of an aid when all is said and done. In the event of an exceptionally unlikely string of supremely bad luck, and an improbably series of events that allows Risk to stumble and bumble his way to an apprehension and arrest, there is just the slimmest chance the criminals will pay. In the small, small improbable event that they do, we will call it a WIN (and the long and ugly trail of dead and dismembered bodies we'll conveniently ignore). Maybe the reason they cannot solve any of these crimes in Helsingborg is because they are too busy taking bets: will Risk solve the crime or be killed first, the latter being the heavy favorite.

I wasn't all that impressed with the motive. Sure, it was very unique and all of that, but the implausibility factor was off the charts. I guess half my problem is that I did not like a single character in the entire book. Are all Danes that downright loathsome, and no one there is the least bit likeable? Or is it that Stefan Ahnhem cannot create an even remotely likeable character? Whatever the factors are, it just made for a long slog.

Dunja Hougaard seems interesting, but she is a ghost in this novel. show less

Detective Fabian Risk has just transferred back to his hometown from Stockholm with his family and is supposed to be on holidays. However, with weeks still to go on his vacation, he is called into Homicide Division to discuss a recent homicide. A body has been discovered with his hands cut off and with an old school class picture beside him. The victim’s face has been crossed out but his is not the only one. The reason Risk has been called in – he was in the class. Before long, more of show more his classmates turn up dead and it becomes clear that someone is killing off the entire class.

Victim Without a Face by Swedish author Stefan Ahnhem and translated by Rachel Wilson-Broyles is one wild thrill ride. It is one twist and turn after another, red herrings galore, a cast of characters that you will either love or hate and sometimes both, and just when you think you know who did it, well, turns out in the most horrific ways possible, they didn’t. This is the kind of page turner that will keep you up reading needing to know how it turns out and, when it’s finished, wishing there was more. A definite high recommendation from me.

4.5 show less

Detective Fabian Risk actually could do with some free time to get his family together after the awful events that nearly killed his wife and daughter. Yet, he and his colleagues still have a serial killer on the loose and the killing of people does not stop. Even though the cases could hardly be more different, he senses that there must be some connection. They are finally getting closer to him, but while the Swedish seaside town of Helsingborg is gripped in fear, Fabian also has to show more complete his very own mission: His former colleague Elvin did not die from suicide, it was forensic scientist Ingvar Molander and obviously, Elvin had put the clues together correctly. Yet, there are still some missing pieces that Fabian needs to uncover before he can finally arrest him, knowing that he has not only a very clever nemesis who knows the rules of the game, but also one who is totally reckless and ready to do everything to get away with much more than one murder.

Stefan Ahnhem continues the story exactly where it ended in “Motive X” and does not waste any time but plunges directly into the plot. Just as in the novel before, “X Ways to Dies” moves at an extremely high pace and cleverly combines the different plot lines that finally tie the knot together. For me, Ahnhem is a worthy successor and heir of Stieg Larsson who set new milestones with his Millennium series; Ahnhem follows his footsteps in many respects by delivering a demanding plot full of suspense.

The latest instalment answers many questions which remained open in the one before thus completing the story and bringing it to a convincing end. What I totally adored was the fight between Risk and Molander, both very clever and certainly belonging to the best in their jobs thus fighting at eye level and giving a lot of insight into police work. Several setbacks make Risk an authentic and credible protagonist who also shows his weak and vulnerable sides.

The only question left to be answered: does and if so how can the story go on? show less

Theo ist tot, er hat sich in der Untersuchungshaft das Leben genommen. Fabian Risk weiß nicht, wie er damit leben soll, immerhin war er es, Theos eigener Vater, der den Jugendlichen gedrängt hatte, sich freiwillig der Polizei zu stellen. Doch als Fabian und Sonja die Leiche sehen, kommen ihm Zweifel, war es wirklich so, wie die Kopenhagener Beamten behaupten? Unzählige Fragen nagen an dem Ermittler und blind vor Verzweiflung verfolgt er eine ganz eigene Spur, die ihn immer weiter von show more seiner Frau und Tochter entfernen. Für seine ehemalige Kollegin Dunja Hougard hingegen scheint endlich der Moment gekommen zu sein, auf den sie seit zwei Jahren hingearbeitet hat. So lange schon beobachtet sie Kim Sleizner, ihren ehemaligen Chef und ranghohen Polizist der dänischen Hauptstadt mit besten Connections. Jetzt endlich kann sie ihm das Handwerk legen, doch sie hat ihn einmal mehr unterschätzt.

Stefan Ahnhems aktueller Roman ist bereits der sechste der Reihe um den schwedischen Kommissar Fabian Risk. Er setzt die Geschichte des Vorgängers nahtlos fort und ist doch dieses Mal ganz anders als die vorangegangenen. Wir erleben einen gänzlich anderen Protagonisten, der durch die Trauer und Wut über sich selbst bestimmt wird, die eigentliche Kriminalhandlung spielt sich derweil rund um Dunja bzw. das Kopenhagener Polizeipräsidium ab. Die bisherige Randfigur, die zwar regelmäßig in Erscheinung trat, deren Geschichte jedoch hinter jener von Fabian zurücktreten musste, rückt nun in den Fokus und steht den bisherigen in nichts nach. Wieder einmal eine komplexe, spannende Tour de Force, in der sich die Kontrahenten nichts schenken.

Ein Quereinstieg in die Reihe mit diesem Band ist sicherlich nicht empfehlenswert. Ob er den Abschluss bildet, wird nicht eindeutig klar, jedoch werden eine ganze Reihe von Erzählsträngen zu einem Ende geführt. Zunächst jener um Theo, dem typisch jugendliche Vergehen zum Verhängnis wurden, der immer tiefer in einen Sumpf geraten ist und dann Opfer eines Krieges wurde, der eigentlich nicht seiner war. Eine tragische Figur durch und durch, ebenso wie seine Schwester Matilda. Dass sich Fabians Familie jemals von den Schicksalsschlägen erholen wird, kann bezweifelt werden. Sehr überzeugend jedoch die Emotionen, die den Vater leiten und an den Rand des Wahnsinns treiben.

Dunjas ungleicher Kampf gegen Sleizner nimmt den Hauptteil der Handlung ein. Eine clever aufgebaute Geschichte, die durch die Charaktere angetrieben und mit immer neuen Höhepunkten umgesetzt wird. Für mich genau das, was ich von einem Spannungsroman erwarte.

Auch wenn der letzte Aufschlag so ganz anders gestaltet ist als die vorherigen, überzeugt er doch restlos. Der veränderte Fokus hat mir gut gefallen, Dunja trägt locker ebenso durch die Geschichte wie Fabian. show less