The Dying Detective

Oh my aching heart. The title is the tell, though this reader maintained ridiculous hope throughout, just to avoid the absence of Lars Martin Johansson from the world. I have semi-believed through all the Persson books I've read that Lars is a real man. The dual threads of tragedy and humor are so wrapped together that it's tough to figure out who's more sympathetic, the nine year old girl who is raped and murdered, or the 67 year old detective who knows that this cold case will be both his salvation and his ending. His unspoken thoughts about everything are truly a hardly secondary character. This series had eight books but you can begin anywhere. Just start. One of the top 5 mystery series ever.

Lars Martin Johansson is a sixty-seven year old former Swedish police officer who held important supervisory positions, including head of the National Crime Unit, before he retired. Unfortunately, his poor health habits have caught up with him. One day, he collapses and is rushed to the hospital. After he regains consciousness, he undergoes a battery of tests. The news is not good. His doctors warn Johansson that he must lower his blood pressure, lose a considerable amount of weight, keep his cholesterol in check, avoid stress, drink alcoholic beverages sparingly, and engage in an exercise program. He is less than thrilled with this unwelcome advice.

"The Dying Detective," by Leif GW Persson, adeptly translated by Neil Smith, is a show more top-notch work of psychological suspense. The author vividly depicts his intriguing cast of characters; his prose is imaginative, evocative, and enriched by whimsical dialogue and biting wit. Readers who can tolerate the novel's leisurely pace will be drawn into Johansson's unsettled world. We observe Lars as a bewildered, exhausted, and frustrated patient in the Karolinska Hospital. Later, he recuperates at home, but chafes under the restrictions that his physicians have imposed on him. However, when someone presents Lars with an unsolved murder—an unidentified perpetrator assaulted and smothered nine-year-old Yasmine Ermegan in July of 1985—he becomes obsessed with identifying the girl's killer.

Twenty-five years have passed since Yasmine's death, and law enforcement officials have made no progress in solving the crime. With the help of a large and accommodating support system, Johansson looks at the files related to the case and conducts interviews with anyone who has relevant information to share. Ignoring the fact that he is supposed to be convalescing, Lars relentlessly pursues every lead and uncovers fresh evidence that, he hopes, will lead to a breakthrough.

Johansson is a mess. Because of his illness, he says whatever pops into his head, no matter how inappropriate. He shouts at his beloved wife and utters profanities. He suffers from frequent headaches, tightness in his chest, and extreme mood swings. Nevertheless, he persists in his quest with the help of his best friend, Bo Jarnebring, and others. Finally, with a bit of luck and a great deal of insight, he cuts through layers of deceit that have obscured the truth for decades. Persson concludes his tale with a stunning finale that leaves us wondering: "Was justice served?" show less

Persson is a new discovery for me; and oh, what a treat!

Now retired, the former head of the National Criminal Police, Lars Martin Johansson, needs a distraction after suffering a stroke. And his doctor has just the ticket; a cold case but one which has just passed Sweden’s statute of limitations.
With help from family, former employees and colleagues, and ‘baby-sitters’ foisted on him he begins reviewing the case by listening to his best friend, Jarnebring, (and one of the original investigators) describe his memories, and summarize most of the documents generated by the initial and subsequent investigation. Jarnebring is certain the case was not solved because the head of the original investigation team, homophobic, show more Islamophobic, racist, and obviously, moronic Backstrom, was incapable of the objective and intelligent thinking required.

As he learns how to manage his compromised health, Johansson reads more of the documents himself, questions police officers and citizens associated to the case. He teases out inconsistencies and clues others didn’t consider relevant, allowing him to put together possible profiles of the perpetrator and scenarios of where and how crime was committed.

The Dying Detective is very well done; the way details of the case are revealed layer upon layer, and its outstanding characters, the depths of their lives, the timing, and the right amount of humor used at just the right moments.
The book shines bright because of its hero, Johansson. He is everything a cop, and a man should be: no-nonsense, objective, strong, loving, compassionate, smart, an excellent listener, independent, resourceful, very capable and very human.

That being said, I have to admit I expected a very different ending. Thought readers were being led down the path of a red herring only to shock us with a head-turning, last minute stunner.

Excellent, smart read. Looking forward to reading more of Persson’s books. show less

This was very good, so a huge thanks to Charlotte for recommending it. It's actually the (Susan look away, please) eighth book in a series featuring Lars Martin Johansson and Bo Jarnebring, Swedish CSI detectives. Both detectives are now retired, but Johansson was famous in his day for being able to "see around corners", so he is now a living legend. Unfortunately, in this book he has a stroke right at the very beginning, and he has been told that he must mend his ways - eat right, exercise, take things easy. He has lost his feeling in his right hand and he cannot properly control that arm. He is in the hospital recovering when he is given something he cannot resist - the opportunity to solve a cold case.

This particular case was the show more rape and murder of a nine year old girl almost three decades earlier, and the deeper mystery lies in what to do with the murderer when he is discovered because the statute of limitations has passed on this case. It missed the new legislation that abolished the statute of limitations for these types of crimes, and it missed it by only a few precious weeks. So now, even if they catch him, they cannot prosecute him.

This is really well done. The writing is excellent, the characters are fully developed, and the real mystery lies in determining what is just - how can someone who has worked his entire life to uphold the law now turn a blind eye to what the law says is right? And yet how can it possibly be right to let the rapist and murderer of a nine year old girl go free?

The story unfolds slowly and pulls the reader right into its pages. My only complaint is that it is perhaps a bit longer that it needs to be - it twice runs slightly astray to tell us what we already know - children are precious and should not be harmed. Still, those are minor transgressions in an otherwise perfect mystery. Highly recommended.

*Just a side note for those of you who, like me, have issues with reading about child abuse - the crime here is an old one, so we are quickly told the basic facts and the story moves forward. It is not graphic and it does not linger on them or flashback to the crime. show less

Lars Martin Johansson, retired chief of the Swedish National Criminal Police, was having such a nice day. One minute he was standing in line for a hot dog at his favourite kiosk, the next everything went black. When he comes to in hospital, he’s told all those years of inactivity & fine dining have caught up with him. His struggling heart caused a stroke. Over the next few days visitors trickle in & out as Lars comes to grips with his immortality. But it’s his doctor who provides a welcome distraction.

Dr. Ulrika Stenholm’s father was a priest who recently died. On his death bed, he told her a parishioner had once confessed to knowing who was behind the rape/murder of 9 year old Yasmine Ermegan in 1985. They knew the girl & Ulrika show more is upset that her father couldn’t disclose the information at the time. She knows who Lars is & wonders if he might take another look at the case.

Lars wasn’t part of the original investigation so enlists the help of former colleague Bo Jarnebring to bring him up to speed. Bo begins to drop by every day, relating details between Lars’ rehab sessions & frequent naps. Meanwhile, wife Pia is determined to curb her husband’s bad habits & begin to plan for the day he comes home.

For the first half of the book, Lars is in hospital trying to recover while learning about Yasmine’s short life & horrible death. You might think it would make for a slow, dull read but oddly enough I found myself caught up in her story & eagerly waited for Bo to deliver the next instalment. It’s kind of like getting a few chapters of a bedtime story each night when you were a child.

Once Lars is released he’s able to take on a more active role in the investigation & quickly co-opts his 2 home care providers. Matilda is a smart, young woman who easily deflects her boss’ comments about her tattoos. Max is a strong, Russian labourer whose own past gives him motives to help solve the case. They make a quirky team & their interactions lend a gentle, wry humour to the story.

If you’ve read the author’s “Fall of the Welfare State” trilogy you’ll recognize some of the characters as well as his trademark literary style of prose. At times it reminded me of an Hercule Poirot mystery with a definite emphasis on using one’s little grey cells as opposed to muscle. Like the Belgian detective, Lars is a fastidious man who enjoys his creature comforts. But the stroke has left him frustrated (and scared) by his physical & mental limitations.

Watching him pick apart the old case is fascinating & I became quite attached to the cranky old copper. There’s also a bittersweet sadness as we watch Lars struggle to accept a reduced life governed by rehab & medication. You’re never in doubt he’ll find the killer but the circumstances raise an interesting moral dilemma. What do you do when you find the person responsible for such a horrendous act after the statute of limitations has run out? There is no shortage of people with suggestions for what he deserves & Lars’ personal ethics are sorely tested.

The ending is full of surprises & ramifications for most of the characters. I’m willing to bet a lot of readers will be caught off guard as well. This is not a fast paced, guns drawn, things-go-boom thriller. It’s a literary mystery with a smart, intricate plot that allows you to just sit back & listen while someone tells you a great story. show less

Man skulle ju kunna tro att en blodpropp i hjärnan skulle vara slutet för en hel del för pensionerade mordutredaren Lars Martin Johansson, men icke. Inte bara överlever han med skador som till stor del kan återgärdas med hjälp av terapi utan det är i hans sjukhussäng som han får det som han bestämmer sig att ta som sitt, antagligen, sista fall. Det är hans läkare som tar upp det; mordet på nioåriga Yasmine som tack vare en ny lag var endast veckor missade chansen att aldrig preskriberas.

Enligt läkaren var hennes pappa prästen i den församling som Yasmines bostadsområde tillhörde, och på hans dödsbädd nyligen hade han äntligen lättat sitt hjärta genom att berätta det han aldrig hade haft möjlighet att göra, show more men inte kunde dö utan att anförtro till någon - endast några år efter mordet på Yasmine biktade sig en äldre kvinna i hans kyrka där hon erkände en hemlighet, hon visste vem det var som mördat barnet.

För att få något att göra men även för att försöka lösa den gåta som han känner sig ansvarig för att ha misslyckats att lösa för så många år sedan. Med hjälp av allt från närma vänner till sin svåger till den unga undersköterskan som hjälper till hemma börjar han att nysta i röran, samtidigt som han inser att det inte endast är en gåta att lösa utan det är ett brott som aldrig kommer att leda till en dom oavsett lösning. Men man kan ju inte bara låta mördaren gå lös.... eller?

Att detta är den första boken som jag läser av GW Persson och att det tog så lång tid är pinsamt med tanke på det faktum att jag har adopterat honom för minst två år sedan. Han är ju bäst. Liksom, har du sett Veckans Brott? Han är utan tvekan morfadern jag önskar att jag hade fått. Men nu när jag äntligen har läst en av hans böcker kan jag åtminstone säga att den inte svek mig.

GW Persson är underhållande och ledig på ett sätt som till viss del är vanligt inom svenska deckargenren men som ändå är unik nog för att stå ut på sitt eget sätt. Det är även en stor blandning av karaktärer, vilket helt ärligt ibland saknas hos deckare - precis som det faktum att det egentligen inte livsviktigt för själva berättelsen utan snarare är detaljer, och tacka tusan för det. show less

Although billed as a standalone novel, with legendary policeman Lars Martin Johansson taking centre stage THE DYING DETECTIVE is not entirely new territory for Persson’s fans. He’s had at least a minor role in all three of the author’s books I’ve previously read and he was the main character in 2015’s FREE FALLING AS IF IN A DREAM. Here he has retired and as the book opens he suffers a stroke and heart damage, the side-effect of a life of excess. While recovering in hospital he meets a doctor with a secret. Her father, a pastor, confessed on his deathbed that he knew the identity of the person responsible for a brutal rape and murder of a child that had gone unsolved for 25 years. Of course he failed to reveal the person’s show more name. Johansson, the policeman who could see round corners when he was in top form, becomes obsessed with solving the case even though there is scant evidence to go on and his health is not at its best.

Although much of the crime solving here takes place from Johansson’s sick bed, or his sick couch to be more precise, and the tension is not triggered in the usual ways this is the most accessible of Persson’s novels I’ve read. On previous occasions I’ve struggled with the level of detail even when enjoying the book overall but this one is relatively short and seems to have made the acquaintance of a good editor.

Storywise this is not one for fans of non-stop action as the case is closed with a series of tiny clues being quietly pieced together. I found this quite delicious but appreciate that it’s a little slow for some. At about the half-way point of the novel Johansson identifies who he thinks responsible for the murder of nine year old Yasmine Uryegan and I’d argue that’s when the real tension starts to build. How is Johansson going to prove that his gut feeling is correct? And, more importantly, what is anyone going to do if he manages to pull that off given that the statute of limitations on the crime has expired? This last issue proves a particularly thorny one as various characters who have been roped in to the investigation have different ideas about how justice might be delivered in such a scenario. Will they ‘take care of’ the suspect as Johansson’s borrowed muscle would like to do? Or will a lifelong commitment to doing the honourable thing prevail? It’s a thought-provoking dilemma and the issues are well-teased out.

The characters here also seem to shine in a way that hasn’t been the case with past books of Persson’s. Johansson himself could be insufferable – being a hotshot policeman who never made mistakes – but the fact that he is fragile due to his health problems and is facing his own mortality head on gives him a real humanity. I thought it a wonderfully credible depiction of the ageing process and of someone used to being in control of things having to deal with the gradual loss of that control. The minor characters who become embroiled in the investigation are also engaging but the other real standout character is the criminal who even via the mostly second-hand knowledge we have of him becomes a very vivid person. Throughout the book Persson demonstrates true insight into human beings at their most vulnerable.

I’d been tempted to skip this book after really struggling with FREE FALLING AS IF IN A DREAM but I saw it on a couple of trusted bloggers’ best-of lists for last year so decided to give it a go and am very glad I did. It might be my favourite of all his novels though I’ve still got a big soft spot for ANOTHER TIME, ANOTHER LIFE. Utterly mislabeled as Nordic Noir, Johansson’s mild self-destructive streak aside he is about as anti-noir as it’s possible for a hero to be, this book is nevertheless an excellent example of crime fiction that mixes the personal and political with police procedure in a very compelling way. show less