Borkmann's Point

Kind of a funny thing about this book. I read a review by a friend and put it on my wish list, then forgot about it.

Two years later, I found a copy of Borkmann's Point at the local Goodwill and grabbed it up, confusing Nesser's Van Veeteren with the mystery writer Janwillem Lincoln van de Wetering, and his wonderful series of books starring Grijpstra and de Gier, a pair of Amsterdam police officers. The book was snagged by my darling husband, who is a huge fan of Scandinavian mystery writers. He liked the book a great deal. He returned it to me to read, but before I could get to it, he loaned it out to a mutual friend, who had it since December. She returned it two weeks ago, and I again put it on my TBR pile. Then, the day of our show more BookCrossing meetup, he handed me a pile of books to take, pointing to this book, and asked that I give it to Kiptrix to read. That did it. I'd reached my Borkmann's point ("the point beyond which we really don't need any more information. When we reach that point, we already know enough to solve the case by means of nothing more than some decent thinking. " ) I knew that I had all the information I needed. If I didn't read this book NOW, I'd have to wait another two years. I took the hint, and devoured the book in a day.

Well written mystery, with a really great lead character, who will keep me seeking out other books in the series. The story was well paced, the plot with enough twists and turns to keep the reader occupied. (It's my firm belief that plot summaries are readily available elsewhere. I prefer to give you my thoughts and feelings about the books I read.) I found myself easily visualizing the police chief's cottages lost in the tangle of roses, the lonely cliff side and beach of coastal Kaalbringen, a sleepy town awake with fear from two recent ax murders. But most of all, it is the quirky nature and quiet intelligence of the inspector that charmed me. I am very glad that at the closing of my local Indie bookstore, I had the foresight to snag Van Veeteren #3 (now being read by javaczuk.) show less

While the writing is excellent this specfic volume of the series was frustrating. It drags on and on, with officers more interested in eating, drinking, talking and playing chess. And this same team of officers didn't act on their concerns for their missing colleague until late in the game. Disappointed.

Don't know if I want to continue with this series.

3.5 stars

This is another Scandinavian author whose catalogue is gradually being translated for the North American audience. It features CI Van Veeteren, a Swedish cop with more than 30 years on the job.
Van Veeteren is currently enjoying the last days of his summer vacation when his chief calls. Seems they're having a little problem with an axe murderer in nearby Kaalbringen. Would he mind popping over & having a look around?
There he meets Bausen, the soon-to-retire chief & his crew, one of whom is a young, ambitious detective named Beate Moerk. Unfortunately they're spinning their wheels. After exhaustive investigation, there seems to be no rhyme or reason behind the murders. And while they shift through endless reports & interviews, show more another victim falls to the axe.
If you're into fast paced thrillers with lots of car chases & things that go boom, this is not for you. Yes, it's a police procedural but it's also a character study of its' star, Van Veeteren. He's a man of a certain age who has closed every case in his career, save one. His personal life has not been as successful. He's divorced & alone with a son currently out on parole.
He's not a flashy or aggressive character. Instead, he's the soft spoken guy on the periphery who sees & hears everything. Long walks & playing chess allow him to let all the information percolate in his head until the connections start to appear. It can be frustrating for those around him as he doesn't appear to be doing anything. Beate reacts by striking out on her own, desperate for action & to make a name for herself. It could cost her life.
This is a slow, introspective read that is more about the characters than the case. Even the killer gets a chance to tell his gut wrenching story about his quest for revenge. The pace pick up in the final few pages as his identity is revealed but the resolution brings the team more sadness than satisfaction.
As for the eponymous Borkmann, well...he shows up more in spirit than in person. For fans of Barbara Fradkin, David Whellams or Quentin Bate's "Gunnhildur" series. show less

The second in the Swedish Inspector Van Veeteren series, and it's really growing on me. Usually I like some meat on the bones, but these spare novels about a cynical and dryly bemused detective are just the thing for a reader needing something that just skims along on the top of the story. I don't mean the crimes aren't intriguing, although I did guess this one about 3/4 through (and I'm not that good at it), but these books are just easy to digest and zip right through. The story is told through the viewpoints of the Inspector, his main associate Münster, a deft female detective from the town where they are all searching for a serial ax killer, and the killer himself. Van Veeteren believes in his mentor Borkmann's main idea about show more solving crime: at some point you know everything you need to, and more input only distracts you from what you have. The trick is to find the balance, and Van Veeteren is a master at it. show less

I enjoyed this crime novel quite a bit. A series of murders using an ax terrorizes a small northern European town and the Inspector is brought in to help catch the murdered. It takes a while, strangely enough for a small town where everyone seems to know each other, but they do eventually uncover the murdered. Wonderful characters that seem real while also serious and funny. Not an easy combination.

Borkman's Point is a solid police procedural by Hakan Nesser. Here, Inspector Van Veeteren is sent to the Swedish coastal town of Kaalbringen to assist local law enforcement when two men are killed with an axe-like weapon as they are walking home at night. The media shows up and the citizens of Kaalbringen are terrified, but Van Veeteren pursues the Axeman with dogged determination. He's assisted by the affable local police chief, one of his own detectives and an ambitious Kaalbringen detective who throws herself into the investigation, determined to make a name for herself.

The story is well put together, with no sudden surprises, although the eventual revealing of the Axeman's identity did surprise me. Van Veeteren is not flashy; his show more one conceit is that the sound system in his rusty Opel is worth much more than the aging car itself. He does solve the case, of course, but with a strong reliance on the value of ordinary police diligence than on being a super-detective.

I listened to the audio version of this book. The narrator was chosen, I believe, because he was able to interject Swedish names and expressions without pause. He also managed to make each character's voice distinct, without resorting to funny voices. show less

This is a review of the audio book version of this police procedural, by the Swedish author Hakan Nesser. This mystery has some very familiar elements – the mysterious serial killer whose motive (if any) is unknown; an aging, world-weary detective (we know him only as Detective Inspector Van Veeteren, no first name); and a cast of police detectives of various skill levels and degrees of eccentricity. Nesser’s writing skill is really the only thing that sets this book apart from many Scandinavian counterparts. His dialogue is crisp, his descriptive paragraphs evocative. His plotting is not exceptional, at least in this volume, but the story keeps moving forward in fits and starts.

My personal reaction to most northern European show more mysteries is, I have to say, depression. Like so many protagonists in such books, Van Veeteren is obsessive, keeps his thoughts to himself, and doesn’t seem to have any friends or family. If he were a Sherlock Holmes and promptly identified the killer, one would understand why he is a revered homicide detective, but, at least in this instance, he seems to be making little progress in his detection until the end.

Kudos to the narrator (Simon Vance), who manages to give the various characters their own voices, even if the police chief reminded me strongly of John Cleese. show less