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When a killer linked to a hit-and-run and a possible second murder proves increasingly unstable, a personally affected Van Veeteren comes out of retirement to face the greatest trial of his career.Tags
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Håkan Nesser is one of Sweden's most popular crime writers. This particular title is the seventh of a “Nordic Noir” police procedural series featuring Chief Inspector Van Veeteren.
Much of the book is narrated by a criminal who is being sought by the [fictional] Maardam police force, members of whom narrate the remainder. Homicide Chief Inspector Reinhart has taken over for the man everyone continues to call “The Chief Inspector,” Van Veeteren - still a legend and still revered by everyone including his successor.
The story begins with a tense scenario in which a drunk man accidentally kills a young boy along the side of the road and flees the scene of the crime. He feels bad, but then becomes unhinged after he receives an show more anonymous letter from “a friend” saying he knows about the death and demands money in exchange for silence.
We don’t learn the identity of either the criminal or the blackmailer for most of the book, but neither do the somewhat feckless police. Then bodies begin to pile up that seem connected somehow - or maybe not. All the parties involved reflect on the way in which, once billiard balls are set in motion, their path is inevitable - the consequences are inexorable. [The Swedish title for the book is Carambole, which refers to a type of billiards, the object of which is to score points by caroming one's own cue ball off both the opponent's cue ball and the object ball(s) on a single shot.] In any event, Van Veeteren gets drawn to the investigation, and his instincts - ironically triggered by a game of chess rather than billiards, help break open the case.
Evaluation: This book is more about policing than about characters; we never get insights into who any of them are beyond one or two dimensions. Fortunately the crime and policing aspects are fascinating, and, along with a building of tension as the story progresses, makes for a diverting read. show less
Much of the book is narrated by a criminal who is being sought by the [fictional] Maardam police force, members of whom narrate the remainder. Homicide Chief Inspector Reinhart has taken over for the man everyone continues to call “The Chief Inspector,” Van Veeteren - still a legend and still revered by everyone including his successor.
The story begins with a tense scenario in which a drunk man accidentally kills a young boy along the side of the road and flees the scene of the crime. He feels bad, but then becomes unhinged after he receives an show more anonymous letter from “a friend” saying he knows about the death and demands money in exchange for silence.
We don’t learn the identity of either the criminal or the blackmailer for most of the book, but neither do the somewhat feckless police. Then bodies begin to pile up that seem connected somehow - or maybe not. All the parties involved reflect on the way in which, once billiard balls are set in motion, their path is inevitable - the consequences are inexorable. [The Swedish title for the book is Carambole, which refers to a type of billiards, the object of which is to score points by caroming one's own cue ball off both the opponent's cue ball and the object ball(s) on a single shot.] In any event, Van Veeteren gets drawn to the investigation, and his instincts - ironically triggered by a game of chess rather than billiards, help break open the case.
Evaluation: This book is more about policing than about characters; we never get insights into who any of them are beyond one or two dimensions. Fortunately the crime and policing aspects are fascinating, and, along with a building of tension as the story progresses, makes for a diverting read. show less
Today I have done something I rarely do – I’ve read an eBook, and now you’re going to hear about it! For the first time, I’ve been so drawn to a concept that I have *gasp* BOUGHT a book online. Of course, being the dinosaur that I am, I promptly printed it to read…. LOL
Anyway, having just indulged in the world created by C.J. Elliott – I wanted to share some impressions of the book, which is the first of a set called “The Four Brothers Clan Series” – and oh my what brothers!!
So, in Hour of the Wolf you will meet Matéo – and the beautiful Reese Emerson. Reese is a unique character, and a perfect match for the loup garou hero of this tale. She hears whispers, other people’s thoughts constantly disrupt her life. In show more an effort to escape and find some peaceful rest, Reese flees to her sanctuary in the mountains. What she finds is not solitude and peace, but a passion that will change her life forever.
Matéo is hunting a predator who owes a blood debt that Matéo intends to collect. When his prey sets sights on Reese, he is forced to reveal his true nature.
Cindy Jacks has a beautiful, fluid writing style that takes her readers in and keeps them enchanted with her descriptive words and strong imagery. The passion is seductive and sensual, the story exciting and vibrant with life and tension. I wanted Hour of the Wolf to go on because I wanted to know more and stay in Cindy’s world. I can’t wait to read the next chapter of this exciting and engaging series…
If I was a reviewer, I’d give this five kisses, five stars, whatever you want to use as a label. Instead, I will give CJ Elliott five HUGS and ask her to get the next chapter out as quickly as possible, because I love what she’s doing and can’t wait to meet the next of her sexy brothers and see what he’s all about!! show less
Anyway, having just indulged in the world created by C.J. Elliott – I wanted to share some impressions of the book, which is the first of a set called “The Four Brothers Clan Series” – and oh my what brothers!!
So, in Hour of the Wolf you will meet Matéo – and the beautiful Reese Emerson. Reese is a unique character, and a perfect match for the loup garou hero of this tale. She hears whispers, other people’s thoughts constantly disrupt her life. In show more an effort to escape and find some peaceful rest, Reese flees to her sanctuary in the mountains. What she finds is not solitude and peace, but a passion that will change her life forever.
Matéo is hunting a predator who owes a blood debt that Matéo intends to collect. When his prey sets sights on Reese, he is forced to reveal his true nature.
Cindy Jacks has a beautiful, fluid writing style that takes her readers in and keeps them enchanted with her descriptive words and strong imagery. The passion is seductive and sensual, the story exciting and vibrant with life and tension. I wanted Hour of the Wolf to go on because I wanted to know more and stay in Cindy’s world. I can’t wait to read the next chapter of this exciting and engaging series…
If I was a reviewer, I’d give this five kisses, five stars, whatever you want to use as a label. Instead, I will give CJ Elliott five HUGS and ask her to get the next chapter out as quickly as possible, because I love what she’s doing and can’t wait to meet the next of her sexy brothers and see what he’s all about!! show less
Hour of the Wolf.(an Inspector Van Veeteren Mystery. Hakan Nesser.2012. It has been a while since I have read a really good Nordic Noir, and I enjoyed this one. A teenager is hit by a car during a wet, icy night. There are no clues. Meanwhile, the son of the former chief inspector is found bludgeoned to death. There are no clues to either death. The body of a nurse is discovered and the medical examiner tells Reinhart, the new inspector, that he thinks the same pipe that was used to kill the chief’s son was used to kill the nurse. Reinhart and his team gradually find the connections. I enjoyed this one and will try another in the series.
A great combination of the tedium of much police work mixed with bursts of excitement. I still find there's an underlying sense of misogyny to the writing that I can't quite put my finger in but guess it has something to do with how Nesser writes female characters.
Originally published in Sweden in 1999, this is the 7th of ten in the Van Veeteren series, although it is Chief Inspector Rheinhart who is the main investigator here, as Van Veeteren is now retired and working as an antiquarian bookseller. In this story a drunk driver knocks down and kills a pedestrian, and in trying to cover up his actions, sets in motion a chain of events with further catastrophic results. Van Veeteren is present though, as he is drawn back into the investigation when it affects him personally in the worst way possible.
This story has a well constructed plot and interestingly you get to see events from the point of view of both the killer and the police. One might wonder though about the quick transition of the guilty show more party from hit-and-run driver to cold killer in such a short space. But I loved this book and how all unfolds, it kept my interest throughout. Near top marks from me for this, one of Hakan Nesser's best in my estimation. show less
This story has a well constructed plot and interestingly you get to see events from the point of view of both the killer and the police. One might wonder though about the quick transition of the guilty show more party from hit-and-run driver to cold killer in such a short space. But I loved this book and how all unfolds, it kept my interest throughout. Near top marks from me for this, one of Hakan Nesser's best in my estimation. show less
I couldn't resist the next book in the series, excellent for both the portrayal of crime and the slow, frustrating work of police detection. We see an accident and its aftermath as it works on the person responsible, and at the same time the police work that eventually ties the action to the source.
Tightly written, with sympathetic characters (except for a couple of bad guys, whose motivations and actions are explained appropriately within the narrative). Author Nesser sets the metaphorical billiard balls of the title neatly in motion, but he plays us a trick about 2/3 of the way through -- his omniscient narrator disappears, just as a confrontation is approaching between two bad guys, and Nesser deprives us of any direct account of the resolution of that key struggle. In addition, the ageing retired commissioner Van Veetering becomes the means of solution of the murders apparently by a sudden insight over a chessboard which is never adequately explained to us. The cast of policemen and their families is well portrayed, keeping show more the human dimension solidly present throughout, and the griefs and slow recuperation of the old policeman are given in sympathetic detail. show less
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Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- Hour of the Wolf
- Original title
- Carambole
- Alternate titles*
- Hour of the Wolf
- Original publication date
- 1999 (original Swedish) (original Swedish)
- People/Characters
- Van Veeteren; Münster; Ewa Moreno
- Important places
- Maardam, Brooklyn
- Epigraph
- In the natural order of things, fathers do not bury their sons. Paul Auster, The red notebook
- First words
- Pojken som snart skulle dö skrattade och gjorde sig fri.
- Quotations*
- «La vita è una faccenda molto sopravvalutata – disse Van Veeteren. – Anche se è meglio non scoprirlo troppo presto».
«Credo che buona parte delle cose che ci capitano siano guidate dal caso – disse. – O da decisioni valutate non molto attentamente. Noi abbiamo meno controllo di quanto ci immaginiamo… il fatto che fingiamo di averlo ... (show all) un'altra cosa». - Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)Gick raka vägen tvärd igenom entrén, fällde upp paraplyet och vandrade ut i staden.
- Original language*
- rootsi
*Some information comes from Common Knowledge in other languages. Click "Edit" for more information.
Classifications
- Genres
- Fiction and Literature, Mystery
- DDC/MDS
- 839.73 — Literature & rhetoric German & related literatures Other Germanic literatures Swedish literature Swedish fiction
- LCC
- PT9876.24 .E76 .C3713 — Language and Literature German, Dutch and Scandinavian literatures Swedish literature Individual authors or works 1961-2000
- BISAC
Statistics
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- 580
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- 50,473
- Reviews
- 16
- Rating
- (3.73)
- Languages
- 15 — Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Norwegian (Bokmål), Norwegian, Polish, Slovenian, Swedish, Turkish, Welsh
- Media
- Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 58
- ASINs
- 8
