Wednesday, July 30, 2008

REVIEW: Sun and Shadow


Title: Sun and Shadow
Author: Ake Edwardson
Protagonist: Sweden's youngest Detective Inspector, Erik Winter
Setting: Gothenburg, Sweden, 1999
Series: #1
Rating: C

First Line: It had started raining.

Erik Winter is Sweden's youngest detective inspector. He's a flashy dresser, loves jazz, and is about to become a father for the first time. Just back from sunny Spain where his father died, Winter is catapulted into a particularly gruesome double murder. The clues lead in interesting directions: black metal music enthusiasts and swingers for example, but as the snow piles higher and higher, Winter can't shake the feeling that he's missing something that's right in front of his face.

Having recently been introduced to Scandinavian mysteries by Karin Fossum and Henning Mankell, I had high hopes for Sun and Shadow. Unfortunately they were not realized. I found almost everything about this book to be bland--even the villain. The plot was in no hurry and was further weighed down by needless exposition. There were two bright spots: Erik Winter himself, and a young teenager named Patrik. Winter was so detached from it all that I couldn't care about him, and if Patrik had been any more prominent in the book, he would've been the main character. Pity...I was much more interested in him and am still wondering what happened to him!

Edwardson's book just wasn't my cup of tea, but since I greatly enjoy the mysteries of Fossum and Mankell, I'm still ahead with Scandinavian writers.

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