The Return

Swedish mystery writer HŒkan Nesser demonstrates that he's every bit as adept an author as his more famous American counterparts. Of course, having Simon Vance at the microphone never hurts. Vance thrives with well-written dialogue, and the give-and-take among Nesser's characters is ideally designed for him. In particular, Vance molds the exciting plot involving Detective Chief Inspector Van Veeteren, the sleuth at the center of the action. With a deftness of phrase, Vance makes the book a joy and keeps the listener focused. Couple Vance's performance with a thoroughly satisfying resolution, and it's clear why THE RETURN, one of a series, will please even the toughest critics. D.J.S. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award (c) AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine

February 26, 2007
Nesser's latest contemporary police procedural, set in his Swedish homeland, is an excellent puzzler that will remind many of the Inspector Morse series. Nesser's sleuth, Detective Chief Inspector Van Veeteren, is on the eve of major surgery when a baffling murder case is dumped on his team; a mutilated corpse has been found in a ditch, and is eventually identified as that of Leopold Verhaven, a recently released double murderer. Verhaven's crimes were odd ones-vicious attacks on women decades apart-and his own killing raises the spectre that he was not guilty of them. Van Veeteren and his squad deftly delve through decades of faded eyewitness recollections before reaching a satisfying solution, albeit one that requires the inspector to cross a line to achieve justice. The sardonic Van Veeteren is an enteratining lead character, and this book should lead many to seek out earlier entries in the series.