Woman with Birthmark--An Inspector Van Veeteren Mystery

Simon Vance narrates this Scandinavian crime story, creating plausible and likable characters through his use of accents. Maria Adler seeks revenge for an event that happened years before. As she embarks on a series of murders, it's up to Inspector Van Veeteren and his team to investigate the deaths and to track down Adler. The victims are obviously connected but how? Vance's use of nonspecific British regional accents to differentiate the characters works well. He keeps the slowly evolving plot moving, successfully pacing each step of the investigation, however mundane. While there's an overall sense of melancholy throughout the book, there's also a liberal dash of humor, which Vance allows to shine through the sometimes-bleak story line. K.J.P. (c) AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine

February 16, 2009
Chief Insp. Van Veeteren heads a sterling ensemble cast in Nesser’s fine police procedural, his second (after Borkmann’s Point
) to win the best novel award from the Swedish Crime Writers’ Academy. A nameless young woman, soon after burying her mother and learning what sealed her mother’s fate and her own, embarks on a ruthless course of vengeance. While the woman’s motivation remains vague, her method is crystal clear—killing shots at close range followed by additional shots “below the belt.” There are virtually no clues when the first victim is found, and precious few when the second occurs less than two weeks later. Slow, meticulous police work eventually produces a tenuous connection between the victims—one that suggests a potential pool of almost 30 targets. Nesser keeps readers guessing whether the killer will complete her gruesome task before the police can uncover the fatal link that binds killer and victims.