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Review
`Nesser spends as much time with his characters as with the mystery, and the police officers soon become familiar, creating an absorbing tale with an unexpected ending.' --Sunday Telegraph
`The plot is sound and fast-moving, there is a tense climax, and Chief inspector Van Veeteren of the Dutch police is an amiably dour investigator.' --The Times
`Hakan Nesser is one of the masters of the genre...The wonderful sense of place and vivid descriptions transport the reader to the Swedish woods and mountains, to bleak stretches of beach and rain-swept sea-side towns, enhancing the sense of menace.' --South China Morning Post
`Murder most Swedish...The reader is well and truly hooked form the word go.' --The Oldie
`The novel's prime asset is the mordant clarity of Nesser's voice. Its understatement is a pleasure in itself...At times resembling a deadpan comedy of provincial life, the novel delivers enough peppery asides on the ageing process and the passage of time to demonstrate a bleakly perceptive intelligence...Early on, plot points are gracefully distributed...The novel's dour charm is such that it remains engaging.' --Times Literary Supplement
`The plot is sound and fast-moving, there is a tense climax, and Chief inspector Van Veeteren of the Dutch police is an amiably dour investigator.' --The Times
`Hakan Nesser is one of the masters of the genre...The wonderful sense of place and vivid descriptions transport the reader to the Swedish woods and mountains, to bleak stretches of beach and rain-swept sea-side towns, enhancing the sense of menace.' --South China Morning Post
`Murder most Swedish...The reader is well and truly hooked form the word go.' --The Oldie
`The novel's prime asset is the mordant clarity of Nesser's voice. Its understatement is a pleasure in itself...At times resembling a deadpan comedy of provincial life, the novel delivers enough peppery asides on the ageing process and the passage of time to demonstrate a bleakly perceptive intelligence...Early on, plot points are gracefully distributed...The novel's dour charm is such that it remains engaging.' --Times Literary Supplement
The Sunday Telegraph
'Nesser spends as much time with his characters as with the mystery... creating an absorbing tale with an unexpected ending.'
--This text refers to the
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
71 of 74 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Almost every crime-fiction reviewer the world over is starting to sound like a broken record, but I'm afraid it's time to say, yet again, here is another wonderful European export: this time Swedish author Håkan Nesser. Borkmann's Point is Nesser's third novel, winner of the Swedish Crime Writers' Academy Prize for best novel, and the first to be translated into English. The first of many, one can only hope, on the evidence of this stylish, warm novel of detection.
The novel is part of a series featuring Inspector Van Veeteren, who rather bucks the trend for Scandinavian detectives in that he's warm, funny, and likes good wine and good company. Oh, and he owns an antique book store. Apparently (it's not mentioned in this early book). At the beginning of the book we find Van Veeteren on holiday in a - presumably - Swedish province; just as he's about to return home, a wealthy real-estate businessman is brutally murdered, with an axe, in a nearby town. It is the second such murder in as many months, so when this second killing suggests a serial killer may have begun his hellish work, Van Veeteren's bosses tell him to stay on in the nearby town and lend his services to the investigation which seemingly has produced no clues and two completely unconnected victims. Van Veeteren insists he isn't here to "take over" the investigation, but instead works alongside them, following his own ideas and hunches in the face of an almost complete lack of information, still remaining convinced that something more is going on than a random spree. Even as the victim count goes up.
It's amazing how each new import from foreign climes seems to be even better than the last. Nesser with one book leaps almost to the pinnacle where Mankell, Indridason and Vargas sit. Indeed, Nesser seems, on this showing at least, to have much in common with Vargas's style of crime fiction. He inverts conventions in a similar way, turning what seems on the fact of it to be a serial killer novel into something rather different, and the informal, jocular tone is similar. This latter device makes the novel warm, charming, a complete pleasure to read, the tone a juxtaposed relief from the stark violence of the crimes. The sometimes light-hearted tone is largely thanks to Van Veeteren and Nesser's ability with quick, fun dialogue between his characters. The relationship between Van Veeteren and Bausen - the top-cop of the town he is sent to - provides a fun centre to the book, as at the close of each day the meet to discuss the case, their lives, their wives, play chess and drink fine wines from Bausen's extensive cellar. It's a serious book - of course it is - but it's not oppressive in its seriousness, as Nesser knows just how much levity to balance it with.
On top of that, Nesser plots so well, creates tension so well, moves the story on so well. It's suspenseful, intelligent, and pleasingly different. The final solution is completely unexpected, even if it's somewhat of an old horse, (but we should remember the book was first published in 1994, so in its right time it was actually pretty pioneering). Overall, it's a rewarding payoff, as it must be if the crime novel is to be considered wholly sucessful. And this one is. I will gladly be spending more time with Nesser and Van Veeteren again next year, come the next translation.
The novel is part of a series featuring Inspector Van Veeteren, who rather bucks the trend for Scandinavian detectives in that he's warm, funny, and likes good wine and good company. Oh, and he owns an antique book store. Apparently (it's not mentioned in this early book). At the beginning of the book we find Van Veeteren on holiday in a - presumably - Swedish province; just as he's about to return home, a wealthy real-estate businessman is brutally murdered, with an axe, in a nearby town. It is the second such murder in as many months, so when this second killing suggests a serial killer may have begun his hellish work, Van Veeteren's bosses tell him to stay on in the nearby town and lend his services to the investigation which seemingly has produced no clues and two completely unconnected victims. Van Veeteren insists he isn't here to "take over" the investigation, but instead works alongside them, following his own ideas and hunches in the face of an almost complete lack of information, still remaining convinced that something more is going on than a random spree. Even as the victim count goes up.
It's amazing how each new import from foreign climes seems to be even better than the last. Nesser with one book leaps almost to the pinnacle where Mankell, Indridason and Vargas sit. Indeed, Nesser seems, on this showing at least, to have much in common with Vargas's style of crime fiction. He inverts conventions in a similar way, turning what seems on the fact of it to be a serial killer novel into something rather different, and the informal, jocular tone is similar. This latter device makes the novel warm, charming, a complete pleasure to read, the tone a juxtaposed relief from the stark violence of the crimes. The sometimes light-hearted tone is largely thanks to Van Veeteren and Nesser's ability with quick, fun dialogue between his characters. The relationship between Van Veeteren and Bausen - the top-cop of the town he is sent to - provides a fun centre to the book, as at the close of each day the meet to discuss the case, their lives, their wives, play chess and drink fine wines from Bausen's extensive cellar. It's a serious book - of course it is - but it's not oppressive in its seriousness, as Nesser knows just how much levity to balance it with.
On top of that, Nesser plots so well, creates tension so well, moves the story on so well. It's suspenseful, intelligent, and pleasingly different. The final solution is completely unexpected, even if it's somewhat of an old horse, (but we should remember the book was first published in 1994, so in its right time it was actually pretty pioneering). Overall, it's a rewarding payoff, as it must be if the crime novel is to be considered wholly sucessful. And this one is. I will gladly be spending more time with Nesser and Van Veeteren again next year, come the next translation.
27 of 29 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Almost every crime-fiction reviewer the world over is starting to sound like a broken record, but I'm afraid it's time to say, yet again, here is another wonderful European export: this time Swedish author Håkan Nesser. Borkmann's Point is Nesser's third novel, winner of the Swedish Crime Writers' Academy Prize for best novel, and the first to be translated into English. The first of many, one can only hope, on the evidence of this stylish, warm novel of detection.
The novel is part of a series featuring Inspector Van Veeteren, who rather bucks the trend for Scandinavian detectives in that he's warm, funny, and likes good wine and good company. Oh, and he owns an antique book store. Apparently (it's not mentioned in this early book). At the beginning of the book we find Van Veeteren on holiday in a - presumably - Swedish province; just as he's about to return home, a wealthy real-estate businessman is brutally murdered, with an axe, in a nearby town. It is the second such murder in as many months, so when this second killing suggests a serial killer may have begun his hellish work, Van Veeteren's bosses tell him to stay on in the nearby town and lend his services to the investigation which seemingly has produced no clues and two completely unconnected victims. Van Veeteren insists he isn't here to "take over" the investigation, but instead works alongside them, following his own ideas and hunches in the face of an almost complete lack of information, still remaining convinced that something more is going on than a random spree. Even as the victim count goes up.
It's amazing how each new import from foreign climes seems to be even better than the last. Nesser with one book leaps almost to the pinnacle where Mankell, Indridason and Vargas sit. Indeed, Nesser seems, on this showing at least, to have much in common with Vargas's style of crime fiction. He inverts conventions in a similar way, turning what seems on the fact of it to be a serial killer novel into something rather different, and the informal, jocular tone is similar. This latter device makes the novel warm, charming, a complete pleasure to read, the tone a juxtaposed relief from the stark violence of the crimes. The sometimes light-hearted tone is largely thanks to Van Veeteren and Nesser's ability with quick, fun dialogue between his characters. The relationship between Van Veeteren and Bausen - the top-cop of the town he is sent to - provides a fun centre to the book, as at the close of each day the meet to discuss the case, their lives, their wives, play chess and drink fine wines from Bausen's extensive cellar. It's a serious book - of course it is - but it's not oppressive in its seriousness, as Nesser knows just how much levity to balance it with.
On top of that, Nesser plots so well, creates tension so well, moves the story on so well. It's suspenseful, intelligent, and pleasingly different. The final solution is completely unexpected, even if it's somewhat of an old horse, (but we should remember the book was first published in 1994, so in its right time it was actually pretty pioneering). Overall, it's a rewarding payoff, as it must be if the crime novel is to be considered wholly sucessful. And this one is. I will gladly be spending more time with Nesser and Van Veeteren again next year, come the next translation.
The novel is part of a series featuring Inspector Van Veeteren, who rather bucks the trend for Scandinavian detectives in that he's warm, funny, and likes good wine and good company. Oh, and he owns an antique book store. Apparently (it's not mentioned in this early book). At the beginning of the book we find Van Veeteren on holiday in a - presumably - Swedish province; just as he's about to return home, a wealthy real-estate businessman is brutally murdered, with an axe, in a nearby town. It is the second such murder in as many months, so when this second killing suggests a serial killer may have begun his hellish work, Van Veeteren's bosses tell him to stay on in the nearby town and lend his services to the investigation which seemingly has produced no clues and two completely unconnected victims. Van Veeteren insists he isn't here to "take over" the investigation, but instead works alongside them, following his own ideas and hunches in the face of an almost complete lack of information, still remaining convinced that something more is going on than a random spree. Even as the victim count goes up.
It's amazing how each new import from foreign climes seems to be even better than the last. Nesser with one book leaps almost to the pinnacle where Mankell, Indridason and Vargas sit. Indeed, Nesser seems, on this showing at least, to have much in common with Vargas's style of crime fiction. He inverts conventions in a similar way, turning what seems on the fact of it to be a serial killer novel into something rather different, and the informal, jocular tone is similar. This latter device makes the novel warm, charming, a complete pleasure to read, the tone a juxtaposed relief from the stark violence of the crimes. The sometimes light-hearted tone is largely thanks to Van Veeteren and Nesser's ability with quick, fun dialogue between his characters. The relationship between Van Veeteren and Bausen - the top-cop of the town he is sent to - provides a fun centre to the book, as at the close of each day the meet to discuss the case, their lives, their wives, play chess and drink fine wines from Bausen's extensive cellar. It's a serious book - of course it is - but it's not oppressive in its seriousness, as Nesser knows just how much levity to balance it with.
On top of that, Nesser plots so well, creates tension so well, moves the story on so well. It's suspenseful, intelligent, and pleasingly different. The final solution is completely unexpected, even if it's somewhat of an old horse, (but we should remember the book was first published in 1994, so in its right time it was actually pretty pioneering). Overall, it's a rewarding payoff, as it must be if the crime novel is to be considered wholly sucessful. And this one is. I will gladly be spending more time with Nesser and Van Veeteren again next year, come the next translation.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
As an experiment, I read five detective novels over Easter. The one common factor was that they were all in translation. I thought it would be interesting to compare. They were
Borkmann's Point by Hakan Nesser
This Night's Foul Work by Fred Vargas
Havana Blue (Mario Conde Mystery 3) by Leonardo Padura
The Montmartre Investigation: A Victor Legris Mystery by Claude Izner
Water-Blue Eyes by Domingo Villar
I had read nothing by Nesser before this book. It is a fairly standard roman policier in which the police search for someone who is repeatedly killing.
The idea of "Borkmann's point" is somewhat Ellery Queen-like (ie we now have all the clues necessary to solve the case), but I defy any reader to divine the answer from that point. I'd like to say "ingeniously-plotted" but the answer was more in the Inspector-Morse-improbable-solution-plucked-from-thin-air school.
The novel is well-constructed, and the English translation good. And the genuine flashes of perception made it well above the ordinary.
Borkmann's Point by Hakan Nesser
This Night's Foul Work by Fred Vargas
Havana Blue (Mario Conde Mystery 3) by Leonardo Padura
The Montmartre Investigation: A Victor Legris Mystery by Claude Izner
Water-Blue Eyes by Domingo Villar
I had read nothing by Nesser before this book. It is a fairly standard roman policier in which the police search for someone who is repeatedly killing.
The idea of "Borkmann's point" is somewhat Ellery Queen-like (ie we now have all the clues necessary to solve the case), but I defy any reader to divine the answer from that point. I'd like to say "ingeniously-plotted" but the answer was more in the Inspector-Morse-improbable-solution-plucked-from-thin-air school.
The novel is well-constructed, and the English translation good. And the genuine flashes of perception made it well above the ordinary.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Borkmann's Point
This excellent crime novel falls within the sub-genre of police procedural. The author may have been influenced by the Martin Beck series of Maj Sjöwall and Per... Read more
Published 7 days ago by Ragnar
Unexpected murderer
Even though it was slow the first third of the book, it got more excited the second part. I was disappointing at the beginning. Read more
Published 15 days ago by Samuel Ramos
solid police procedural
The strengths of Borkmann's Point is the pacing, atmosphere and everydayness of the narrative. The storytelling has a nice cadence and doesn't seek to shock or ratchet up the... Read more
Published 19 days ago by Rob Kitchin
Another gem from Hakan Nesser
I stumbled across Hakan Nesser books by pure chance and after reading Mind's Eye I was thoroughly impressed, so downloaded the rest of the Van Veeteren novels. Read more
Published 20 days ago by Yorkshire Rose
Great Humour
I loved the character, Inspector Van Veeteren, and the humour that runs throughout the novel. the plot was interesting and moved along at a steady pace.
Published 29 days ago by Tim
Borkman`s Point
This was the first Hakan Nesser book that I have read.
I found it remarkably readable,the storyline plausible and interesting and the characters similarly so. Read more
I found it remarkably readable,the storyline plausible and interesting and the characters similarly so. Read more
Published 1 month ago by hedgegrower
disappointing
Having enjoyed books by other Scandinavian authors I was suprised to find that I just couldn't get into this book at all. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Mrs. S. Le Masurier
Another Swedish Beauty
I try to avoid giving five stars nowadays as I feel a book has to be bullet proof to earn that status. Borkmann's Point is a real page turner, I would give it 4.5 if I could. Read more
Published 3 months ago by fh1981
Quality crime novel marred by unconvincing ending
For the first 300 or so pages I found this Swedish crime novel to be plausible and entertaining. Chief Inspector Van Veeteren is an engaging and sometimes humorous character, in... Read more
Published 4 months ago by African Soul Rebel
My first novel by Nesser, but it won't be my last
This is my first Hakan Nesser novel and I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed it. As with many of the different Scandanivan novelists they keep the number of main characters... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Mr. S. N. Pattison
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