- Paperback: 320 pages
- Publisher: Penguin; paperback / softback edition (7 Feb 2008)
- Language Unknown
- ISBN-10: 0141024712
- ISBN-13: 978-0141024714
- Product Dimensions: 12.8 x 2 x 20.4 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 253,708 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
The Savage Altar
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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk
The days when crime in translation was regarded as some kind of exotic hothouse flower are long gone – nowadays, a book like Asa Larsson’s The Savage Altar will be eagerly picked up by those seeking something out of the ordinary in the crime field. The reasons are twofold: the promise of an unusual setting (here, a vividly realised Sweden) and writing of more style and elegance than can be found in much native product (not always the case, of course, as a novel in translation is only as good as the skill with which its translator renders it into English).
Asa Larsson’s compelling novel features a strongly drawn protagonist who is to feature in a projected series: corporate lawyer Rebecka Martinsson, reluctantly enlisted by her friend Sanna, who is under suspicion regarding the grisly death of a famous writer of religious books, Viktor Strandgård; the latter has had both hands and eyes removed in a bloody killing in a church in Northern Sweden. Also involved in the subsequent investigation is canny police inspector Anna-Maria Mella, dragooned into the case by a colleague, despite being incapacitated by her advanced state of pregnancy. Like Lynda la Plante’s Jane Tennison, these are women who are struggling in a world of unsympathetic men (and Larsson peoples her cast with some extremely nasty males), but Larsson’s writing is more ambitious than her British colleague, with a level of plotting that excels in both ambition and achievement. It will be interesting to see what the author cooks up for her beleaguered heroine in future books. --Barry Forshaw --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
Nail-biting . . . A suspense-filled mystery by yet another talented Swedish writer (Sunday Telegraph )
A labyrinthine conspiracy, superlative storytelling (Independent )
A labyrinthine conspiracy, superlative storytelling (Independent )
Inside This Book
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First Sentence
When Viktor Strandgård dies it is not, in fact, for the first time. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
When Viktor Strandgård dies it is not, in fact, for the first time. Read the first page Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
34 of 35 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Scandinavian crime fiction has really taken off in recent years and it's wonderful that books like Savage Altar (previously published as Sun Storm) are being translated and brought to a world-wide audience. The genre as a whole specialises in claustrophobic, small-scale mysteries, often made all the more chilling because they involve relatively few people in isolated areas where either the sun don't shine or - possibly worse - the days never dim...
Savage Altar introduces Rebecka Martinsson, a young city lawyer who is dragged back to confront the ghosts of her emotional past in her rural home town when an ex-boyfriend (of sorts) is brutally murdered. Rebecka is a fragile achiever; clever but compelled to work far too hard to make up for her insecurity. She over-reacts to a friendly approach from her boss with spiky ferocity, and many of her relationships feature awkward conversations and painful silences, where old arguments and grudges confuse the protagonists.
We also meet an interesting detective, who happens to be eight months pregnant and desperately trying to go on maternity leave; Rebecka's spiritual grandfather (who is called Sivving - and there's a great joke attached to that name), the murdered man's sister (who is both not what she seems and exactly what she seems), a sinister evangelical church and its collection of overenthusiastic pastors, plus the usual pushy bureaucrat who wants the whole murder case wrapped up in no time flat.
Where Savage Altar stands head and shoulders above run of the mill thrillers is in the very human scale of the mystery and the past events which have interwoven to culminate in the death of one young man - and a very real threat to his sister (who looks like the prime suspect) and to Rebecka. Savage Altar is littered with beautifully observed interactions; often the most touching are between humans and animals where affection can be more easily expressed than with other real live people...
Savage Altar is easy to read, well plotted and beautifully described. I romped through it in a couple of days, eager to find out whodunnit (and why), but also eager to spend time with the protagonists in a starkly beautiful, dangerous landscape. If your tastes run to American-style serial-killer or police procedural thrillers then Savage Altar may not be to your taste, however; much of the menace is implied rather than related, blow by bloody blow.
I can also recommend the follow up, Blood Spilt, although you do need to read them in order to enjoy them fully. I will be looking out for more thrillers from Asa Larsson; these aren't perfect but they are more than good enough to drag me back for more.
8/10
Savage Altar introduces Rebecka Martinsson, a young city lawyer who is dragged back to confront the ghosts of her emotional past in her rural home town when an ex-boyfriend (of sorts) is brutally murdered. Rebecka is a fragile achiever; clever but compelled to work far too hard to make up for her insecurity. She over-reacts to a friendly approach from her boss with spiky ferocity, and many of her relationships feature awkward conversations and painful silences, where old arguments and grudges confuse the protagonists.
We also meet an interesting detective, who happens to be eight months pregnant and desperately trying to go on maternity leave; Rebecka's spiritual grandfather (who is called Sivving - and there's a great joke attached to that name), the murdered man's sister (who is both not what she seems and exactly what she seems), a sinister evangelical church and its collection of overenthusiastic pastors, plus the usual pushy bureaucrat who wants the whole murder case wrapped up in no time flat.
Where Savage Altar stands head and shoulders above run of the mill thrillers is in the very human scale of the mystery and the past events which have interwoven to culminate in the death of one young man - and a very real threat to his sister (who looks like the prime suspect) and to Rebecka. Savage Altar is littered with beautifully observed interactions; often the most touching are between humans and animals where affection can be more easily expressed than with other real live people...
Savage Altar is easy to read, well plotted and beautifully described. I romped through it in a couple of days, eager to find out whodunnit (and why), but also eager to spend time with the protagonists in a starkly beautiful, dangerous landscape. If your tastes run to American-style serial-killer or police procedural thrillers then Savage Altar may not be to your taste, however; much of the menace is implied rather than related, blow by bloody blow.
I can also recommend the follow up, Blood Spilt, although you do need to read them in order to enjoy them fully. I will be looking out for more thrillers from Asa Larsson; these aren't perfect but they are more than good enough to drag me back for more.
8/10
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This novel begins dramatically, with the description of the final thoughts to go through the mind of a handsome and charismatic young preacher, Victor Strandgard, from Kiruna in the far north of Sweden. We then move to Stockholm, where we meet the novel's central character, Rebecka Martinsson, a driven and rather guarded young Stockholm lawyer. She is called back to Kiruna by her old friend, Sanna, the sister of the dead preacher, and a prime suspect in the murder enquiry.
There are really several mysteries in play here, as we turn the pages to find out, not just who killed Viktor, but what is the full story behind the highly successful church he was associated with, and why does Rebecka have such conflicting feelings about Sanna and her other former friends.
As a thriller, I thought this was good, but not great. But as a novel it had much to recommend it - intriguing and quite original characters who seemed to possess some convicingly human inconsistency and sometimes made me unsure how to respond to them - Rebecka's boss, for example. I'd certainly recommend this to anyone who enjoys the genre, and will probably go on to read more by Asa Larsson.
There are really several mysteries in play here, as we turn the pages to find out, not just who killed Viktor, but what is the full story behind the highly successful church he was associated with, and why does Rebecka have such conflicting feelings about Sanna and her other former friends.
As a thriller, I thought this was good, but not great. But as a novel it had much to recommend it - intriguing and quite original characters who seemed to possess some convicingly human inconsistency and sometimes made me unsure how to respond to them - Rebecka's boss, for example. I'd certainly recommend this to anyone who enjoys the genre, and will probably go on to read more by Asa Larsson.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Must admit to being a fan of current Scandinavian writing, so took a chance on another unknown (to me) author in the genre.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book, the writing is excellent with never a dull moment, and this is surely a high quality translation.
I really liked the sly humour that helps to bring the characters to life, and at no point felt that this book owed anything to any other author, despite the almost obligatory 'Steig Larsson' reference on the cover...
Asa Larsson's got an original style and writes brilliantly, and I'll definitely be reading everything else she's done!
I thoroughly enjoyed this book, the writing is excellent with never a dull moment, and this is surely a high quality translation.
I really liked the sly humour that helps to bring the characters to life, and at no point felt that this book owed anything to any other author, despite the almost obligatory 'Steig Larsson' reference on the cover...
Asa Larsson's got an original style and writes brilliantly, and I'll definitely be reading everything else she's done!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
solid start to series
The Savage Altar is the first novel by Asa Larsson and won Sweden's best first crime novel award. The book has a police procedural feel to it, and it does have that side to it, but... Read more
Published 27 days ago by Rob Kitchin
an afternoon thriller
this is an ok story , I liked a lot of the characters as they were different and also found the creepy religious element a good read , however and it is a big however I did think... Read more
Published 1 month ago by cartoon
good scandinavian chiller
Of the Nordic authors currently competing for sales in the Scandinavian crime fiction market I think Asa Larsson is one of the best. Read more
Published 3 months ago by B. Lowe
Stig Larsson it isn't!
I was very disappointed with this book as it was very average indeed. Poor storyline and a very predictable ending. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Tripod
formulaic
Being a fan of Scandinavian crime fiction (Stieg Larsson, Arnaldur Indridason, Yrsa Sigurdardottir etc) I was looking forward to this book. What a disappointment. Read more
Published 8 months ago by utlendigur
Excellent thriller. Well written. Great characters.
This book had me in its grip -not only to find out who the killer was but because the characters were intriguing. Read more
Published 8 months ago by Janet, Book Addict
A Cult Too Far?
I was so disappointed with this book as I believed it would be much better than it turned out. The characters were colourless and the storyline has been done so many times before. Read more
Published 8 months ago by Madeleine Godbold
One to avoid
This book is a poor relation to some of the other excellent modern Scandanavian crime fiction. I found the main character overly emotional, irritating and indecisive. Read more
Published 12 months ago by Zossima
Tighter and less rambling that some other Nordic crime writers
A mutilated body is found in a church in northern Sweden - and a lawyer is brought back to the place she once lived and her past amongst the leaders of the church. Read more
Published 18 months ago by Roman Clodia
A good Swedish mystery writer
If you like the Wallander series by Henning Mankell, then you will like these books. Asa Larsson hasn't written as many novels as Mankell, and only a few have been translated into... Read more
Published 22 months ago by lynsey
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