The Sins of Our Fathers: A Rebecka Martinsson Investigation by Asa Larsson and Frank Perry (Translator)
| The Sins of Our Fathers: A Rebecka Martinsson Investigation by Asa Larsson and Frank Perry (Translator) | |
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| Category: Crime | |
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Reviewer: Peter Magee
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| Summary: The final book in the brilliant series is an absolute cracker. Highly recommnded. | |
| Buy? Yes | Borrow? Yes |
| Pages: 608 | Date: March 2023 |
| Publisher: MacLehose Press | |
| ISBN: 978-0857051745 | |
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Lars Pohjanen has only a few weeks to live but he’s determined that Rebecka Martinsson is going to investigate the case of a body found in a freezer at the home of a deceased alcoholic. The problem is that the case has long passed the statute of limitations. Raimo Koskela disappeared without a trace in 1962. He was the father of Olympic boxing champion Borje Strom. Rebecka wants nothing to do with a fifty-year-old case on which she can take no action: the problem is that this is a dying man’s wish. The situation changes when a post-mortem establishes that Henry Pekkari, the dead alcoholic, was also murdered. Is there a connection between the two deaths?
I have a problem with Asa Larsson books: once I start reading any book in the Rebecka Martinsson series, I simply can’t put them down and this book was no exception. My wife loves crime novels and particularly Scandi-crime but she won’t read the Martinsson series as she finds them too dark. She’d have had grave reservations about this book but I loved it. It perfectly conveyed Martinsson’s struggles with her job, relations with her colleagues and her mental state. The book pulls no punches in any of these areas and the relationship with her temporary supervisor illustrates this perfectly: they readily admit their mutual hatred and they never miss an opportunity to undermine each other.
And that’s a neat metaphor for what’s happening in the city of Kiruna, a few kilometres to the east. Mining works have undermined the city and a massive building project is started. Billions of kronor are involved and - unsurprisingly - organised crime soon takes over. Primarily it’s the Russian Mafia and they’re not open to reason or discussion.
Boxing features prominently as one of the protagonists is a gold medal Olympic boxing champion. What struck me, particularly, about Borje Strom was the daily grind of training and the exploitation of amateur boxers once they become professionals. I loved that the plot is multifaceted and thought-provoking in many different areas.
I’d like to thank the publishers for sending a copy of the book to the Bookbag.
Each of the Martinsson books will read well as a standalone but you will get more from the books if you’re aware of what’s gone before. Here’s a list if you’d like to start at the beginning.
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