The Black Path: A Rebeka Martinsson Investigation by Asa Larsson and Marlaine Delargy (translator)
| The Black Path: A Rebeka Martinsson Investigation by Asa Larsson and Marlaine Delargy (translator) | |
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| Category: Crime | |
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Reviewer: Sue Magee
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| Summary: The third book in the Recka Martinsson series is a dark and complex psychological thriller which does turn violent at the end. | |
| Buy? Yes | Borrow? Yes |
| Pages: 384 | Date: June 2012 |
| Publisher: MacLehose Press | |
| ISBN: 978-0857050311 | |
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In the far north of Sweden the frozen body of a woman was found in a fishing hut out on the lake. She’d been tortured but the injury which killed her was clumsy, even amateur. Identification wasn’t easy but it was faily quick and Anna-Maria Mella and her colleagues hoped for a speedy end to the case. Then it all turned complicated when the body of a six-month-old suicide had to be exhumed and Mella and Rebecka Martinsson were drawn further and further into an investigation of corruption at one the country’s major mining companies. And as if that wasn’t bad enough, the mining company had enemies of its own - ones who would stop at nothing.
The murder victim - Inna Wattrang - was very senior at Kallis Mining. There was Mauri Kallis, Inna and her brother Diddi, but Diddi was a bit of a flake and that was before his sister was murdered. There were the drugs and the debts, the family he didn't seem to be involved with. Diddi was a liability and with the loss of Inna Mauri Kallis was very exposed. He wasn't inclined to give the police a lot of help, but Mella was lucky. She had Rebecka Martinsson on her side. Martinsson had recovered from the horrific injuries which she suffered in the last book and had not long been been released from the psychiatric unit.
These books really are best read in sequence. Each will read well as a standalone novel but you will find hints - clues - as to what happened in earlier books. So, if you’re planning to read the series then start at the beginning. It won’t be a sacrifice: in most crime novels you’re lucky to get one strong female character. Here there are two, either of whom could carry a series on their own, but who make a splendid team. The police team are compelling too, with no need of the petty rivalries which thrive in most books in this genre.
Be warned - the ending is violent,
There’s an interesting side story too - that of the corruption in mining companies, particularly in the third world. I only wished that I could have believed that it was just part of the story, but I’m afraid that I didn’t.
I’d like to thank the publishers for sending a copy to the Bookbag.
The names which stand out in Scandinavian crime are Henning Mankell and the other Larsson but don’t miss out on Karin Fossum.
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You can read more book reviews or buy The Black Path: A Rebeka Martinsson Investigation by Asa Larsson and Marlaine Delargy (translator) at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
You can read more book reviews or buy The Black Path: A Rebeka Martinsson Investigation by Asa Larsson and Marlaine Delargy (translator) at Amazon.com.
Asa Larsson's Rebecka Martinson Investigations in chronological order
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