The Princess of Burundi: A Mystery (Ann Lindell Mysteries, 1)

by Kjell Eriksson

Paperback, 2007

Status

Available

Call number

813

Publication

Minotaur Books (2007), 320 pages

Description

When a jogger finds a dead body in the snow, the members of Sweden's Uppsala police force uncover a victim with an unsettling history. John Jonsson, known to everyone as Little John, was a respectable family man and a local expert on tropical fish. But he had been quite a troublemaker, and his delinquent past seems to have caught up with him. Despite being on maternity leave, Inspector Ann Lindell is determined to find John's murderer. The cruel cat-and-mouse game that follows leads Ann to a deadly confrontation with a treacherous killer. Ann must decide whether to take a huge risk that could result in many more dead bodies in the snow, including hers and that of her unborn child.

User reviews

LibraryThing member FicusFan

This book started out a bit dry, and the writing was a bit jumpy, though it was a translation so it may be fine in its original language. It was very low key, and eventually sucked me into the story.

There seemed to be a huge cast of characters, many in the police department, and I am still not sure

I have them straight, or even know who they all are.

While the book was written for a Swedish audience, the American publisher should have done some work on it, besides the translation, for the American public.

I would have liked to have seen a map of Sweden, and then one of Uppsala. I was almost 150 pages in before I realized that the places they were talking about, which I took as home towns, were really just sections of Uppsala. Also a glossary of words would have been helpful. I have no idea what Bandy is, other than it is played on the ice. Is it hockey, curling, or something else ?

The story has a couple of crimes and no one is sure if they are the same killer of not. That part was interesting, a real mystery. The solution was not so good. A mysterious twin brother, no real foreshadowing, he just appears. There was also a duplicate wad of cash, that came in with the twin. Lazy plotting.

The other odd thing was that the cops sat around the station and had these deep philosophical discussions about crime, society, politics, and their place in the current world, and the past of their memories. This would break out during the case meeting to determine what was known from the previous day, and what the new day's tasks were and who was going to do them. Of course the criminals had the same reveries too. Image a crime film done by Bergman ! Though it wasn't that slow or boring, more like Bergman lite.

I guess even the socialist paradise of Sweden is having money problems because they are talking about cuts in social services, and police, hospitals, and libraries. But they have this one murder and it becomes the top priority, and their main perp, the victim's brother, is a small time petty thief but they treat him like a big time criminal. So perhaps they aren't used to lots of crime, or violent crime, which is nice, if bit odd.

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LibraryThing member teaperson

This book is more about the psychological than the procedural. The mystery wrapped up in a somewhat unsatisfactory way. But it offered fascinating glimpses of life in Uppsala, Sweden - from the loneliness of the single mother to the desperation of a low-life whose only brother has been murdered to

the oddness of being in charge of a murder investigation for the first time.

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LibraryThing member Mooose

Lots of characters to get to know in this mystery. I've finished it and am still not sure they're straight in my head! However, when I read the 2nd one the names should seem more familiar to me. In a way this reminded me of a Ruth Rendell in that there is more than one crime...are they connected?

The reader may know but the police don't and that adds to the tension in the story. I enjoy reading books written in other countries---this was originally in Swedish.

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LibraryThing member ebethe

Not great, but a few clues tie into the end. A better translation would definitely have helped; the language seemed a bit stilted.

LibraryThing member bcquinnsmom

Set in Uppsala, Sweden, as the story opens, the winter weather is terrible, and a son awaits the return of his father, John Harald Jonsson. However, John Jonsson isn't coming home that night, or any other night because he's been murdered. Not only that, but there is evidence that John has been

tortured. His wife, Berit, can't think of anyone that would want to hurt him let alone want him dead. Enter the police department, with the investigation being led by Ola Haver, who has some personal issues of his own, and investigated on the sidelines by Ann Liddell, who's still on maternity leave and really wants to get back to her work on the force.

The book is not only a story of the investigation of John's murder, but focuses on the impact of this crime on not only those left behind, but on the police as individuals. Eriksson's skill here is in her ability to create characters who come off as being real, as well as her ability to create and sustain an incredibly somber atmosphere throughout the novel. The mystery is okay, but there's just something about this woman's writing and her ability to create that transcends the plot. Eriksson's skill here is in her ability to create characters who come off as being real, as well as her ability to create and sustain an incredibly somber atmosphere throughout the novel. The mystery is okay, but there's just something about this woman's writing and her ability to create that transcends the plot.

I would definitely recommend this novel to readers who want something different than what's currently out there. Readers of more mainstream-type mystery novels may be less likely to enjoy this one, but I find European mystery novels, for the most part, to be more to the point, less cutesy and more intense than what's available on most bookstore shelves.

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LibraryThing member maneekuhi

The only thing I disliked about TPOB was the slow start - but only 25 pages or so. The principal characters in a dysfunctional family are introduced, and one soon becomes a murder victim. Then the story takes off. A large and very interesting ensemble cast of police officers are central, as well as

a weird little character from school days of long ago. Excellent story, moves along at a good pace, nicely explores those critical points in our lives which define us, and what if we had taken the other road. Look forward to reading Eriksson's second in this series.

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LibraryThing member annbury

A dense police procedural from Swedish writer Kjell Ericksson, which is in the same league with other Scandinavian greats like Mankell and Fossum. Yet again, we find ourselves in a country town, where the disappearance of a young husband starts a series of terrifying events. The detective,

Inspector Ann Lindell, is believable and engaging, as are most of her colleagues (a few are not so engaging). The characterization is splendid, and the brooding atmosphere of a town in crisis is convincingly conveyed.

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LibraryThing member John

The first I’ve read by this Swedish author who won the Swedish Crime Academy Award for Best Crime Novel. A good, well paced mystery with just enough red-herrings in the plot to keep you guessing. A novel about the secrets that people keep, even from those closest to them, and the misconceptions

that arise from preconceptions and prejudices.

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LibraryThing member cln1812

While Ann Lindell is on maternity leave, she is drawn into the murder of John Jonsson, known as Little John, the younger brother of local small time criminal Lennart Jonsson. Everyone agrees Little John was basically a good man, but it seems he had a scheme up his sleeve and had recently come into

a good deal of money playing poker. A bit bored with being a stay-at-home mom, Lindell cannot resist getting drawn into the case to catch a cold-blooded killer.

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LibraryThing member cmwilson101

The Princess of Burundi by Kjell Eriksson is an interesting and well-plotted mystery featuring Swedish detectives Ann Lindell and Ola Haver. They work together to solve the mystery of who tortured and murdered John Harald Jonsson, an out of work welder and tropical fish enthusiast. As like many

other Scandinavian mysteries, the atmosphere of the country and thoughts of the characters are as important as any action. I like this style but felt this novel lost momentum part way through. However, the writing was eloquent and story was good, so I will undoubtedly pick up the next book in the series.

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LibraryThing member debavp

A bit slow and a lot confusing. One character, a policeman, is always referred to by his full name, even though the other officers and characters were by last names. Some terms could have been explained--for example, "black money"-- was that skimmed profits?, Illegal revenue from a black market

scheme? How did John even know about it? The story made absolutely no sense, which may have been the author's point--murder is senseless.

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LibraryThing member bsquaredinoz

The book opens with the discovery at a snow dump of the body of John Jonsson, unemployed welder and authority on tropical fish. He’s been horribly mutilated and the police must work their way through a technical investigation to discover who killed him. There’s a whole cast of coppers doing the

investigating including the compassionate senior officer an extreme germaphobe and a new mum who’s bored being on maternity leave. They’re an interesting bunch of people. They have insecurities and make mistakes and don’t immediately get all the answers right and are far more deeply philosophical about their horrid jobs than would be the case in American or English crime fiction.

At the same time as the investigation proceeds we’re introduced to Jonsson’s wife, son, brother and friends who are all equally unable to explain the murder. Or are they? Jonsson’s brother Lennart decides to carry out his own investigation into his much-loved brother’s death and stirs up a hornet’s nest or three in the process.

Early on we also meet Vincent and it’s immediately clear he has a few sheep loose in the top paddock (he writes hundreds of complaint letters about everything around him and keeps an old store mannequin in his bed). However watching Vincent’s deterioration into total madness was the highlight of the book for me. The best writing and most credible plot developments involve this aspect of the novel, although in the end quite a lot of this is irrelevant to the main plot which is odd.

The rest of the story is a little bit awkward and the ultimate resolution feels contrived. I don’t mind not predicting the outcome of a mystery (happens all the time) but when revealed there should be a 20-20 hindsight which makes the reader think “ahhhh…of course…I see it now” and this ending provoked more of a "what the...?"

I’ve never been to Sweden but I have certainly built a picture of this corner of it from reading this very evocative book. Alongside the police procedural element of the novel is a social commentary that basically says “life in Uppsala is bleak and if even if you’re not poor or foreign you’ll spend most of your spare moments being miserable and wishing you were somewhere else or some-time else”. All of which might be true but a joke here or a smile there would have provided some much needed balance to the book although I do wonder if my need for a bit of light and shade is my Aussie sensibility showing through.

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LibraryThing member rkreish

Lots of detectives to keep straight (this is the third book in the series, but the first one translated into English).

LibraryThing member TheCrow2

Maybe a bit dry but very realistic crime story from Uppsala with greatly written characters. Some may find it slow pacing and lack of twists but this realism is what I like in it.

LibraryThing member TheDivineOomba

This is a book I didn't like as much as I thought I would - I think I found the plot to convoluted, with too many red herrings, that seemed out of place.

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