Review: Misterioso

Misterioso by Arne Dahl

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



Please Note: I read and reviewed this book in May, 2011 from a copy I received from the Amazon Vine program in exchange for an honest review. Just adding formatting and that disclosure. All opinions are my own.

About the Book: Misterioso is the first in the A-Group series from Arne Dahl, a published author in his native Sweden. You can tell he is an experienced writer by how smoothly this story runs, and by how it sucks you in and keeps you in. Originally published in 1999 in Sweden, it has now been released in the U.S.

My Synopsis: Paul Hjelm arrived on the scene of a hostage situation - an ethnic Kosovor Albanian who, with his family, had been in Sweden a long time, but now due to a legislative ruling he was due to be exported back to Albanian. Hjelm, wanting to make sure the hostage taker would not be killed, rushed in and talked his way into the office, then shot the Kosovor in the arm to cause him to drop the shotgun he was holding.

Hjelm was in the process of being investigated by Internal Affairs and certain that he was going to be fired when, instead, he is brought into a new, elite team of detectives whose sole duty would be to track the worst murderers and serial killers across Sweden, starting with one who is targeting businessmen across Sweden.

My Thoughts: One of the best things about this novel is the extreme care taken to give each of the characters a strong background and various motivations. While they occasionally clash, especially in the early days, the team soon becomes cohesive and close-knit. There are some truly funny moments in this book, too, which I always enjoy. This is a fast-paced book, with lots of twists and turns and the killer is kept mysterious until well toward the end. This is definitely a book that any lovers of thrillers, mystery and suspense will enjoy - don't miss it!



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