Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Cell 8 (Grens & Sundkvist #3)

3.75 of 5 stars 3.75 · rating details · 722 ratings · 139 reviews

FROM THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHORS OF THREE SECONDS...

Detective Superintendent Ewert Grens of THREE SECONDS returns in a riveting mystery that centers on perhaps the most controversial subject in the modern criminal justice system: the death penalty.
In Ohio, seventeen-year-old John Meyer Frey rots on Death Row for the brutal murder of his girlfriend. The victim's...more

Hardcover, 376 pages

Published January 3rd 2012 by SilverOak (first published 2006)

more details... edit details

Get a copy:

More…

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Lists with This Book

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis

Land of Ice and Snow

51st out of 102 books — 39 voters

Best Thriller Books

38th out of 120 books — 17 voters

More lists with this book...

Community Reviews

(showing 1-30 of 1,334)

filter | sort: default (?) | rating details

Dec 20, 2011 Debbie rated it 5 of 5 stars

In a cell in Ohio on death row sits John Meyer Frey for the brutal murder of his girlfriend, after a decade of being there he suddenly dies in his cell, leaving the victims father and a grieving angry nation without retribution.
Six years later a singer on a cruise ship in Sweden is arrested for assault and the case is given to Ewert Grens and his team, the real mystery starts when they find that the man in the cell doesn’t exist.
During the course of investigating the Swedish case evidence arises...more In a cell in Ohio on death row sits John Meyer Frey for the brutal murder of his girlfriend, after a decade of being there he suddenly dies in his cell, leaving the victims father and a grieving angry nation without retribution.
Six years later a singer on a cruise ship in Sweden is arrested for assault and the case is given to Ewert Grens and his team, the real mystery starts when they find that the man in the cell doesn’t exist.
During the course of investigating the Swedish case evidence arises that points to the impossible and links these two seemingly different cases that takes Grens, Hermansson and Sundkvist into not only legal waters but the dangerous deep waters of international politics, the different beliefs of two nations on the death penalty and the fine line they have to tow to keep all around peace. Especially when everything starts pointing to a long ago conspiracy.

Roslund and Hellstrom will blow you out of the water with this their latest novel starring the irrepressible and do things his own way or the highway, Ewert Grens. Adrenaline junkies will get that extra shot they require to keep them invested in a read while the rest of us quiver, sweat and bite our nails to get through it. As different as it is from Three Seconds it gives us that same feel of unanswerable questions that bring us to that ah-ha moment when it all makes sense and the pieces start fitting together. And although we get there we never stop wanting to turn the page to find out how it will turn out, who will survive and why this one has to die. But this time they go us one better and get into the politics of one nations view over another, the consequences when those views happen to collide and the fallout that collision causes and then they’ll drop kick us with an ending that will blow your socks off, make you shake your head and question the beliefs you thought were built on solid ground that’s now been disturbed by an earthquake. Yep it’s one heck of a mystery, a crime drama that expands nations, continents and decades, that uncovers the dark side of capital punishment, that tests the waters of diplomacy and gives readers one heck of a ride from start to finish.

If you liked Three Seconds you will LOVE Cell 8, if you’re starting to tire of the hoopla that surrounds Stieg Larsson try a real live team who knows how to write a story, one that will please the peoples of multiple languages and multiple nations. It’ll be your first must read of the new year and it’ll show up on the best of lists in 2012 because no one will stop talking about it, stop passing it around or stop buying it.
(less)

3 likes · like · see review

Oct 05, 2011 Nancy Oakes rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: translated-fiction, scandinavian-crime-fiction-and-myst

I do hate the inflexible star-rating procedure here ... I would give this book a 3.75 (like it, didn't love it) but here it's a 4. And this is the short review; if you want a longer one, click here.

Sliding in between the Roslund-Hellstrom writing duo's Box 21 and their award-winning Three Seconds at number three in the Ewert Grens series, Cell 8 is by far much different than anything else these authors have yet produced. For one thing, a great deal of the action takes place in the U.S.; for ano...more I do hate the inflexible star-rating procedure here ... I would give this book a 3.75 (like it, didn't love it) but here it's a 4. And this is the short review; if you want a longer one, click here.

Sliding in between the Roslund-Hellstrom writing duo's Box 21 and their award-winning Three Seconds at number three in the Ewert Grens series, Cell 8 is by far much different than anything else these authors have yet produced. For one thing, a great deal of the action takes place in the U.S.; for another, the subject matter is extremely controversial, and will keep crime-fiction readers debating the main issue for a long while, especially here in America.

John Schwarz is a family man, living with his wife and young son in Stockholm. He is employed as a band singer on the Åbo ferry between Stockholm and Finland, and one night while he's at work, in the middle of a song, he sees a drunk passenger give some unwanted attention to a young woman on the dance floor. Thinking about the two women in his life (one from an earlier time, one his wife), he sees red, loses his temper, and before he knows it, he's beating up the passenger, ending with kicks to his head, landing the guy in the hospital. Security is called; the Stockholm cops are there to meet him as the ferry docks in Stockholm. He manages to avoid them and to get back to his apartment and his wife, and he knows it's only a matter of time before the police catch up to him. When they finally have him at the station, he refuses to talk, but ultimately, routine identification procedures identify him as John Meyer Frey, an American citizen using a Canadian passport. But there's a slight problem: John Meyer Frey died some years ago, while awaiting his execution on Death Row at a prison in Ohio. Ewert Grens is very interested in the case, interested in seeking justice at first because he knows all too well what may lay ahead for someone suffering injuries to the brain, but later because of the sad and frustrating circumstances surrounding the events that he had unwittingly set into motion. There's another person interested in the Schwarz case as well -- a man who has lived an empty and tormented life after missing the retribution he had waited on for years.

Roslund and Hellstrom also use this novel as a platform to explore several topics related to state-sponsored executions: the behind-the-scenes politicking involved in fanning the flames of popular support for the death penalty; the problems inherent with the death penalty, especially the possibility of innocence in a capital case; the obligations of nations regarding extradition policies and the politics of the national players at the highest levels, and putting all of these components together, the human toll on both sides of the issue. The criminals in this case, really, are the politicians; the authors spare absolutely no effort getting their points and politics across.

This book is guaranteed to cause a stir when it's released here in the U.S. -- in a country so divided in its opinions about the death penalty, I'm not sure how this novel is going to be received. Be that as it may, even though this is not the authors' usual crime-fiction fare, I liked it -- beyond the story set around John Schwarz, what really impressed me was the behind-the-scenes look at politics involved in capital cases here in the U.S., as well as the rather dodgy actions of international governments where extradition politics are concerned. While this book may be a case of preaching to the choir, so to speak, it's still a very worthwhile read. Don't give up on it... when it begins it's a bit confusing for a while, but hang in there. (less)

5 likes · like · see review

May 01, 2012 Maddy rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011-reads

PROTAGONIST: Inspector Ewert Grens
SETTING: Stockholm, Sweden, and US
SERIES: #3 translated
RATING: 3.25

At the age of seventeen, John Meyer Frey was convicted of murdering his girlfriend, Elizabeth Finnigan. He has been on death row in the Ohio prison system for several years. He has always proclaimed his innocence, but to no avail. Now he spends his time dealing with the inner clock that ticks off the time until his death. He has an unlikely ally in the senior corrections officer, Vernon Eriksen,...more PROTAGONIST: Inspector Ewert Grens
SETTING: Stockholm, Sweden, and US
SERIES: #3 translated
RATING: 3.25

At the age of seventeen, John Meyer Frey was convicted of murdering his girlfriend, Elizabeth Finnigan. He has been on death row in the Ohio prison system for several years. He has always proclaimed his innocence, but to no avail. Now he spends his time dealing with the inner clock that ticks off the time until his death. He has an unlikely ally in the senior corrections officer, Vernon Eriksen, who has come to realize that putting men to death is a barbaric practice, one that often eliminates the innocent. For some time now, he has managed to absent himself from the actual executions. In fact, unbeknownst to his employers, he has become active in the anti death penalty movement. And then an unusual event occurs—before the state can put him to death, John dies in his cell. Elizabeth’s father, Edward, is enraged by the fact that he has been cheated of watching Frey die. He is an embittered man, become even more so after being denied retribution.

Six years later, a singer named John Schwartz brutally attacks a man who has been harassing a woman while dancing on a ferry between Sweden and Finland, leaving the man in a coma. The case is assigned to Ewert Grens of the Stockholm police. In checking the perpetrator’s background, he finds some very puzzling information. Schwartz is in the country on a Canadian passport. It turns out that the real passport owner is dead. As the investigation proceeds, an incredible finding results—Schwartz appears to be John Meyer Frey. He has almost no recollection of his “death” nor how he managed to end up in Sweden.

Of course, the Swedish police must reveal that they have Frey in custody. That opens up some very complicated issues. The United States and Sweden have an extradition agreement, and the authorities are required to return Schwartz/Frey to the US. However, Sweden has no death penalty. How in good conscience can they release a man to be executed? CELL 8 presents an interesting debate on the basic ethical situation. Grens in particular struggles with the order to release Schwartz. However, he has been told in no uncertain terms that he must cooperate or lose his job. Will he find a way around the life-and-death dilemma?

Although the core of the book presents an interesting take on the merits of the death penalty, the plotting left a lot to be desired. The book is overly long and presented Frey’s background in far too much detail. A lot of information was repeated numerous times, making the plot feel very redundant and slowing the pacing considerably. My enjoyment of the book was further diminished by a resolution that came completely out of left field.

On the positive side, there is more focus on Ewert Grens’ personal life than in the earlier books. For the first time, I really understood the dynamics of the relationship between Grens and the woman he loves, Anni, who suffered brain damage as a result of an action of Ewert’s. He visits her frequently; despite the fact that she doesn’t speak, he finds he needs to talk to her. In a touching sub-plot, one of Grens’ colleagues, Mariana Hermansson, helps him to experience a touch of joy once again.

I very much enjoyed the other two books that have been translated in this series, BOX 21 and THREE SECONDS. Roslund and Hellstrom have come up with a unique approach with the major focus in each of the books on transitory characters rather than Grens. Although this book didn’t quite work for me, I find the collaboration of journalist Anders Roslund and ex-criminal Borge Hellstrom produces compelling and intelligent crime fiction; and I look forward to reading more in the series.
(less)

1 like · like · see review

Feb 01, 2012 Joy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: won-review-completed

I won an advance reading copy of Cell 8 by Roslund & Hellstrom through goodreads. Exellent book!! It was so great to read a story with a unique plot. Altough the story is about the faultiness of the death penalty, I think any reader would enjoy it no matter what their person view. There is no preaching.

Some of the character development and their relationships seem to have no bearing on the story, but I enjoyed them just the same. For example, while Grens' relationship with his wife was touc...more

1 like · like · see review

Jun 06, 2013 Roger rated it 5 of 5 stars

Swedes Anders Roslund and Borge Hellstrom are, respectively, a TV journalist and an ex-con turned campaigner for crime prevention through rehabilitation. They have been writing together since 2004. Cell 8 is the third of their seven novels - the latest. Two Soldiers, was published in Sweden in 2012.

Ostensibly it is Nordic Noir. That is doubtless why it was translated into English. But it is more than simple crime fiction. There is a theme here - the moral dilemma of the death penalty. The way th...more

like · see review

Sep 06, 2012 Mike Barker rated it 3 of 5 stars

The opening was a little confusing because we were jumping amongst a couple of time periods as well as a couple of locations and several characters. But once I got into the second part, things evened out. Ewert Grens is yet another middle-aged, frumpy, wounded, curmudgeonly police detective, distinguished by the fact that he is Swedish. I like him okay, but wonder if there is another typs of detective out there somewhere. The main premise, that a guy dodges execution in prison because some conce...more

like · see review

Aug 30, 2012 Barbara rated it 5 of 5 stars

Cell 8
Roslund & Hellstrom

This is a most unusual story. It starts in Cell 8, Death Row, in Ohio. A young man has been condemned to death for killing his girlfriend. Her father is a friend and advisor to the governor of Ohio, and his trial was swift and deadly. Now, he sits in the cell, counting the days, the hours and minutes, down to his death.
The story jumps to a cruise ferry crossing between Finland and Sweden. The entertainer, a singer, watches a drunken man fondle several women, and it...more Cell 8
Roslund & Hellstrom

This is a most unusual story. It starts in Cell 8, Death Row, in Ohio. A young man has been condemned to death for killing his girlfriend. Her father is a friend and advisor to the governor of Ohio, and his trial was swift and deadly. Now, he sits in the cell, counting the days, the hours and minutes, down to his death.
The story jumps to a cruise ferry crossing between Finland and Sweden. The entertainer, a singer, watches a drunken man fondle several women, and it makes him angry. From the stage, he tells the man to stop. Instead, the man comes up to singer and makes an obscene gesture. The entertainer is so angry, he loses control and kicks the man in the face, knocking him out.
The singer is arrested for aggravated assault and taken to jail. It is obvious immediately that his behavior is not normal for someone arrested. Inspector Grens feels righteous about the arrest – after all, this man had assaulted someone and he deserved his punishment.
From here forth, the book delves into the death penalty – is it right or wrong? Is a country who considers the death penalty wrong obligated to return an escaped prisoner from their country to the death penalty country, knowing the punishment will be upheld? If this country does return a prisoner, and he is put to death, should the citizens of the host country be upset with their government for returning the prisoner? How do you explain the death penalty to children? How do you justify the death penalty when it involves an innocent person? If you were somehow involved, even in a legal role, in someone else dying of the death penalty, how guilty are you?
There is nothing about this book that makes the reader feel good, but it is immensely engaging. The authors have woven a tale that grips the reader and makes us think about the death penalty and what the ramifications are, far beyond the obvious. A great deal of thought and discussion obviously went into the plot, and the story continues to the last page to twist and turn.

(less)

like · see review

May 25, 2012 Gloria Feit rated it 5 of 5 stars

The focus of this novel is the controversy over the death penalty, the plot is a mystery wrapped in an enigma. Playing a minor role in the story is, of course, Detective Superintend Ewert Grens, who was introduced to readers in the widely acclaimed “Three Seconds” a year ago. “Cell 8” is more of a polemic than an old-fashioned crime novel, often seeming merely a dry tract supporting arguments against capital punishment.

Nevertheless, after a rather slow beginning, the book develops into an intere...more

like · see review

May 19, 2012 Barbara Bryant rated it 3 of 5 stars

This review is actually a 2 1/2, not a 3. I read it after and because of the novel Three Seconds, by the same authors, which I really liked a lot and found terribly clever and unusual. I am deeper into the Swedish crime genre than a few years ago and still enjoy the dark, sometimes perverse examples of the art.

This book, however, disappointed me. It was set too much in America, for instance. I read Swedish for Sweden, although you get plenty of Sweden here, too. The story gives a large part of i...more This review is actually a 2 1/2, not a 3. I read it after and because of the novel Three Seconds, by the same authors, which I really liked a lot and found terribly clever and unusual. I am deeper into the Swedish crime genre than a few years ago and still enjoy the dark, sometimes perverse examples of the art.

This book, however, disappointed me. It was set too much in America, for instance. I read Swedish for Sweden, although you get plenty of Sweden here, too. The story gives a large part of itself away at the beginning of the book and a lot of what you are reading toward is a complete explanation of the way an event happened that you already know about. An American man waits on Death Row for his execution for the murder of a young woman. Six years later, a man is picked up in Sweden after brutally kicking another man on a ferry, and it is discovered that there is a connection between the cases. It is interesting, as Three Seconds was, that you bounce around countries a little bit in search of the real story of the man who kicked the stranger and got found out because of it, but there is really just an accidental connection there that doesn't matter too much. The extra mysteries that are tossed in--who did the original murder, and did police Superintendent Ewert Grens really see his wife do what she seemed to have done--add some interest to the story, but Grens is so deeply weird that I really can't account for his having a job at all and I have to keep cringing all over again about his wife's past injury that so haunts him. The new woman in the cast, Detective Inspector Herrmansson is a welcome relief as a normal human.

I am trying to avoid spoilers, here, which makes this incoherent. I can recommend this book as a fair read, but it is not up to the first one I read and I will think a little before I try a third. The characters in the book are interesting, with an asterisk next to Ewert Grens and the American father of one of the murder victims--too bizarre even for me. The subject of the death penalty is also, for me, a good attraction as a reason for the story to be told, and is an interesting pointer to the history of this barbaric practice in both countries.(less)

like · see review

Jan 10, 2012 Luanne Ollivier rated it 5 of 5 stars

Roslund and Hellström's first novel, Three Seconds, hit bestseller lists in their native Sweden and in the US.

Their latest book, Cell 8, opens in the US - in a prison on death row. John Meyer Frey was sentenced to death at 17, for a murder he says he didn't commit.

On the other side of the world in Sweden, John Schwartz assaults another man. He is remanded to jail, but his reaction to being locked up is unsettling. John knows..."He had to get away from there. He couldn't face dying again."

The ca...more Roslund and Hellström's first novel, Three Seconds, hit bestseller lists in their native Sweden and in the US.

Their latest book, Cell 8, opens in the US - in a prison on death row. John Meyer Frey was sentenced to death at 17, for a murder he says he didn't commit.

On the other side of the world in Sweden, John Schwartz assaults another man. He is remanded to jail, but his reaction to being locked up is unsettling. John knows..."He had to get away from there. He couldn't face dying again."

The case is brought to the attention of Swedish Detective Inspector Ewert Grens. But..."He could not possibly know that this single act of violence was linked to a murder, and was the continuation of a process that had started many years ago, far away; it would prove to be the most extraordinary criminal investigation he had ever come across."

I really don't want to give away any more of the plot. Roslund and Hellström have concocted an ingenious, devious plot that makes for a fantastic read. Flashbacks within the current timeline provide the answers from the past. The levels of machinations, manipulations and recriminations are masterful. I kept telling myself 'just one more chapter' and then I'll shut down for the night...I was up very late. But the story also touches on a issue that is controversial in any country - the death penalty. Roslund and Hellström provide social commentary through their characters, both for and against.

I was really hoping that this writing duo would bring back Grens again. He is a complicated character - emotionally wounded, very eccentric and clever. "Detective Inspector Ewert Grens was the sort of person that people moved away from on the pavement, the sort of man who is heard without having to say a word." But there are some chinks in his armour against the world in Cell 8. We learn more about his past and he lets his guard down with a new arrival on his team. I'm not quite sure if I like him or not - my opinion changed throughout the novel. But I am intrigued by him, especially since we have been allowed a personal glimpse.

The supporting cast members are also very well drawn. The hate of the father of Frey's victim is palpable, pulsating on the page. I enjoy the interactions between the members of Grens' team - the addition of young Hermannson has interjected a new dynamic, in many ways.

The run up to the ending of the book had me frantically turning pages and hoping for a certain ending. But I was caught off guard by the direction the authors took. And I love it - not being able to predict what will happen makes the read all the more enjoyable.

What makes this writing duo unique is their backgrounds. Anders Roslund is a award winning journalist who specialized in criminal and social issues and Hellström is an ex-criminal who worked with newly released prisoners stay on the straight and narrow. Their experience shows in their writing - it has a gritty, real tone that will grab you from first page to last.
(less)

1 like · like · see review

Jan 16, 2012 Ann rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: crime

In reading this book it seems that it is about John Meyer Frey, a seventeen year old convicted of the murder of his sixteen year old girlfriend as he waits on death row and the countdown to his death. The story hightlights the question of the death sentence as an act of justice or an act of retribution and questions the absolute truth, of 'an eye for an eye' with those who agree and advocate the death sentence as a just sentencing. Yet these are cowardly people; they never have to take their vie...more

1 like · like · see review

Aug 17, 2011 Ken Eveleigh rated it 4 of 5 stars

Roslund & Hellstrom like to come at a story sideways. You never know quite where they are headed in the first 25-50 pages but you know from previous experience that if you stick with it just a bit longer you will be rewarded with an interesting tale. Cell 8 is no exception. I thought I had it figured out a couple of times, came close with the ending, but they still pulled off a coup. This is a story about the death penalty in the United States, a slightly incredulous escape from a maximum se...more

1 like · like · see review

Nov 14, 2011 Skjam! rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: mystery, firstreads, europe, published-2001-2010

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Disclaimer: I received this advanced reading copy from the publisher as part of the Firstreads giveaway program on the assumption that I would review it.

"Cell 8" is part of the Scandanavian thriller/mystery fad currently going onand appears to be the second book featuring Swedish police detective Ewert Grens.

I'm going to go right into spoilers here; this is less of a mystery book (though there is a mystery) than a soapbox. The authors don't like the death penalty and were clearly itching to writ...more Disclaimer: I received this advanced reading copy from the publisher as part of the Firstreads giveaway program on the assumption that I would review it.

"Cell 8" is part of the Scandanavian thriller/mystery fad currently going onand appears to be the second book featuring Swedish police detective Ewert Grens.

I'm going to go right into spoilers here; this is less of a mystery book (though there is a mystery) than a soapbox. The authors don't like the death penalty and were clearly itching to write about how much they don't like it. Problem is, Sweden doesn't *have* the death penalty, and hasn't for quite some time. So, the story requires some elaborate and contrived setup to get our Swedish police officers involved with an American death penalty case.

The convict in question is extremely sympathetic and the case against him is suspiciously thin, even before later revelations, while the main spokesperson for the pro-death penalty viewpoint is an extremely unlikeable nutcase.

Truth be told, Grens and the other Swedes don't actually have much to do here; some subplots are advanced, but in the end, both the start and resolution of the central plotline are in far-off Ohio, where our main characters never go.

As for that resolution, it is, to say the least, outlandish and requires some serious suspension of disbelief that the killer's plan never once went off-track, relying on, as it does, literally hundreds of people acting *exactly* as predicted.

The good news: For a soapbox, it's quite well written, and I liked Grens and his colleagues (even the annoying ones.) The authors have clearly done their research on the physical "how" of execution, even if they gloss over the difference between American states' attitudes towards the death penalty.

I suspect that the translator is more used to British than American English, based on a small slip of naming towards the beginning. Also, several words are italicized unnecessarily. I suspect they were in English in the original, and someone overlooked the transliteration issue.

I can'[t wholeheartedly recommend this book, but if you liked "Three Seconds" and want more of Ewert Grens, or are very tolerant of soapboxing, it's not a bad novel.(less)

1 like · like · see review

Jul 09, 2012 Lisa Sansone rated it 3 of 5 stars

This is VERY different from the other book I read by them (3 Seconds). This one is more of a simple tale about the death penalty, by writers who pretty clearly oppose it. There is a twist end, though for some reason, I saw it coming a mile away. My main problem with this duo is that they have almost a nasty, sadistic streak to their writing (meaning, I feel like they get some degree of twisted pleasure in the bleakness and perversion), which I find really annoying and unpleasant - especially whe...more

like · see review

Jul 08, 2012 Carmen rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: mystery-and-thrillers

The other two books I have read by these authors were mysteries. This one wasn't really, which was a bit of disppointment. Kind of like expecting chocolate cake and getting lemon. Good, but not what you were craving or expecting.

A man is beaten. His attacker is arrested. Then the first twist starts. The man is actually using false ID and is a convicted American killer who was reported as dead in the Ohio prison he was in on death row. How did he end up alive and in Stockholm? What will happen...more

like · see review

Nov 14, 2011 Marlena rated it 5 of 5 stars

Wow. This is one of the best books I have read in a long time. Pretty intense and incredible plot. The authors are from Sweden and have won awards for past titles. I talked about this at a book club that I go to as we were discussing the issue of guns and the death penalty. A young man is on death row in Ohio. In Sweden, a fellow is caught and charged with a crime. The two worlds end up intersecting, with the issue of the death penalty and the rightness/wrongness of it (and the issue of wrong co...more

1 like · like · see review

Dec 10, 2012 Elyse Rudin rated it 2 of 5 stars

This book came recommended to me by two close friends. We are still close but I must have a parting of the ways regarding this book. This is the fourth book in a row I could not finish. I've lost my reading mojo. I had to stop this book at page 133. It's by a duo from Sweden. I'm usually a fan of this genre but the mystery left me wanting more. I find the character development lacking and I really didn't care how the book ends. It takes place in Sweden and Ohio. A convict is presumed to have die...more

like · see review

Feb 03, 2013 Bernie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: scandinavian-crime-fiction

Cell 8 is the third Roslund and Hellström novel that I have read. I continue to enjoy the series and its main detective Ewert Grens. The previous volumes in the series “Three Seconds” and “Box 21” just as just as inventive as this.
The story is no secret a man who died in a US prison on death row turns up in Sweden on assault charges. The story weaves retribution around an anti-capital punishment stand. The novel explores the value of capital punishment in from a very personal perspective. The me...more

like · see review

Aug 24, 2012 Drew Buddie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Having really enjoyed 3 Seconds, I knew that this book would be a rollercoaster read and I was not let down in that regard. I did find some of the coincidences too convenient from time to time, but what I was really impressed with was the way that the book rattled along at a tremendous pace without compromising on the quality of the writing. It is a book that has at its core, one main message about the Death Penalty and atlough it flits about from country to country, it ends up being clear how t...more

like · see review

Feb 17, 2012 Eyehavenofilter rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites, scan-nor-rus-crime

From Ohio to Sweden with a quick extridition to Russia, then back to the US of A, this novel whisks the reader along on a trial by ice and misguided loyalties. Many tragic decisions and red herrings are thrown on the path deftly written by the unlikely pair of authors Roslund and Hellstrom.( minus the umlaute)(sp) this is a softer Scandinavian drama than Nesbo, Latsson, or Smith but well worth the read. A sad cautionary tale of sacrifice and time badly wasted, all depending on your point of view...more

like · see review

Sep 10, 2012 Skip rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: crime-detective, foreign-authors

This book had a great plot: opponents of capital punishment smuggle a wrongly convicted man out of prison in Ohio prior to his execution. When he is arrested for attempted murder/aggravated assault of a drunken lout on a ferry crossing into Stockholm, Detective Ewert Grens has to figure out who he is. There was even a good political battle as to whether Sweden would capitulate and extradite a man in contravention of its policy against capital punishment; however, Sweden and Grens both wimp out,...more

like · see review

Feb 23, 2012 Kate rated it 5 of 5 stars

I was surprised to find that this book's story started in Ohio. How were we going to get to Sweden? I was hooked and the plot twists and turns kept me guessing even after the connection was revealed. The prison break was a somewhat believable stretch of the imagination with John assuming a new identity and a new life. Once discovered and taken into custody by Grens, his true identity is revealed and extradition procedures are started. Now comes the death penalty commentary and the fight Grens an...more

like · see review

Feb 05, 2012 Felicity rated it 2 of 5 stars

I'm a big fan of Ewert Grens, so I found the fact that this book ultimately moved its focus away from Grens and his team a tad annoying. It was even more irritating given that the book did so in order to be preachy about the death penalty...whether preaching against the American states that explicitly endorse the practice, or the Swedish government that implicitly does so. I don't read Swedish murder mysteries in order to receive a sermon. That said, the book is well-written and the mystery intr...more

like · see review

Jun 16, 2012 Krys Gut rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction

This Scandinavian suspense book follows the story of a young man on death row for the killing of his young girlfriend when they were both teenagers. He is innocent, but after futile efforts at proving his innocence, an activist group mobilizes a creative way to bust him out of death row.

He lives a good life on the outside, and eventually marries and has a child. He eventually makes a mistake and his identity is revealed, after which he is brought back to the US and put back on death row and eve...more

like · see review

Jan 17, 2012 Jane rated it 3 of 5 stars

This pair's Three seconds is gripping. Cell 8 left me uneasy, unfulfilled, feeling just a bit cheated. Yes, this novel too was gripping, but the plot evolved past of the point of being believable. The point is that in applying the death penalty we make terrible mistakes. Grisham makes the point in The Confession, and he does so in a way I could take at face value. I imagine I'll read the next one by Roslund & Hellstrom (even though I have sworn off Scandinavian murder mysteries), and my expe...more

1 like · like · see review

Aug 25, 2012 Stacia rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: crime-fiction, nordic, 2012

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

like · see review

Apr 06, 2012 Stephen rated it 4 of 5 stars

Does one get a chance to live two lives…..maybe and maybe not. John Meyer Frey is on death row in Marcusville, Ohio waiting to be executed for the murder of his 16 year old girl friend, Elizabeth Finnegan. For almost a decade Edward Finnegan has waited for some closure for the murder of his daughter. And so starts the latest thriller from Swedish award winning authors Anders Roslund & Borge Hellstrom.
On death row, one is known by his cell number and there is nothing to do but to count the...more

like · see review

Jul 17, 2012 Su rated it 5 of 5 stars

It has been quite some time since I have read a book that I enjoyed as much as this one. It was a two fold story, part murder mystery and part ethical discuassion. Both were riveting. I could feel my heart race as I neared the end of the book. A small quibble would be the author's use of a timeline. At times it was confusing and at other times I had to reread a portion to make sure I understood what the author meant. Not enough of a problem to have me dock this even 1/2 star. A very good book.

like · see review

Feb 15, 2012 Dick Gullickson rated it 3 of 5 stars

Recommended to Dick by: Janie

3.5. This is compelling critique of capital punishment wrapped up in the guise of a Detective Superintendent Ewert Grens mystery novel. As Janie pointed out in her review, this is a pretty good mystery about the miraculous escape from death row in an Ohio prison to a life as a singer on a Finland to Sweden ferry boat. The deficiency is the implausible ending. Still, a pretty good read through 90% of the book and another addition to the growing library of scandinavian mysteries.

like · see review

Mar 17, 2012 Hannah rated it 1 of 5 stars

Great read, well written, so many twists and turn, hard to put down and even when I thought it had reach a slow down point that I was about to lose interest it took off again and I was hooked. I'm never sure of European writers, I don't always feel as involved, something in the translation, I'm happiest with British and American writers/stories but I really enjoyed this and wasn't expecting the final twist which really pulled me in and satisfied me. Great Read.

like · see review

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 … 44 45 next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

topics	posts	views	last activity
Do these books link?	5	12	Nov 20, 2012 04:04pm
Same as Cell 8	1	1	Mar 05, 2012 04:11am

combine
Other Editions (32)

More editions...

Genres

Mystery > Crime

23 users

Mystery

13 users

Thriller

12 users

Suspense

6 users

European Literature > Scandinavian Literature

6 users

European Literature > Swedish Literature

3 users

Cultural > Sweden

3 users

Thriller > Mystery Thriller

2 users

See top shelves...

Readers also enjoyed similar books

Burned
by Thomas Enger
Midvinterblod
by Mons Kallentoft
Another Time, Another Life
by Leif G.W. Persson
En plats i solen
by Liza Marklund
Münsters Fall
by Håkan Nesser

About Anders Roslund

Anders Roslund is a Swedish author and journalist. He is the founder and former head of Kulturnyheterna (Culture News) on SVT, Sweden's national television broadcaster. For many years he worked as a news reporter – specializing in criminal and social issues – and as an Editor-in-chief at Rapport and Aktuellt, the two major News programmes on SVT.

Roslund regularly collaborates with Börge Hellström,...more

More about Anders Roslund...

Books by Anders Roslund

More…

Share This Book

Facebook Twitter Your website

Trivia About Cell 8

No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »

title link	preview: Cell 8
avg rating	preview: Cell 8 Goodreads rating: 3.75 (722 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11080460-cell-8?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1328767572l/11080460.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11080460-cell-8?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Cell 8 by Anders Roslund[/url]

Cell 8 (Grens & Sundkvist #3)

Friend Reviews

Community Reviews

Share This Book

Share This Book on Your Website