Borkmann's Point (Inspector Van Veeteren #2)

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Borkmann's Point (Inspector Van Veeteren #2)

by Håkan Nesser, Laurie Thompson (Translator)

3.7 of 5 stars 3.70 · rating details · 2,120 ratings · 217 reviews

International Bestseller

Internationally bestselling author Häkan Nesser makes his U.S. debut with this riveting tale of murder and suspense that reveals the deep humanity of the characters portrayed even as it sends chills up the spine.

Chief Inspector Van Veeteren is called to the sleepy coastal town of Kalbringen to assist the local police in the investigation of two rece...more

Paperback, 336 pages

Published March 13th 2007 by Vintage (first published 1994)

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Oct 31, 2010 Tony rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction-crime-detection

Nesser, Hakan. BORKMANN’S POINT. (1994; Eng. trans. 2006). ****. Here’s an early Inspector Van Veeteren mystery that I could swear I’d read before, but I’m at an age where nothing much would surprise me. Van Veeteren is very much like a Swedish Poirot; he uses his little gray cells to his benefit to solve crimes. The crimes in this tale are particularly gruesome – there’s an axe murderer loose in Kaalbringen. The local force is small, and they request help from Stockholm. Bring on Van Veeteren!...more

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Jul 03, 2012 Rod rated it 4 of 5 stars

This excellent crime novel falls within the sub-genre of police procedural. The author may have been influenced by the Martin Beck series of Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö. We have the same interest in police procedure evidenced, for example, by the painstaking efforts of Inspector Kropke with his pins of many colours stuck into a map, the quoting verbatim of an interview as dialogue in transcript form, and van Veeteren’s habit of chewing on a tooth-pick lifted from the same habit of the Malmö detec...more This excellent crime novel falls within the sub-genre of police procedural. The author may have been influenced by the Martin Beck series of Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö. We have the same interest in police procedure evidenced, for example, by the painstaking efforts of Inspector Kropke with his pins of many colours stuck into a map, the quoting verbatim of an interview as dialogue in transcript form, and van Veeteren’s habit of chewing on a tooth-pick lifted from the same habit of the Malmö detective, Per Månsson, in the Martin Beck series. All of these could be coincidental, of course, but Nesser is also Swedish so, unlike the rest of us, did not have to wait for translations, and the Martin Beck series was complete before Nesser started writing.

Nesser sets the action in the fictional town of Kaalbringen, and since he does not tell us where it is we can guess if we want, though we don’t have to. Most of the names in the book are Dutch, but quite a few are German as well. Since Kaalbringen is on the coast we might suspect that it is situated on the Dutch coast, on the Belgian coast in the Flemish part of the country (not likely, if we look at the map), or perhaps on the German coast in an area with a Dutch enclave. The author may have drawn a plan of the area for his own guidance but, if so, it isn’t included in the book. I can see only one advantage in creating a fictional location like this, namely, that no one can say, ‘But that wasn’t how things were done in Kaalbringen in 1994!’

Three men are killed by having an axe firmly planted in the back of their neck, the axe being left there after the third murder. This suggests that the third murder may be the last and that the murderer had definite reasons for murdering these three people but also that he is unlikely to murder anyone else. The problem is figuring out what the three men have in common, and it proves to be intractable.

The lead detective is van Veeteren, who has many years of experience. His character is well drawn, as are those of some of the other characters. We know that he lives alone and is probably lonely as well. For example, when he sees a colleague at the grave of his wife he feels envious, presumably of the closeness the couple had shared in the past.

Beate Moerk, the officer who first notices a major clue, is kidnapped by the murderer and so is unable to pass her information on to the team. But this is not the murderer’s motive for kidnapping her. He wants someone to whom he can explain why he acted as he did. He does this in instalments, taking a lengthy break between each explanation. The only weakness of the book lies in the suggestion that he has not made up his mind what to do with Moerk when his story is complete. He had clear reasons for murdering his three victims, none at all for harming Beate Moerk. Quite the opposite, in fact, though I can’t reveal why without spoiling the book for the reader.

Comparing those sections where the reader is with the murderer to similar sections in other books, they are superior to any I have read. Although Moerk’s situation is serious and unpleasant, we are taken into the mind of the killer and meet someone who has had much sorrow to bear and acquaints us with it well. The killer’s actions are unusually clearly motivated.

This is a thoughtful book and the quality of the writing is high.
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Dec 10, 2011 bookczuk rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Carolyn (in SC) C234D Lattanzio

Recommended to bookczuk by: nancy oakes

Shelves: bookcrossing, great-title, read-on-recommendation, not-a-cozy-mystery-more-a-thriller, nordic-break-out-the-herring

Kind of a funny thing about this book. I read a review by a friend and put it on my wish list, then forgot about it.

Two years later, I found a copy of Borkmann's Point at the local Goodwill and grabbed it up, confusing Nesser's Van Veeteren with the mystery writer Janwillem Lincoln van de Wetering, and his wonderful series of books starring Grijpstra and de Gier, a pair of Amsterdam police officers. The book was snagged by my darling husband, who is a huge fan of Scandinavian mystery writers. He...more Kind of a funny thing about this book. I read a review by a friend and put it on my wish list, then forgot about it.

Two years later, I found a copy of Borkmann's Point at the local Goodwill and grabbed it up, confusing Nesser's Van Veeteren with the mystery writer Janwillem Lincoln van de Wetering, and his wonderful series of books starring Grijpstra and de Gier, a pair of Amsterdam police officers. The book was snagged by my darling husband, who is a huge fan of Scandinavian mystery writers. He liked the book a great deal. He returned it to me to read, but before I could get to it, he loaned it out to a mutual friend, who had it since December. She returned it two weeks ago, and I again put it on my TBR pile. Then, the day of our BookCrossing meetup, he handed me a pile of books to take, pointing to this book, and asked that I give it to Kiptrix to read. That did it. I'd reached my Borkmann's point ("the point beyond which we really don't need any more information. When we reach that point, we already know enough to solve the case by means of nothing more than some decent thinking. " ) I knew that I had all the information I needed. If I didn't read this book NOW, I'd have to wait another two years. I took the hint, and devoured the book in a day.

Well written mystery, with a really great lead character, who will keep me seeking out other books in the series. The story was well paced, the plot with enough twists and turns to keep the reader occupied. (It's my firm belief that plot summaries are readily available elsewhere. I prefer to give you my thoughts and feelings about the books I read.) I found myself easily visualizing the police chief's cottages lost in the tangle of roses, the lonely cliff side and beach of coastal Kaalbringen, a sleepy town awake with fear from two recent ax murders. But most of all, it is the quirky nature and quiet intelligence of the inspector that charmed me. I am very glad that at the closing of my local Indie bookstore, I had the foresight to snag Van Veeteren #3 (now being read by javaczuk.)(less)

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Dec 23, 2012 Susan rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: mysteries, scandinavia

Dec. 22, 2012: except that I knew the solution, just as good second time around.

June 26, 2009: How long will it take clever Swedish chief inspector Van Veeteren off his native turf to find an ax-murderer in Kalbringen? Long enough for Hakan Nesser to give a complete analysis of a postcard-pretty Swedish beach town. Anyone can be the murderer or fall in love while Van Veeteren swaps chess moves and enjoys prime wine with the local head of police who is about to retire. Great example of the kind o...more

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Jan 08, 2013 Jenny rated it 5 of 5 stars

I loved this book, and now I want to read more Inspector Van Veeteren mysteries by Hakan Nesser. An axmurderer? How cliche, right. Think again. This mystery is smart, post-modern, and defintely worth your time. Excellent character development, intriguing and economical narrative with just the right amount of philosophical musings.

Borkmann's point was an insight given to Inspector Van Veeteren by his superior early in Van Veetern's career, "In every investigation, he maintained, there comes a po...more

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Feb 28, 2012 Bonnie Brody rated it 4 of 5 stars

Borkmann's Point: An Inspector Van Veeteren Mystery is a Swedish import by Hakan Nesser. Borkmann's point refers to an axiom provided to Inspector Van Veeteren. Basically, the point is that in an investigation, there comes a time when there is enough information gathered to solve the crime. More information is useless and less information is not enough.

The gist of this novel is about an axe murderer who has killed three men by chopping off their heads. This serial killer is on the loose in the s...more Borkmann's Point: An Inspector Van Veeteren Mystery is a Swedish import by Hakan Nesser. Borkmann's point refers to an axiom provided to Inspector Van Veeteren. Basically, the point is that in an investigation, there comes a time when there is enough information gathered to solve the crime. More information is useless and less information is not enough.

The gist of this novel is about an axe murderer who has killed three men by chopping off their heads. This serial killer is on the loose in the small city of Karlbringen. World-weary Van Veeteren, who feels like he carries the weight of the world on his shoulders, has been imported to Karlbringen from his vacation with his son, which is not going too well. Once in Karlbringen, he and his crew of detectives are searching for a common denominator for the murders. All of the victims are new to Karlbringen and have had a history of drug use. However, that is all that is found in common initially.

The novel is character driven as are other Nesser novels. The reader gets a real sense of the detectives, victims and other characters in the novel. Nesser has a real gift for this. I listened to this book on audiotape and found it riveting. Usually, audiotaped books are harder for me to follow but this one just flowed. Like in some of the previous Nesser novels I've read, the realization of who the murderer is just comes to Van Veeteren as an epiphany of sorts. As he says, he has a good sense of who the murderer might be - what he's like, what makes him tick - and he'll know him when he meets him.

Nesser's cohorts are very well drawn out and despite there being several of them, they all had distinct personalities and inner lives so that there was no confusion of who was who. They all had their roles to play in the novel and no one was stuck in as a red herring. I like the depth of characterization, the hard-boiled nature of the crimes, and the inner lives of the protagonists.

I think I've become hooked on Nesser's Van Veeteren series and intend to read some more.
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Sep 20, 2011 Anna rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011, bookcrossing

This is the third book in Van Veeteren series, but the first one that's available in English, so it's kind of the debut for Van Veeteren.
Van Veeteren is called for help to investigate two brutal ax murders in a sleepy coastal town of Kaalbringen, and there are more twists when there's a third body, and a colleague of his disappears.

I expected to like the series like the usual modern Swedish crime out there - Mankell or anything he's been an inspiration for, Larsson, Ericksson etc.
But this didn...more This is the third book in Van Veeteren series, but the first one that's available in English, so it's kind of the debut for Van Veeteren.
Van Veeteren is called for help to investigate two brutal ax murders in a sleepy coastal town of Kaalbringen, and there are more twists when there's a third body, and a colleague of his disappears.

I expected to like the series like the usual modern Swedish crime out there - Mankell or anything he's been an inspiration for, Larsson, Ericksson etc.
But this didn't just cut it for me, and I've been trying to understand why. 2.75 stars.

It seemed slow and dragging, and cold like Sjöwall & Wahlöö or Van De Wetering classics. I think I got a dislike early on for Van Veeteren, when it appears he has an alienated son, Erich, who's out in parole yet has 10 months of a sentence still to serve. I don't mind having a detective who gets depressed or starts to doubt everything, or who drinks like Harry Hole, or who is a loner and doesn't have any female or male close friends or lovers, but I don't like detectives who have their kid in prison or who are constantly begging money for their drug habits (like Arnaldur's Eva Lind would be). Maybe that was a bad start with Van Veeteren, but I didn't warm up for him later either. And while there were some interesting characters around, no one seemed like one who'd be fun to hang around with. While they had interesting characters, they didn't change or develop much inside the story either.

Another thing that didn't turn me to a great fan was the choice of location in an imaginary Sweden-like country. Yet it's not in Sweden; "I gather they eat rotten fish in some countries - Sweden, unless I'm much mistaken." (Podworsky, p. 245). Yet that definition would also dictate the location isn't anywhere else either where they make any pickled herring type of fish, removing not only all Nordic countries but also Germany, Netherlands, the Slavic countries, plus all the areas where Jewish culture has brought the same dish into popular cuisine. The names of the places and most people sound Dutch like, yet the alphabet is very inconsistent. Many names have äöü letters in them, but there are those that break the pattern too. Moerk.

But I guess I'll give it another shot in a while, since I have another book by Nesser somewhere.(less)

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Jul 27, 2012 Rob Carseldine rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: crime

This was my first read of Hakan Nesser and I'm very impressed. It really held my interest and kept me up late. The characters are well developed and credible, with enough personal details to create interest and tension. Sweeden seems to have several good crime writers and Nesser is certainly one of them, however, my favourite is still Henning Mankell. I will certainly try to find more books by Nesser.

Borkmann's Point is the second in the Van Veeteren series. Chief Inspector Van Veeteren is sent...more

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May 08, 2012 Rob Kitchin rated it 3 of 5 stars

The strengths of Borkmann’s Point is the pacing, atmosphere and everydayness of the narrative. The storytelling has a nice cadence and doesn’t seek to shock or ratchet up the tension too early. Instead we’re gradually introduced to the characters and the investigation, slowly building up a picture of the police officers, their lives and ambitions, and patiently working towards a resolution. The plot is fine, although I’d reached Borkmann’s point in terms of identifying the killer very early in t...more

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Jan 21, 2012 M.L. Rudolph rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

1994. (In English 2006.) Received the 1994 Swedish Crime Writers Best Novel Award. Thanks to Stieg Larsson for the flurry of translations of Nordic crime writers.

Inspector Van Veeteren is a thinking man's crime solver. He goes quiet, almost meditative, when he's on to the solution, when the pieces so neatly fall into place and he strategizes his arrest. His underlings know to leave him alone when he slips into such a mood.

While Van Veeteren is on vacation in the north of Sweden a couple of grues...more

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Aug 19, 2011 Rachelle Urist rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I liked it. Didn't love it, but found it engaging and even engrossing enough to read it through. The book is notable for its complex story and cliff-hanger section endings. Those, not the characters, drive the reader on. The characters are interesting enough, and I liked the lone investigator, Van Veeteren. The ending, too, tied the various plot lines up tidily - and with satisfying surprise. I'll probably read more Hakan Nesser, but I'm going through a pile of Scandinavian mystery writers, and...more

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Apr 28, 2013 Susana rated it 4 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. The usually quiet coastal town of Kaalbringen is shaken. Two of its citizens have been murdered in less than two months. The victims seem to have nothing in common, and police are at a loss. That’s why Chief Inspector Van Veeteren, who happened to be on holidays in a village nearby, is called to help solve the mystery.
This is the starting point of a well-written detective novel. There are many things I have enjoyed about the book. The plot evolves smoothly and steadily, and it is narrated from d...more The usually quiet coastal town of Kaalbringen is shaken. Two of its citizens have been murdered in less than two months. The victims seem to have nothing in common, and police are at a loss. That’s why Chief Inspector Van Veeteren, who happened to be on holidays in a village nearby, is called to help solve the mystery.
This is the starting point of a well-written detective novel. There are many things I have enjoyed about the book. The plot evolves smoothly and steadily, and it is narrated from different points of view: we get Van Veeteren’s, Inspector Moerk’s (one of the local inspectors), Münster’s (Van Veeteren’s job mate), and even the murderer’s point of view. The change in the narrative voice gives the novel a particular perspective. We get many voices, each one giving a new facet to the story. This way, the feelings of the main characters pour into the story unadulterated, and that is one of the things which I’ve enjoyed most from this book, the fact that the characters are portrayed in a very human way, with weaknesses and insecurities, which make them credible and interesting. I also like the lack of judgment, there seems to be no evil in the murderer; even though his deeds are brutal, we are not faced with a wicked, vicious character but quite the opposite, he is one of the most likeable characters in the book. Even Van Veeteren regrets the final outcome. Van Veeteren himself is not an easy character. Full of contradictions, he seems to be detached from everybody around, a bit egocentric, and not really interested in what’s going on, but at the same time he feels deeply touched by the pleas of a woman concerned about her husband, who is so terrified that doesn’t dare to leave their house. Contradictory and discreet, Van Veeteren is one of those characters you want to continue discovering.
I have found no faults in this book. I really recommend it to anyone who wants to read an intelligent, clever and perfectly designed detective novel. I am looking forward to reading more about Van Veeteren, a brilliant and tortured detective.
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Jul 30, 2012 Michael rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction, mystery, police-procedural, sweden

Amid the rich spectrum of dark and quirky Scandanavian detective fiction, this Swedish author doesn�t strike me as the cream of the crop. Yet his lead detective does have his charms. Along the lines of Sherlock Holmes, Inspector Van Veeteren believes in thinking his way to the solution of crime more than rigorous procedural efforts. He never seems to miss much sleep, taking a good meal or a walk, or even put off a good chess match in the midst of a serial murder case. In this tale, he is called...more

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Mar 17, 2012 Mark Stevens rated it 4 of 5 stars

Borkmann is an old cop, one of the few that Chief Inspector Van Veeteren respects. Van Veeteren is thinking about Borkmann while he’s sitting in the tub, three bottles of brown ale in a bucket of cold water on the floor “and a dish of fat olives within easy reach.”

In every investigation, Borkmann maintained, “there comes a point beyond which we don’t really need any more information. When we reach that point, we already know enough to solve the case by means of nothing more than some decent thi...more

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Jul 29, 2011 Catherine Woodman rated it 4 of 5 stars

International bestseller Nesser makes his U.S. debut with this classy and rewarding whodunit, which won the Swedish Crime Writers' Academy Prize for Best Novel in 1994. Chief Inspector Van Veeteren, a veteran of 30 years of police work who appreciates fine food and drink, reluctantly cuts short his vacation to help the police chief of the remote town of Kaalbringen and his small crew investigate two ax murders. When the killer claims a third victim and the town's best police investigator disappe...more

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Nov 22, 2008 Donna rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: mysteries, mysteries-international, mysteries-translations, mysteries-police-pi-forensics, in-person-book-groups

A great addition to the Scandinavian mystery genre. I am so glad more of Nesser's interesting books are being translated into English along with the books by Fossum, Eriksson, and Mankell.

Chief Inspector Van Veeteren is a complex man and since this first translated book is actually the third in the series there are references to his past which I hope will be explained in the recently translated first and second books in the series.

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Feb 08, 2013 Maria João Fernandes rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: books-in-english, own, håkan-nesser, favorites

Segundo Borkmann, todas as investigações atingem um ponto em que já foi reunida informação suficiente para resolver o crime com nada mais do que o simples pensamento lógico. Cabe ao responsável pelo caso saber quando este ponto é atingido.

E é isto que distingue um bom de um mau policia. Um mau policia continuará a reunir informação que, na pior das situações, irá prejudicar a resolução do mistério. Será Van Veeteren um bom ou mau policia?

O livro "Borkmann's Point" é o segundo livro da série do...more Segundo Borkmann, todas as investigações atingem um ponto em que já foi reunida informação suficiente para resolver o crime com nada mais do que o simples pensamento lógico. Cabe ao responsável pelo caso saber quando este ponto é atingido.

E é isto que distingue um bom de um mau policia. Um mau policia continuará a reunir informação que, na pior das situações, irá prejudicar a resolução do mistério. Será Van Veeteren um bom ou mau policia?

O livro "Borkmann's Point" é o segundo livro da série do Inspector Van Veeteren, criado pelo brilhante autor sueco Håkan Nesser. Foi escrito em 1994 e, no mesmo ano, foi-lhe atribuído o Prémio de Melhor Romance pela Swedish Crime Writers’ Academy.

Van Veeteren é um inspector facilmente irritável, cujo mau-humor é mais do que bem conhecido pelos colegas e, principalmente, notado por Münster, o seu colega de trabalho preferido e eterno parceiro de Badminton.

Em "Borkmann's Point" o inspector encontra-se no final das suas longas e solitárias férias quando o seu chefe lhe pergunta se está disposto a ajudar o departamento da policia de Kaalbringen a encontrar o culpado de dois assassinatos violentos.

Aborrecido e inquieto, Van Veeteren aceita o trabalho e sente-se feliz por poder contribuir com a sua experiência e conhecimentos. O seu único pedido é a ajuda do seu colega Münster, que relutantemente acaba por se lhe juntar. Como em todas as investigações, Van Veeteren sabe que o assassino será apanhado: é apenas uma questão de tempo. O inspector acredita nos seus instintos e sabe que quando olhar directamente nos olhos do culpado, saberá que é ele. Na sua longa carreira apenas deixou um caso por resolver e não está previsto que tal situação se venha a repetir.

Contudo, no decorrer da investigação, mais do que cansado da dificil vida de policia, Van Veeteren sente nos seus ombros o peso, cada vez maior, dos crimes perpetuados na pequena cidade e sente-se na obrigação de resolver o mistério.

O assassino, que ataca com um machado, é impiedoso e cauteloso. Não há pistas, nem ligação aparente entre as vitimas. Van Veeteren está confiante que a solução lhe ocorrerá, mais cedo ou mais tarde, apesar de saber que não têm nada em mãos que lhe permitam avançar. Entretanto, nada mais podendo fazer, aprecia a comida local e joga xadrez com o chefe da esquadra local, Bausen, ao mesmo tempo que bebe magnificas garrafas de vinho e discute a investigação que os atormenta.

Tal como o inspector Kurt Wallander, nos livros de Henning Mankell, também Van Veeteren ouve música clássica e trabalha metodicamente para resolver os crimes. Recentemente divorciado, com uma filha casada e um filho a cumprir pena de prisão, o nosso herói é um homem solitário. Fumador incorrigível, luta contra o seu vicio estando constantemente com um palito entre dentes. Apesar disso, nem tudo são maus hábitos, a sua persistência e determinação, aliadas à sua inteligência, fazem dele um homem indispensável à força policial.

Este livro é terrivelmente bem escrito. A narrativa de Nesser tem um tom de humor estimulante, sério, divertido, assustador e convidativo, dependendo da situação em que nos encontramos e a linha de investigação é perspicaz e francamente bem escrita. "Borkmann's Point" destaca os procedimentos da policia, a arte e as dificuldades da investigação e detenção, sem por de parte as pessoas, os seus sentimentos e vidas pessoais.

Com um desfecho impressionante, este livro deixou-me me pulgas para o seguinte: "The Return". Sinto-me privilegiada por ter a oportunidade de ler as obras Håkan Nesser e é com imenso prazer que continuarei acompanhar o inspector Van Veeteren.(less)

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Nov 10, 2011 Linda Branham Greenwell rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: mystery-crime, scandinavian-mystery

I really like these English detective stories! Detective Van Veeteren
This is a good police procedural type of book - complete with an axe-murderer
The reader gets a real sense of the detectives, victims and other characters in the novel. Nesser has a real gift for this
But it a story about following every possible lead, interviewing hundreds of people, gathering massive reams if information, pursuing unrelated lines of inquiry and, somewhere in the process, finding the one piece of information tha...more

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Mar 25, 2013 Mark rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: poeple that enjoy a good mystery

Recommended to Mark by: The scandanavian hype in our bookstores

Shelves: detective, mystery-adventure, scandinavian-lit

After all the sensational reading I have done as writen by the American writers I recently enjoyed it was time for a change in pace and style..
Borkmann's Point is just that. It is about an axe wielding killer that seems to randomly strike down people. DCI van Veeteren is being asked to assist the local policeforce of a little coastal community in order to arrest this "serial killer". DCI van Veeteren does enjoy the company of the police chief of this local town and both seem to be similar people...more

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Sep 04, 2012 Marilyn rated it 4 of 5 stars

I have added Swedish writers to my "must read" list. Hakan Nesser is new to me. This, evidently, is his first U.S. debut novel, but his second in the Inspector Veeteren series and it was most satisfying. I must say that the solution was evident in the early pages, but it was still a good ride to the finish to prove that I was right. He draws his characters carefully and they are fleshed out well. The inspector is another brilliant, but dour, Swede a bit down on life. This seems to be the story i...more

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May 08, 2012 Gail rated it 5 of 5 stars

I stumbled across Hakan Nesser books by pure chance and after reading Mind's Eye I was thoroughly impressed, so downloaded the rest of the Van Veeteren novels. Thus, I started reading Borkmann's Point with a small degree of trepidation, as I didn't think this would be as good as its predecessor. I am glad to say I was totally wrong.

I will not go into the plot details, suffice to say that I was hooked from start to finish. I really like Van Veeteren and his sidekick, Munster. I thought I had figu...more

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Jul 09, 2011 Kathleen Hagen added it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011-audio-books, 2011-mysteries

Borkmann's Point, by Hakan Nesser, a-minus, narrated by Simon Vance, produced by Highbridge Audio, downloaded from audible.com.

An ex-con is brutally murdered with an ax in Kaalbringen. Then the body of a wealthy real-estate mogul is found, also the victim of a violent attack. There
appears to be a serial killer on the loose, and Chief Inspector Van Veeteren is called in to help the local police. As details surrounding the grisly murders
are collected, Van Veeteren finds little to go on. But then t...more

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Apr 16, 2011 Lulu rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: series, murder-most-foul, nordic-mysteries, mystery

Borkmann's Point is actually the second in the Van Veeteren series, but the first to be released in the US. I felt dismayed when I learned that I started with the second installment, and immediately purchased Mind's Eye, the first in the series, so that I'd have the whole picture. I'm glad I did. Borkmann's alone, without my book buying/reading series in order obsessions, might not have led me to read any other Nesser novels. The book follows Van Veeteren as he searches for the Axman, the uncrea...more

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Aug 27, 2011 Cynthia rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Once again, I really like this detective! VV is introspective in a way I appreciate. His ego is large, but he keeps it in check. I love that you find out about the crime just as he does (mostly). No back story, no knowledge of the victims until they become the victim, nothing he would not know. It is a nice way to learn about VV. The secondary characters are done well, including the women.

I was happy it was summer so the weather was not so terribly depressing (although the grey sea and sky at ti...more

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Oct 07, 2011 Livia rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: murder

I love this book. I found the mystery gripping and it kept me in suspense right until the big reveal. I really liked the grumpy but loveable Van Veeteren and his sidekicks Munster and Moreno, and the other characters were likeable and sympathetic as well, even the murderer. The plot twist is one of the best I have ever read and the little hints and red herrings that Nesser leaves along the way make it even better. In some ways it reads a little like a Wallander book, but Nesser and Van Veeteren...more

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Sep 04, 2011 Trish Lata Gooljarsingh rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Well, now that I have discovered Larsson I am jumping into the deep end with regards to the Scandinavian writers. I stumbled across this website with the most famous Scandinavian writes and names like Henning Mankell, Hakan Nesser, Jo Nesbo came rising to the surface.These are excellent books for some down time.

In this book by Nesser, an axe murder has just claimed his second victim and Van Veeteren is called in to investigate. I don't find the book enormously suspenseful but that could be becau...more

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Apr 20, 2012 kit rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Originally posted here: http://bibliotekit.blogspot.co.uk/201...

This was the first Inspector Van Veeteren book I have read, thanks to a Waterstones promotion. In Borkmann's Point, Van Veeteren, a chess-obsessed, music-loving DCI, has his holiday cut short by the murders commited by the Axeman in Kaalbringen, a tiny town on the Swedish coast. The book follows Van Veeteren and the young detective Beate Moerk as they try and solve the case before the media and the town turns on them.

I liked Van Vee...more Originally posted here: http://bibliotekit.blogspot.co.uk/201...

This was the first Inspector Van Veeteren book I have read, thanks to a Waterstones promotion. In Borkmann's Point, Van Veeteren, a chess-obsessed, music-loving DCI, has his holiday cut short by the murders commited by the Axeman in Kaalbringen, a tiny town on the Swedish coast. The book follows Van Veeteren and the young detective Beate Moerk as they try and solve the case before the media and the town turns on them.

I liked Van Veeteren as a character, and there is a dry humour to Nesser's writing. His relationship with the almost-retired chief of police, Bausen, was a nice counterbalance to the plodding necessities of the investigation. The subplot, involving the ambitious Moerk and her desire to solve the case before anyone else, was slightly less developed, and at times relied upon the tired syndrome of the female detective wondering if she'll end up sacrificing her chance at marriage and kids in exchange for her job.

As crime novels go, it was solid and entertaining. The brief glimpses of things from the Axeman's point of view definitely added to it, and I wished there had been slightly more of that and slightly less sitting around in the police station thinking things over. The last third of the book, after Moerk goes missing, is, understandably, the most intriguing part, and I was compelled to keep reading "just one more chapter" until I found out the culprit.

The twist I honestly didn't see coming, and it made me want to go back through the book, as good twists are wont to do, to see if I could have worked it out myself. As a result, the book ends on a high note. However, the in-between was a little underwhelming at times. The characterisation was deft but ultimately underdeveloped, and though the various different suspects and details that crop up are necessary to keep the mystery going, I felt at times like I was wading through pointless chapters to get to the good bits.

A final word on the cover of my copy: this trend of rebranding all the Scandinavian crime fiction so they all look virtually interchangeable seems a little cynical and unnecessary to me. And although there is a female detective in the book, given the fact that these are the "Van Veeteren mysteries", and as far as I'm aware the detective is always wearing clothes in the book, the image on the cover is rather odd and reasonably misleading...

Overall rating: 6.5/10 (an extra 0.5 for the twist)(less)

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Aug 13, 2011 Janet rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The thing that kept me from giving this 3 stars is how often paragraphs started with "He", usually "He thought", and it was difficult to figure out which character was doing the thinking, or whatever "He" was doing. I don't like it when I have to go back and try to figure out which one it was.

Also, I found it odd that there was only one major female character. Maybe the author wasn't comfortable creating female characters back in the '90s.

Last, after I was finished, I realized that I didn't kn...more

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May 19, 2009 Laurel rated it 3 of 5 stars

I'll probably read one more in the series; give it another try. I had it figured out fairly early on and spent more time on trying to figure out Van Veeteren than the actual mystery. Someone I assume to be his son (Erich) was mentioned within the first several pages and then never mentioned again. I even went back when I finished to see if I'd imagined it, but no, he mentions an Erich who must be in jail. It helped to read Donna's review below; I thought I was reading the first in the series and...more

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Nov 16, 2011 CarolineFromConcord rated it 2 of 5 stars

In spite of the three things that have made me decide not to recommend this Swedish novel, I admit that I really enjoyed reading it. The three drawbacks: 1. a clue about the perp was way too obvious way too early; 2. the perp does not behave in daily life the way a person who has committed gruesome murders could possibly behave; 3. the ending is too relativistic, with our detective looking forward to the perp getting out on parole so that enjoyable activities can be resumed. I like my mysteries...more

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About Håkan Nesser

Håkan Nesser is a Swedish author and teacher who has written a number of successful crime fiction novels. He has won Best Swedish Crime Novel Award three times, and his novel Carambole won the Glass Key award in 2000. His books have been translated from Swedish into numerous languages.

Håkan Nesser was born and grew up in Kumla, and has lived most of his adult life in Uppsala. His first novel was p...more

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Books by Håkan Nesser

Woman with Birthmark (Inspector Van Veeteren #4)

The Inspector and Silence (Inspector Van Veeteren #5)

Kim Novak badade aldrig i Genesarets sjö

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Borkmann's Point (Inspector Van Veeteren #2)

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