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Three Seconds (Grens & Sundkvist #5)

by Anders Roslund, Börge Hellström, Kari Dickson (Translator)

3.78 of 5 stars 3.78 · rating details · 1,848 ratings · 403 reviews

In this dark and gripping novel from #1 best-selling Swedish writing duo Roslund & Hellström, Piet Hoffman is the Swedish police’s most valuable secret operative. His cover is that of a lieutenant inside the ruthless Polish mafia trying to take over amphetamine distribution within Sweden’s prison system. With this, his most dangerous assignment, success will mean a new...more

Hardcover, 489 pages

Published January 4th 2011 by SilverOak (first published 2009)

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Mar 01, 2012 Kathryn rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: first-reads

The latest book from Roslund & Hellström is about the crooked dealings between the Swedish police and their well-placed informants. Ex-con Piet Hoffman, now a “covert human intelligence source” for the Stockholm police, is deeply implanted into the Polish Mafia. He is attempting to stop the organization from controlling drug distribution in Sweden’s prisons, and all the while, Hoffman is also a family man with a wife and two young sons.

When Hoffman is involved in a fouled-up drug deal that l...more

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Feb 28, 2012 thewanderingjew rated it 5 of 5 stars

This is one of the best crime novels I have read in a long time. For me it exceeded the Larsson series everyone loved. It is so well written. There wasn't a single moment when I felt that even one word was extraneous, except maybe when I was confused with the foreign terms but that had nothing to do with the book itself.

The book is set in an unfamiliar place for most Americans, since it takes place mostly in Sweden. Every character has a unique purpose and is developed specifically in a way to...more This is one of the best crime novels I have read in a long time. For me it exceeded the Larsson series everyone loved. It is so well written. There wasn't a single moment when I felt that even one word was extraneous, except maybe when I was confused with the foreign terms but that had nothing to do with the book itself.

The book is set in an unfamiliar place for most Americans, since it takes place mostly in Sweden. Every character has a unique purpose and is developed specifically in a way to define him/her. From the ever-grieving, cantankerous, curmudgeon Ewert Grens who is as rude an anyone can be, to the infiltrator whose behavior and actions are as smooth and courageous as anyone can be, even as he is forced to break the law to complete his assignment, to the cold and calculating handler who treats the infiltrators as things, not human beings, for the most part, I was constantly forced to look at both sides of the coin in the law enforcement and criminal world. I began to seriously question my own ideas of right and wrong.

I was thrilled by this tale of criminal espionage, kept on the edge of my seat, as the underbelly of the corruption in our society is exposed and made naked. The line between criminal and honorable behavior is so blurred that I was constantly wondering and questioning the underpinnings of my own ethical beliefs. After awhile, I didn’t know whom to root for, law enforcement or the law breaker. As I read I questioned the very foundation of all legal systems and the justice system and realized that it was hard to tell in this book, and probably in real life, just what is real and what is fiction even in the real drama of my life. Who is guilty, who is innocent? Both elements of society cross the lines of honorable activity into the realm of the underworld, to serve their own selfish purposes. Even if the end result is meant to be for the good of mankind, I found the behavior outrageous and unacceptable. There has to be a better way.

This book enraged me, but in a good way. It made me think about how I view things as a witness, to some event or other, everyday of my life. I realized that the system keeps the system alive at any expense! We all see what we want to see, what serves our needs. For some, the end justifies the means at all costs and I began to wonder, is the cost ever too great?

The book succeeds in all ways without gratuitous sex. However, it is very violent, but that too, is not gratuitous but absolutely necessary to the development of the plot and the unraveling of the tale. I can't recommend it highly enough to readers who enjoy exciting, crime fiction that walks the tightrope or the balance beam between the real world and the world of nightmares. You will question your own world once you begin.

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Jan 05, 2013 Cameling rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: thriller

Deciding to become a police informant puts Piet Hoffman in the position of having to hide his criminal past and lie to his wife and sons. But his increasingly successful infiltration of a Polish drug ring operating in Sweden puts him puts him in a position where he is unable to prevent a murder.

When the opportunity comes for Piet to be temporarily arrested and placed in a Swedish prison, the danger he faces rises. He strikes a deal with a certain team of the Swedish police and government agency...more

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Jul 24, 2012 Rachelle Urist rated it 4 of 5 stars

Though it took me a while (50 pages? 80? 100?) to get into the book, once it took hold it didn't let go. For the last 300+ pages, I couldn't put it down. It's a riveting look at detective work, criminal minds, and the enormous risks, both physical and psychological, that both sides take in doing what they do. I may have vaguely known that investigators use criminal elements to spur - if not enable - their efforts. But this book, written collaboratively by a former journalist and former criminal,...more

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Feb 21, 2012 Mysterytribune rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: scandinavian-crime

Review Of “Three Seconds” By Anders Roslund And Börge Hellström

Three Seconds is the award winning novel by the Scandinavian Roslund & Hellström duo which was selected the best crime fiction of the year in 2009 by the Swedish Academy of Crime Writers (We recently reviewed another title from these authors Cell 8 here). Anders Roslund and Börge Hellström are the authors of 5 bestselling books in Sweden. Roslund is a professional journalist and creator of Sweden's number one cultural TV program...more Review Of “Three Seconds” By Anders Roslund And Börge Hellström

Three Seconds is the award winning novel by the Scandinavian Roslund & Hellström duo which was selected the best crime fiction of the year in 2009 by the Swedish Academy of Crime Writers (We recently reviewed another title from these authors Cell 8 here). Anders Roslund and Börge Hellström are the authors of 5 bestselling books in Sweden. Roslund is a professional journalist and creator of Sweden's number one cultural TV program Kulterkanna. Börge Hellström is an ex-criminal who founded a criminal rehabilitation program in Sweden.

A Brief Summary:

Piet Hoffman, a top-secret operative for the Swedish police, has become an undercover and a key player in preventing Polish Mafia's attempt to take over amphetamine distribution inside Sweden's prisons. The Mafia is bringing amphetamines into Sweden by using Polish people who swallow balloons filled with the amphetamines before crossing the border. The "mules" then expunge the bags by vomiting them up after crossing the border. To stop them from succeeding, he will have to go undercover, posing as a prisoner inside the country's most notorious jail.

But when a botched drug deal involving Hoffman results in the death of another cop, the murder investigation is assigned to the brilliant but haunted Detective Inspector Ewert Grens–a man who never gives up until he's cracked the case. Grens's determination to find the killer not only threatens to expose Hoffman's true identity, it may reveal even bigger crimes at the heart of the Swedish justice system. And there are players who will do anything to stop Grens from discovering the truth.

Our Take:

As mentioned before, one of the co-authors of the book, is a reformed criminal and we obviously see the effect of his experience in the vivid scenes in the story that ring true. The scenes of extreme violence demonstrate the reality of the prison and drug life and are backed up with great detail.

In this thoughtful and provocative thriller, the authors critique the Swedish Police's use of criminals as covert human intelligence sources. The book also attacks people in the legal and justice system who would bend the rules, believing that the ends justify the means. In a way, you can see the traces of the duo's belief system tightly woven in the main theme of the book. "Three Seconds" has richly depicted characters, an intriguing plot, and some intelligent twists. At almost five hundred pages, the narrative is at times slow-moving and repetitious however this doesn't come to the point of boring the reader.

(More at http://www.mysterytribune.com or @mysterytribune)(less)

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Feb 10, 2012 Rosemarie rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: reviewed

Piet Hoffman, Swedish undercover police informer, has climbed very high in the ranks of the Polish Mafia when he haplessly witnesses a murder during a drug deal gone terribly wrong. While Inspector Ewert Grens investigates the murder, Hoffman's Mafia masters want him in prison to take over drug operations there. A secret arm of the law agrees, and offers him and his family protection and new identities for breaking the drug operations of the Mafia in the Swedish prison system. But they reckoned...more

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Dec 24, 2011 Deborah Gray rated it 5 of 5 stars

Truly an epic thriller, a page turner from page 1 to page 485, the tension never let up until I felt myself almost wishing for a respite, like being on a rollecoaster ride you absolutely love and wanting the feeling to continue, but filled with terror and hoping it will end at the same time.

Piet Hoffmann was a criminal who agreed to become informer for the Swedish police, and a decade later he's a changed man - tender husband and father to a wife and children he loves more than life itself, but...more

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Aug 14, 2011 Lucinda rated it 4 of 5 stars

Three Seconds (Silveroak 2010, Swedish 2009) is the 5th in the series featuring Ewert Grens, a detective inspector in Stockholm, Sweden. Grens is mourning the recent death of Anni, the love of his life, who has been institutionalized after an accident for many years. The news that a drug dealer has been executed is a welcome distraction from his depression. What Grens doesn’t know is that Piet Hoffmann, an informer for the police, was present at the murder. Piet’s handler Erik Wilson, whose offi...more

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Aug 11, 2011 Kevin rated it 5 of 5 stars

This was a fantastic Sweedish read By Anders Roslund and Borge Hellstrom and written in the style of the "Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" series by Stieg Larsson. This story takes place in Stockholm and surrounds the plight of "Paula" (the main character is male) who is caught up in the Polish mafia's attempt to flood the Sweedish drug trade as well as being hung out by the justice system. Until the conclusion, it is difficult to predict who will survive and who will fall to their respective life c...more

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Jul 28, 2011 D.M. rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: crime, thrillers

I'd seen this novel appear in a promotion here at Goodreads and it caught my attention as the Swedish authors are a duo consisting of journalist, Anders Roslund, and ex con, Borge Hellstrom, who later became a founder of an organisation to prevent crime. So, interested in the background of these collaboration authors, I was rewarded by a thriller of substance that had my appreciation for its cleverness of plot and for the authors' thoroughness in researching to write it.

The Polish mafia want to...more I'd seen this novel appear in a promotion here at Goodreads and it caught my attention as the Swedish authors are a duo consisting of journalist, Anders Roslund, and ex con, Borge Hellstrom, who later became a founder of an organisation to prevent crime. So, interested in the background of these collaboration authors, I was rewarded by a thriller of substance that had my appreciation for its cleverness of plot and for the authors' thoroughness in researching to write it.

The Polish mafia want to take over Swedish prisons with drugs and so to knock out competition, put one of their own, Piet Hoffman, on the inside. But Hoffman is really a recruited infiltrator, hired by the Swedish police to get proof of the mafia's influence in the attempt to bring their operations down. His previous criminal record is upped considerably by changing his profile in the criminal database, his trial fast tracked and he gets ten years inside Aspsas maximum security prison. He hates to leave his wife and children, but needs to do what he must to see years of preparation through. He prepares for his latest task thoroughly in the undercover role. But things go awry, and those who have guaranteed his protection and release on humanitarian grounds after his serving two months have instead insured his discovery and his murder...

I've been reading novels by Swedish crime authors and this novel was typical of how I've found them: characters with a wholeness of personality that seek to find connection with each other especially on an emotional level, cut-to-the-chase dialogue that is honest without the addition of too many mysteries within the dialogue to annoy, and finally a reader's gratification of a well-rounded and satisfying conclusion.

There were times when I found the novel a little waffly - some of that I would attribute to translation from Swedish to English, though I think that would have mostly been unavoidable. When the narrative did get down to 'what happened', it's gripping and page-turning. And I think the reader could not help but to admire how the novel was given its title.

Overall, a good lasting impression of this novel and admiration for the character of Piet Hoffman who is manifested a complex character of genius, loyalty and real heroism.

In a word, memorable. (less)

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May 16, 2011 Anthony Pacifico rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is the second book in the series that I've read by these Swedish authors. I thought this book was even better than the first. These two authors, one of them a former criminal, write so well and thoroughly draw out their characters in addition to developing a walloping good story.

The gist of the novel is that the Swedish police, through an undercover former petty thief, have infiltrated the Polish mafia. The send this infiltrator into the prison system to learn more about how drugs are smugg...more

1 like · like · see review

Apr 24, 2011 Kathleen Hagen added it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011-audio-books, 2011-mysteries

Three Seconds, a-minus, by Anders Roslund, Borge Hellstrom, and translated from Swedish into English by Kari Dickson, narrated by Christopher Lane, produced by Brilliance Audio, downloaded from audible.com.

In this crime novel from number-one best-selling Swedish writing duo Roslund and Hellstrom, Piet Hoffman is the Swedish police's most valuable
secret operative. His cover is that of a lieutenant inside the ruthless Polish mafia, trying to take over amphetamine distribution within Sweden's priso...more

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Apr 16, 2011 Michael rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: action-thriller, mystery, police-procedural, read-in-2011, reviewed, thriller

In the latest thriller to entice readers and in the mode of Steig Larsson's excellent Millinium trilogy, "Three Seconds" provides a ride through terror.

Piet Hoffman is the Swedish police's most valuable undercover operative. He posses as a lieutenant in the Polish Mafia which is bringing in amphetamines into Sweden by using Polish mules, people who have swallowed baloons filled with the amphetamines and then cross the border. The mules must then expunge the bags when in Sweden.

Hoffman is at the...more

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Feb 08, 2011 Brian rated it 3 of 5 stars

I love Scandinavian Crime Fiction. This book cover says it is the best book of the year. It is good but not the best Scandinavian crime fiction you can read. I don't know all the books that came out in the last year, but I know that this is not at the level or Henning Mankel, Arnarldur Idridisson, Helen Turston, Sjowall and Wahloo, Karen Fossum, Ake Edwardson, Hakkan Nesser and certainly is no Stig Larsson. This book also does not compare to the quality of England's Peter Lovsey, or the U.S. aut...more

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Jan 26, 2011 Tony rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: thrillers

Rosland, Anders & Hellstrom, Borge. THREE SECONDS. (2009; Eng. trans. 2010). ***. The authors of this thriller are described, respectively, as an award-winning journalist, and an ex-criminal. Apparently, they are a very popular fiction team in Sweden. This novel was awarded the Swedish Academy of Crime Writeers’ Award for Swedish Crime Novel of the Year. This award has also been given to Stieg Larson and Henning Mankell in the past. This work is nowhere near as good as anything written by th...more Rosland, Anders & Hellstrom, Borge. THREE SECONDS. (2009; Eng. trans. 2010). ***. The authors of this thriller are described, respectively, as an award-winning journalist, and an ex-criminal. Apparently, they are a very popular fiction team in Sweden. This novel was awarded the Swedish Academy of Crime Writeers’ Award for Swedish Crime Novel of the Year. This award has also been given to Stieg Larson and Henning Mankell in the past. This work is nowhere near as good as anything written by the other two authors. It’s fast-paced and full of technophilic gear, and features a protagonist who is street smart and intelligent. Unfortunately, the whole scenario stretches my credibility to the breaking point and I begin to skim, since I know that there won’t be any time wasted on character development. The only insight into the main character that is provided is that he is in love with his wife and two small sons – almost obsessively. He is working for the Swedish police in exchange for some favor that got him out of jail earlier. He has a criminal background. He has infiltrated the Polish mafia to a very high level. They are trying to break into the Swedish drug market and have aimed for the several high-security prisons in the country. With our hero’s help, the Swedish police now have a way of intersecting the path of corruption promised by a new mafia group. They have apparently lost such a chance with the Russian and Mexican mafias. Working undercover using an alias, our hero is pretty much on his own. this means that he can be as violent as he wants, or needs to be, or as clever as he needs to be using state of the art equipment for communications and spying. He does have a rabbi on the inside of the police force who is his runner, but he can’t do much for him. Our man is on his own. In a typical thriller fashion, our protagonist is in constant danger in every chapter and can only move forward by depending on his own wits to survive. The novel is formulaic and mostly incredible.(less)

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Jan 13, 2011 J Edward Tremlett rated it 4 of 5 stars

Call him Paula. That’s what his handlers in the Stockholm police do.
Codename Paula is their inside man within the dangerous Polish mob, which has infested Sweden’s underworld with drugs and other nefarious activities. At their behest, he walks a terrifying path — turning a blind eye to death and murder as he commits some crimes in order to stop others. And at every moment, with each new crime and deception, he knows that one wrong word or off action could cause his long-standing deception to col...more Call him Paula. That’s what his handlers in the Stockholm police do.
Codename Paula is their inside man within the dangerous Polish mob, which has infested Sweden’s underworld with drugs and other nefarious activities. At their behest, he walks a terrifying path — turning a blind eye to death and murder as he commits some crimes in order to stop others. And at every moment, with each new crime and deception, he knows that one wrong word or off action could cause his long-standing deception to collapse around him, leaving him exposed amongst killers.
Leaving him dead, or lost to the wife and children he dearly loves.
In the midst of the dangerous deception comes a chance at the best sting of his life. The mob wants him to enter a maximum security prison, and take over its methamphetamine supply and distribution on their behalf. His underworld bosses think it will be a major coup, and so do his police employers. All he has to do is have his record adjusted to make him sound even more dangerous than he is, and then arrange to have him arrested on a bogus but heinous charge, and off to prison he goes, there to betray one set of friends for the other, and maybe get out of this double life once and for all.
But it’s never that simple.
Just before the opportunity came a disaster — a killing Paula was only tangentally involved in, but involved enough to get a different side of the Stockholm police looking for him. That’s just enough heat to make the secretive portion of the police that handles him wonder if they should drop him rather than implicate themselves in his crimes on their behalf.
And if they drop him while he’s in prison — in an environment where found out snitches die rather quickly – there’s no way Paula could get out before angry inmates tore him apart
Except that Paula is no ordinary snitch, and no ordinary man. He can see the writing on the wall. He’s got plans within plans, and interesting areas of expertise that even his police employers are largely ignorant of…
If the police think they can play him and walk away clean, then they don’t know Paula. But readers of this fantastic follow-up to “Box 21″ will not only know him, but root for him as the danger slow-burns to a riveting conclusion.
Fans of exotic thrillers should snap this book up as soon as they can. It is not, as the advertising would have you believe, “the next Girl With the Dragon Tattoo” — it’s something altogether different and exciting, and hopefully a sign of more good things to come from the stellar writing team of Borge Hellstrom and Anders Roslund.
(From the review here.)(less)

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Dec 23, 2010 Ronald Roseborough rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: crime, murder, mystery, mystery-adventure-thriller

Riding high on the wave of Scandinavian novels breaking on our shores, comes this first rate thriller from the award winning team of Roslund and Hellstrom. Names we will definitely be hearing a lot more of in this country. Superb plotting and in depth characterizations highlight this novel. It details the relations between the Swedish police and the informants they use to help stem the rising tide of the Polish Mafia in Sweden. The book is shared by two main characters. Ewert Grens, an old schoo...more

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Dec 16, 2010 S.D. rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: mystery-thriller

Bourne Identity meets Burn Notice, minus the humor. There isn’t anything humorous about this thriller. Piet Hoffman is an undercover informant for the Swedish P.D. trying to break up a Polish mafia dealing drugs in prisons. One deal goes bad and another possible informant is killed. Piet had learned one thing in life and that was to trust no one. His handler and the higher ups fabricate a police record which guarantees Piet a fast trip to prison so he can target the dealers. But Piet records the...more

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Dec 15, 2010 Tony rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: novels, translated-fiction

Scandinavian crime fiction has been hot for many years now, but in the wake of the unexpected success of the Steig Larsson books, it appears to be even more ubiquitous. This latest example (the third in a series, following The Beast and Box 21) takes a very straightforward and familiar plot about an undercover operative working for the Swedish police, and manages to milk it for more than 400 pages of not particularly engaging prose. The premise is that former drug addict and ex-con Piet Hoffman...more Scandinavian crime fiction has been hot for many years now, but in the wake of the unexpected success of the Steig Larsson books, it appears to be even more ubiquitous. This latest example (the third in a series, following The Beast and Box 21) takes a very straightforward and familiar plot about an undercover operative working for the Swedish police, and manages to milk it for more than 400 pages of not particularly engaging prose. The premise is that former drug addict and ex-con Piet Hoffman was recruited by the cops while still in jail to become an informant. He has since risen to a fairly prominent position with a Polish gang, and is on the brink of being able to provide information to his handler that will bring the gang entire drug-smuggling operation down. Of course, as is the case in many such stories, something goes wrong and Hoffman's role of informer is put at risk -- along with his life.

The ostensible hero of the story (and the series) is dour, misanthropic, middle-aged Detective Inspector Grens, who in the course of investigating a murder, comes into contact with Hoffman and smells something fishy. So, you have one set of police officials trying to cover for Hoffman and keep him off the radar, and D.I. Grens and his team chasing down Hoffman from the other side. Now don't get me wrong, I love police procedurals, but this one is very slow going for the first 2/3 or so of the book. There's a lot of fat in the writing, and it often feels very clumsy. For example, the authors have this really annoying technique that emerges in pivotal scenes, where a line of dialogue is followed with a line describing what the speaker is thinking and feeling as they say it. This is incredibly awkward, and sometimes it's not even clear who is thinking what. This is made even more complicated by the occasional use of italics to set off such interior thoughts.

But if you stick with it long enough, the story suddenly lights up in a flurry of well-conceived activity in the final third. I just finished re-reading the classic thriller The Day of the Jackal, and aspects of Hoffman's story are very reminiscent of the methodical planning undertaken by the assassin that book (and film). Unfortunately, like that book, the characters never really come alive off the page, and mainly exist to serve the plotting. (It's possible that some on the police side would feel more fleshed-out if I'd read the first two books in the series.) The overall story is really not that fresh or interesting, but the mechanics of how certain things are done may be enough for some readers to emerge satisfied. I read a lot of international crime fiction, and this one felt pretty marginal to me.

Note: One aspect that's somewhat interesting is the not-so-subtle implication that the Swedish police are importing techniques (like the heavy cultivation and use of informers) from America that end up taking them into some very morally dubious territory, such as turning a blind eye to crimes committed by valuable informants.
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Dec 01, 2010 Tom rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I really enjoyed the book - the plotline was very good; I had difficulty putting it down. From Edmund Burke: “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” Several people in key government positions knew that something wrong was being done and they chose to allow it. The evil, or wrong, in this case is government officials’ trampling on the rights of individuals, violating the laws passed by the people. It is a common case: people in organizations (not just gov...more

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Mar 15, 2013 Monica rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: crime-and-or-evil, scandinavia

A scathing indictment of the practice of the government using criminals to catch criminals, turning them into Confidential Human Intelligence Sources, allowing them to participate in some crimes so that other crimes can be prevented. And a vivid portrait of the way the higher officials involved can rationalize what is their own criminal behavior, and clear their consciences (if they exist)of any sense that they have behaved wrongly. The authors really don't like smug bureaucrats, and with good r...more

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Oct 23, 2012 Nenia Campbell rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: x-2009s, x-series-bk-5, the-butler-did-it, translated-to-english, reviewed, wtf-did-i-just-read, scandinavia

This Is Halloween '12 Challenge #4

While Three Seconds may not be horror, it certainly is horrific, which is why I included it in my 'This is Halloween' Challenge. I'm not sure what it is about Swedish novels- maybe it's the fact that they live in a country that's always cold and miserable, and completely dark in the winter- but they write some seriously effed-up sh*t.

Piet Hoffmann is an informant with the Swedish government, because nobody poses as a criminal better than an actual criminal. And...more

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Jun 02, 2011 Jennifer rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: fans of Henning Mankell and The Wire

Recommended to Jennifer by: CLC Library

Shelves: read-2011

Though it took me a bit to really get into this Swedish crime novel, once I did, it was hard to put down. Piet Hoffman is a "snitch," a former criminal who is now working undercover for the Swedish Police to help gather evidence to bring down one of the larger Polish drug organizations operating in Sweden. Complications arise during a drug transaction in an apartment in Stockholm, when the "buyer" is suspected of being "police" and is murdered by one of Piet's associates. Ewert Grens, a high ran...more

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Mar 26, 2011 Jane rated it 4 of 5 stars

After all the hype about Steigt Larsson, Dick found a review of this one. It is a great read! The plot and characters totally pulled me in, and I could not predict where they would go. Two great characters, one a con turned police informer and the other an honest police investigator. I wonder how the two authors worked together - did one concentrate on the informer and the other on the investigator, or did the simply trade drafts back and forth, or what? Anyway, this one is well written and pych...more

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Feb 13, 2011 William Bentrim rated it 5 of 5 stars

Three Seconds by Roslund and Hellstrom

This is an excellent mystery encompassing organized crime and human interaction.

I'm not sure why I'm seeing more Swedish books. I Googled it to try and discover why so many good books are coming out of Sweden. I did not come to any conclusions. My guess is a smart publisher discovered a gold mine of work not published in English and is capitalizing on that fact.

I do struggle a bit with the Swedish nomenclature. Being a tad bit provincial it is always intere...more

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Feb 08, 2011 Bookmarks Magazine rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: mar-apr-2011

In this superb translation, Sweden's latest contribution to crime writing tackles some weighty subjects -- specifically, the nature of identity, the Swedish police force's use of civilians in its operations, and the safekeeping of its prisoners -- as it twists, turns, and hurdles towards its conclusion. Despite the intensity of its finale, however, Three Seconds is a novel to be savored, its multifaceted story line leisurely unfurling over the first 200 pages. The critics diverged over the novel...more

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Jul 22, 2011 Bryan Higgs rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: mystery-thriller

I have mixed feelings about this book. It certainly held my attention, and I had to finish reading it to determine the final denouement. However, I didn't really like the writing style; I don't know whether it was perhaps because the original was in Swedish and written Swedish is done like that, or whether it was translated in a particular way, or whether the translation properly represented the original style, or whatever. Certainly, the book represents an attitude towards Swedish hierarchy, as...more

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Dec 17, 2012 Michael Sump rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is a very good crime thriller, set in Sweden. Because of the locale and the characteres, it invites comparisons to the "Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" trilogy. I initially thought that it wasn't as good--there's no single character as compelling as Lisbeth Salander, but the characters did grow on me and the story was increasingly compelling.

Piet Hoffman is clever and resourceful as he battles both government officials and the Polish Mafia, both of them committed to seeing him dead. Detective...more

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Apr 02, 2011 Irene rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction, mystery

I can't remember the source, but I found this book title on a list of books recommended for readers who liked Stieg Larsson's Millenium Trilogy. What really appealed to me was that one of the authors is a journalist, and the other is an ex-criminal. The premise of the book is that an ex-criminal is actually an inside source for the secret police in Sweden. He journeys through a maze of criminal and police activity where his purported goal is to knock out a Polish drug mafia, but his real goal is...more

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Dec 06, 2010 David Peters rated it 4 of 5 stars

I love Scandinavian mysteries ever since I read my first Henning Mankell book. Since then I have found others like Nesbo, Indritason, and Larsson. So I was very excited to win this from Goodreads.
The book is broken up into several sections, with the first two laying the foundation for the rest of the book. Unfortunately they were a little confusing and slow first time through. Section one lays out all the main players, which is always challenging pronouncing the Swedish names and remembering wh...more

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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

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BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9292518-three-seconds?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1328767524l/9292518.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9292518-three-seconds?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Three Seconds by Anders Roslund[/url]

Three Seconds (Grens & Sundkvist #5)

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