David Schwinghammer's Blog - Posts Tagged "serial-killer-mystery"
Gathering Prey
John Camp recently moved to New Mexico. As a result we can expect to see some drastic changes regarding Lucas Davenport and THE PREY series, but not quite yet.
One of the original complaints about the series was the high body count involved. Would a Bureau of Criminal Apprehension agent with that much blood on his hands be tolerated? Lately Lucas has been standing on his head, trying to avoid killing too many of the miscreants he deals with. Not in this one, and there's a reason for that which I'll get to later.
One of the recent developments in the series has been the addition of Letty, Lucas's adopted daughter, as a major character. She's a lot like Lucas and would like to be involved in law enforcement in some capacity. In this case, she meets a young girl, named Skye who is a Traveler. An old time word for her might be drifter. She and her friend Henry move from place to place doing odd jobs, singing on the streets and begging, then moving on to the next place. Originally I thought the synopsis meant Lucas was involved with the Irish Travellers, a group of Irish conmen and women, who ascend on unsuspecting homeowners in the North during the spring, offering to do roofing jobs and other home improvement jobs, such as sealing the driveway. But if you pay them, beforehand, they disappear. Skye and Henry would be more the drifter type.
The villain of this episode is a Charles Manson type named Pilate, who likes to hurt people. Pilate lures Henry into the group by promising him an acting job. Skye warns him that Pilate is evil, but he won't listen. What happens to Henry and ultimately Skye, brings Lucas into the picture. Here's another unfamiliar group for you, the Juggalos. Think the Grateful Dead. The Juggalos dress up in clown make-up and costumes, listen to music, take drugs, and bascially party. Lucas and Letty follow Skye to Wisconsin and ultimatley to the Upper Penisula in Michigan, first to save Skye (and Lettie), then (for Lucas) to deal with Pilate's violent cult.
Now for the ending. The new director of the BCA is a weasel named Henry Sands. He's upset about the body count and he wants Lucas gone. He's called a meeting to discuss this, but Lucas has already told him to stick it where the sun don't shine. As a result, I would expect the next Prey novel may be set in someplace like New Mexcio. I realize Tony Hillerman has already done that, but there's nothing that says Lucas (and Letty?) have to work for the state cops.
One of the original complaints about the series was the high body count involved. Would a Bureau of Criminal Apprehension agent with that much blood on his hands be tolerated? Lately Lucas has been standing on his head, trying to avoid killing too many of the miscreants he deals with. Not in this one, and there's a reason for that which I'll get to later.
One of the recent developments in the series has been the addition of Letty, Lucas's adopted daughter, as a major character. She's a lot like Lucas and would like to be involved in law enforcement in some capacity. In this case, she meets a young girl, named Skye who is a Traveler. An old time word for her might be drifter. She and her friend Henry move from place to place doing odd jobs, singing on the streets and begging, then moving on to the next place. Originally I thought the synopsis meant Lucas was involved with the Irish Travellers, a group of Irish conmen and women, who ascend on unsuspecting homeowners in the North during the spring, offering to do roofing jobs and other home improvement jobs, such as sealing the driveway. But if you pay them, beforehand, they disappear. Skye and Henry would be more the drifter type.
The villain of this episode is a Charles Manson type named Pilate, who likes to hurt people. Pilate lures Henry into the group by promising him an acting job. Skye warns him that Pilate is evil, but he won't listen. What happens to Henry and ultimately Skye, brings Lucas into the picture. Here's another unfamiliar group for you, the Juggalos. Think the Grateful Dead. The Juggalos dress up in clown make-up and costumes, listen to music, take drugs, and bascially party. Lucas and Letty follow Skye to Wisconsin and ultimatley to the Upper Penisula in Michigan, first to save Skye (and Lettie), then (for Lucas) to deal with Pilate's violent cult.
Now for the ending. The new director of the BCA is a weasel named Henry Sands. He's upset about the body count and he wants Lucas gone. He's called a meeting to discuss this, but Lucas has already told him to stick it where the sun don't shine. As a result, I would expect the next Prey novel may be set in someplace like New Mexcio. I realize Tony Hillerman has already done that, but there's nothing that says Lucas (and Letty?) have to work for the state cops.
The Bat
THE BAT is Jo Nesbo's first book in the Harry Hole (Holy) series. I started in the middle of the series with the SNOWMAN, in which Harry already has a terrible drug problem, so this first effort explains a lot.
In the ensuing novels Harry often refers to how he got to be the “go-to” guy in Norway when it came to serial killers. It all started in Australian where he was sent to “observe” the investigation of the murder of a Norwegian girl. Apparently a lot of Scandinavians migrated to Australia when jobs were scare in Sweden, Norway, Finland etc.
Harry is assigned a partner named Andrew who just happens to be an Aborigine. We learn quite a bit about Aborigines as the case progresses. Andrew tells Harry, for instance, that Aborigines are about as different as American Indians. They speak 250 languages, for one thing.
Harry and Andrew get a tip about a drug dealer who was seen with the girl shortly before she was murdered, and they go to the town where she worked in a strip joint. They stop to visit a circus and some boxing matches where we meet one of Andrew's boys Toowoomba who belongs to a club that takes on all comers. He breaks a big guy's nose after underestimating him. Toowoomba is so good he's a candidate for the national championship. Andrew used to box for the same club, and taught Toowoomba how to fight.
Andrew seems to be trying to tell Harry something about the murderer, but Harry can't figure out exactly what. There are several suspects, including a transvestite circus clown, and the drug pusher. In the process of investigating the murder, Harry meets Birgitta, a red-headed Swedish girl, whom he falls in love with. He also falls off the wagon; he already has a drinking problem.
There are several holes in the novel. Do you use your lover as bait to trap the murderer? I don't think so. Would you? Nesbo also pulls several twists, concerning the principal suspect, dismissing several on the basis of Harry's intuition. I was able to figure out who done it, because Nesbo practically tells you at one point. He also explains almost immediately why the book is called THE BAT. If you see one in the daytime, it means something in the Aborigine culture.
Harry gets beat up quite a bit in all of his novels, but he keeps coming back for more; I guess that's the appeal of the novel. Action sequences instead of introspection about the meaning of life, which we find in quite a few mystery novels these days. There is some of that here, but it's unique, coming from Andrew and Toowoomba who have a different slant on life.
In the ensuing novels Harry often refers to how he got to be the “go-to” guy in Norway when it came to serial killers. It all started in Australian where he was sent to “observe” the investigation of the murder of a Norwegian girl. Apparently a lot of Scandinavians migrated to Australia when jobs were scare in Sweden, Norway, Finland etc.
Harry is assigned a partner named Andrew who just happens to be an Aborigine. We learn quite a bit about Aborigines as the case progresses. Andrew tells Harry, for instance, that Aborigines are about as different as American Indians. They speak 250 languages, for one thing.
Harry and Andrew get a tip about a drug dealer who was seen with the girl shortly before she was murdered, and they go to the town where she worked in a strip joint. They stop to visit a circus and some boxing matches where we meet one of Andrew's boys Toowoomba who belongs to a club that takes on all comers. He breaks a big guy's nose after underestimating him. Toowoomba is so good he's a candidate for the national championship. Andrew used to box for the same club, and taught Toowoomba how to fight.
Andrew seems to be trying to tell Harry something about the murderer, but Harry can't figure out exactly what. There are several suspects, including a transvestite circus clown, and the drug pusher. In the process of investigating the murder, Harry meets Birgitta, a red-headed Swedish girl, whom he falls in love with. He also falls off the wagon; he already has a drinking problem.
There are several holes in the novel. Do you use your lover as bait to trap the murderer? I don't think so. Would you? Nesbo also pulls several twists, concerning the principal suspect, dismissing several on the basis of Harry's intuition. I was able to figure out who done it, because Nesbo practically tells you at one point. He also explains almost immediately why the book is called THE BAT. If you see one in the daytime, it means something in the Aborigine culture.
Harry gets beat up quite a bit in all of his novels, but he keeps coming back for more; I guess that's the appeal of the novel. Action sequences instead of introspection about the meaning of life, which we find in quite a few mystery novels these days. There is some of that here, but it's unique, coming from Andrew and Toowoomba who have a different slant on life.
Knife
One of the most entertaining aspects of being a murder mystery fanatic is figuring out who did it. In Jo Nesbo's most recent Harry Hole epiisode, you will have a hard time keeping the characters straight, much less target the killer.
First off, there's a big shocker. Someone has killed Rakel, Harry's wife and the love of his life. The sourpuss was actually happy for a time, until she threw him out; the spouse is always a suspect in a murder case, so Harry doesn't even get to investigate, officially, that is. Harry is absolutely certain Svein Finne, rapist and serial killer, who somehow got out of jail, is the culprit. This guy is really crazy; he doesn't get a big charge out of killing people; he just wants to impregnate every young girl he can get his hands on; he will only murder them if they abort the baby or get rid of it in some other way. That's why he has a motive for Rakel's murder. Harry killed his serial killer son, and he wants revenge.
Nesbo knows we inveterate murder mystery readers are looking for a red herring; it's pretty clear that Finne is just a thread in the plot that needs to be dealt with. Nesbo throws in a few more; for a time Harry thinks Roar Boar, a former special forces officer who worked with Rakel in human resources may have done it (watch out for some foreshadowing here; this guy is a sniper). Then there are the women Harry has bedded over the years; there are three main ones who may have been jealous of Rakel. One of them is married to Harry's best friend; another was a young homicide cop when Harry bedded her. I was sure the murderer was a woman; it was getting toward the end of the book and Nesbo was featuring these women quite a bit.
Another shocker. When Harry finds out who killed Rakel he doesn't seem all that upset. That's because Harry has empathy and blames himself. For a while Harry is even suicidal; he thinks he might have killed Rakel in a drunken stupor, and there's some evidence that he did.
The climax is not when Harry finds out who killed Rakel. It's when Svein Finne finds out his lawyer has a woman on the side and blackmails the lawyer into giving her to him. It's pretty slick how Harry and the lawyer deal with a psychopathic killer. It's not clear if it was Harry's idea or the lawyer's.
Joe Nesbo gives Stieg Larsson a run for his money; I've read about half dozen Harry Hole (pronounced Hole') and they always give me a run for my money when it comes to guessing who done it.
First off, there's a big shocker. Someone has killed Rakel, Harry's wife and the love of his life. The sourpuss was actually happy for a time, until she threw him out; the spouse is always a suspect in a murder case, so Harry doesn't even get to investigate, officially, that is. Harry is absolutely certain Svein Finne, rapist and serial killer, who somehow got out of jail, is the culprit. This guy is really crazy; he doesn't get a big charge out of killing people; he just wants to impregnate every young girl he can get his hands on; he will only murder them if they abort the baby or get rid of it in some other way. That's why he has a motive for Rakel's murder. Harry killed his serial killer son, and he wants revenge.
Nesbo knows we inveterate murder mystery readers are looking for a red herring; it's pretty clear that Finne is just a thread in the plot that needs to be dealt with. Nesbo throws in a few more; for a time Harry thinks Roar Boar, a former special forces officer who worked with Rakel in human resources may have done it (watch out for some foreshadowing here; this guy is a sniper). Then there are the women Harry has bedded over the years; there are three main ones who may have been jealous of Rakel. One of them is married to Harry's best friend; another was a young homicide cop when Harry bedded her. I was sure the murderer was a woman; it was getting toward the end of the book and Nesbo was featuring these women quite a bit.
Another shocker. When Harry finds out who killed Rakel he doesn't seem all that upset. That's because Harry has empathy and blames himself. For a while Harry is even suicidal; he thinks he might have killed Rakel in a drunken stupor, and there's some evidence that he did.
The climax is not when Harry finds out who killed Rakel. It's when Svein Finne finds out his lawyer has a woman on the side and blackmails the lawyer into giving her to him. It's pretty slick how Harry and the lawyer deal with a psychopathic killer. It's not clear if it was Harry's idea or the lawyer's.
Joe Nesbo gives Stieg Larsson a run for his money; I've read about half dozen Harry Hole (pronounced Hole') and they always give me a run for my money when it comes to guessing who done it.
