En av årets første skoledager skjer det noe forferdelig: På lekeplassen finner politiet to sju år gamle jenter som er blitt skutt. Den ene er død, den andre er alvorlig skadd. Det finnes ingen mistenkte. Dagen før ble politietterforskeren Harald Fors slått ned og frastjålet tjenestevåpenet sitt av noen ungdommer. Kan det ha vært pistolen hans som ble brukt under skytingen? Og hvem er gal nok til å skyte på barn?
Mats Wahl (1945-2025) was a Swedish author. He has published 43 books but also written several plays for the theatre, TV programs, novels and movies. Vinterviken (in English: The Winter Bay) is one of his most famous books, which is also a film.
The only reason this book gets one star is because the writing itself is very easily readable. The content however…Apart from having to read the N-word several times sometimes on the same page, Wahl has not created any female characters of depth. Almost every single time one reads about a woman in this book it is about her desirability in relation to a male character. It was infuriating to read and I’m sorry to my 13 year old self for having to be bombarded with this much sexism and racism at such a young and impressionable age.
This book was school literature for my son who is 14. I think it is a very good account of what can happen if children are bullyied and about violence in a school context. As it is written like a crime story it is also very appealing to read. Unfortunately it leaves some questions open in the end, for example what happens with the child who was behind all the dynamics that unfolded. My son was also not really convinced that the actual killings could have happened like they were described in the end.