Lumen uhrit

Åremorden #1

by Viveca Sten, Sirkka-Liisa Sjöblom (Translator)

Hiihtokausi on hädin tuskin ehtinyt alkaa Åressa, Länsi-Ruotsin suositussa hiihtokeskuksessa, kun lumesta löytyy ruumis. Kaikki viittaa siihen, ettei kyseessä ollut onnettomuus. Daniel Lindskog Åren poliisista saa uuden työtoverin Hanna Ahlanderista, joka on paennut Tukholmasta ero ja potkut mielessä kirvellen. Pian he ovat keskellä rikostutkimusta. Lumi häikäisee, lämpötila laskee ja yhä useampi joutuu hengenvaaraan. Mitä pitää uhrata ennen kuin totuus selviää?

Viveca Sten (s. 1959) tunnetaan Sandhamnin murhat -sarjasta, joka sijoittuu tukholmalaisten kesäiseen saaristoparatiisiin: Lumen uhrit aloittaa uuden Åren murhat -sarjan, joka todistaa, että myös hengästyttävän upeissa talvimaisemissa voi tapahtua kauheuksia. Stenin dekkarien oikeudet on myyty 40 maahan, ja kirjat ovat pitäneet pintansa suomalaisten suosikkidekkarien joukossa jo vuosia.

”Kirja on täynnä klassista laatujännitystä. On ilo palata Hannan ja Danielin seuraan seuraavissa Åre-kirjoissa.” Dast Magazine

Genres: Mystery, Thriller, Crime, Fiction, Mystery Thriller, Nordic Noir, Sweden

495 pages, Hardcover

First published October 14, 2020

About the author

Viveca Sten made her author debut with crime novel Still Waters. It soon became a huge hit with both critics and readers and today the author has sold almost 3 million copies of her books worldwide.

In May 2014, her seventh novel, The Price of Power, was published in Sweden. It was hugely successful and Viveca cemented her place as one of the country’s most popular authors. Her Sandhamn Murder Series continues to top the best seller charts, not to mention the whopping success of the TV mini-series that is based on Viveca’s novels. An estimated 30 million people around the globe have been watching the adventures of Nora and Thomas unfold on the TV screen.

Today, Viveca lives in Stockholm with her husband and three children. During the summer months she leaves for Sandhamn to write and spend the holidays with her family. This year she has also been working on a cookbook that features stories from the Stockholm archipelago
.

Reviews

[Eline Van Der Meulen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Verborgen in de sneeuw is het eerste deel in de Are moorden reeks van Viveca Sten. Eerder verscheen van deze Zweedse auteur al de zesdelige Sandhamn serie die ook verfilmd werd. Deze nieuwe serie speelt zich af in Are, een bekende wintersportplaats in Zweden. Verborgen in de sneeuw werd in 25 landen uitgegeven en er zijn plannen om er een tv-serie van te maken.

Hanna Ahlander keert na een conflict op het werk en een liefdesbreuk terug naar Are, waar haar zus een vakantiehuis heeft. Het dorp is echter geschokt door de plotselinge verdwijning van een tiener en alles wordt in het werk gesteld om haar zo snel mogelijk te vinden. Hanna krijgt in Are een tweede kans aangeboden en mag deel uitmaken van het korps. Samen met Daniel probeert ze alles op alles te zetten om het ergst denkbare te voorkomen.

Het boek begint met een spannende proloog waarbij de lezer geen idee heeft wie hier aan het woord is. Later in het boek vallen de puzzelstukken in elkaar, maar met deze spannende opbouw is de toon alvast gezet. Deze spanning wordt doorheen het verhaal mooi doorgetrokken en bepaalde hoofdstukken sluiten af met een korte cliffhanger. Dit zorgt ervoor dat de lezer reikhalzend uitkijkt naar de volgende pagina’s. De mooie cover zorgt voor een gezellige sfeer en zeker in de koude wintermaanden kan de lezer zich helemaal inleven in dit verhaal. Viveca Sten weet de omgeving overigens ook prachtig te beschrijven.

Een kleine kern aan vaste personages komt aan bod en het is niet moeilijk om iedereen uit elkaar te houden. Er zijn twee hoofdpersonages, Hanna en Daniel, die het meeste aantal hoofdstukken vertellen en die dus het grootste deel van het verhaal bepalen. Hier en daar wordt daarvan afgeweken en zijn er enkele hoofdstukken geschreven vanuit het vertelperspectief van de vader of moeder van het vermiste tienermeisje. Hanna heeft het niet gemakkelijk sinds ze op haar vorige werk een aanvaring had met haar superieur en ze op het randje staat van ontslag. Daarnaast heeft ze privé ook een en ander voor de kiezen gekregen en is ze in het begin van het verhaal de pedalen wat kwijt. Gelukkig weet ze zich te herpakken en komt haar politie instinct al snel weer naar boven. Daniel is een goed politieman, maar heeft ook zo zijn zwaktes. Samen vormen ze een goede tandem en versterken ze elkaar in het onderzoek. Het einde van het boek zal voor sommigen misschien ietwat voorspelbaar zijn, net zoals de dader. Toch belemmert dat niet bij het lezen want de boeiende schrijfstijl van Sten blijft de lezer meetrekken in het verhaal.

Met Verborgen in de sneeuw werd een fraai eerste deel uitgegeven, dat zeker doet uitkijken naar een vervolg.

Deze recensie verscheen eerder op Vrouwenthrillers.nl https://www.vrouwenthrillers.nl/index.... Ik wil ook graag Luitingh-Sijthoff bedanken voor het recensie-exemplaar.

[Alan (the Lone Librarian rides again) Teder · Rating 3 out of 5]

February 7, 2025 Update This is now a Netflix TV series The Åre Murders in Swedish with English subtitles. Season 1 looks like it follows the plot of Book 1 Hidden in Snow. Read further info at IMDb here and see the trailer on YouTube here.

Carla Sehn as Hannah Ahlander in The Åre Murders TV series. Image sourced from MSN.

Angsty Cops in Swedish Ski Country
Review of the Amazon Crossing Kindle eBook (Nov. 1, 2022) released in advance of the official paperback/Kindle/audiobook (Dec. 1, 2022) translated by Marlaine Delargy from the Swedish language original Offermakaren (The Sacrifice Maker) (October 14, 2020).

[3.5 rounded down]
Hidden in Snow is the first English translated book of a new series Åremorden (The Åre Murders, 2020-ongoing) by Swedish writer Viveca Sten, author of the popular 10 book Sandhamn Murders series (2008-2019), also translated by Marlaine Delargy.

Generally I grew tired of most of Scandi-Noir in my pre-GR days. There were just too many tortured angsty, alcoholic cops dealing with personal issues used in place of actual character building and inventive plots. That made my recent re-discovery of Iceland's Arnaldur Indriðason and his two latest series of Flovent/Thorson & Konrað such a pleasure (Thanks again to Berengaria if you are reading this!). I've also had a constant reminder through my re-read binge of P.D. James and her Adam Dalgliesh series to show me what actual good literary character writing is like. When Amazon First Reads offered a translation from Swedish as its "police procedural" choice for November 2022, I took a chance.

It did not start well, detective Hanna Ahlander is a burnout in the Stockholm City Police where her job of dealing with domestic assault and abuse cases has destroyed her career and home-life. Returning home after pounding down a bunch of vodka shots she starts right into the wine only to have her boyfriend arrive and announce that they are over. Cue meltdown.

Luckily, ultra-competent big sister Lydia (also a high-powered lawyer) takes over and offers her a retreat to her family's luxurious vacation home in Åre in Swedish ski country, about midway up the country on the west side. It is the pre-Christmas Advent season and this is far enough north that there are only 5 daily hours of sunlight and the sun goes down at 2pm each day at this time of year.

There is little serious crime in Åre, except for dealing with the results of tourists or residents misbehaving after alcohol indulgence. But the disappearance of a high school girl after a Lucia party instigates a county wide search which ends with a tragic discovery. Hanna is drawn into the investigation and begins a redemption journey in partnership with local cops Daniel, Anton and Raffe.

That redemption journey did save the book for me enough to get it to 3.5 stars, even though Hanna displays often reckless and careless behaviour (some of which is probably necessary to move the book forward). On further downside notes though, the home life of Daniel is of course angsty and the victim family life is totally destroyed by the end.

I did enjoy the atmosphere descriptions of the mountains and countryside and the depths of the cold in the heart of winter. I think that I would read further in the series when they are translated.

Trivia and Link
* #ThereIsAlwaysOne: Author/Translator error or Proofreading Copy-editing error on page 429 (Kindle edition) with "murdered Hanna," i.e. should be "murdered A*****".

Amazon Prime First Reads are available to Amazon Prime subscribers. Commonly they offer advance reads of books in Kindle eBook format one month before the date of official release. The current month's selection is available here (Link goes to Amazon US, adjust for your own country or region).

[Cristina Lazăr · Rating 4 out of 5]

https://carti.blog/2025/02/11/ascunsa...

[Andrei(Drusca) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the story

[Liselotte Howard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jag brukar undra lite varför svenska deckare ofta känns så simpla i jämförelse med de engelskspråkiga jag läser. Vid det här laget kan det knappast handla om att engelskan känns "svårare", eftersom jag läser ca 70% av all skönlitteratur på det språket. Så...?
Sten ger mig svaret ganska omgående. Jag förundras nästan över att jag inte noterat det tidigare. För svenska deckare, vilket detta är ett klockrent typexempel av, b-e-s-k-r-i-v-e-r, istället för att berätta.
"Det här är Hanna. Hon har bråkat på jobbet och gjort slut med sin kille så därför är Hanna ledsen."
"Det här är Daniel. Hans morfar var en våldsam man, så nu är han rädd för sin egen ilska och undrar hur han ska bli som pappa."
"Hanna har sett för mycket våld från män och är därför cynisk inför mäns offergörande av kvinnor. Föresten säger statistiken att våldsbrott nästan alltid utförs av män."
Ämnen, karaktärer och känslor kan vara fullt legitima (där har svenskarna ett övertag hos mig, som inte alltid förstår asiatisk hederskodex eller amerikansk melodramatisk)... men de skrivs ut i sin fulla torrhet, utan att jag behöver engagera en enda nervända.
Att "offermakaren" själv introduceras tidigt i boken och tänder en "HÄR HAR NI FÖRÖVAREN!"-lampan bidrar inte till mer mystik.
Så hur sjutton kan jag ge boken en trea...? Tja. Ibland orkar man inte tänka. Sten skriver inte snyggt, men korrekt och kortfattat nog att hålla drivet uppe, och trots att jag inte direkt bryr mig om hur det ska gå är jag alldeles lagomt underhållen nästan hela boken ut (okej, jag somnar i slutet, men det gör jag ju lätt...). Som ej skidåkare var dessutom Åre-miljön lagom ny och exotisk för att ge mig god verklighetsflykt. Klart värt 2,5 stjärnor, som jag i min välvilja (bara att sådan finns säger nåt!) avrundar upp.

[Gary Brinck · Rating 1 out of 5]

I gave up about halfway thru the book. There is the makings of a good story in there, but the writing needs editorial help. The story is too drawn out and there is much repetitive introspection and personal hand-wringing. I know there are readers who like a lot of personal drama, so perhaps this book is for them rather than me.

As a murder mystery, it comes up short. The only progress in the investigation comes from serendipity, only moving forward when some anonymous citizen calls in a discovery.

[Goth Gone Grey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book compelled me to read through in a rush, huddled under blankets to stave off the chill from the winter setting and the characters, each seemingly darker than the previous one. The translation was well done, with the words flowing well.

Trigger warnings? Yes. If something bad can happen - repeatedly pointed out that males hurt females - it happened in this book. An example of this is in the excerpt below:

'"It’s easy to look for a sexual motive,” she says.

“But in fact cases of sexual violence are usually about power and dominance. When men use violence within close relationships, for example, through sexual humiliation or physical abuse, it’s almost invariably because the perpetrator wants to demonstrate his position of power. He wants to show that he is in complete control of his partner. It is a damaging pattern of control and the exertion of power that has very little to do with his sex drive.”

The two men are listening closely.'

It's not an easy read, with characters unraveling to show weakness and human faults. It's difficult to actually like and root for most of them the way they're portrayed, other than a small handful of victims. Cheating, murder, lies, human trafficking, exploitation, property damage - all the darkest parts of the human condition are on display here.

The police work feels cozy mystery on some levels, and questionable procedure on others, like they stumble upon answers more accidentally than through any real skill. Emotion leads actions for most characters, not just the police.

The story is well crafted that many people can reasonably be suspects, but feels a bit convoluted to get there. I'd lock my doors and drive past this place at full speed to stay away from it.

Huge spoiler, because I know this one is a deal breaker for many, even on murder stories: The dog is one of the victims.

[Gabrielle · Rating 2 out of 5]

Look. I get that it’s for the drama, but every time a “cop” commits a crime (illegal entry in this case) for the sake of the story, I want to throw the book across the room. Please. Stop writing your crimefighters into criminals.

[Christina McDonald · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nordic Noir at its finest, I loved everything about this creepy, chilling thriller, from the twisty plot to the well-drawn characters. An easy, fast-paced, propulsive read, I couldn't put it down!

[the reading cat · Rating 4 out of 5]

3,5 ⭐️

[John Hatley · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is my first book by Viveca Sten and I liked it. Just when I began to think it was going unnecessarily slowly, the plot began to pick up pace, rapidly, and kept my undivided attention right up to the end. This fact speaks very much for the author, as it reminds me that long passages that seem to have little or nothing to do with the plot may eventually prove to be key to the outcome of the narrative.

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m torn on how to score this book. I finished it in two days because I wanted to know what happened, but MY GOD all the dudes suuuuuck and are all super selfish. I don’t know what happened to the author, but I hope all these shitty dudes are part of her past and none are inspired by her current relationship(s). I think all of the characters need major therapy (especially the men, but the women too).

*update* after the huge rant I went on, I decided to give this 2.5 stars. I bumped it to a 3 because the story telling was good, but the characters were awful.

Be warned (spoiler) - DV gets mentioned a lot in this. It does describe a choke scene (one of my triggers, what fun), describes what DV relationships are like (both as an outside observer, the victim, and the perpetrator), and references it a lot. SA is also mentioned and somewhat described, and is referred back to (and I mention a scene below that some might not consider SA, but I had red flags flying).

I will now rant about the men. Here there be spoilers, so read at your own risk.

I don’t know who’s worse - the detective who knocked up his new girlfriend (who is 10 years his junior) and made her have a baby (she wanted an abortion!) because *he* dreamed about it and *he* thinks it’ll be wonderful, who then thinks he’s such an amazing dad because he gives the kid a bath at the end of the day - and that’s it. Spends all day at work, and gets upset when the girlfriend calls him out on not helping enough or even talking to her (oh - and major rage issues), and then also gets upset because she wants to talk, but then won’t take no for an answer when she doesn’t want sex (it’s not full-on SA, but she says no at least twice and he keeps going, while complaining about their lack of sex life and not being allowed to touch her boobs because she just gave birth 3 months before, and calls her hormonal later). At one point he’s like i DiDn’T kNoW tHiS wOuLd Be So HaRd and then complains that things aren’t like how they were before they had the baby 🤦🏻‍♀️ Also keeps comparing him being a cop to her raising a screaming infant all day and how much harder it is for him and whyy doesn’t she think about his feelings. Also pulls the “I didn’t know unconditional love until my daughter was born” line 🤮 I hope the girlfriend packs up and leaves, because this is just the beginning of the cop-turns-alcoholic-abuser trope (that is sadly all too true irl). If, at the end, he said he was going to at least get anger management therapy/treatment, I wouldn’t end with such a negative view. But what does he do? Buy crappy gas station flowers, admits that it’s crappy and he can’t do better, and “apologizes.” Sounds exactly how Hanna described abusers after they did something violent (and is all-too true).

Then there’s the father of the victim, who also only thinks about himself and *his* needs, so he contacts his mistress to try to talk to her, while completely ignoring his wife and her obvious depression issues. Oh and just about completely ignoring his kids as well, by running off and getting wasted while they’re stuck to their own devices, because he thinks his *wife* is being selfish, rather than, oh I dunno, extremely depressed. So he tries to bang his mistress and keeps getting super drunk, and doesn’t even realize his wife is OD’ing because he can’t even bother to check on her, even though she hasn’t left the bed in days. How does his storyline end? He lets his wife die alone in the hospital while in the process of setting someone’s house on fire (fully intending for everyone in there to die).

Then there’s the victim’s boyfriend who is violent, especially when he drinks too much (and isn’t getting what he wants). And the school advisor who made a pass at the victim, again, thinking only of himself. There’s the husband of a character who gets violent, and then obviously the perpetrator (again, is violent and crappy because things aren’t going their way).

The only male characters who don’t seem like a giant turd sandwich are barely mentioned at all, so who’s to say.

Hanna also had some major issues, but hers weren’t selfish in nature. She had major trauma that she clearly never processed, and threw herself into trying to protect and save others as a way to save herself. But she wasn’t violent (unless you count what she did to her ex’s clothes, but he was also another major selfish jerk, who I forgot to include above), she didn’t yell at people and throw things. As soon as she said she thought Daniel was a good guy and thought he would be a good (romantic) partner, I was like “oh, honey.” Can’t see all those red flags you teach about in front of your face when you haven’t processed your trauma yet. I’ve definitely been there.

While I did find the underlying story interesting and thought it was a page-turner, I just kept getting angry at how awful all the men are (especially the detective). I think this is book one of a series, and I will definitely NOT be reading more. I found myself worrying about the author more than once, since all the guys had violent, selfish tendencies, and only apologize after they’ve done something terrible (and are super weak apologies at that, if they happen at all), and don’t make any attempts at bettering themselves.

Finishing this book does make me grateful that I am no longer in an abusive relationship and am having a much easier time spotting the red flags (oh man there were so many)

[Adela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mi-a plăcut destul de mult acest thriller nordic. Deși e în prim-plan o crimă și o investigație pentru găsirea vinovatului, se pune mult accent și pe viața personală a detectivilor și a locuitorilor din Åre. Iar asta mie îmi place tare mult, mai ales că e scris într-un mod plăcut, fără să mă plictisească. Iar capitolele sunt extrem de scurte, 2-3 pagini. Efectiv am zburat prin ea.

Investigația a fost bine detaliată și am ghicit criminalul încă de la început, ceea ce mi se întâmplă destul de rar. Nu știam motivația acelui personaj, însă eram convinsă că el e. Măcar la final am aflat și de ce, acel lucru chiar nu l-aș fi putut ghici. Destul de complex și interesant.

[Silvie Klokgieter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Als zowel het persoonlijke als professionele leven van politieagente Hanna Ahlander in Stockholm instort, vlucht ze terug naar de lodge van haar zus in het Zweedse skiparadijs Åre. Een korte troost, want het dorp is geschokt door de verdwijning van een tienermeisje. Hanna bundelt haar krachten met lokale rechercheur Daniel Lindskog, hun enige aanwijzing is een sjaal in de sneeuw.

Dan nadert er een storm, en terwijl de temperaturen dalen, raken steeds meer levens in gevaar. Hoeveel slachtoffers zullen er vallen als de waarheid helemaal raakt ondergesneeuwd?

'Verborgen in de sneeuw' is het eerste deel van de nieuwe serie 'De Åremoorden' en begint meteen met een boeiende proloog. Dit zorgde er voor dat ik nieuwsgierig werd en enthousiast verder wilde lezen.

Vervolgens lees je meerdere verhaallijnen. Zo is er Hanna, een politieagente die meteen de nodige dingen te verduren krijgt. Maar ook lees je over de laatste momenten dat een tienermeisje is gezien. Na een feestje is ze plotseling verdwenen. Hanna wordt samen met Daniel op deze zaak gezet...

Dit verhaal las supervlot! Ik vond de verschillende personages allemaal erg interessant en ik was heel benieuwd hoe de verschillende verhaallijnen bij elkaar zouden komen. Niet alleen de vermissing van het tienermeisje speelt namelijk een grote rol. Er zijn verschillende dingen aan de hand endit zorgde er voor dat ik mij eigenlijk geen enkel moment heb verveeld.

Ik kan helaas niet teveel vertellen, ook niet over de proloog, maar de spanning wordt in elk geval goed opgebouwd. Je vraagt je echt de hele tijd af wie achter de verdwijning van het tienermeisje zit en ook wordt de ijskoude omgeving goed beschreven.

De volgende delen ga ik dan ook zeker lezen want ik ben erg benieuwd naar de verdere ontwikkelingen van bepaalde personages.

Dit was dus zeker een aangename kennismaking met deze auteur!

Beoordeling: 4,0 ⭐️

[Aitziber · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gran novela nordica.
El caso me ha parecido muy interesante y me ha tenido enganchada desde el principio.
Mucha nieve, mucho frio y con un trasfondo interesante.
Espero más libros de estos

[Willemijn jufwillemijnopallstars · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hele fijne Scandinavische thriller!

[Linden · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am a big fan of the Nordic Noir genre, and I've read several books by this author, also ably translated by Marlaine Delargy, so I was glad to see she has started a new series. Hanna is a police officer in Stockholm who gets in trouble with her boss because she knows that a fellow officer beat his wife to death even though the department covered it up to protect him. Her live in boyfriend dumps her for another woman soon after; her older sister, a prosperous attorney, offers to let Hanna stay in her ski resort vacation home. Locally, a teenager goes missing, and when Hanna joins in the search, she learns some information which she takes to the police. They are very impressed by her, and offer her a job on the case, which has much wider implications than just the missing girl. Some of the events in the novel are very disturbing, but it's a really good mystery enveloped in the ambiance of icy cold air and lots of snow.

[Elizabeth Theiss Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Swedish noir at its very best. Don’t start reading this unless you have a free day available in which to finish it. The characters are wonderful but the background landscape is fabulous. This book allows you to spend a weekend in rural Sweden around the winter Solstice with its short days, cold nights, and deep forests. This is not to disparage the plot, which is finely wrought and will keep you guessing until the end. I’ll seek out more books by Vivica Sten.

[Madeline · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars

Wow! What an exciting story. I couldn’t put the book down.

Anxiously awaiting the next book in the series….hope that is soon!

[Ken Fredette · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well this book is very different from Viveca's other books up until now. One on her main characters is Hanna Ahlander who is in a very bitter breakup with Christian has to move out of his apartment. So she moves to her sister's house in Åre which is in the mountains. She was let go from the police in Stockholm and is without a job. Another character is Detective Inspector Daniel Lindskog who becomes involved in the crime of Amanda Halvorssen being killed. Many other characters make this story very believable as the story unfolds. By hit and miss Hanna finds out about Amanda's boyfriend and tells Anton, who's a policeman and it leads to a 3 month job with the police. You follow Hanna through many changes and wonder if she's going to keep her job or be fired. I'll let you go with this so you'll read this story. It's very good and I recommend it.

[Jeanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Imagine dominoes: one domino hits another, which knocks down another. This is the story behind the first in the Viveca Sten's Åre mysteries, Hidden in Snow. Several balls are set in motion that have little relationship to each other, but each has truly awful effects on the parties involved, especially the family of the kidnapped girl. Often mysteries ignore the impact crime has on people other than the immediate victim. Hidden in Snow begins to remedy this oversight.


Sweden, with the story's major locations in red and green

One of the things that I liked about this book was its characters' frequent omissions of relevant information during interviews: "Harald wonders whether he ought to mention the tense atmosphere between them, but decides against it" (p. 85). I wonder how police officers ever get sufficiently reliable interview information given our tendency to present ourselves in the best light, because we don't realize that something is important, because we don't like – or do like – the interviewer, because we misremember the relevant events.

I read Hidden in Snow after a deep freeze here. We whined about -5ºF temperatures and high winds, about our sunrise at 7:45am, and sunset at 5pm. The events taking place in this book account for most of the emotional reactions in this book, but today's sunrise in Åre, Sweden is 9:48am, sunset at 2:33pm. This shortened day – 4 ½ hours – surely accounts for some of the book's rampant depression, anger, and alcohol abuse, which both precede and follow the crimes.

And, of course, sunny, cooperative characters don't fit neatly in most mysteries.

[Sunhawk · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall, a good read. It opened a window into a part of the world, and a way of living, that I don't, can't know, and that always reliably entertains me. The book touched on a current topic close to my heart: the evolving awareness that women are as deserving of responsibility and regard as men.
Yet 24 hours after finishing, I find myself unsatisfied -- for an author of serial books, leaving us readers hungry for more can be a good thing, but in this case, I don't feel this book is ready for a mainstream audience: it isn't finished. To me, it felt as if the author got 90% of the way to the finish line, got distracted or tired, and took a shortcut . . . leaving some important strands unwoven into an otherwise tightly plotted work. That's disappointing. Sten is too good a writer to tell, not show: Hanna's deus ex machina sister (we all need a Lydia, but we don't all get one!) solves the Christian problem much too easily, and off-stage, and the solution isn't good for Hanna, as it makes her think she can do nasty stuff in retaliation for having nasty stuff done to her, and that's not healthy for a good person, especially a police person. Daniel, too, gets a pass on his return to wife and baby. In both cases, a few extra paragraphs would have resolved the tensions so skillfully created by the author. Hence, 3 stars. But I'll probably try another Sten, hoping this isn't a pattern.

[Mary J. Dondanville · Rating 1 out of 5]

A hot mess disguised as a mystery

Shallow characters, a plot that becomes obvious 15C0 pages before the end and a wrap up so perfect, all it needed was "and they all lived happily ever after". And will someone please tell the translator that restroom isn't the place to grab a few winks.

[Mis Lecturas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Es un hecho, para quienes pasáis habitualmente por aquí, que siento una especial predilección por las series nórdicas. Procuro no dejar pasar ninguna, menos aún si viene firmada por una mujer y cuenta con el plus de tener una adaptación televisiva, como es el caso. Hoy os hablo sobre la primera entrega de esta serie policíaca ambientada en la localidad sueca de Åre.
La historia arranca un oscuro amanecer de invierno, en 2019, pocas semanas antes de Navidad, cuando la temporada de esquí en Åre está a punto de comenzar. Un operario de los telesillas encuentra el cuerpo congelado de una chica en una de las sillas. El hallazgo desencadena una investigación que estará encabezada por el inspector Daniel Lindskog, pero como toda ayuda es poca contratan temporalmente a la agente de policía de Estocolmo Hanna Ahlander, quien se ha mudado recientemente a la casa que su hermana tiene en Åre, huyendo de su pasado…
Una lectura dinámica marcada a golpe de capítulos de corta extensión y un ritmo desigual, con tramos que se dilatan en exceso porque la autora se detiene en los conflictos personales de sus protagonistas y, en ocasiones, esas introspecciones ralentizan el avance del caso, difuminando la tensión.
Sus dos protagonistas son el motor que impulsa la historia. Hanna, una agente que no pasa por su mejor momento personal ni profesional y llega a Åre en busca de un nuevo comienzo; y Daniel, el policía local que encarna el peso de la rutina y de la vida en un entorno pequeño. Unos personajes que intentan compaginar trabajo y vida privada, aunque no siempre lo consiguen.
Lo mejor del libro está en su ambientación, que no funciona como mero telón de fondo. El lector puede sentir esa climatología adversa con temperaturas bajo cero, la nieve y el aislamiento, que condicionan la vida, las decisiones y hasta las emociones de los personajes. Viveca Sten no se limita a contarnos una investigación policial, sino que va trazando poco a poco el retrato de una comunidad pequeña, donde todo el mundo esconde algo y donde el silencio puede ser tan peligroso como la nieve que lo cubre todo.
En definitiva, una novela policíaca autoconclusiva que marca el inicio de una nueva serie y cumple con lo que promete. Con ella vas a sentir que la naturaleza, en los paisajes del norte, puede ser tan hermosa como implacable, y que el frío no siempre viene del clima. Después de décadas leyendo noir nórdico, confirmo que esta autora se ha ganado un merecido hueco en mis estanterías. Y el placer ha sido doble, porque ya he podido ver la serie en Netflix.

[Lotten · Rating 4 out of 5]

Offermakaren är en lättläst polisroman, och var den typen av bok som jag behövde just då. Jag tycker Viveca Sten har ett språk som flyter väl, och strukturen i berättelsen bygger upp en bra spänning. Eftersom jag läst alla hennes böcker om Sandhamn så hade jag förväntat mig ännu mer, men Offermakaren passade mig ändå relativt bra.

Jag gillar i synnerhet miljön – Åre med omnejd. Jag har varit flera gånger i Åre med jobbet, och jag får lätt en känsla för var de befinner sig och hur det ser ut. Kartan i början av boken gör det också lättare. Ett annat plus är att Viveca Sten ger en inramning till brotten som (tyvärr) är högst aktuell.

I Offermakaren får vi, såklart, möta en ny uppsättning poliser och personer och det är alltid roligt. Jag ser fram mot att få lära känna karaktärerna mer. Dock har de en del drag som jag inte alls uppskattar, och retar mig på redan i första boken. Hanna gör nästan omedelbart oprofessionella saker som hon är högst medveten om. Och Daniels utbrott är obehagliga och borde redan märkts i hans polisutövande.

Jag kommer med stor sannolikhet fortsätta läsa serien.

Betyg: 4-

https://lottensbokblogg.wordpress.com...

[R · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't really have any strong feelings about the book. Is mediocre and very, very slow, but I did manage to finish it when I was bored as heck and it somehow did not bore me even further. But it is boring. It's too long, too slow, too... basic.

I liked the idea, I liked where it was going, but the execution was rather poor, though it does explore some interesting themes. And, surprisingly, I liked the characters and found them well done in the end.

[Mandy Baggot · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book. It had great short chapters and the pacing was spot on.
I did guess the killer but I was wrapped up in the story and the characters and it didn't matter. Recommended!

[Margarita Gautier · Rating 4 out of 5]

El día no puede empezar peor para la inspectora de policía Hanna Ahlander. Pierde –injustamente en mi opinión- su puesto de trabajo y, al llegar a casa, su novio le dice que todo ha terminado y que tiene una semana para abandonar el piso. Sin trabajo, sin casa y sin dinero, se muda temporalmente al precioso chalé que su hermana tiene en las montañas de Äre. Cuando Amanda, una chica de dieciocho años desaparece, no puede invitar implicarse.

Me ha gustado mucho esta novela y, sin duda, seguiré leyendo la serie. De siempre me ha gustado la novela negra nórdica. Tras estrenarme en el misterio con Agatha Christie, mi siguiente paso fue leer a Henning Mankell, el maestro. Tras leer mucha novela negra nórdica, seguí con la española, la americana, la de cualquier país. Pero he de reconocer que la nórdica está entre mis favoritas. ¿Qué la hace especial? Aparte de los escenarios tan diferentes y la distinta forma de vida, la crítica social que siempre hay y el ritmo ni rápido ni lento que la caracteriza.

En este caso, la acción transcurre en Suecia. En un idílico paraje alrededor de Äre (mirad fotos para ver qué maravilla de paisajes). Eso sí, yo no lo quiero ni en pintura. No sé cómo se puede vivir a -20º bajo cero y con 4 o 5 horas de luz durante varios meses todos los años. A pesar de que yo no viviría allí, reconozco que me ha gustado mucho conocer esa zona y sus peculiaridades.

También me ha gustado mucho conocer a Hanna. Una mujer que no puede empezar peor en el libro: lo suyo es un mal día y lo demás bobadas. El motivo por el que la han despedido de la policía de Estocolmo no os lo cuento pero sí os diré que en él hay crítica social: distintos parámetros de actuación según quién sea el criminal. La otra parte de crítica social tampoco se puede contar pues es el motivo del crimen. Tendréis que leer el libro para saberlo. En todo caso, como digo, Hanna me ha gustado mucho al igual que el inspector de Äre, Daniel. Creo que van a formar una buena pareja investigadora.

Me ha gustado mucho la forma de escribir de Viveca. Hay alguna escena tierna (con un bebé) con la que se te cae la baba; por el contrario, cuando hay escenas dramáticas, las dota de mucha más intensidad que la que suele darse en este tipo de libros. Creo que es una autora que podría escribir sobre cualquier género. Porque el misterio también se le da bien. Mantiene bien la intriga hasta que ya empieza a dar pistas que permiten al lector ver qué es lo que va a pasar. Es un libro que se lee de forma ágil y fácil hasta que llega a un buen final. A mí me ha dejado buen sabor de boca y con ganas de leer la segunda entrega.

Sin duda, lo recomiendo

[Žiga · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tako dobre kriminalke že dolgo nisem bral. Zelo prijetno in tekoče branje brez pretiranega nasilja in krvi, a kljub temu ves čas napeto in domiselno vse do konca. Vsi osumljenci so mi bili do konca sumljivi... Bomba

[Erika Beumer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ja,dit was weer zo'n heerlijk boek!