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Embla Nyström #1
Hunting Game
The first installment in Helene Tursten’s brand new series featuring the strong, smart Detective Inspector Embla Nyström.
From a young age, 28-year-old Embla Nyström has been plagued by chronic nightmares and racing thoughts. Though she still develops unhealthy fixations and makes rash decisions from time to time, she has learned to channel most of her anxious energy into her position as Detective Inspector in the mobile unit in Gothenburg, Sweden, and into sports. A talented hunter and prize-winning Nordic welterweight, she is glad to be taking a vacation from her high-stress job to attend the annual moose hunt with her family and friends.
But when Embla arrives at her uncle’s cabin in rural Dalsland, she sees an unfamiliar face has joined the group: Peter, an enigmatic young divorcé. And she isn’t the only one to take notice. One longtime member of the hunt doesn’t welcome the presence of an outsider and is quick to point out that with Peter, the group’s number reaches thirteen, a bad omen for the week.
Sure enough, a string of unsettling incidents follow, culminating in the disappearance of two men from a neighboring group of hunters. Embla takes charge of the search, and they soon find one of the missing men floating facedown in the nearby lake, his arm tightly wedged between two rocks. Just what she needs on her vacation. With the help of local reinforcements, Embla delves into the dark pasts of her fellow hunters in search of a killer.
From a young age, 28-year-old Embla Nyström has been plagued by chronic nightmares and racing thoughts. Though she still develops unhealthy fixations and makes rash decisions from time to time, she has learned to channel most of her anxious energy into her position as Detective Inspector in the mobile unit in Gothenburg, Sweden, and into sports. A talented hunter and prize-winning Nordic welterweight, she is glad to be taking a vacation from her high-stress job to attend the annual moose hunt with her family and friends.
But when Embla arrives at her uncle’s cabin in rural Dalsland, she sees an unfamiliar face has joined the group: Peter, an enigmatic young divorcé. And she isn’t the only one to take notice. One longtime member of the hunt doesn’t welcome the presence of an outsider and is quick to point out that with Peter, the group’s number reaches thirteen, a bad omen for the week.
Sure enough, a string of unsettling incidents follow, culminating in the disappearance of two men from a neighboring group of hunters. Embla takes charge of the search, and they soon find one of the missing men floating facedown in the nearby lake, his arm tightly wedged between two rocks. Just what she needs on her vacation. With the help of local reinforcements, Embla delves into the dark pasts of her fellow hunters in search of a killer.
280 pages, Hardcover
First published August 1, 2014
550 people are currently reading
2817 people want to read
About the author
Helene Tursten
52 books930 followersHelene Tursten (born in Gothenburg in 1954) is a Swedish writer of crime fiction. The main character in her stories is Detective Inspector Irene Huss. Before becoming an author, Tursten worked as a nurse and then a dentist, but was forced to leave due to illness. During her illness she worked as a translator of medical articles.
Series:
* Irene Huss
Series:
* Irene Huss
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 330 reviews
January 6, 2019
The only reason to read this book would be the descriptions of life in the Swedish upper echelons where hunting cabins and traditions are part of the social network. That was well done. The characters and criminal plotlines are murky, ill defined, and never come to life. The bad guy is apparent from the outset, and the setup and denouement went on forever.
December 2, 2018
3.5 Stars
I've always been a fan of Nordic Noir and strong female leads. I love that while Embla is a police officer, this is less police procedural and more about her life outside of it... and on a hunting trip no less. I'll be honest, I'm not a fan of hunting - however, I can see past it if the hunted actually get eaten and it's not just for sport. But let's get back to the book, shall we?
At less than 300 pages, this book just flies. Tursten builds at atmosphere surrounding Embla and the hunting party she hunts with on a yearly basis and brings in death and an undercurrent of Embla's horrible history with men. I love the pacing of this book and how quickly I became involved with Embla. While I didn't feel as connected with the crime aspect of this book, I did enjoy the groundwork on Embla's character as a start to a series that I think will just get better with each book.
I didn't quite understand the reasoning behind the villain's actions - I felt this part was a bit confusing. I think this being the second book in a row where it doesn't quite make perfect sense to me dropped my enjoyability of this book just a tad. Overall I do enjoy this type of read and Tursten certainly brings some sparks to this fire.
Those who enjoy nordic noir, the outdoors and a flawed but strong female lead with enjoy this outdoorsy read - there's nothing more chilling than being stuck out in nature with a killer on the loose. I think fans of Camilla Lackberg and Camilla Grebe will enjoy this book - though it's a bit less dark and complicated... for now.
Thanks to Soho Crime and Astoria Bookshop for this copy!
I've always been a fan of Nordic Noir and strong female leads. I love that while Embla is a police officer, this is less police procedural and more about her life outside of it... and on a hunting trip no less. I'll be honest, I'm not a fan of hunting - however, I can see past it if the hunted actually get eaten and it's not just for sport. But let's get back to the book, shall we?
At less than 300 pages, this book just flies. Tursten builds at atmosphere surrounding Embla and the hunting party she hunts with on a yearly basis and brings in death and an undercurrent of Embla's horrible history with men. I love the pacing of this book and how quickly I became involved with Embla. While I didn't feel as connected with the crime aspect of this book, I did enjoy the groundwork on Embla's character as a start to a series that I think will just get better with each book.
I didn't quite understand the reasoning behind the villain's actions - I felt this part was a bit confusing. I think this being the second book in a row where it doesn't quite make perfect sense to me dropped my enjoyability of this book just a tad. Overall I do enjoy this type of read and Tursten certainly brings some sparks to this fire.
Those who enjoy nordic noir, the outdoors and a flawed but strong female lead with enjoy this outdoorsy read - there's nothing more chilling than being stuck out in nature with a killer on the loose. I think fans of Camilla Lackberg and Camilla Grebe will enjoy this book - though it's a bit less dark and complicated... for now.
Thanks to Soho Crime and Astoria Bookshop for this copy!
December 13, 2019
There were so many things wrong with this book I almost don’t know where to begin. I’ll start with the characters, all of whom are flat and impossible to build connections with. Embla, the main character, is a terrible cop and an even worse human being. Then there’s Peter who’s probably a psycho but that’s okay because he looks good in flannel 🙄.
The writing and the plot leave much to be desired also. I don’t necessarily mind a book being predictable as long as the story’s good but this one wasn’t. It was boring, amateurish and clunky. The author failed to set the scene yet was weirdly over-descriptive of every single automobile featured in the story (and there were A LOT). At one point I wondered if I had inadvertently stumbled into a really devious marketing campaign funded by the car industry.
There were a couple things I did like. The first being that I only spent 99 cents purchasing the book and the second being that it was a quick read so I only lost four hours of my life that I’ll never get back instead of eight.
The writing and the plot leave much to be desired also. I don’t necessarily mind a book being predictable as long as the story’s good but this one wasn’t. It was boring, amateurish and clunky. The author failed to set the scene yet was weirdly over-descriptive of every single automobile featured in the story (and there were A LOT). At one point I wondered if I had inadvertently stumbled into a really devious marketing campaign funded by the car industry.
There were a couple things I did like. The first being that I only spent 99 cents purchasing the book and the second being that it was a quick read so I only lost four hours of my life that I’ll never get back instead of eight.
July 4, 2020
I stopped reading in the middle of chapter 10, right before what I'm sure would have been a detailed, clinical description of a tortured, dying fox.
Before that, I had been treated to the death of about a dozen moose, the poisoning of a dog, the beheading of a protected species of viper, and the chatter of a baker's dozen of thoroughly unpleasant Swedes.
I was desperately trying to ignore the carnage in hopes of finding a new writer of Scandanavian noir to enjoy. Tursten will not be that writer. I could have endured the animal violence (since it is, after all, fictional) if it had been handled differently, but the descriptions seemed almost celebratory.
If you cheered when Bambi's mom died, have I got a mystery series for you!
December 6, 2020
I quite enjoy Tursten's writing style and the overall atmosphere of this book (I don't think I've read a mystery on a moose hunting trip before!), but the characters were kind of nondescript and I did not like the overall plot (the villain was rather mustache twirly)
March 23, 2019
I read this book to the end, so it held my interest in a tense sort of way. I have never tried this author's Inspector Irene Huss books, but when I picked this one up at the library I also selected one Huss for good measure. Apparently there is a television series made featuring that character.
There is no mystery in this book, as one knows what horrors await and who the perpetrator will be. There is also no way one can see a straight path for this new DI Embla Nystrom. I would say more, but no spoilers from me on this new, in-demand book.
The rugged outdoors setting for the moose hunting annual ritual is more interesting than the flawed characters who people this book. It also had a lively and promising start with Embla winning a boxing championship.
There is no mystery in this book, as one knows what horrors await and who the perpetrator will be. There is also no way one can see a straight path for this new DI Embla Nystrom. I would say more, but no spoilers from me on this new, in-demand book.
The rugged outdoors setting for the moose hunting annual ritual is more interesting than the flawed characters who people this book. It also had a lively and promising start with Embla winning a boxing championship.
December 18, 2018
This is a story of a hunt in Sweden gone wrong. The lead character, a female detective, is very human and does not have a handle on her life or human nature. The plot line is not well developed and the bad guy is very obvious early on. Overall, the story is readable but can get dry in parts.
January 24, 2023
I got 3 of these books so I hope the series improves. This was bad all around. The characters would take massive leaps with no real reason... for example:
Embla is talking to someone about the "mysterious" member of the hunting party. The man she's talking to says that mystery man has cameras all over his property that he claims are because he has expensive computer equipment to protect.... plausible, right? Nah... the neighbor jumps to "well I don't like him so he's got to be lying about the reason for the cameras...I bet he's into child porn." What? Oh, it gets better.... random village idiot suggests that mysterious man (who happens to be rich) is a criminal, so our policewoman heroine makes up a story about running out of gas in front of his house so he'll invite her in.... then she searches his house. I have no idea what's legal in Sweden but at the very least this was unprofessional... then even though she's supposedly convinced that this guy is up to something, she gets in his car and lets him drive him her to his house to finish snooping after he heard the village gossip. Ok. Wait... let's be real. She got in the car because it was a Ferrari. If mysterious guy had pulled up in a clunker, she'd have stayed away.
I did stop to look up poisonous snakes in Sweden....apparently they do have a species. I'm not buying the part about the snake being aggressive and striking out at someone in the weather described in the book.
Then there's the part about the memories and how she shot the dog (guy dies in home, dog survived by drinking out of the toilet and eating the man's face.... police enter and dog lays down by dead man and looks at heroine...heroine shoots and kills non threatening dog IN A CRIME SCENE without warning her partner because *it asked her to.*) This ridiculous on so many levels (why do they let her have a gun? How did she not get fired? Forget preserving the scene.... just discharge your firearm because you feel like it). But wait.... this gets brought up more than once. Why? No, really, why?
Then we get to the end.... heroine lies to everyone.... police, therapist.... her report is bogus. Then she finally breaks down and cries and thinks about the dog.
The only good things I can say are 1) it's a very short book so I'm not annoyed about the time it took to read, and 2) the translation isn't awkward. I will be contacting the series because I downloaded the next two books already.
Embla is talking to someone about the "mysterious" member of the hunting party. The man she's talking to says that mystery man has cameras all over his property that he claims are because he has expensive computer equipment to protect.... plausible, right? Nah... the neighbor jumps to "well I don't like him so he's got to be lying about the reason for the cameras...I bet he's into child porn." What? Oh, it gets better.... random village idiot suggests that mysterious man (who happens to be rich) is a criminal, so our policewoman heroine makes up a story about running out of gas in front of his house so he'll invite her in.... then she searches his house. I have no idea what's legal in Sweden but at the very least this was unprofessional... then even though she's supposedly convinced that this guy is up to something, she gets in his car and lets him drive him her to his house to finish snooping after he heard the village gossip. Ok. Wait... let's be real. She got in the car because it was a Ferrari. If mysterious guy had pulled up in a clunker, she'd have stayed away.
I did stop to look up poisonous snakes in Sweden....apparently they do have a species. I'm not buying the part about the snake being aggressive and striking out at someone in the weather described in the book.
Then there's the part about the memories and how she shot the dog (guy dies in home, dog survived by drinking out of the toilet and eating the man's face.... police enter and dog lays down by dead man and looks at heroine...heroine shoots and kills non threatening dog IN A CRIME SCENE without warning her partner because *it asked her to.*) This ridiculous on so many levels (why do they let her have a gun? How did she not get fired? Forget preserving the scene.... just discharge your firearm because you feel like it). But wait.... this gets brought up more than once. Why? No, really, why?
Then we get to the end.... heroine lies to everyone.... police, therapist.... her report is bogus. Then she finally breaks down and cries and thinks about the dog.
The only good things I can say are 1) it's a very short book so I'm not annoyed about the time it took to read, and 2) the translation isn't awkward. I will be contacting the series because I downloaded the next two books already.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 14, 2019
A poor attempt at what could have been an intriguing story. As others have said, the detailed descriptions of the characters of the hunt and the hunt itself were well done, but the rest of the story falls rather flat. The protagonist acts more like an immature young adult at times rather than the detective inspector that she is. Perhaps the author will evolve that character in future additions to the series.
August 15, 2019
I have been a fan of Tursten and her Insp Hess series. The series grew with Hess and her family. This book just seemed off. A great amount of detail that leads to nothing. The plot was easily discernible. While the actual crime took awhile to determine the culprit was simple to identify very early on.
Where Irene Hess was professional and utilized police procedures, Embla just stumbled along. She ran into the solution rather than determining the solution. Not sure where this series can go if it is a series, but in my view not a promising start.
Where Irene Hess was professional and utilized police procedures, Embla just stumbled along. She ran into the solution rather than determining the solution. Not sure where this series can go if it is a series, but in my view not a promising start.
April 10, 2022
Dnf at page 50. I'm sorry but this just wasn't for me. I adored An Elderly Lady Is Up To No Good, but this was flat, boring, and not my cup of tea at all. I'm still going to try her other books, but I hope An Elderly Lady Is Up To No Good wasn't her only best one that I've read.
June 30, 2019
Strong, female lead + intriguing mystery + moody Scandinavian setting = yep, I’ll take it.
What’s it about?
28-year-old Detective Inspector Embla Nyström is a Nordic Welterweight champion, skilled hunter and part of a mobile police trio supporting police around Gothenburg.
On vacation, Embla attends an annual moose hunt with family and friends only for a string of unsettling incidents to occur, which culminates in the disappearance of two fellow hunters.
Meanwhile, Embla finds herself drawn to the handsome and mysterious Peter, who has recently moved back into town and joined their hunting party.
When one of the missing men turns up drowned in a nearby lake, Embla must delve into the town’s long-buried secrets in a race against time to find the remaining missing man and the murderer.
Sanity = A Welcome Change
I love a good hot mess as much as the next person but I’m getting increasingly tired of the drunken, damaged and frustrating self-destructive protagonists that feature in so many crime novels. By contrast, Embla was a welcome relief—she’s strong, competent and has good relationships with her family and co-workers. She’s not 100% A-Okay as she does have nightmares surrounding the disappearance of her childhood best friend, but she doesn’t let these thoughts destroy her and I’m interested to see where this mystery leads in future novels.
Make My Brain Work Harder Plz
I not asking for nor do I want the puzzle of the century but it was a little too easy to figure out who the murderer was. I guess it’s more of a “why” rather than a “who”—but then the mystery/killer’s motive was explained in such a factual and almost removed manner that I felt some of the immediacy and excitement was lost. I would have preferred a cackling, crazed confession from the killer, but maybe that’s just me.
Nordic Noir: A Safe Bet
It’s not groundbreaking and it probably won’t skyrocket to the top of my all-time fave, desert island list but I still really enjoyed it—it’s engaging, written in an easily digestible style, the atmospheric forest backdrop gave it bonus points and at less than 300 pages, it’s a perfect binge read.
3.5 stars
What’s it about?
28-year-old Detective Inspector Embla Nyström is a Nordic Welterweight champion, skilled hunter and part of a mobile police trio supporting police around Gothenburg.
On vacation, Embla attends an annual moose hunt with family and friends only for a string of unsettling incidents to occur, which culminates in the disappearance of two fellow hunters.
Meanwhile, Embla finds herself drawn to the handsome and mysterious Peter, who has recently moved back into town and joined their hunting party.
When one of the missing men turns up drowned in a nearby lake, Embla must delve into the town’s long-buried secrets in a race against time to find the remaining missing man and the murderer.
Sanity = A Welcome Change
I love a good hot mess as much as the next person but I’m getting increasingly tired of the drunken, damaged and frustrating self-destructive protagonists that feature in so many crime novels. By contrast, Embla was a welcome relief—she’s strong, competent and has good relationships with her family and co-workers. She’s not 100% A-Okay as she does have nightmares surrounding the disappearance of her childhood best friend, but she doesn’t let these thoughts destroy her and I’m interested to see where this mystery leads in future novels.
Make My Brain Work Harder Plz
I not asking for nor do I want the puzzle of the century but it was a little too easy to figure out who the murderer was. I guess it’s more of a “why” rather than a “who”—but then the mystery/killer’s motive was explained in such a factual and almost removed manner that I felt some of the immediacy and excitement was lost. I would have preferred a cackling, crazed confession from the killer, but maybe that’s just me.
Nordic Noir: A Safe Bet
It’s not groundbreaking and it probably won’t skyrocket to the top of my all-time fave, desert island list but I still really enjoyed it—it’s engaging, written in an easily digestible style, the atmospheric forest backdrop gave it bonus points and at less than 300 pages, it’s a perfect binge read.
3.5 stars
October 22, 2018
This book really brings back the memories of deer hunting in northern Minnesota. Although they hunted Moose there aren't that many left in Minnesota. Although I've been trampled on by Moose and had to chase them off campus in Duluth. Helene did her homework on this, didn't know anything about hunting. Embla seemed to fit the picture of a rugged women who liked boxing and to go hunting with her uncle Nisse. Being a cop made the picture complete for her. When things got too messy with murder, she was a take charge woman. Up to then she went along with the men in the hunt. She had a special way of finding out about the people in the hunt and arranged to have Nisse bale her out of situations. She fell in love with Peter, who had recently come back to the area, which she regretted later. I'll let you read the story which should interest the hunter in you. I gave it 4 stars and would have given it 5, but the ending could have been move into the story for better understanding.
March 29, 2019
I liked parts of this book—the depiction of the moose hunting season and the community traditions around it was interesting. And Embla is kind of an interesting character with her boxing and the dark secret from her past, although I didn’t think her character and motivations were fully fleshed out. The setup is very slow (but then, that was the part Iiked) and the resolution/killer became fairly obvious. I don’t know if it’s Tursten’s style or the translation, but the narrative is very flat, even at moments when the characters are supposedly feeling something (fear, sexual attraction, whatever). I felt the same about one of her Inspector Huss books that I tried, so I think this author is not for me. (This is somewhere between 2 and 3 and I rounded up for the moose hunting).
September 7, 2024
Ein Bücherschrankfund, den ich spontan mitgenommen habe, weil ich Lust hatte, einen nordischen Krimi einzuschieben. Der Roman beginnt mit der (Nicht)Beschreibung eines Boxkampfes, bei dem die Protagonistin einen Titel erringt. Aha, Boxer tauschen Schläge an Kopf und Leib, schwitzen dabei und einer trägt den Sieg davon. Die Eingangsszene wäre durch keine Schreibwerkstatt für Anfänger durchgegangen.
Dann kommts aber: Zwei befreundete (?) Immobilienunternehmer bekomme zeitgleich fast identische Drohbriefe und treffen sich auf eine Jagdgesellschaft. Auf wenigen Seiten werden aufs alleroberflächlichste zahlreiche Personen eingeführt, die ich mir unmöglich alle merken kann, inklusive Familienmitglieder der Boxerin.
Das alles kommt so uninteressant und unbeseelt geschrieben daher, dass ich dem Krimi schon nach wenigen Seiten keine Chance mehr geben mochte. Vielleicht ungerecht, aber nun, das ist die Freiheit des Lesers. Und wenn ein Buch so flach und mau beginnt ...
Dann kommts aber: Zwei befreundete (?) Immobilienunternehmer bekomme zeitgleich fast identische Drohbriefe und treffen sich auf eine Jagdgesellschaft. Auf wenigen Seiten werden aufs alleroberflächlichste zahlreiche Personen eingeführt, die ich mir unmöglich alle merken kann, inklusive Familienmitglieder der Boxerin.
Das alles kommt so uninteressant und unbeseelt geschrieben daher, dass ich dem Krimi schon nach wenigen Seiten keine Chance mehr geben mochte. Vielleicht ungerecht, aber nun, das ist die Freiheit des Lesers. Und wenn ein Buch so flach und mau beginnt ...
July 12, 2020
Ugggggghhhhh. I really felt very little connection to Embla, and less as the story progresses. I don't read a ton of mysteries, but when I do it's because I get drawn in by the main character (and sometimes his or her team) and inventive mysteries. Think Armand Gamache, or Walt Longmire, or Flavia de Luce. Embla just made me mad. From not telling police the true circumstances of her best friend's disappearance, to the list of lies she told about the final confrontation, Embla's moral code did not impress me at all. I was unaware that Sweden had such strong rules about use of police force, but when her immediate solution is to switch out her scope and say she got a lucky shot? Something is wrong with that system and also with that officer.
On top of this (well, beforehand actually) Embla spent the whole book getting romantically involved with someone that had been giving her distinct psycho vibes, or at the very least controlling and secretive and rude vibes - someone she eventually starts to think might have ties to the case she is working. Terrible red flag sensors AND wholly unprofessional. And then she didn't want to admit she had been duped by Peter and had sex with him (on more than one occasion) willingly, so she lied and said he raped and assaulted her. If he'd already died that would be one thing, but she literally thought in her head, "no one will believe him, it's a criminal's word against a policewoman." Just not impressing me there, Embla.
In addition to all this, the bad guy was pretty obvious from the start and there weren't any particular twists and turns.
The only thing I'm still curious about is whether she will ever get to solve the case of her best friend's disappearance. But I'm not sure I'm willing to spend any more reading time to find out.
On top of this (well, beforehand actually) Embla spent the whole book getting romantically involved with someone that had been giving her distinct psycho vibes, or at the very least controlling and secretive and rude vibes - someone she eventually starts to think might have ties to the case she is working. Terrible red flag sensors AND wholly unprofessional. And then she didn't want to admit she had been duped by Peter and had sex with him (on more than one occasion) willingly, so she lied and said he raped and assaulted her. If he'd already died that would be one thing, but she literally thought in her head, "no one will believe him, it's a criminal's word against a policewoman." Just not impressing me there, Embla.
In addition to all this, the bad guy was pretty obvious from the start and there weren't any particular twists and turns.
The only thing I'm still curious about is whether she will ever get to solve the case of her best friend's disappearance. But I'm not sure I'm willing to spend any more reading time to find out.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 14, 2020
I've seen so many mixed reviews for this one, that I just kept putting it off, and putting it off. However, the Hunting Game was one that really took me by surprise, so although it didn't work for others, it definitely worked for me.
.
For years now, Embla and her "friends" would get together for a week and do some hunting. This year however, there's a new face among them. Peter, is a gorgeous stranger amongst the group, but some of the members aren't keen on having anyone new join them. Peter is very secretive, but there's something about him that attracts Embla. However, as the week goes on, strange incidents keep occurring, until near the end, when two members of the other hunting party go missing. Now Emblas hunting week is over, and she has to go back to her day job, of being a Detective Inspector for in the mobile unit.
.
This was a seriously slow burn of a book, but it was one, I was constantly thinking about when I wasn't reading it. Embla is a very flawed Detective, like, extremely flawed but I think that's what made her such a bad-ass bitch. Although this isn't your classic "locked room mystery" the Hunting game still had that vibe. The Hunting party were in an area that wasn't easy for others to get to, and the limited cast of characters made for the perfect locked room mystery, well it was more of a forest but read the book and you'll understand 🤣 Embla made some serious mistakes in this investigation, but the way she tied it all up in the end was incredibly shady but I was here for it. Bravo Embla, Bravo
.
For years now, Embla and her "friends" would get together for a week and do some hunting. This year however, there's a new face among them. Peter, is a gorgeous stranger amongst the group, but some of the members aren't keen on having anyone new join them. Peter is very secretive, but there's something about him that attracts Embla. However, as the week goes on, strange incidents keep occurring, until near the end, when two members of the other hunting party go missing. Now Emblas hunting week is over, and she has to go back to her day job, of being a Detective Inspector for in the mobile unit.
.
This was a seriously slow burn of a book, but it was one, I was constantly thinking about when I wasn't reading it. Embla is a very flawed Detective, like, extremely flawed but I think that's what made her such a bad-ass bitch. Although this isn't your classic "locked room mystery" the Hunting game still had that vibe. The Hunting party were in an area that wasn't easy for others to get to, and the limited cast of characters made for the perfect locked room mystery, well it was more of a forest but read the book and you'll understand 🤣 Embla made some serious mistakes in this investigation, but the way she tied it all up in the end was incredibly shady but I was here for it. Bravo Embla, Bravo
December 17, 2019
This was an enjoyable mystery novel perfect for curling up on a cold winter day with. It's a quick read, easy to get through, and I did honestly enjoy reading it. However, the bad guy is easily identified from the start, especially if you read a lot of mystery novels. This means that some twists and turns didn't necessarily hold that level of shock or weight they were meant to.
February 22, 2021
SPOILER ALERT
As Asa Embla Nystrom appears in this new series she is on vacation for the annual moose hunt. She has just won the Swedish light-welterweight championship boxing title. She is described as hyperactive, a status that gives her nightmares, one specifically that haunts her childhood memories. She and her friend Lollo, a year older than she, snuck out to first go to Copenhagen on an adventure, that despite some danger turned out all right. The next time, however, she was just fourteen and she went to a club with Lollo. They had made themselves look older, and Lollo was meeting a man of twenty. Once there Lollo leaves her standing back while she chats up the bartender, a handsome man who is one of the brothers of Milo Stavic, owners of the club. She watches as Lollo disappears behind a door marked "staff only" and follows. Knocked down and told to forget what she has seen or she will die, Lollo is spirited away to never be seen again. Embla makes up a story when she returns home. During the investigation of this case, she sees Milo again in a restaurant, though he does not appear to recognize, or even pay any attention to her group.
While on the hunt the group experiences some weird incidents: Frippe, Stig Ekstrom's (he is the estate manager for von Beehn's Dalsnas Manor.) dog is poisoned, there is a viper in the outhouse that bites Karin Bergstrom, and a animal trap is set at the base of the hunting tower assigned to Embla. The party is made up a disparate group of individuals. Several wealthy men including Anders von Beehn and Jan-Eric Cahneborg, Gregor Liljon, Beehn's nephew and considered incompetent, and Volker Heinz are staying at the Hunting Castle owned by von Beehn, joining the Embla's friends, Uncle Nisse, Karin and Bjorn Bergstrom, Sixten Svensson and newcomer Peter Hansson, who has returned to claim his family's hunting grounds and rights. It has put Sixten off as he had wanted the grounds and had offered to buy them. He also sees the table for dinner night before made of a superstitious thirteen, a bad omen. Peter is a handsome and seemingly charismatic IT executive to whom Embla is attracted. She is warned by Sixten that the house that he has remodeled contains locked rooms, and a heavy amount of security which is unusual in their part of the country. Embla does some snooping that does not sit well with Peter. She also prior to the hunt beginning sees a woman walking among the trees is a white dress with very long hair.
When after a hiatus of a couple of days the main party returns to the Hunting Castle both von Beehn and Cahneborg have disappeared. Seppo, Nisse's dog finds his body at the bottom of a cliff, and it is possibly an accident, but for the fact that there is no sign of von Beehn. Embla calls for reinforcements that are extensive and no body is found, producing much speculation as to what has happened. They are reminded that a third member of the "three Muskateers", Ola Forsnaess, was killed a year before in an auto accident on the way home from the hunt. When an odd package is found in Jan-Eric's belongings, and then hidden in von Beehn's they inquire if a similar one had been sent to Forsnaess. It had. The packages had an item in them: a bandanna for Jan-Eric, a key BMW key ring for von Beehn, and a fake gold Rolex watch in the package for Forsnaess, which had come to his home after he had left for the hunt the year before. Each also a note "I remember. M"
After Emble and her team think on who M might, they remember the disappearance of Peter Hansson's sister Camilla twenty-five years earlier. M could be for a nickname Milla or Millan.
Peter had been seven years old so there doesn't seem to be a link with him as suspect in the disappearances. They also determine that the three men were at the Hunting Castle thirty years in the past.
Peter's is a smart home. He says that because he handles highly confidential and sensitive information for his clients, the security is necessary. He has a room that is entirely white with computer equipment and a huge screen on the wall. As Peter and Embla become intimate, she is drawn to his home during the investigation to be lured into complacency, warm and cozy in the spa. She is in the bedroom later and is looking for something to put on when she finds a hidden door in one of the closets. There is a figure of a woman in a white dress along with other old family items. There are also a number of snakes. When she comes to, she is naked, hanging from a hook in the ceiling in the white room. She wonders why she is still alive, and Peter begins to talk to her. He has put a Trojan on each of their phones and on the screen he points out the location of each member of the hunt and police team. He has wiped her phone out...she no longer exists. He tells her she needs to tell him what information they team knows that he doesn't. She pretends she is more out of it than she is. As a boxer she had learned to ignore pain (her shoulders are hurting her) and she is well trained in balancing her body. When he approaches she kicks him in the face and he falls and hits his head. She gets herself down and downstairs to get some clothes on and out of the house through a window. As she runs she is aware he may have night vision and will shoot her. Indeed he shoots at her and wounds her in the arm. She gets to Sixten's house. He has a secret gun safe that has a multitude of rifles and night scopes. They arm themselves, though Sixten is immediately wounded in the arm, out. She creeps to the top of the house and watches for Peter's appearance where she can get a shot at him. She wounds him, and he lies unconscious bleeding profusely. She then prepares her story. In Sweden, the police are held to high standards when definding themselves. She must get regular scopes on the rifles, and prepare her story for what happened, including accusing Peter of rape. She cannot confess that she had an intimate relationship with him. She goes through rigorous examination, her wound dressed. Sixten recovers, though he will never use his arm properly again. Peter eventually dies of pneumonia from bleeding into his lungs. On his computer, without a password they find a story entitled: "The Boy Who Saw". It relates to his having gone out to find his sister who had not returned from a date, when he was seven years old. She had become a wild teenager, and their father was an abusive man, their mother a drunk. He takes his bike and the very expensive monovular he father had, and some food and starts out intending to go to the high hunting tower from which he can seen far. Ironically Sixten gives him a ride at the time, as the tower is a long way. His father had taken him there in te past. As he arrives, he reinforces himself with the cinnamon rolls and drink, then climbs to the top. He looks out and sees the Butcher Shed, Sixten doing some errands. Then three men arrive, one in a red car with a BMW key ring. Another puts a head band around his forehead Native American style. The third wears a gold Rolex watch. As he watches they take a large bundle into the shed. He then returns to the meeting point where Sixten picks him up and takes him home. His father is furious that he has taken the monocular and hits him, hurting his head. The police discover that there was Rohypnol in the tea Peter had served her in the spa, though he had put whiskey in it, and she did not drink it.
It is only thirty years later that he remembers what he saw, and figures out who the men were. He finds his sister's grave under the Butchering Shed. He kills Forsnaess by taking over his car and the brakes, creating his loss of control and the accident. He kills Jan-Eric. He then buries von Beehn alive next to the body of his sister under shed.
A gruesome and sad tale of horrible men. Forsnaess had gotten away with sadistic sex accusations in the past, and apparently had killed Camilla, after which his friends helped him cover it up. The community believed she left of her own accord. The story was clever and well written and I am drawn to the well-developed person of Embla. I would only say that I figured that Peter was too good to be true and that the disappearance of sister would play into the case. Her descriptions of the cold and the mud created by the rain set the atmosphere well. The author seems obsessed with cars, describing each of the vehicles the characters drive, including the old Volvo that Embla was given by Nisse and holds in great sentiment, even as the gas gauge doesn't work and she regularly runs out of gas. There are the luxurious Maseratti, a Hummer, a Jag, Range Rovers, BMWs and more pedestrian cars, most of which are not good in the mud that permeates the story. The culture of the moose hunt and the regulations to which the police are held put a new perspective on a crime investigation. I look forward to reading the continuing series.
As Asa Embla Nystrom appears in this new series she is on vacation for the annual moose hunt. She has just won the Swedish light-welterweight championship boxing title. She is described as hyperactive, a status that gives her nightmares, one specifically that haunts her childhood memories. She and her friend Lollo, a year older than she, snuck out to first go to Copenhagen on an adventure, that despite some danger turned out all right. The next time, however, she was just fourteen and she went to a club with Lollo. They had made themselves look older, and Lollo was meeting a man of twenty. Once there Lollo leaves her standing back while she chats up the bartender, a handsome man who is one of the brothers of Milo Stavic, owners of the club. She watches as Lollo disappears behind a door marked "staff only" and follows. Knocked down and told to forget what she has seen or she will die, Lollo is spirited away to never be seen again. Embla makes up a story when she returns home. During the investigation of this case, she sees Milo again in a restaurant, though he does not appear to recognize, or even pay any attention to her group.
While on the hunt the group experiences some weird incidents: Frippe, Stig Ekstrom's (he is the estate manager for von Beehn's Dalsnas Manor.) dog is poisoned, there is a viper in the outhouse that bites Karin Bergstrom, and a animal trap is set at the base of the hunting tower assigned to Embla. The party is made up a disparate group of individuals. Several wealthy men including Anders von Beehn and Jan-Eric Cahneborg, Gregor Liljon, Beehn's nephew and considered incompetent, and Volker Heinz are staying at the Hunting Castle owned by von Beehn, joining the Embla's friends, Uncle Nisse, Karin and Bjorn Bergstrom, Sixten Svensson and newcomer Peter Hansson, who has returned to claim his family's hunting grounds and rights. It has put Sixten off as he had wanted the grounds and had offered to buy them. He also sees the table for dinner night before made of a superstitious thirteen, a bad omen. Peter is a handsome and seemingly charismatic IT executive to whom Embla is attracted. She is warned by Sixten that the house that he has remodeled contains locked rooms, and a heavy amount of security which is unusual in their part of the country. Embla does some snooping that does not sit well with Peter. She also prior to the hunt beginning sees a woman walking among the trees is a white dress with very long hair.
When after a hiatus of a couple of days the main party returns to the Hunting Castle both von Beehn and Cahneborg have disappeared. Seppo, Nisse's dog finds his body at the bottom of a cliff, and it is possibly an accident, but for the fact that there is no sign of von Beehn. Embla calls for reinforcements that are extensive and no body is found, producing much speculation as to what has happened. They are reminded that a third member of the "three Muskateers", Ola Forsnaess, was killed a year before in an auto accident on the way home from the hunt. When an odd package is found in Jan-Eric's belongings, and then hidden in von Beehn's they inquire if a similar one had been sent to Forsnaess. It had. The packages had an item in them: a bandanna for Jan-Eric, a key BMW key ring for von Beehn, and a fake gold Rolex watch in the package for Forsnaess, which had come to his home after he had left for the hunt the year before. Each also a note "I remember. M"
After Emble and her team think on who M might, they remember the disappearance of Peter Hansson's sister Camilla twenty-five years earlier. M could be for a nickname Milla or Millan.
Peter had been seven years old so there doesn't seem to be a link with him as suspect in the disappearances. They also determine that the three men were at the Hunting Castle thirty years in the past.
Peter's is a smart home. He says that because he handles highly confidential and sensitive information for his clients, the security is necessary. He has a room that is entirely white with computer equipment and a huge screen on the wall. As Peter and Embla become intimate, she is drawn to his home during the investigation to be lured into complacency, warm and cozy in the spa. She is in the bedroom later and is looking for something to put on when she finds a hidden door in one of the closets. There is a figure of a woman in a white dress along with other old family items. There are also a number of snakes. When she comes to, she is naked, hanging from a hook in the ceiling in the white room. She wonders why she is still alive, and Peter begins to talk to her. He has put a Trojan on each of their phones and on the screen he points out the location of each member of the hunt and police team. He has wiped her phone out...she no longer exists. He tells her she needs to tell him what information they team knows that he doesn't. She pretends she is more out of it than she is. As a boxer she had learned to ignore pain (her shoulders are hurting her) and she is well trained in balancing her body. When he approaches she kicks him in the face and he falls and hits his head. She gets herself down and downstairs to get some clothes on and out of the house through a window. As she runs she is aware he may have night vision and will shoot her. Indeed he shoots at her and wounds her in the arm. She gets to Sixten's house. He has a secret gun safe that has a multitude of rifles and night scopes. They arm themselves, though Sixten is immediately wounded in the arm, out. She creeps to the top of the house and watches for Peter's appearance where she can get a shot at him. She wounds him, and he lies unconscious bleeding profusely. She then prepares her story. In Sweden, the police are held to high standards when definding themselves. She must get regular scopes on the rifles, and prepare her story for what happened, including accusing Peter of rape. She cannot confess that she had an intimate relationship with him. She goes through rigorous examination, her wound dressed. Sixten recovers, though he will never use his arm properly again. Peter eventually dies of pneumonia from bleeding into his lungs. On his computer, without a password they find a story entitled: "The Boy Who Saw". It relates to his having gone out to find his sister who had not returned from a date, when he was seven years old. She had become a wild teenager, and their father was an abusive man, their mother a drunk. He takes his bike and the very expensive monovular he father had, and some food and starts out intending to go to the high hunting tower from which he can seen far. Ironically Sixten gives him a ride at the time, as the tower is a long way. His father had taken him there in te past. As he arrives, he reinforces himself with the cinnamon rolls and drink, then climbs to the top. He looks out and sees the Butcher Shed, Sixten doing some errands. Then three men arrive, one in a red car with a BMW key ring. Another puts a head band around his forehead Native American style. The third wears a gold Rolex watch. As he watches they take a large bundle into the shed. He then returns to the meeting point where Sixten picks him up and takes him home. His father is furious that he has taken the monocular and hits him, hurting his head. The police discover that there was Rohypnol in the tea Peter had served her in the spa, though he had put whiskey in it, and she did not drink it.
It is only thirty years later that he remembers what he saw, and figures out who the men were. He finds his sister's grave under the Butchering Shed. He kills Forsnaess by taking over his car and the brakes, creating his loss of control and the accident. He kills Jan-Eric. He then buries von Beehn alive next to the body of his sister under shed.
A gruesome and sad tale of horrible men. Forsnaess had gotten away with sadistic sex accusations in the past, and apparently had killed Camilla, after which his friends helped him cover it up. The community believed she left of her own accord. The story was clever and well written and I am drawn to the well-developed person of Embla. I would only say that I figured that Peter was too good to be true and that the disappearance of sister would play into the case. Her descriptions of the cold and the mud created by the rain set the atmosphere well. The author seems obsessed with cars, describing each of the vehicles the characters drive, including the old Volvo that Embla was given by Nisse and holds in great sentiment, even as the gas gauge doesn't work and she regularly runs out of gas. There are the luxurious Maseratti, a Hummer, a Jag, Range Rovers, BMWs and more pedestrian cars, most of which are not good in the mud that permeates the story. The culture of the moose hunt and the regulations to which the police are held put a new perspective on a crime investigation. I look forward to reading the continuing series.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 15, 2021
Hunting Games is book one in the Embla Nystrom series by Helen Tursten. Detective Inspector Nystrom decided to take a vacation and attend the annual Moose Hunt with her family. However, on arrival at her Uncle's cabin, she sees a stranger. The hunting community of Dalsland were superstitious, and the stranger made thirteen - which was a bad omen. Due to a string of unsettling incidents and two men disappearing from the group, Embla started investigating after one of the men was found dead. The readers of Hunting Games will continue to follow Detective Inspector Nystrom investigation to find out what happens.
Hunting Game was the first book I read by Helen Tursten. I enjoyed reading the Hunting Game, even though I found the plot a little slow. I find reading books that someone translates hard to read—however, that is not the case with Hunting Game. The translation of this book was done well by Paul Norlen. I like Helen Turseten portrayal of her characters and how they interact throughout this book. Hunting Game was well written and researched by Helen Tursten. I like Helen Tursten description of the settings of the Hunting Game that complimented the plot of this book.
The readers of Hunting Game will learn about hunting Moose. Also, the readers of Hunting Game will learn about living in Dalsland, a rural province of Sweden.
I recommend this book.
Hunting Game was the first book I read by Helen Tursten. I enjoyed reading the Hunting Game, even though I found the plot a little slow. I find reading books that someone translates hard to read—however, that is not the case with Hunting Game. The translation of this book was done well by Paul Norlen. I like Helen Turseten portrayal of her characters and how they interact throughout this book. Hunting Game was well written and researched by Helen Tursten. I like Helen Tursten description of the settings of the Hunting Game that complimented the plot of this book.
The readers of Hunting Game will learn about hunting Moose. Also, the readers of Hunting Game will learn about living in Dalsland, a rural province of Sweden.
I recommend this book.
January 15, 2016
Urlaub und ein spannendes Buch sind eine gelungene Kombination, und daher habe ich das Buch Jadgrevier von Helene Tursten auch in 2 Tagen verschlungen. Dieses Buch ist der Auftakt einer neuen Krimi- Reihne um die Hauptperson Embla Nytröm und ist beim btb Verlag am 11.01.2016 erschienen.
Der Inhalt:
In Gäteborg treffen sich wie jedes Jahr mehrere Freunde zur Elchjagd. Darunter auch Embla Nyström, Polizistin bei einer Spezialeinheit und frischgebackene nordische Meisterin im Halbweltergewicht. Sie geht mit ihrem Onkel schon seit ihrer Kindheit zur Jagd und hat extra Urlaub genommen, um die gut organisierte Jagd nicht zu verpassen. Dieses Jahr läuft jedoch einiges anders als in den Vorjahren. Beispielsweise ist der charismatische, gutaussehende Peter mit von der Partie. Er ist in der Gegend aufgewachsenen und nun wieder hergezogen. Jeder fragt sich, warum er wieder da ist. Und auch sonst ranken sich Geheimnisse um den Mann, in den Embla sich bald verliebt. Als dann jedoch einer der Teilnehmer tot entdeckt wird und ein weiterer verschwindet, ist es mit dem Urlaub von Embla und dem Spaß an der Elchjagd vorbei. Denn nun sind die Jäger wohl die gejagten..
Stil, Machart, Meinung
Die ersten Seiten haben knapp ein Detail verraten, wodurch sofort Spannung aufgebaut wurde. Die Ermittler erfahren davon erst wesentlich später im Buch, und das finde ich schon einmal sehr geschickt. Das müsst ihr mir jetzt so glauben, denn ich möchte ja nicht spoilern..
Nach den unheilvollen Szenen am Anfang folgt zunächst eine größere Vorstellungsrunde. Wir lernen aus der Perspektive von Protagonistin Embla die anderen Jagdteilnehmer, die Umgebung und die Details der geplanten Jagd kennen. Dieser Abschnitt fällt auf Grund der vielen Teilnehmer und den verschiedenen Etappen der Jagd recht umfangreich aus, ist aber trotz der vielen Informationen und Namen gut gelungen. Mir wurde dabei nicht wirklich langweilig, obwohl ja nicht viel passierte. Die Vorstellung fand immer in einem lebendigen Rahmen wie ein Abendessen oder einer Jagdbesprechung statt. Ich war nicht gelangweilt, hatte allerdings ein paar Probleme mit den vielen Personen und Namen. Eine Zeit lang beispielsweise hatte ich mental wohl irgendwie einen der Jadghunde mit einem der Teilnehmer verwechselt.. Das dürfte einerseits an den schwedischen Namen liegen, andererseits an der Anzahl der Teilnehmer und am Rande Beteiligten. Ich hätte mir eventuell eine etwas längere Beschreibung der einzelnen Teilnehmer bzw. eine einfachere Umgebung gewünscht. Man hat recht viele Schauplätze, beispielsweise geht es von dem Haus von Emblas Onkel zu einem anderen Haus, von wo die Jagd startet. Von dort geht es in das Jagdlager, dann gibt es irgendwo anders noch ein Jagdschloss… mir sind die Entfernungen irgendwie nicht so ganz klar geworden. Es hat aber auch nicht wirklich gestört, ich habe dadurch nichts wesentliches verpasst.
Die Schreibweise der Autorin finde ich sehr flüssig, sie schweift nicht zu sehr aus und beschreibt dennoch gern die Natur und die Umgebung. Die Perspektive ist gut gewählt, durch die Augen von Embla sieht man die Geschehnisse einerseits als Polizistin und andererseits als Frau im Urlaub, die sich in einen der Teilnehmer verliebt. Wie diese beiden Perspektiven sich ergänzen, abwechseln und manchmal auch im Weg stehen, finde ich sehr interessant.
Den Plot hatte ich mir ja eigentlich etwas anders vorgestellt, ich denke das ist meiner Liebe zu Agatha Christie geschuldet. Wenn ich auf der Rückseite lese „Eine Elchjagd in den schwedischen Wäldern. Ein Toter. Fünf Verdächtige“ , dann geht bei mir automatisch die Erwartung „Einer nach dem anderen stirbt, wer war es?“ an. Grundsätzlich ist diese Erwartung auch irgendwie erfüllt worden, nur anders als gedacht. Zwar geht es nach der Einführung zu den Jagdteilnehmern, den Jagdabläufen dann mit Mord weiter, aber die Gefahr für die Überlebenden ist danach direkt gebannt –nicht wie in meiner Erwartung von der Außenwelt abgeschnitten. Aber meine Erwartungen muss ja die Autorin nicht ahnen und erfüllen, und auch so war die Geschichte gut konstruiert, ließ keine Fragen offen und blieb bis zum Schluss spannend. Ein weiterer Pluspunkt ist für mich, dass die Autorin die Welt nicht strikt nach Schwarz und Weiß trennt. Es gibt definitiv eine Menge Graustufen und sie kann sich gut in die von ihr geschaffenen Charaktere herein denken.
Eine weitere Besonderheit, die mir als Feinschmecker gefallen hat: bei jeder Zusammenkunft von Menschen beim Essen wurde auch das Essen beschrieben. Man bekommt nicht nur einen interessanten Einblick in die schwedische Küche (bei Jägern) sondern auch Appetit..
..an dieser Stelle habe ich die Rezension etwas gekürzt, das Potential der Reihe um die Hauptperson Embla Nyström und ihre Kollegen sowie die Rubrik „was lernen wir daraus“ gibt´s auf meinem Wordpress- Blog: http://wp.me/p6tREn-1oJnE
Fazit
Ich gebe dem Kriminalroman Jagdrevier 4 von 5 Sternen. Ein guter Plot, das interessante und mir weitestgehend unbekannte Setting (die Jagd) und die Hauptperson finde ich gelungen. Das ich mir als Leser meine eigenen Gedanken zum Mörder und den Zusammenhängen machen durfte und auch die Graustufen bei den Charakteren sind vorbildlich. Einzig die vielen Teilnehmer-Namen, die mir nicht komplett klaren Ortsverhältnisse- und dass es mich nicht vor Schreck und Überraschung von der Couch gerissen hat, verhindern die 5-Sterne-Bewertung. Für alle Krimiliebhaber ist dieses Buch genau richtig.
Der Inhalt:
In Gäteborg treffen sich wie jedes Jahr mehrere Freunde zur Elchjagd. Darunter auch Embla Nyström, Polizistin bei einer Spezialeinheit und frischgebackene nordische Meisterin im Halbweltergewicht. Sie geht mit ihrem Onkel schon seit ihrer Kindheit zur Jagd und hat extra Urlaub genommen, um die gut organisierte Jagd nicht zu verpassen. Dieses Jahr läuft jedoch einiges anders als in den Vorjahren. Beispielsweise ist der charismatische, gutaussehende Peter mit von der Partie. Er ist in der Gegend aufgewachsenen und nun wieder hergezogen. Jeder fragt sich, warum er wieder da ist. Und auch sonst ranken sich Geheimnisse um den Mann, in den Embla sich bald verliebt. Als dann jedoch einer der Teilnehmer tot entdeckt wird und ein weiterer verschwindet, ist es mit dem Urlaub von Embla und dem Spaß an der Elchjagd vorbei. Denn nun sind die Jäger wohl die gejagten..
Stil, Machart, Meinung
Die ersten Seiten haben knapp ein Detail verraten, wodurch sofort Spannung aufgebaut wurde. Die Ermittler erfahren davon erst wesentlich später im Buch, und das finde ich schon einmal sehr geschickt. Das müsst ihr mir jetzt so glauben, denn ich möchte ja nicht spoilern..
Nach den unheilvollen Szenen am Anfang folgt zunächst eine größere Vorstellungsrunde. Wir lernen aus der Perspektive von Protagonistin Embla die anderen Jagdteilnehmer, die Umgebung und die Details der geplanten Jagd kennen. Dieser Abschnitt fällt auf Grund der vielen Teilnehmer und den verschiedenen Etappen der Jagd recht umfangreich aus, ist aber trotz der vielen Informationen und Namen gut gelungen. Mir wurde dabei nicht wirklich langweilig, obwohl ja nicht viel passierte. Die Vorstellung fand immer in einem lebendigen Rahmen wie ein Abendessen oder einer Jagdbesprechung statt. Ich war nicht gelangweilt, hatte allerdings ein paar Probleme mit den vielen Personen und Namen. Eine Zeit lang beispielsweise hatte ich mental wohl irgendwie einen der Jadghunde mit einem der Teilnehmer verwechselt.. Das dürfte einerseits an den schwedischen Namen liegen, andererseits an der Anzahl der Teilnehmer und am Rande Beteiligten. Ich hätte mir eventuell eine etwas längere Beschreibung der einzelnen Teilnehmer bzw. eine einfachere Umgebung gewünscht. Man hat recht viele Schauplätze, beispielsweise geht es von dem Haus von Emblas Onkel zu einem anderen Haus, von wo die Jagd startet. Von dort geht es in das Jagdlager, dann gibt es irgendwo anders noch ein Jagdschloss… mir sind die Entfernungen irgendwie nicht so ganz klar geworden. Es hat aber auch nicht wirklich gestört, ich habe dadurch nichts wesentliches verpasst.
Die Schreibweise der Autorin finde ich sehr flüssig, sie schweift nicht zu sehr aus und beschreibt dennoch gern die Natur und die Umgebung. Die Perspektive ist gut gewählt, durch die Augen von Embla sieht man die Geschehnisse einerseits als Polizistin und andererseits als Frau im Urlaub, die sich in einen der Teilnehmer verliebt. Wie diese beiden Perspektiven sich ergänzen, abwechseln und manchmal auch im Weg stehen, finde ich sehr interessant.
Den Plot hatte ich mir ja eigentlich etwas anders vorgestellt, ich denke das ist meiner Liebe zu Agatha Christie geschuldet. Wenn ich auf der Rückseite lese „Eine Elchjagd in den schwedischen Wäldern. Ein Toter. Fünf Verdächtige“ , dann geht bei mir automatisch die Erwartung „Einer nach dem anderen stirbt, wer war es?“ an. Grundsätzlich ist diese Erwartung auch irgendwie erfüllt worden, nur anders als gedacht. Zwar geht es nach der Einführung zu den Jagdteilnehmern, den Jagdabläufen dann mit Mord weiter, aber die Gefahr für die Überlebenden ist danach direkt gebannt –nicht wie in meiner Erwartung von der Außenwelt abgeschnitten. Aber meine Erwartungen muss ja die Autorin nicht ahnen und erfüllen, und auch so war die Geschichte gut konstruiert, ließ keine Fragen offen und blieb bis zum Schluss spannend. Ein weiterer Pluspunkt ist für mich, dass die Autorin die Welt nicht strikt nach Schwarz und Weiß trennt. Es gibt definitiv eine Menge Graustufen und sie kann sich gut in die von ihr geschaffenen Charaktere herein denken.
Eine weitere Besonderheit, die mir als Feinschmecker gefallen hat: bei jeder Zusammenkunft von Menschen beim Essen wurde auch das Essen beschrieben. Man bekommt nicht nur einen interessanten Einblick in die schwedische Küche (bei Jägern) sondern auch Appetit..
..an dieser Stelle habe ich die Rezension etwas gekürzt, das Potential der Reihe um die Hauptperson Embla Nyström und ihre Kollegen sowie die Rubrik „was lernen wir daraus“ gibt´s auf meinem Wordpress- Blog: http://wp.me/p6tREn-1oJnE
Fazit
Ich gebe dem Kriminalroman Jagdrevier 4 von 5 Sternen. Ein guter Plot, das interessante und mir weitestgehend unbekannte Setting (die Jagd) und die Hauptperson finde ich gelungen. Das ich mir als Leser meine eigenen Gedanken zum Mörder und den Zusammenhängen machen durfte und auch die Graustufen bei den Charakteren sind vorbildlich. Einzig die vielen Teilnehmer-Namen, die mir nicht komplett klaren Ortsverhältnisse- und dass es mich nicht vor Schreck und Überraschung von der Couch gerissen hat, verhindern die 5-Sterne-Bewertung. Für alle Krimiliebhaber ist dieses Buch genau richtig.
September 15, 2021
A Swedish murder mystery. Always fun.
December 10, 2024
The opening quarter is boring, the next part is dreadful and now I’m about halfway through and I’m not even remotely interested in finishing it.
March 17, 2019
Originally published at Reading Reality
A couple of years ago I reviewed Who Watcheth by this author for Library Journal. It was my first “real” dip into scandinavian noir, and I found the story really compelling, as well as a bit creepy. But I really enjoyed the main character, Inspector Irene Huss. Enough so that I picked up the short story collection An Elderly Lady is Up to No Good to get just a bit more of her. (She is not the elderly lady of the title, she is investigating the elderly lady of the title).
Inspector Irene Huss’ series has ended, but the author has begun a new series, and I decided to pick it up – from the beginning this time. And so we come to Detective Inspector Embla Nyström of the mobile crime unit, on her annual vacation at her uncle’s hunting cabin.
The moose isn’t the only creature being hunted. So when the human bodies start piling up, Embla finds herself back on the clock, investigating a group of men she’s known – and mostly respected – all of her life. Along with one charmer who might just be a bit too good to be true.
Only because he is.
Escape Rating B+: This isn’t so much of a whodunit as a whydunit, as has been pointed out by multiple reviewers. It is a bit obvious who must be the killer. There’s only one newcomer to this rather tight-knit group. If one of them had been a serial killer, the dead bodies would go back decades. And they don’t. Mostly.
The group, with the exception of 28-year-old Embla and the newcomer, are also middle-aged if not older. For the most part, they are successful and well-to-do. Embla and her uncle are definitely not in the same financial strata as some of the others. (Or come to think of it, I don’t think they are. We don’t actually know enough about her uncle’s situation to be certain. He does, after all, own a house in town AND a hunting cabin.)
Embla is a cop. And a good one. She’s just multiply conflicted on this case.
Not just because she knows everyone well, except that newcomer. On the other hand, she gets to know the newcomer in the biblical sense, creating yet more conflict. And this case echoes back to an unsolved and unresolved trauma in her own past.
She knows there’s something wrong, but has a difficult time putting all the pieces together. Just as with the issue in her own past, the criminal is acting out of his own unresolved trauma. This is a case that just isn’t going to be solved without digging into a whole lot of the dirty laundry of everyone involved.
Embla is an interesting character, and she’s going to be good to follow for a series. On the one hand, she is a bit of an outsider in this group. By the time the crimes start occurring, she’s both the only woman, and with the exception of the newcomer, the only person under 40.
Her profession makes her suspect everyone and everything, and at the same time it sets her apart, making some of the party members suspicious of her, because she’s a young woman in a man’s job, and in authority once the moose hunt turns into a manhunt.
As a championship boxer, she’s a woman used to and capable of taking care of herself – a skill that turns out to be necessary in the course of the story. One of the unusual things we see is that in her own small team, while she’s not the leader, she is the muscle. We don’t often see that in fiction in a mixed gender team and it’s refreshing.
Her past trauma makes this case more poignant for her, and provides avenues for the author to explore in future entries in the series. That this case is wrapped up entirely in a hunting trip and the hunting culture of Scandinavia may put some readers off. There’s a lot of detail about the process of hunting and the annual hunts. I found it interesting – not that I’d want to do it myself but just how much tradition and culture are still wrapped around it.
I certainly enjoyed Hunting Game more than enough to want to read the next book in the series when it’s translated into English. I like Embla and her team and want to see how they go.
A couple of years ago I reviewed Who Watcheth by this author for Library Journal. It was my first “real” dip into scandinavian noir, and I found the story really compelling, as well as a bit creepy. But I really enjoyed the main character, Inspector Irene Huss. Enough so that I picked up the short story collection An Elderly Lady is Up to No Good to get just a bit more of her. (She is not the elderly lady of the title, she is investigating the elderly lady of the title).
Inspector Irene Huss’ series has ended, but the author has begun a new series, and I decided to pick it up – from the beginning this time. And so we come to Detective Inspector Embla Nyström of the mobile crime unit, on her annual vacation at her uncle’s hunting cabin.
The moose isn’t the only creature being hunted. So when the human bodies start piling up, Embla finds herself back on the clock, investigating a group of men she’s known – and mostly respected – all of her life. Along with one charmer who might just be a bit too good to be true.
Only because he is.
Escape Rating B+: This isn’t so much of a whodunit as a whydunit, as has been pointed out by multiple reviewers. It is a bit obvious who must be the killer. There’s only one newcomer to this rather tight-knit group. If one of them had been a serial killer, the dead bodies would go back decades. And they don’t. Mostly.
The group, with the exception of 28-year-old Embla and the newcomer, are also middle-aged if not older. For the most part, they are successful and well-to-do. Embla and her uncle are definitely not in the same financial strata as some of the others. (Or come to think of it, I don’t think they are. We don’t actually know enough about her uncle’s situation to be certain. He does, after all, own a house in town AND a hunting cabin.)
Embla is a cop. And a good one. She’s just multiply conflicted on this case.
Not just because she knows everyone well, except that newcomer. On the other hand, she gets to know the newcomer in the biblical sense, creating yet more conflict. And this case echoes back to an unsolved and unresolved trauma in her own past.
She knows there’s something wrong, but has a difficult time putting all the pieces together. Just as with the issue in her own past, the criminal is acting out of his own unresolved trauma. This is a case that just isn’t going to be solved without digging into a whole lot of the dirty laundry of everyone involved.
Embla is an interesting character, and she’s going to be good to follow for a series. On the one hand, she is a bit of an outsider in this group. By the time the crimes start occurring, she’s both the only woman, and with the exception of the newcomer, the only person under 40.
Her profession makes her suspect everyone and everything, and at the same time it sets her apart, making some of the party members suspicious of her, because she’s a young woman in a man’s job, and in authority once the moose hunt turns into a manhunt.
As a championship boxer, she’s a woman used to and capable of taking care of herself – a skill that turns out to be necessary in the course of the story. One of the unusual things we see is that in her own small team, while she’s not the leader, she is the muscle. We don’t often see that in fiction in a mixed gender team and it’s refreshing.
Her past trauma makes this case more poignant for her, and provides avenues for the author to explore in future entries in the series. That this case is wrapped up entirely in a hunting trip and the hunting culture of Scandinavia may put some readers off. There’s a lot of detail about the process of hunting and the annual hunts. I found it interesting – not that I’d want to do it myself but just how much tradition and culture are still wrapped around it.
I certainly enjoyed Hunting Game more than enough to want to read the next book in the series when it’s translated into English. I like Embla and her team and want to see how they go.
December 25, 2021
Solid Nordic Noir featuring flawed Detective Inspector Embla Nystrom. Even knowing who the murderer was and also guessing the general reason behind his crimes did not spoil this story, for me.
March 30, 2020
2.5 stars. In Sweden, Embla Nystrom goes on an annual moose hunting trip with her uncle and 11 others. Peter is a newcomer this year. The group is plagued with some bad setbacks. A dog gets sick due to rat poison, one hunter is bit by a snake, and a large animal trap is set for someone to step in. Then one of the hunters turns up dead.
Embla Nystrom has great potential as a character. She's a police officer, moose hunter, crack shot, and champion light welterweight boxer.
The weather was cold -- just under freezing. I wanted to feel this cold more than I did. The hunt was interesting to me. I liked reading about the preparation for the hunt, what happened during the hunt, what they ate, etc. It was totally obvious from the beginning who the killer was. The last 50 pages were the best part of the book.
Embla Nystrom has great potential as a character. She's a police officer, moose hunter, crack shot, and champion light welterweight boxer.
The weather was cold -- just under freezing. I wanted to feel this cold more than I did. The hunt was interesting to me. I liked reading about the preparation for the hunt, what happened during the hunt, what they ate, etc. It was totally obvious from the beginning who the killer was. The last 50 pages were the best part of the book.
February 24, 2019
For readers who are ardent opponents of hunting, I would suggest they give this book a miss. Since my grandfather was a hunter, I found this look into the moose hunting traditions of Sweden very interesting and a good backdrop to the story. I also loved Tursten's descriptions of the forest-- otherworldly, sometimes menacing, but always beautiful. She actually made me feel as though I were walking through those trees alongside Embla.
I was sad to see the author end her Irene Huss series, but at the same time, I looked forward to seeing something new. Fellow Irene Huss fans, never fear. I think you're going to like Embla. Huss was a prizewinning kickboxer; Nyström is a prizewinning boxer. Yes, both women certainly know how to take care of themselves. I was a bit anxious to see how tormented Nyström was by her nightmares-- sometimes I tire of psychologically damaged main characters and enjoy reading about someone who could be considered normal. Thankfully, Nyström isn't all that far off from normal.
Hunting Game tells us a bit about Embla's backstory and the cause of her nightmares, and I think that's going to add some interesting angles to future books in the series. I was a bit disappointed that I wasn't made to work very hard to deduce the identity of the killer, but that was just the mood I was in. This book is more of a whydunit than a whodunit, and the why certainly keeps the pages turning.
I may have been forced to say good-bye to Irene Huss, but I am looking forward to more encounters with Embla Nyström, and I think you will, too.
I was sad to see the author end her Irene Huss series, but at the same time, I looked forward to seeing something new. Fellow Irene Huss fans, never fear. I think you're going to like Embla. Huss was a prizewinning kickboxer; Nyström is a prizewinning boxer. Yes, both women certainly know how to take care of themselves. I was a bit anxious to see how tormented Nyström was by her nightmares-- sometimes I tire of psychologically damaged main characters and enjoy reading about someone who could be considered normal. Thankfully, Nyström isn't all that far off from normal.
Hunting Game tells us a bit about Embla's backstory and the cause of her nightmares, and I think that's going to add some interesting angles to future books in the series. I was a bit disappointed that I wasn't made to work very hard to deduce the identity of the killer, but that was just the mood I was in. This book is more of a whydunit than a whodunit, and the why certainly keeps the pages turning.
I may have been forced to say good-bye to Irene Huss, but I am looking forward to more encounters with Embla Nyström, and I think you will, too.
March 7, 2019
Hunting Game, Embla Nyström #1, by Helene Tursten, Paul R Norlaen (Contributor) March 2019 iBook.
The first installment in Helene Tursten's brand new series featuring the strong, smart Detective Inspector Embla Nyström.
Looked forward to this as I have read all her Irene Huss books plus a stand alone and really enjoy this writer very much.
Because I really enjoyed Irene, her family, colleagues and her strengths/weaknesses....took me awhile to warm to Embla..... Her uncle Nisse, her personality. Embla appears in 2015 The Treacherous Net in the team as a rookie with Irene Huss....now, Embla is on her own with two team members. While on leave and staying with her uncle during the annual hunting season she encounters a new member Peter. Several things begin to go wrong, sick hunting dog, leg traps that should not be on paths, snake in the outhouse, conflicts between hunting members....then a death. Meanwhile Embla and Peter flirt. Her team are brought in to take over the suspicious death, murder...plus the mystery of a hunter missing ....enough said it gets pretty exciting and tense but typically Tursten joins up all the dots for the reader by the end....
Moose hunting or any hunting, would not be a topic that I would want to read about but the joy of reading is you learn so much about so many different things, places as well as about human beings! This is no exception.....
A very good read.
The first installment in Helene Tursten's brand new series featuring the strong, smart Detective Inspector Embla Nyström.
Looked forward to this as I have read all her Irene Huss books plus a stand alone and really enjoy this writer very much.
Because I really enjoyed Irene, her family, colleagues and her strengths/weaknesses....took me awhile to warm to Embla..... Her uncle Nisse, her personality. Embla appears in 2015 The Treacherous Net in the team as a rookie with Irene Huss....now, Embla is on her own with two team members. While on leave and staying with her uncle during the annual hunting season she encounters a new member Peter. Several things begin to go wrong, sick hunting dog, leg traps that should not be on paths, snake in the outhouse, conflicts between hunting members....then a death. Meanwhile Embla and Peter flirt. Her team are brought in to take over the suspicious death, murder...plus the mystery of a hunter missing ....enough said it gets pretty exciting and tense but typically Tursten joins up all the dots for the reader by the end....
Moose hunting or any hunting, would not be a topic that I would want to read about but the joy of reading is you learn so much about so many different things, places as well as about human beings! This is no exception.....
A very good read.
March 27, 2019
I thought this book was the first in a new series, but had some odd feeling when I began reading that it was somehow familiar. I realized at the end that Tursten introduced the main character Embla in an earlier novel in the Irene Huss series. Embla was interning with the group where Huss was assigned. While that was in 2015, Tursten was working on a possible film scrip with Embla as the main character back in 2006. In any case, my feeling of familiarity seemed to come from things read or read about earlier. This book was not as long as some of Tursten's Huss series, but the focus on the tradition of moose hunting created a setting, an isolation, where the story could play out, as well as some incidents from the past to complicate the usual pattern of the hunt, and precipitate a series of possibly deadly incidents and a number of deaths. There's something about a super cold, rainy, muddy forest Scandinavian setting with lots of high power guns, to get your anxieties going.
February 23, 2019
This is a hard one to review because it starts slowly. More frankly there were SO many characters in the beginning that I was confused about who was who and who belong where and really wished that I was reading it in hard copy so that I could flip back and forth to check on things. Stick with it though and you will be rewarded with a good read and a terrific new character in Embla. Hunting isn't my thing and (again) early on I was somewhat icked out by the body count of moose. Once the murders started, however, I was (I know, hypocrite) more engaged. There are some good twists, some turns, and it's notable for the portrait of Swedes in the woods. Thanks to Edelweiss for the ARC. Fans of Swedish noir will recognize some of the tropes. I'm looking forward to more.
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