I purchased a copy of "Killer's Island by Anna Jansson, a Swedish crime writer, after I heard such good about this novel. I was not disappointed, as this was a fast paced crime novel.

On the Swedish island of Gotland, there have been a number of vicious and ritualistic murders. The killer seems to know a great deal about his victims. He is highly intelligent, emotionally disturbed and full of anger. He is described as a man in a dark cape, a sleepwalker, a drunk and evil.

Maria Wern, a police officer and Erika Lund, a pathologist, are best of friends, and were at a bar, where Erika had met Dr. Anders Ahlstrom. The three left together and then Maria continued on her route home. Maria hears a cry for help, and saw three hooded men standing around someone on the ground, kicking him. The person on the ground was a boy around thirteen. The boy was unconscious, and when Maria intervened,she was viciously attacked. Her attackers had stabbed her with needles. Maria described a man in a overcoat and cap who walked past while the assault was in progress, but did nothing. Maria recovers in hospital, while the young boy, Linus died.

MariaÂ’s colleague Erika takes the lead on this case, since Maria herself has been attacked, and would serve as a witness.

Maria is in love with Per Arvidsson, a detective, injured on the job, and dealing with depression, who returns to work shortly.

Erika and Jesper Ek were brought in to work on a homicide, a ritual murder. The victim looked a bride holding lilies of the valley. The victim, Linn Bogren, a nurse was found in the Pavilion to the Botanical Gardens. The murderer wanted his victim displayed ...a psychopath. Maria was assigned this case.

Harry Molin, a neighbour of Linn and a patient of Dr. Anders, became the third homicide, all within one month of each other, in the same part of the city. All three were patients of Dr. Anders.

I have to admit that the first few chapters were a little slow, allowing all the characters and their relationships to be setup...but after that the novel really took off. I couldn't put it down.

If you enjoy reading crime novels, don't miss out on this one! I will definitely read some other novels by this talented writer.
crime-thrillers detective-crime scandinavian17 s Jill2,195 89

This is the first English translation of Swedish author Anna Jansson's crime series featuring Detective Maria Vern. Although this title is the 11th book in the series, Maria actually doesnÂ’t figure much in this story, so I didnÂ’t feel I was missing essential plot elements by not having read earlier installments.

On the Swedish island of Gotland, there have been a number of vicious and ritualistic murders. The killer seems to know a great deal about his victims, who share some similarities. MariaÂ’s colleague Erika takes the lead on this case, since Maria herself has been attacked, although she was not killed. [This fact turns out to be a possible clue to the killerÂ’s motives.]

Erika juggles the demands of the casework with her personal life, and this compromises her dedication to solving the crimes. Meanwhile, suspense builds as the deaths continue and red herrings pile up, and dangers increase for the detectives involved in the case. It doesn't help matters that Erika bears a striking resemblance to some of the previous victims!

Discussion: In trying to make ambiguous the guilt or innocence of one of the main characters, the author has the character behave quite inconsistently and therefore this person is not too convincingly wrought. It’s an interesting problem from an authorial point of view – you want to create good red herrings, but you still need to create believable characters. Another red herring is the introduction of a plot line that in the end turns out to be totally unrelated to anything, and therefore its inclusion seems baffling rather than clever. Other authors have accomplished the art of constructing credible red herrings, but I don’t believe that Jansson has done so in this particular book.

Evaluation: In spite of some shortcomings, this is an entertaining page-turner. I had some problems with the story (see the Discussion, above), but would still recommend it for those wanting more familiarity with popular Swedish crime writers. Stockholm Text, the publisher, intends to translate more of these popular authors for English-speaking audiences. For me it is a bonus of globalization!
5 s Jaksen1,442 72 Read

DNF

Terribly confusing and jumps around from character to character...

Seriously, if I put the book down for a day - or an hour! - and picked it up again, I'd have to look back to remember who was who, and who 'd' who, or was involved with whomever. Or, is this the young woman breaking up with her husband? Or is it the other one? Similar characters, settings, situations and I gave up on it.

Another reviewer did mention it might be difficult to read this as it is Number 11 in a series. I might just try to find Book 1 and go from there. (I usually do read series in order.) But this one is going back onto the shelf...

The library shelf.

No rating.books-i-couldn-t-finish4 s Susan462 22

In the idyllic seaside town of Visby on Sweden's Gotland island, murders are cropping up. Cop Maria Wern is attacked and beaten when she tries to intervene when three masked men are stomping a young boy to death. Because she was involved, Maria is excluded from investigating this case, but she does get called to action when seemingly the same criminals begin killing other people in the same neighborhood. The novel asks some existential questions: do the police prevent or punish crime, for instance. Their attitude remains sympathetic to the perps. What can be done to prevent vicious crime? In Visby, the police are unable to prevent crime, or even follow up if there are no witnesses or evidence. But bystanders who do not intervene are not without guilt. The problems of women reporting sexual crimes are also explored. Maria's best friend, a pathologist named Erika, is also attacked and stalked. The circle draws smaller and smaller, and turns in on itself, as the killer draws closer and closer. The novel is sentimental and sensational, but still good. For one thing, the women characters are evolved sexually, and appear to ask the same things from their work and social relationships as men have in less advanced countries. This social and psychological depth, along with a tight plot, are the hallmarks of the best Scandinavian noirs.mysteries scandinavia3 s Skip3,367 526

If me, you are seeking other Swedish crime thrillers, I recommend skipping this one. It takes most of the book to understand the two lead characters (Detective Inspector Maria Wern and her friend/co-worker Erika Lund, a forensic technician), probably because this is Book #11 in a series. Maria stops to defend a young boy being viciously attacked by a trio, and is rewarded by being stabbed with a syringe filled with blood. The police are making no progress on this
case, when Maria is called to a crime scene where a beheaded woman, dressed as a bride, is found. Then, a neighbor is found hanged in another cop's home, with the connection being a psychiatrist, who is dating Erika. Figured out the killer about 75% of the way through, after an incorrect guess about 60% through. crime-detective e-books foreign-translated3 s Ulla1,049 3

Den här var riktigt spännande ...men litet för skrämmande!audio in-swedish3 s Rxmi287 83

"No hay nada que genere tanta culpabilidad como el amor. El amor y las deudas de gratitud, el amor y la traición, el amor y todo lo que uno es capaz de hacer para que no lo abandonen."
Ok, ¿por dónde empezar? Me gustó, pero hay muchas cosas que siento que tengo que criticarle.

Bueno, la historia en sí resulta muy atractiva y atrapa durante toda la lectura, pero cuando todo está centrado en los personajes, ahí es donde quise golpear a la autora... TOO. MUCH. DRAMA. Todo lo interesante del asesinato se escapa y uno pasa las páginas pidiendo a gritos que asesinen a otro personaje porque ya no se aguanta lo demás. Y pasa, por suerte, por lo tanto se vuelve a tornar interesante.

So, volviendo a esto de la reseña: me gustó pero sólo eso. El final me dejo atónita, y si bien puede llegar a entreverse algo (muy poco, en realidad) de lo que termina pasando, me parece que la autora se centró mucho en aparentar e incriminar demasiado a ciertos personajes en lugar de agregar cantidad de sospechosos para que el lector pueda jugar con las pistas. Todo se soluciona increíblemente rápido y uno se desilusiona bastante.

En cuanto a las relaciones entre personajes no puedo opinar mucho, ya que este libro es el número once de una serie, entonces quizá ya se vienen dando cosas de las que no tengo conocimiento. Sin embargo, y repito, me pareció que existía demasiado drama entre elllos, siendo gente madura. Whatever, uno nunca está exento del drama.2014 actually-have-them2 s Carol MacInnis453

Detective Inspector Maria Wern and her friend and co-workers Erika Lund, a forensic technician, were out for an evening when Det. Wern decided to head home. On her way, she heard a young boy's cry for help. Up ahead Det. Wern saw three men standing over a defenseless young boy punching and kicking him. When Wern yelled 'Police! Stop!' the men turned to her and gave the boy another kick and he appeared to stop moving. The men then went towards Maria and began hitting and kicking her until one of them had a syringe filled with blood in his hand and began jabbing her with it. The next thing she remembered was being in the hospital and learned later of the 13 year old's demise as well as her being tested for HIV for many many months to come.

As time passed and Wern was not getting any further into finding out the identities of the men who attacked her and the young boy, she was called to a crime scene. A woman had been found dressed as a bride holding a bouquet of lilies of the valley. As time goes on, another grizzly murder is discovered and the police wonder if there is a corelation between the murders. Could there possibly be a serial murderer on the loose!

A terrifying and brutually explicit account of a madman gone totally bizarre. Fabulous crime novel!!2 s GretaAuthor 2 books8

Maybe it's because this a later book from an ongoing series, but Maria and Erika especially felt unexplored characters for me. I didn't care too much about them.
The first chapter is as easy as the first 20 minutes of saving private Ryan. I almost didn't keep reading. After the really brutal deaths were over, and I started my own hypothesis of who the murderer was, I was a lot more invested in the story, even though I wasn't attached to the characters. 2 s Anna19

En av Anna Janssons bästa böcker!

oj, vilken spänning hela boken igenom. Det gick inte att lägga ifrån sig boken.
2 s Magicdove cunha13 12

cool story2 s Minty McBunny1,180 27

This was a slow starter, but once it got underway, I found it a really solid police thriller, if a bit implausible. Some translation problems, those are forgivable. 2015 may-20152 s Holly Pascoe18

Excellent Scandinavian Noir. Kept surprising me to the end. Horrific crimes but more time spent on character development & relationships than graphic descriptions.2 s Judith1,075 7

Detective Maria Wern is called upon to solve some bizarre murders; in the process she senses a connection to an attack on herself. She and the rest of the team struggle to find motives and means.

We meet an interesting nurse, interesting detectives, and others in their lives. The characters kept me reading, even as I tried to suss out what was going on.

This is the second book I have read that takes place on Visby, on the island of Gotland, country of Sweden. This time I didn't have to go hunting on Google for images. I remembered the wall, the character of the town. I found the characters here compelling enough to seek out others by this author.
edit | upload journmysteries-and-thrillers1 Heidi1,105 221

Ever since the The Millennium Trilogy by Stieg Larsson I have been exploring the genre of Scandinavian thrillers, and am always excited to read the works of a new (to me) author. This is the first of Anna JanssonÂ’s books I have read, and I was drawn in by the premise of an old Nordic legend being connected to modern day murders.

One of the main protagonists. policewoman Maria Wern, is attacked early in the novel when coming to the help of a young boy being viciously assaulted by a group of men. The boy later dies, and Maria is left with the trauma of her own injuries as well as not having been able to prevent the crime.

The story line fans out at this stage, introducing several new characters. Nurse Linn Bogren, who is soon murdered in cold blood, beheaded and displayed in a public park dressed as a bride. Harry Molin, her hypochondriac neighbour. Erika, Maria’s colleague involved in the murder investigation, and Anders Ahlström, her love interest and a doctor at the local clinic, who saw all the murder victims shortly before their death. And then there is the old legend of the White Sea-Lady, which bears uncanny resemblance to the way the murder victim Linn Bogren has been displayed. As police are frantically trying to find the murderer before he claims any more lives, Erika herself may be becoming the focus of the ruthless killer.

Apparently this is the 11th book in the Maria Wern series, and in the beginning of the novel I did have the impression of arriving half-way through a movie – whilst this did not end up presenting a problem with the plot, being familiar with the characters may have helped understand some of the complicated relationships and motivations. Due to the many storylines in the beginning, the book read a bit clumsy and disjointed for me, and it took until about halfway through the story to connect some of the threads and work out the who-is-who and what-is-what. At this point, the pace really picked up, the mystery deepened and the threat to one of the main characters had me frantically turning the pages to find out how it would all work out. True to its genre, the thriller does not shy away from exposing the darker side of human nature, and the isolation and loneliness often present in our midst, reminiscent of cold dark winter nights. Some of the characters’ motivations were a bit questionable, but cannot be commented on without having read earlier books in the series and understanding their backgrounds. I personally would have d to see the legend of the White Sea-Lady feature a bit more in the novel, which could have added a stronger element of mystery – it had such potential to chill!

All in all, the book was a perfect way to chill on a hot day, and despite the few issues mentioned I really enjoyed the journey. I would be interested to read more from this author, especially some of the earlier books in the series, who are currently only available in Swedish. For fans of Nordic fiction, this is definitely worth a try.
read-in-20121 Lukasz Pruski921 119

The story of Anna Jansson's "Killer's Island" takes place in and around the town of Visby on the picturesque Swedish island of Gotland. The story begins when three men attack a boy, and Detective Inspector Maria Wern unsuccessfully tries to stop the assault. She is severely beaten and injected with possibly infected blood, and the boy dies in the hospital. The plot includes two more killings, and Maria and her colleagues work on finding the connections and solving the cases.

It could have been a pretty good story, but to me it is almost totally ruined by severe implausibility and less than stellar writing. I understand this is the eleventh novel in a series and the author is trying to juggle life stories of the series' characters and link them to the current plot. The main aspect of the novel's implausibility is that there are too many connections between the characters. Many of them - the police, the doctors and nurses, the victims - even seem to live in the same neighborhood and know each other in person. Of course, there are deeper connections too, and they are quite bothersome. They rob the novel of any authenticity and cause it to read as a tedious plot construction exercise instead.

Ms. Jansson abuses an incredibly crude writing device. For instance, a suspected criminal is described by a witness to "walk with a stiff gait". A few pages later, another person is interviewed at the police station and when the interview is over and the person is leaving, "his joints seem stiff". This lame trick is used repeatedly throughout the entire novel. I'd much prefer Ms. Jansson to write "Look! Here's a clue!"

The novel has some strangeness that I have enjoyed as I love to be surprised when an author bends and mixes literary genres and styles; some fragments in the beginning of the book read an interesting medical story. Ms. Jansson has been a nurse for most of her life (she apparently still works as one, part time), so when she writes about medical issues, it comes through authentic and interesting. It is the crime story that is quite lacking. So I am adding a half of a star for genre bending.

One and a half stars.
1 Kristie647 1 follower


Anna Jansson, nos adentra con gran maestría a Gotland, un pequeño pueblo sueco, que de pronto ve rota su paz con una serie de brutales crimines, y es que el mal llamará de golpe y porrazo a los habitantes de la hermosa isla.
Nadie esta a salvo, ni tan siquiera la inspectora de policía María Wern, que de forma totalmente inesperada se ve metida de lleno en el punto de mira de un psicópata.

A lo largo de las páginas, nos adentramos en la psique de un criminal altamente perturbado, lleno de un odio irracional, pero con un plan magistralmente orquestado, tanto que solamente en los capítulos finales te das cuenta de que la autora con una gran maestría te ha hecho ver lo que ella quería, ya que mirabas con lupa a todos los personajes que te ha ido presentando, odiando a los que la autora con cierta picardia por su parte, nos muestra que son sospechosos.

Debo confesar que soy una adicta a las novelas de misterio y siempre estoy deseando que a cada rato se me presente un cadáver, en esta novela los tenemos, quizá haya alguna escena un poco escabrosa, aunque para mi gusto me esperaba un psicópata más feroz, aunque no debemos olvidar que esta es su segunda novela, por lo tanto dejemos que la maravillosa mente de Anna Jansson se llene de escenas sacadas del mismísimo infierno.

Una gran obra que nos demuestra que la novela noruega esta en auge y que efectivamente esta allá arriba no sólo por casualidad, sino por esas historias que hacen que nos mantengan enfrascados en una lectura electrizante.1 Katelyn42

Killer's Island is a good, fast paced murder mystery set on Gotland Island in Sweden. This is the 11th book in the Maria Wern series, but the first book I had read by Anna Jansson. One of the strongest points of the story, in my opinion, is that most of the characters were very relatable. Whatever questionable decisions were made, it would be easy to see oneself doing the same thing if placed in that situation, such as swimming out to sea to save someone you love.

In this story, Maria is attacked right at the beginning, and is waiting to hear news from her doctor throughout the story. She is also having relationship problems with another detective, with whom apparently she got to know and fell in love with in the earlier novels. But Maria is not necessarily the main focus of this story. A fellow cop and friend, Erika, gets involved with Dr. Anders who seems almost too good to be true.

The story started out a little clunky, with each chapter acting to introduce yet another character and setting. But once the story got going, the suspense held up. It became a little tedious, having so many characters with different ailments, including depression, hypochondria, sleepwalking and anxiety. Nevertheless, this was a mystery that held my attention throughout. I especially d the entwining of a Swedish fairy tail, as well as the little details at each murder scene. Additionally, the translation to English was of good quality. If the earlier books get translated, I would be willing to try them.


**I Received This Book As A FirstReads Giveaway**1 Agust38 7

Reseña completa en mi blog




Amé como hace que cada personaje sea importante en el argumento de la historia. Uno va leyendo y piensa que este personaje secundario es de relleno, o que solo aparecerá en esta escena y luego nunca más... NONONONO! Ese personaje puede haber tenido relación con este otro y ese con este y lo que provocará que esto pase o que... ._.

¡Anna es genial! La amé por eso y por cómo uno no se espera lo que puede venir, o si lo hace, luego termina siendo otra cosa que en verdad no te esperabas.
-

Disfruté mucho esta historia, de la investigadora Maria Wern y sus colegas policías. Debo decir que tuve miedo, porque es el libro número 11 en la saga, pero la autora nos explica la relación entre los personajes de una forma que logramos entender sus amistades y vínculos.
Y la escritura me atrapó al instante y no podía soltar el libro. ¡Fue una gran adicción!

Se los super recomiendo :)1 Laura2,205

I really enjoyed this book. Her style reminds me a lot of Camilla Lackberg's, but a little darker. Most of the 'cast' is a bit tortured or dark, though they're easy to relate to and for the most part, able.

The mystery is good, and while it's well written, the ending wasn't a shock. Getting there was part of the fun though, and the plot twists were pretty creative.

I was a bit disappointed in Maria and Erika's choice of partner - both are strong women, and I had hoped their taste in men would be a little better. I realize that in almost every mystery there is a female detective with the 'wrong' man, but both women? Also, while Maria's children are mentioned, we don't meet them, which seemed a little odd since she complained that their father didn't spend time with them. Where were they? And finally, I thought that the relationship between Anders and Erika developed suspiciously fast.

I really enjoyed getting to know Maria and her co-workers and am looking forward to the next book in this series. If you Nordic crime, I'd definitely suggest this.1 Linda Branham1,811 30

The 2nd novel by Anna Jansson
This story clearly develops the main characters and their relationships to each other. The main character is MAria Wern, a police officer. Her best friend and co-police officer is Erika.
The story begins when a young boy is being beaten by 3 young men and Maria witnesses the attack. She tries to intervene and stop the attack and is beaten herself - she is also injected with blood that may be infected. Soon after this incident, a gruesome murder occurs of a young nurse...a nurse who looks eerily similar to Erika. Other murders and incidents soon follow. Who is the killer? Is it someone they know? A really intense a complicated mystery2015 mystery-crime psychological-thriller ...more1 Kristina SvenssonAuthor 16 books11

Det är sommar och dags att angripa några av mina bokhögar. I en av dessa hittade jag Anna Janssons Visbydeckare "Drömmen förde dej vilse". Det är den elfte deckaren i serien med Maria Wern men den första jag läst. En stor del av lockelsen för min del var att jag var i Visby nyligen och kände igen mig i miljöbeskrivningarna. Detta var även en stor del av behållningen av boken. Det är en dussindeckare, på gott och ont. Boken erbjuder en stunds förströelse så här på sommaren och jag hade inget problem att läsa ut den - men jag har heller ingen längtan efter att läsa fler i serien. Mitt betyg blir alltså ungefär som mellanmjölk, det är en lagom bok att läsa på semestern. 1 Reetta Saine2,592 56

Ruotsalaiset naisdekkaristit ovat joukolla kääntämässä selkäänsä sille vähällekin yhteiskunnallisuudelle, jota monen alku-uralla kirjoista oli vielä luettavissa. Anna Jansson on yksi heistä.

Unissakävelijässä tapaamme jälleen yhden psykopaatin, jälleen epäonnistuneet perhesuhteet ja rakkaudettomuuden sekä suoraviivaisen kyökkipsykologian. Marian suhde Periin saa jälleen uuden iskun, eikä toivoa paljonkaan ole muuallakaan.

Pitkään olen jaksanut Marian ja lasten kanssa, nyt vedellään viimeisiä.dekkarit1 Virginia103

This book started out well, lots of red herrings to keep you guessing, but the actions and responses of some of the characters became unbelievable towards the end. 1 Marla449 22

I can't believe I'm the only person to give this one star. 1 Helena Frisk671 4

Bra! 1 rd167

Read this after several other Maria Wern books by Anna Jansson.

And, as guessed from my rating, I have several problems with this novel:

1. On the cover I am told that this is a "new case for Maria Wern". But this is misleading. Maria Wern is included in the roll of characters in the novel, but is she really the main character? I think not. Rather I would have Erika Lund as the major character. But then why have a series based around Maria Wern if she is not the major character?

2. The actual structure of the novel is a bit confusing. There are the regular chapters, and that is all fine. But then towards the end of several chapters there is an additional page or so. The workings of the mind of the killer? The first time around it was very confusing. Who is this!

3. And then of course, and related to the statement above, there are the multiple perspectives. Sometimes we are in Erika's head, other times in Maria's. (And not mentioning inside the killer's head). This might be an interesting approach, but it needs to be clear for the reader, or at least for me.

And a warning - I have seen a number of bloody and violent scenes in film or on TV crime stories. But for a written text, this is the worst I have ever read. I have great difficulty reading and getting through it.

This is the 11th novel in the series about Maria Wern and it is interesting to return and see the characters developing. It becomes somewhat difficult if the books are not read in the same sequence as they were written. James Arbuckle6

This is one of the least believable novels I've read. Nearly all the cast are either depressed, severely self-loathing and/or self-destructive, and none have any business being within a country mile of their professional responsibilities. The severely conflicted police officers, the self-deluding psychiatrist, the psychotic, omnipotent villain - they all add up to an unpleasant and utterly improbable read, and I was glad finally to put it down.krimi Sandra58 1 follower

För att vara spänningsroman så är det synd att spänningen endast finns på de sista 7 sidorna. Boken kommer snabbt igång med ett mord med sedan är det en stor del av boken som bara är samtal och funderingar som inte verkar leda någonvart och som dessutom inte är väldigt spännande. Också väldigt mycket tjatande om deras relationer. Tiina863

Autor del comentario:
=================================