**1/2
The second book I read by the same author, and the style starts annoying me, as does the plot and some of the characters. Why should I get to know the details of the burger meal consumed on the way to an interview with some suspect? Why all those adjectives? Why do all the voices sound the same?
I noticed some lack of consistency, too. For example, the good guy and the good girl go against common sense and rules more than once, but they are the Chosen Good Ones, so the reader is expected to smile indulgently and forgive their good-willed little mischief. If a Dumb Mean Antagonist does the same, though... ahi ahi ahi, that is a proof (if we ever needed one) and a consequence of their ineptitude and lack of moral strength.
After Kay Scarpetta and her mates, I would find likeable even Judge Dredd. This said, the characters, though lacking a voice, are interesting, or at least not unbearable. Anyway I found them likeable enough, given the level of the novel. However, the author must have a problem with maternal figures. Nearly all of them are, to be nice to them, inadequate and cold if not completely insane.
Plot is the Eternal Plot of the Scandinavian Thriller. I like it, even if it is always the same story.
All in all, I had enjoyed more The Stonecutter, in which these defects are less conspicuous, but I just found out that the latter is a more recent effort. So, I will try the second novel in the series before deciding if I can stand her writing or not. In the meantime, the 2 stars are raised to 2 and a half, as a sign of hope...
By the way, the style is sometimes really annoying. Maybe it is the Italian translation's fault. ( )

Urgh. This book was seriously over-rated. I don't know if it's the translation or the author's fault, but the writing was patchy, occasionally good but mostly barely acceptable in a published novel. The characters weren't particularly believable either. Not bothering with the rest of the series. ( )

i'm not sure why this took so long to read because it was a well done mystery that i enjoyed, with characters that i thought were interesting and well rounded enough to want to spend more time with them. trying to figure the connection between the characters was fun, and i really thought all the threads were woven together really well. i was sure, like so sure, that jan was the killer and was really surprised when it turned out to be vera. i thought she handled well each instance of when the character learned some crucial piece of evidence but was hiding it from the reader. and i especially liked how technically the crime was solved for the cops but the outstanding threads were only tied off by patrik, for curiosity's sake, not justice's. ( )

Great story. The two star are for the poor translation from Swedish to English. It gives the impression that the story is badly written, but I am assured by Swedish friends that this not the case. ( )

The character Mellberg was farcical, other than that a very enjoyable and reasonably quick read. ( )