Skip to main content
PBS logo
 
 

Book Reviews of The Cruel Stars of the Night (Ann Lindell, Bk 2)

The Cruel Stars of the Night (Ann Lindell, Bk 2)
The Cruel Stars of the Night - Ann Lindell, Bk 2
Author: Kjell Eriksson
The Market's bargain prices are even better for Paperbackswap club members!
Retail Price: $16.99
Buy New (Paperback): $13.29 (save 21%) or
Become a PBS member and pay $9.39+1 PBS book credit Help icon(save 44%)
ISBN-13: 9780312366681
ISBN-10: 031236668X
Publication Date: 4/29/2008
Pages: 336
Edition: Reprint
Rating:
  • Currently 3.9/5 Stars.
 21

3.9 stars, based on 21 ratings
Publisher: St. Martin's Minotaur
Book Type: Paperback
Reviews: Amazon | Write a Review

2 Book Reviews submitted by our Members...sorted by voted most helpful

avidbookcollector avatar reviewed The Cruel Stars of the Night (Ann Lindell, Bk 2) on + 36 more book reviews
In this, Eriksson's second book to be translated into English, we once again meet up with Ann Lindell and her team from the Uppsala police department's Violent Crimes division. This time, the team is called in to investigate the seemingly motiveless deaths of three elderly men, all very quiet, all living alone. The police, in the search for anything which might lead them to a killer, try to fathom why these men were killed and what tied their lives together. Lindell gets the idea that perhaps she should make the examination broader, and begins comes up with a man who turned up missing around the same area some time back. It seems that a Laura Hindersten had turned in a missing person report when her father, a professor with a love of Petrarch, went missing. Laura's story interweaves with that of the police investigation, and the combination of the two lead to an incredible read.

I love the way Eriksson writes and I love the slow and methodical pacing of this novel, even though many readers complained that it was too slow for their liking. I liked the characters and I liked the dual plotline. What I didn't like was that the author allowed his main character, Lindell, to make a really stupid mistake that I don't think was in keeping with the police side of her character, in order to build to a bit of a hair-raising climax. This error, especially for a writer of Eriksson's caliber, would normally be (for me) an unforgiveable lapse, but the rest of it was so good that I could overlook it, once I got past my initial annoyance. I can definitely recommend Cruel Stars of the Night to those who enjoy a really good police procedural, and to those who also enjoy psychological suspense. It's also a bit more gritty than the lighthearted books cozy readers tend to enjoy, so I probably wouldn't recommend it for that crowd. This author is also definitely a must for those who are exploring the realm of Scandinavian crime fiction.
saber avatar reviewed The Cruel Stars of the Night (Ann Lindell, Bk 2) on + 159 more book reviews
Awful, directionless book. Doubly disappointing because his first book was so great.