Hakan Nesser is a Swedish writer of detective stories. The Return, translated by Laurie Thompson, is one of a series featuring Inspector Van Veerteren – a grumpy detective who gets results but isn’t a person who takes orders well. In this book the Inspector has been diagnosed with cancer and needs a major operation on his colon and, therefore, the investigation is often passed to his assistants with case conferences taking place at his bedside.
This is a good police procedural with a clever plot. Leopold Verhaven was an award winning runner for his country but he was convicted of the murder of a young woman. After being imprisoned and then released at the end of his term he was again arrested and subsequently convicted of the death of a second person and spent more time in jail. Following his second release he is an old man returning home, but shortly afterwards his body is found, rolled up in a carpet, and minus any distinguishing marks. The Inspector has to identify the body and then investigate this murder. The team quickly make the assumption that there are links to the victim’s crimes.
This is not a particularly quick moving story. The team looks into Verhaven’s crimes and discovers that the original investigations may have been flawed. Other victims that meet the profile are identified. It soon seems like Verhaven was framed for the crimes and that he may have been innocent all along.
I enjoyed this book. I found it amusing in places and the Inspector is an engaging main character. The plot is gripping and I didn’t guess the ending. I didn’t feel at any disadvantage from not having read previous books in this series. I shall look for other detective novels by this author.
Anne Is Reading 