Stephanie Jane reviewed The Abominable Man by Maj Sjöwall
Tense thriller
4 stars
The tense thriller had me gripped from the start and I couldn't put it down so read the whole book in an afternoon. This is one of the strongest storylines so far and I liked how Sjowall and Wahloo wove in biting criticism of the Swedish social system at the time without interrupting their narrative flow. The whole drama takes place in less than a day which is remarkably fast for this series, yet none of the intricate and careful plotting had been sacrificed. The large cast of characters, some new and some already known, are all realistically portrayed and I loved the sense of world-weariness that pervades every page. This is a thrilling thriller, but viewed through eyes that have already seen too much which gives it a distinctive voice. Many authors have since emulated Sjowall and Wahloo - in fact I have read uncannily similar plots in other …
The tense thriller had me gripped from the start and I couldn't put it down so read the whole book in an afternoon. This is one of the strongest storylines so far and I liked how Sjowall and Wahloo wove in biting criticism of the Swedish social system at the time without interrupting their narrative flow. The whole drama takes place in less than a day which is remarkably fast for this series, yet none of the intricate and careful plotting had been sacrificed. The large cast of characters, some new and some already known, are all realistically portrayed and I loved the sense of world-weariness that pervades every page. This is a thrilling thriller, but viewed through eyes that have already seen too much which gives it a distinctive voice. Many authors have since emulated Sjowall and Wahloo - in fact I have read uncannily similar plots in other books - but I would say that the Swedish series are still the best. And, other than the lack of technological gizmos, haven't dated at all.
