Description
Fiction. Translated from the Swedish by Laura Wideburg. Once again, Inger Frimansson takes her readers into the dark hearts of our friends and neighbors. Her crime novels are unsettling in their deep examination of everyday human lives. Frimansson’s characters are not evil, nor are they particularly unique. They get caught up in desperate actions, though, which inevitably lead to more desperate actions. And the deeper they go, the more difficult it is for them to escape. It is easy to identify with her protagonists, and therein lies the attraction of her writing. The dark Scandinavian noir style clearly lives in Inger Frimansson.
Inger Frimansson (born November 14, 1944 in Stockholm) is a popular Swedish novelist and crime writer. Having previously worked for 30 years as a journalist, her first novel The Double Bed (Dubbelsängen) was published in 1984. Since then she has written around twenty-five books including poetry, short stories, and books for children. Her breakthrough was with Godnatt, min älskade in 1998. Her crime novels are best described as psychological thrillers. http://www.frimansson.se/
Other translated works
- 2007 Good Night, My Darling (Godnatt, min älskade, 1998), Pleasure Boat Studio, translated by Laura A. Wideburg
- 2008 The Shadow in the Water (Skuggan i vattnet, 2005), translated by Laura A. Wideburg, Pleasure Boat Studio
- 2009 The Island of Naked Women (De nakna kvinnornas ö, 2002), translated by Laura A. Wideburg, Pleasure Boat Studio
Awards
- 1998 – Best Swedish Crime Novel Award for Godnatt, min älskade.
- 2005 – Best Swedish Crime Novel Award for Skuggan i vattnet.
- 2008 – Gold – Best Translated Book for Good Night, my Darling (Pleasure Boat Studio) translated by Laura A. Wideburg by ForeWord Magazine
David Pitt –
Acclaimed Swedish novelist Frimansson (she’s won the award for best Swedish crime novel twice) turns in a stellar performance with this taut, claustrophobic story about a woman who commits a crime in the heat of the moment, covers it up, and watches as her life slowly tears itself apart. Beth Svard, a schoolteacher, kills a man in what she believes to be self-defense (although the circumstances are a bit cloudy). Her husband, Ulf, helps her clean up her mess—even to the extent of burying the body—but he makes no secret of his displeasure. Their marriage, already strained, hovers close to the breaking point as Beth struggles to deal with her guilt. Readers expecting a traditional mystery might find the pace a bit slow. The bulk of the book deals with Beth’s internal battle with her own conscience and her increasingly futile efforts to leave the incident in the past, but patient readers will be rewarded with a haunting psychological thriller that stays with them long after they’ve finished the book. The novel’s final sentence is like a punch in the stomach.
Sydöstran –
The Cat Did Not Die is gruesome tale by one of Sweden s best female mystery writers. Few can built up such a dark, desperate, intensive atmosphere, with the pleasant Swedish country landscape as a backdrop.
Borås Tidning –
Using tiny, fine strokes, Frimansson paints an extremely gruesome picture which is much more frightening than the excesses of blood and violence in many other contemporary mysteries.
Publishers Weekly –
Cats, as omens of evil, proliferate in this intense psychological thriller from Swedish Academy of Crime Writers’ Award–winner Frimansson (The Island of the Naked Women). A middle-aged couple, schoolteacher Beth Svärd and journalist Ulf Nordin, seek peace after the death of their premature twins in their rustic country home in Smaland. When Beth catches an elusive stalker on their property, she savagely murders him with an ax, and with Ulf’s help buries the body in the woods. In the horrific aftermath, Beth suffers panic attacks and feels she might be going mad. And, of course, someone eventually finds the grave. Beth and Ulf believe that his new assignment in Tanzania will bring them respite from their anxiety, but it leads to fresh nightmares and a catastrophic event. A note of impending doom never lets up. Some readers might finish this mercilessly grim book with a sigh of relief.