Customer Reviews

The Black Path: Rebecka Martinsson, Book 3 (Unabridged)

Being a big fan of Scandinavian 'crime' I was looking forward to this book and am very pleased to say I was not dissapointed. Dark and gritty, miserable anti-heros, strong characters and a good but interweaving theme.
Anna-Mare[inspector] is my kind of lady, no sufferer of fools, and a chancer.however if you want to really enjoy this book try and read the 2 previous 'Sun Storm' and 'The Blood Split' if you you like Mankell you will like this .

I enjoyed Asa Larsson's two previous books featuring Rebecka Martinsson and Anne Marie Mella, and I thought that this book was the best in the series so far.

Rebecka has moved back home to Northern Sweden, and taken up a job in the public prosecutor's office. She becomes involved in investigations following the murder of a local businesswoman. The murdered woman worked for the Kallis mining company, and the book interweaves her story in with the murder investigation.

I thought that this book was extremely well written, and was particularly strong on characterisation. The storyline was compelling and the plot was well paced. The translation was sympathetic (and I've read a few Scandi-translation clunkers, so I know a good one when I see one!)

Another major work of crime fiction set in Northern Sweden and like others before her owes some of its plot to shady business practices in the continent of Africa.
Larsson writes so powerfully about the harshness and beauty of the frozen wilderness it is a wonder anything can survive in this landscape.
However when the fear of exposure of a different kind is faced there are no limits that people will go to maintain their secrets even to the point of killing and the brutal taking of life.
The story is beautifully told in terms of relationships and how characters develop and interact with each other. The author again uses the technique of revisiting the past and revealing information to the reader to reappraise the events we have previously learned. These are cleverly done, almost seamlessly until we are placed into a thrilling climax and conclusion that brings all stories up to date and characters interactions have life-ending finality. Great writing.

I enjoyed this book very much. I have read the author's previous books and found this the best of the series so far. A good plot, excellent characters and it unfolded in a pleasing way. I can recommend this book to anyone who like a good police mystery. You don't have to have a penchant for Swedish thrillers - a good detective story is good in any language. And this one is good.

The latest instalment in Asa Larsson's 'Rebecka Martinsson' series and to my mind, her best to date. Rebecka has seemingly made a full recovery from the horrific attack of the previous book and after her release from the psychiatric unit, finds herself embroiled in another murder investigation with the wonderful female detective Anna-Maria Mella. This is where Larsson excels in her characterisation that portrays Rebecka as an outwardly strong but essentially damaged woman and Anna-Maria, who witnesses so much horror in her day job, as an incredibly grounded and centred character, and who acts as a perfect foil to Rebecka's polar opposite characteristics. The interplay and deep-seated respect and affection between them is even more prevalent in this plot as they work together to uncover some insidious goings on within an extremely influential yet corrupt mining corporation that leads to greed and murder. I think this book is the closest in context that I've read to say 'The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo' or 'The Killing' where the more socio-political plot is given centre stage and I did find the detail regarding the corruption of big business in Third World countries extremely interesting. Obviously this was running parallel with the murder investigation and the strange trinity of the murdered woman, her brother and his friend- the figures at the forefront of the mining corporation- and their interaction and relationships with each other which was equally compelling. An accomplished and highly readable thriller from Larsson who just gets better with every book...

After reading the first two books of this series...I just couldn't wait to read the Black Path! I just loved the book and the characters are absolutely incredible! I just love Anna Maria Mella and her way of seeing things and acting in tough situations and I can't wait for the fourth book to be translated into English to see how the story continues... I strongly recommend Asa Larsonn's books to anyone who enjoyed reading the Millennium trilogy and who likes the new Swedish crime novels!!

I have enjoyed all Asa Larsson's books even if they are a bit dark. The story's and people are well conceived and she makes you feel you care what happens to them, although I do wonder about how strange a lot of them seem to be, maybe it is the long nights.

I have enjoyed all of the Asa Larsson Kindle books that I have read and I am a big fan of this author.

I've read a couple of Asa Larsson books and really enjoyed them. I wasn;t as keen on this one as it went backwards and forwards in time and also was a bit fey - OK, but not as good as the others for me.

My first Asa Larsson was The Savage Alter which I enjoyed. This one is a lot better than Blood Spilt. May be I am becoming a bit hardened to Scandinavian writers but Stig Larsson she is not despite what is stated on the cover.