My first introduction to Håkan Nesser, “The Inspector and Silence” affords the reader a thoroughly enjoyable sojourn to Sorbinowo, a forested Swedish lake side town. Looks can be deceptive however and the forest, along with the town, hides a dark secret that local police cannot fathom – enter chief inspector Van Veeteren.

The Inspector and silence by Håkan Nesser

When I began reading “The Inspector and Silence” which is incidentally the fifth in a series of ten books to be released in the UK, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect having never heard of either Håkan or indeed Van Veeteren! It became clear to me within a couple of chapters that the narrative, considering it hails from Swedish descent, was engaging and fluid. Having now read the book to its conclusion, much to my surprise, I can now confirm that this fluidity remained throughout allowing a rapid and entertaining read. I can’t remember reading another translated novel that read so effortlessly – plaudits to Nesser and of course the translation services of Laurie Thompson.

“In the heart of summer, the country swelters in a fug of heat. In the beautiful forested lake-town of Sorbinowo, Sergeant Merwin Kluuge’s tranquil existence is shattered when he receives a phone-call from an anonymous woman. She tells him that a girl has gone missing from the summer camp of the mysterious The Pure Life, a religious sect buried deep in the woods. Chief Inspector Van Veeteren is recruited to help solve the mystery.

But Van Veeteren’s investigations at The Pure Life go nowhere fast. The strange priest-like figure who leads the sect -Oscar Yellineck- refuses even to admit anyone is missing. Things soon take a sinister turn, however, when a young girl’s body is discovered in the woods, raped and strangled; and Yellineck himself disappears. Yet even in the face of these new horrors, the remaining members of the sect refuse to co-operate with Van Veeteren, remaining largely silent.

As the body count rises, a media frenzy descends upon the town and the pressure to find the monster behind the murders weighs heavily on the investigative team. Finally Van Veeteren realises that to solve this disturbing case, faced with silence and with few clues to follow, he has only his intuition to rely on. . .”

Van Veeteren is a curious and colourful character – ready to give it all up, Nesser initially teases us with his impending retirement and a possible partnership with a local businessman – Van Veeteren has become increasingly disillusioned with his life as a policeman. For much of the book, Nesser does an incredible job of allowing the chief inspector to do very little! He checks into a local hotel for one, maybe two nights at most – it never works to plan – and slowly but surely Van Veeteren works his way around the local restaurants and bars drinking beer, enjoying food and chewing on Menthol impregnated toothpicks – which incidentally I have never heard of before!

His hair was now long and straggling at the sides and at the back of the neck – the top of his head was empty – and a crescent-shaped pot belly coupled with a distinctly humped back made him reminiscent of a carelessly drawn question mark.

He does of course continue to investigate, the book would be poorer without him, but the desire to get away from it all proves too much for him and the chief inspector takes time out to reassess both his career and the case while waiting for a well earned holiday to Crete in two weeks time. He takes a 200km trip far away from the nerve centre of Sorbinowo working entirely on instinct. His colleagues all believe he is losing it and continue without his guidance – only time will tell if they are proved correct!

The storyline is well thought out and planned with a variety of red herrings thrown in for good measure. The characters all play second fiddle to Van Veeteren’s protagonistic role but the humour and camaraderie of his fellow officers a delight to read – especially Suijderbeck and his artificial leg who stands up during a briefing to proclaim “my artificial leg is itching”!

While the fluidity is impressive this wouldn’t be possible of course without Håkan Nesser’s calming influence. With a narrative, uncomplicated yet thoroughly entertaining, “The Inspector and Silence” is a charming and evocative tale that concentrates as much about small town life as it does with the abominable murders of two teenage girls.

Highly recommended – “The Inspector and Silence” is my first Swedish novel – but it most certainly won’t be my last.

Published by Pan Macmillan “The Inspector and Silence” is available from The Book Depository & Amazon.