Review: Never End by Åke Edwardson

Åke Edwardson is another Scandinavian writer, in this case Swedish, whose translated books are a welcome addition. I had previously read Sun and Shadow, which introduced Chief Inspector Erik Winter, of Gothenburg, described on the jacket as “the youngest chief inspector in Sweden; he wears sharp suits, cooks gourmet meals, has a penchant for jazz…” In Never End, Gothenburg is sweltering under an unusually hot summer sun, and Winter and his team are faced with a series of rapes and murders that seem to be linked with an unsolved crime from five years before. The victims are all young women, girls really, with no apparent link except that they have all just graduated from school and are on the threshold of their lives.

The heat of the summer gives a sense of suspension and unreality that adds to the frustration of the police team, as they struggle with uncooperative witnesses and the increasing awareness of breakdown and inevitability. The resolution moves between the sun and light of sunbathing teenagers to the depths of the city’s clubland and crime scene, with a shaded spot in a city park as their nexus.

In this story, the characters and motivations of the Winter and his colleagues are as important as the plot and its mechanisms. Relationships, especially, are key, whether hinted at or obvious. Much of this is conveyed through dialogue, and the effectiveness says much for the skills of the translator, Laurie Thompson. The flow and rhythm of the writing is effective in maintaining the tension as well as illustrating the characters and the relationships.

The book was originally written in 2000 and while forensic technology has a part, it does not obtrude to take over or solve things. That is left to the hard work and insights of Erik Winter and his friends and colleagues. It also reflects their dedication, perhaps obsession, with their job that is in danger of outweighing the rest of their lives. This is especially illustrated through Winter’s relationship with his partner Angela and their baby daughter, Elsa.

In his books, Åke Edwardson shows us Gothenburg,the second-largest city in Sweden, so its not the rural/provincial flatness of Henning Mankell’s Skane, or the intrigues of Liza Marklund’s Stockholm. But it does reflect the changing nature of Swedish society and the responses to it.

Details: Publisher: Vintage Books ISBN: 978-0-099-47206-3

Other books by Åke Edwardson (in English) – Sun and Shadow, Frozen Tracks.

For a fuller list, including untranslated books, see the Wikipedia entry on Åke Edwardson.