Three Seconds by Roslund and Hellstrom

This is an excellent mystery encompassing organized crime and human interaction.


I'm not sure why I'm seeing more Swedish books. I Googled it to try and discover why so many good books are coming out of Sweden. I did not come to any conclusions. My guess is a smart publisher discovered a gold mine of work not published in English and is capitalizing on that fact.

I do struggle a bit with the Swedish nomenclature. Being a tad bit provincial it is always interesting to see that human nature doesn't change much based on culture and country. Piets fear and Ewert’s grief do not necessitate translating. It is dismaying to see the extent of organized crime even if it is just a fictionalized account. The demise of the eastern bloc has provided fertile ground for both former military and criminal elements. Piet’s duplicity weighs so heavily that it is painful to read particularly when contrasted with the enormous love he has for his wife and boys.

This was a difficult book to read as the emotions and tension were literally palatable. The duplicity of reputable authority figures was enormously dismaying particularly since you can see real life examples in the daily news. Ewert’s tenacity was awe inspiring in spite of his abrasive personality. It was interesting that the “bad guy” was far more likeable than the “good guy”. Piet’s motivation was never clear but his intellect and foresight were clearly demonstrated.

This is an intriguing mystery characterized by the implacable nature of Ewert working through his grief and Piet’s determination to be alive for his family.

This is a world class novel.


I recommend the book.

By the way I dictated this into my droid x. Boy do I love this phone.

Body of work of Anders Roslund

Body of work of Borge Hellstrom

Web site: http://www.roslund-hellstrom.com/