The Exception by Christian Jungersen

After reading the final Harry Potter I was worried about what to read next. What could I get equally absorbed in? I'm off work until Wednesday and so not having to worry about what will fit in my rucksack I chose 'The Exception' by Christian Jungersen, which was shortlisted for the 2006 International Dagger. I have the hardback and the size and weight of it has been putting me off but I'm now quite a way into it and finding it fascinating.

The US edition came out on 10 July and is part of Amazon.com's Significant Seven


Synopsis:
A bestseller throughout Europe, THE EXCEPTION is a gripping dissection of the nature of evil and of the paranoia and obsessions that drive ordinary people to commit unthinkable acts. Four women work together for a small nonprofit in Copenhagen that disseminates information on genocide. When two of them receive death threats, they immediately believe that they are being stalked by Mirko Zigic, a Serbian torturer and war criminal, whom they have recently profiled in their articles. As the tensions mount among the women, their suspicions turn away from Zigic and toward each other. The threats increase and soon the office becomes a battlefield in which each of the women’s move is suspect. Their obsession turns into a witch hunt as they resort to bullying and victimization. Yet these are people who daily analyze cases of appalling cruelty on a worldwide scale, and who are intimate with the psychology of evil. The cruelty which the women have described from a safe distance is now revealed in their own world. They discover that none of them is exactly the person she seems to be. And then they learn that Interpol has traced Mirko Zigic to Denmark.

You can read an excerpt on the amazon product page.

The more portable (UK) paperback came out in June.

News Update to Euro Crime Website & Christian Jungersen

I've added a few links for recent newspaper reviews and articles to the 'news' section of the Euro Crime Website.

The book getting favourable attention this week is 'The Exception' by Danish author, Christian Jungersen.

Four women work at the Danish Centre for Genocide Studies. When two of them start receiving death threats, they suspect they are being stalked by Mirko Zigic, a Bosnian torturer and war criminal. But perhaps he is not the person behind the threats - it could be someone in their very midst. Much of the drama created revolves not only around the scary sense of a killer prowling in the shadows but also around the manipulative games being played between the women in the office as they come under pressure and turn on each other. The irony is that these betrayals and persecutions are taking place amongst professionals who daily analyse cases of appalling cruelty. Now and again, the narrative is broken with extracts from 'articles' dealing with crimes against humanity and the pyschology of evil. Whilst the women apply this to their work with genocide (and the killer), there are parallels to their own behaviour. It's a fabulous pacy read - a real page-turner that resonates with deeper questions. (from amazon.co.uk)

Susanna Yager reviewed it in The Telegraph calling it ..."a powerful yet disquieting study of the psychology of evil, and a tense thriller" and the Independent describes it as "a horribly vivid and fiendishly clever novel".