Review: The Man Who Watched Women by Hjorth & Rosenfeldt tr. Marlaine Delargy

The Man Who Watched Women by Hjorth & Rosenfeldt translated by Marlaine Delargy, June 2015, 528 pages, Century, ISBN: 1780894554

Reviewed by Geoff Jones.
(Read more of Geoff's reviews for Euro Crime here.)

Stockholm, Sweden. The Riksmord is the national based homicide squad and their leader is Torkel Hoglund. Reporting to him are Ursula Andersson (a forensic expert who is married but having an affair with Torkel), Vanja Lithner and Billy Rosen.

There have been three brutal murders in the city. Women dressed in a particular nightdress with their hands and feet bound. They have been raped and have had their throats cut. The way the murders have been executed is reminiscent of a serial killer named Edward Hinde. But Hinde has been in the Lovhaga prison for fourteen years.

The man who helped put Hinde behind bars is Sebastian Bergman. A psychologist and profiler he has written books about Hinde. However life is getting difficult for Bergman. He lost his wife and daughter in a Tsunami and has never fully recovered. He has a history of seducing women and has lost count of his conquests. Amongst these is the mother of Vanja Lithner, although she has no idea Sebastian is her father, and hates the man.

With the Press making life difficult, Torkel and his team must find the connection between a copycat and the original serial killer. Sebastian wants to interview Hinde but Vanja feels she should be the one. Feelings are running high, as Billy the fourth member of the team feels he should play a more prominent role. Whilst the “office politics” are played out another murder is about to happen. Is Hinde involved and if so how? Can Sebastian recreate his best achievements and help the Riksmord team to solve who is the killer?

The authors are famous in Sweden for TV and film writing and they have written a few Sebastian Bergman books, but this is only the second published in the UK. A TV series based on the character was shown on BBC Four. This is a well written exciting story; the pace is fast but actually speeds up near the end which leaves you holding your breath as events unfold. I’ll be definitely reading more about Sebastian and highly recommend this book.

Geoff Jones, August 2015

Want More Sebastian Bergman?

The two-episode Sebastian Bergman has now finished on BBC4. (Next week see the repeat of Spiral series 2 in the now traditional "foreign crime" slot.)

However the first in the Sebastian Bergman series written by (duo) Hjorth Rosenfeldt, originally to be called Dark Secrets (the Swedish title is The Secret), and now retitled as Sebastian Bergman, is available to buy now on Kindle. The print version will be available on 5 July.

I haven't watched these episodes yet (surprise) but it seems that the first episode was based on this book and the second on the second book in the series, The Disciple (not yet available in English).

An electrifying Swedish international bestseller - the first in the Sebastian Bergman series. Now a hit BBC4 TV drama starring Rolf Lassgard, the original WALLANDER, as Bergman.

Sixteen-year-old Roger has vanished. Days pass and Västerås Police do nothing, blaming his disappearance on teenage antics. Then Roger's pale, mutilated body is found floating in a shallow pond, his heart missing, and the experts descend.

They need Sebastian Bergman. Top criminal profiler and angry, self-destructive mess, Bergman is no stranger to secrets. Desperate for access to police files, he plays along, until the brittle web of lies and deception seizes his full attention.

But Roger had his own secrets - dark secrets that are tearing apart the very fabric under which they all survive . . .

A page-turning, atmospheric thriller to rival the very best of Jo Nesbo, Henning Mankell and Stieg Larsson.

The electrifying thriller from the writers of BBC4 Swedish TV drama SEBASTIAN BERGMAN and the creator of the hugely successful series THE BRIDGE.

Sebastian Bergman on BBC4

One of the dramas I mentioned in my year of translated tv shows post earlier this year was Sebastian Bergman starring Rolf Lassgard. The first of the two episodes will be on Saturday 26 May at 9pm on BBC4:

Brilliant, difficult and politically incorrect, Sebastian Bergman is one of Sweden's leading police profilers. His life and and career are on the skids when he returns to his home town, two weeks late for his mother's funeral but just in time to help the local police solve the brutal murder of a 15-year-old boy.

Titled Den Fördömde in Swedish, "Sebastian Bergman" was released in 2010.

The Year of Translated TV Dramas

The announcements have been coming thick and fast over the last few days regarding new to the UK dramas from mainland Europe. Borgen has finished but is due to return at the end of the year and a third series is in production.

Borgen's immediate replacement on BBC4 is Montalbano, with the first of ten episodes, The Snack Thief, beginning next Saturday. The second episode is the previously shown Montalbano's Croquettes.

According to IMDB there are 22 episodes (up to 2011).




Borrowing this convenient summary from the Radio Times, here's some of what's in store for 2012 :

Those Who Kill - ITV3, in the coming weeks

It’s set in Copenhagen, co-stars Lars Mikkelsen, who played mayoral candidate Troels Hartmann in The Killing, and features another dedicated female detective, Inspector Katrina Ries Jensen, played by Laura Bach.

But where The Killing follows a single murder investigation throughout a series, Those Who Kill (or Den som Draeber as they say in Denmark) focuses on the psychology of multiple serial killers, and has been compared to shows such as Criminal Minds and Wire in the Blood.

Based on the books by bestselling crime author Elsebeth Egholm*, the first series of Those Who Kill drew a record audience share when it aired on Danish channel TV2.

*Hopefully this will see a UK release of the original novels...

The Bridge - BBC4, spring

Danish and Swedish cops Martin Rohde (Kim Bodnia) and Saga Norén (Sofia Helin) must work together after a grizzly discovery on the Oresund Bridge, which links the two countries.

What's at first thought to be a single body turns out to consist of two different victims, one a Swedish politician, the other a Danish prostitute.

Sebastian Bergman - BBC4, 2012

Rolf Lassgård – known to many as the original, Swedish Wallander – stars as another troubled detective, Sebastian Bergman, politically incorrect, abrasive and still battling grief over the loss of both his wife and daughter in the Thailand tsunami.

Two 90 minute dramas focus on the murder of a 15-year-old boy, and a copycat serial perpetrator who appears to be basing his crimes on those of a killer Bergman himself put behind bars."

And today, it's been announced in the Guardian that the Norwegian series, Lilyhammer is on its way to BBC4.

Lilyhammer, a Norwegian comic drama starring The Sopranos' Steven Van Zandt, is the latest Scandinavian import to be bought by BBC4, currently on a high after critical acclaim and healthy audiences for a string of Danish and Swedish series.

Van Zandt, who played Silvio Dante in the US drama, stars as a New York mobster who enters the witness protection programme and starts up a new life in Lillehammer, the sleepy Norwegian town he fell in love with while watching the 1994 Olympic Games.

"Lilyhammer mixes sharp wit and American big city ways with the beauty of the Norwegian mountains and folksy nature of a small town – a perfect combination for a razor-sharp drama about cultural mores," said Richard Klein, controller of BBC4.

And hopefully The Killing 3 will be on our screens at the end of the year.