A Death in Sweden

I'll give you the gist of Wignall's work in this review (referring also to the Window and Hunter's Prayer). I liked this book although it is extremely violent and its main character killd people by the dozen, shooting them in the head even ofter they've been shot several times in other parts of the body (to make sure they are dead, as they might be having body armous). The main character is a contract killer and is looking into a killing a very secretive person in the notrhern Sweden who has been hiding there. The contract killer is in principle retired but he will be doing a lot of killing and thinking of his work. The gist of it is that he is just about the only "good" person in the book, only with quite a few murders on his conscience. The plot is not bad, as we start finding out why the man dead in the accident in Sweden was there and what he had done. So orginally I thought this was a good one, albeit disturbing because of the careless killings. Then I read the two other Wignall books and realized that their main characters were exctly the same, good honest contract killers who killed without a scruple (the difference between a good and bad contract killer is that the first one does not do children while the latter kills anybody). So it gets a little tedious, even though there is some variation in the plot. This one is the best but if you like the idea of a honest contract killer, just read them all. Hope Wignall will move on from this theme...

Not sure how I came across this book and author but am so glad I did. A brilliant story of intrigue, fear, betrayal, friendship and told so beautifully. It may have a somewhat violent storyline but somehow that isn’t the overriding point. Dan Hendricks is a professional killer, employed by the government/CIA to get rid of difficult individuals. He doesn’t shirk from what he has to do and accepts the risks. Until his friends and colleagues are taken out, one by one and the target is now very firmly on his back. The story is told over a few days. So much is packed in but there isn’t one sentence, word or full stop that isn’t absolutely necessary to the telling. Crisp, excellent pace, great dialogue. Absolutely brilliant.

I received a copy of this book through Kindle First. If I'd written this review based on the first half of the book, I'd have given it 5 stars. The opening chapters were interesting, set up the story and the characters, and kept up a lively pace. The love interest was hinted at but didn't overpower the story. The second half seemed to lose its way a bit, and I felt as though I was reading the work of a teenaged novice writer. Suddenly the author seemed to have forgotten the word 'man' and all the male characters became 'guys', not just in speech but in the narrative text as well - so, we had 'the guy with the gun', 'the guys by the car' ... to the point where they turned into stock characters rather than people, and I became irritated and almost stopped reading. What started out as a great read, one I didn't want to put down, turned into one that I had to force myself to finish.

Another great Kindle First for the second month running ... I could get used to this, please keep this up Amazon!This is more a thriller with spies than a spy book with thrills and should appeal to most suspense thriller lovers. There's a great opening prologue, a clear start to the book and it's a fast paced easy quick read with a good ending.There's swearing at times but it's in context and sex happens but it's not intimately described. There's plenty of killing but surprisingly little detail considering the storyline so it's definitely not gory in my opinion. There were some editing issues, rather more than I'd expect in a book that is not self published but again they didn't affect my enjoyment.Although I loved the book there were some small issues. I didn't think it was a very realistic portrayal of spies. The main protagonist, Dan Hendricks, who is an independent operative used by the security services, opened up to the female Swedish security service official, Inger, a little too quickly considering his occupation and one of the spies in the book had no password on his computer which I didn't think was very likely! It feels as if the author is trying to make the reader root for Dan but this is sometimes difficult as he is a gun for hire and he inevitably kills lots of people. Even so this is a very readable book and I'd recommend it to most general readers who enjoy a fast paced read.At times the dialogue is a little confusing as its not always made clear who is speaking and a "Dan (or whoever) said" would have helped. The author seems a fan of the word "then" and although the word is mostly used correctly, it's also used at times when it was superfluous, eg "he picked up his glass then and ....." and "He looked at her then and ...". However I am being picky here and it didn't really affect my enjoyment of this great book so I give it 4 1/2 stars which I've upgraded to 5 stars as Amazon doesn't do half stars and I think it deserves more than 4 stars.

The reviews I've read on here have varied from "masterful political thriller" to "bore in Sweden". For me, neither of these are correct. It is certainly not a masterful political thriller but neither is it a bore, even if the ending is fairly predictable. I found it an enjoyable and easy read. Yes, it is cliched in places but it has enough to keep the reader interested.It is like an Arnie fil; unlikely to win any prizes for plot or character development but remains entertaining throughout.If it is John Le Carre you are after, avoid but if you have nothing to do on a wet Sunday, this will pass a few hours enjoyably enough.

A thriller packed with action ... but who's protagonist is a man of violence with a conscience that makes his journey through the novel deeply engrossing and compelling. Such a satisfying read - and an ending that leaves the reader at a tantalising crossroads in Dan's life: the new direction he must choose. I love it when a writer has the courage to let the reader imagine what those next steps will be and how events might have brought him to his choice!