The Savage Altar Book

The days when crime in translation was regarded as some kind of exotic hothouse flower are long gone – nowadays, a book like Asa Larsson’s The Savage Altar will be eagerly picked up by those seeking something out of the ordinary in the crime field. The reasons are twofold: the promise of an unusual setting (here, a vividly realised Sweden) and writing of more style and elegance than can be found in much native product (not always the case, of course, as a novel in translation is only as good as the skill with which its translator renders it into English). Asa Larsson’s compelling novel features a strongly drawn protagonist who is to feature in a projected series: corporate lawyer Rebecka Martinsson, reluctantly enlisted by her friend Sanna, who is under suspicion regarding the grisly death of a famous writer of religious books, Viktor Strandgård; the latter has had both hands and eyes removed in a bloody killing in a church in Northern Sweden. Also involved in the subsequent investigation is canny police inspector Anna-Maria Mella, dragooned into the case by a colleague, despite being incapacitated by her advanced state of pregnancy. Like Lynda la Plante’s Jane Tennison, these are women who are struggling in a world of unsympathetic men (and Larsson peoples her cast with some extremely nasty males), but Larsson’s writing is more ambitious than her British colleague, with a level of plotting that excels in both ambition and achievement. It will be interesting to see what the author cooks up for her beleaguered heroine in future books. --Barry ForshawRead More