The Woman Who Wouldn't Die Quietly by Bivald

THE WOMAN WHO WOULDN'T DIE QUIETLY by Katarina Bivald (The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend and more ) is the third book in Bivald’s series about Berit Gardner and her friend, DCI Ian Ahmed. I have developed real affection and even affinity for Berit’s character who loves her time alone: “she could have been fond of cities if it weren't for all the people in them.” In this cozy mystery, she is in Sweden at her grandmother’s cottage on an archipelago near Stockholm where she spent many happy summers. It’s late fall and winter, though, so the environment is cold and dark and Bivald deftly employs descriptions of the physical environment to add to the sense of menace and reflection. Berit and Ian are invited to a nearby island to celebrate the eightieth birthday of Margrethe Cullberg-Franzen, an especially abrasive woman who still leads her family’s art gallery business. That celebration ends in a tragic death leaving behind many family suspects and motives (revenge, greed, fear). More adventures - and another death - follow, as Berit and Ian and local police try to solve this puzzle. Publishers Weekly gave THE WOMAN WHO WOULDN'T DIE QUIETLY a starred review (“Bivald excels at surprise and misdirection, and she buttresses those mystery fundamentals with a psychologically complex lead and intoxicating Scandinavian atmosphere.”). A Reading Group Guide and Conversation with the Author are included. Enjoy!

Just sharing quotes from the preview, part of Berit’s rather comforting outlook:
“Even the most difficult things became more manageable if you faced up to them. Apprehension and unease only grew if you tried to escape them.”

“If nothing lasted forever, then that was part of what made having lived and existed so wonderful: the fact that the people she loved had lived, and that nature and the world around her would continue to do so even after she was gone.”

The Distinctly Competent District Councillor

THE DISTINCTLY COMPETENT DISTRICT COUNCILLOR by Jonas Jonasson is a quick read (144 pages) which will have readers laughing and smiling even as Jonasson satirizes multinational conglomerates and their impact on small towns. The newly elected mayor, Julia Back, of a small Swedish town, Halstaholm, is intent on improving future prospects for her constituents and she spearheads a campaign to attract investment by a German mattress manufacturer. Her local task force (including a ten-year-old boy) quickly devise a number of surprising ways (e.g., starting a German language school) to convince the owner, Konrad Kaltenbacher Jr., and his two young daughters that Halstaholm is German-friendly. They are up against a tight timeframe and some unethical competition from consultants pushing for a rival location, however. Let the contest begin! Jonasson said that he “felt the urge to write something that might give us hope … about friendship between people from different nations.” Booklist called THE DISTINCTLY COMPETENT DISTRICT COUNCILLOR a “warm-hearted satire” and The Mail on Sunday described it as “a shot of serotonin in book form.” Enjoy!!

The Devil's Bible by Steve Berry

THE DEVIL'S BIBLE by Steve Berry is the latest novel featuring Cotton Malone, a retired Justice Department agent. I had not read any previously, but I look forward to reading more in this series due to the twisty, relevant plot and exciting action. This story takes place in Sweden (which I now want to visit) where the sister of the King has been kidnapped and is being held for ransom. The demand is for The Codex Gigas, a massive (165 pound) medieval manuscript originally created in Bohemia and belonging to Czechoslovakia but plundered by Sweden in 1648. The intent was to return the codex so as to facilitate a positive vote on Sweden’s entry into NATO, but that is now in jeopardy. Russia is suspected being behind the kidnapping and of using an agent close to the royal family. Berry includes some intriguing historical background and spycraft information, but really excels when Cotton; his former boss, Stephanie Nelle; and his girlfriend and former colleague, Cassiopeia Vitt encounter harrowing circumstances (attempted assassination at a circus, intense aerial combat, and gunfighting) and turncoat agents in their efforts to find the princess and deliver the bible. THE DEVIL'S BIBLE received a starred review from Kirkus and Publishers Weekly says, “Cotton’s narrow escapes and larger-than-life heroics are as outlandish and thrilling as ever.” If you are looking for mystery and adventure, try this.