Reviews

Three Seconds by Anders Roslund, Borge Hellstrom

jannelampinen's review against another edition

4.0

Hyvä ruotsalainen dekkari. Paikoin epäuskottava mutta sujuva ja aika hyvät henkilöhahmot.

payton_spool's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated

4.0

iceangel32's review against another edition

3.0

Not exactly what I thought. I also did not know that it was a series, in that there are other books with the same characters even though they are not written in a way that they are dependent on each other. The end got exciting and was good even though it was a little predictable.

candacesiegle_greedyreader's review against another edition

I could not connect with anyone or anything in this book. I'll save it and try again . . .sometime.

mg_in_md_'s review against another edition

4.0

I was lucky enough to win a copy of "Three Seconds" from GoodReads First Reads program (thank you! thank you!!) and couldn't wait to read a new Scandinavian author...or in this case, authors. There's just something about those quirky, broody Scandinavian books that draws me in every time. From the first few chapters, I was hooked on this gritty, crime world tale. It delves into the world of Russian organized crime, the illicit drug trade, and the underworld in the prison system. The authors kept you guessing about the true intentions of the characters in this intriguing story. The pacing of the book was excellent and I found myself wanting to read "just one more" chapter because they were so short. The authors did an excellent job of letting the story unfold bit by bit and left me wanting to find out what happened next. While there were definitely some leaps of faith I had to take as a reader with some of what happened in the prison hostage scenes and aftermath, I didn't mind because the story held my interest and had a little bit of all the elements I enjoy most: mystery, crime, & espionage. I found myself hoping the story would turn out the way it did, even when it seemed like an impossible ending. This was my first introduction to the writing duo of Roslund and Hellstrom and if "Three Seconds" is any indication of the stories they deliver, I will definitely be seeking them out...in fact, I've added "Box 21" to my "to read" list! Thanks again to GoodReads FirstReads!

sil_the_lobster's review against another edition

1.0

I can't really rate this book because I didn't finish it. It's not the first book of Roslund & Hellström I've read, it's the third or rather, would have been the third if I had finished it. I picked it up on good faith because I liked the other two well enough. This one, phew, I just didn't get into the story. Like, at all. I usually like Scandinavian crime novel because of their slower pace, because they take their time telling a story and focus more on an overall atmospheric approach than on grisly details alone. If you allow yourself to slow down, it's a trip well worth taking. Usually.

Here, though, I don't know. All the bits and pieces, the various POVs, the small scenes... they just wouldn't come together in my head, I just couldn't see where this was all headed, and not in a good sense. I don't mind working my way through individual puzzle pieces if the overall picture is there (eg. you can't enjoy the LOTR or GoT books if you're not willing to follow various paths while reading), but here it's just, I don't know, meh. Highly qualified, I know, but that's what I kept thinking. Meh. And so I stopped reading when I was about a third into the book.

my_odd_books's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

While this book was very slow to get started (like 100 pages slow), once it got interesting, it really got interesting. With two very different protagonists, at times it was hard to see how there could be a positive outcome for both but the authors kept the second half of the story tight making it an enjoyable read. I am surprised that this is book 5 featuring Ewart Grens as I don't find him to be a likeable or enjoyable character. 

tobinlopes's review against another edition

3.0

I found this book through my reading Larsson's Millennium Trilogy. The authors, and this book, won the same prize Larsson did. I wasn't expecting another Salander character but the same flavor of narrative and, mostly, I wasn't disappointed. The book moves well and I was utterly involved until a pivotal plot point occurred, without any explanation of the motivation behind the character's actions. I was pretty disgusted because I thought it might be a cop out in order to move to the more exciting part. Then I realized something.



My love and immersion in U.S. crime drama in books and T.V. (but not L&O...eeeesshhh) gave me a fairly deep picture on how Americans handle crime. What I realized was that the Swiss do things differently than we do - WOW huh? ;) It's normally not a big deal but I think in the case of this story it suffers from translation. What was such a BIG deal in Sweden was not such a big deal here, and was a critical plot point that was weakened in the U.S.



The story was still strong and the two main characters were pretty awesome. I gave it a 7/10 on my scale.



-tpl

katemoxie's review against another edition

1.0

Three nights of reading and I'm still not 100 pages in (as compared to 75 pgs per night with Connelly, Coben, or Balducci) I'm just not getting into this one. I guess I need a shelf for "couldn't finish"

ridgewaygirl's review against another edition

4.0

This is a relentless thriller of a book. Piet Hoffman is a police informer who has worked his way up in the Polish mafia as it seeks to take over the drugs trade in Sweden. Shortly after he watches a man be shot at close range, he is introduced to the top members of the criminal group and is given a job by them that will allow the Swedish police to close down their Swedish activities. He is to go into a high security prison as an inmate and take over the drugs trade for the Polish mafia. This will provide the Swedish police the chance to catch the bad guys and to destroy the drug supply to the prison. The problem is that the detective assigned to solve that initial murder is getting close to the truth, which would expose a lot more than the identity of a murderer.

The book then follows Piet, as he navigates increasingly perilous waters and Grens, a troubled but relentless investigator. The success of one means a failure for the other, but I was rooting for both of them. The plot is intricate, but doesn't rely on coincidence or leaps of logic. Lastly, the book itself was bound with unusual care, with decked edges, smooth, high quality paper and beautiful end pages. It was a pleasure to read.