Europa Blues by Arne Dahl

Author: Arne Dahl

Title: Europa Blues 

Publisher: Harvill Secker

Published: 2001

Pages: 368

Genre: Crime / Thriller

 

     A Greek gangster arrives in Stockholm, only to be murdered in a macabre fashion at Skansen zoo, his body consumed by animals. As the Intercrime Unit - a team dedicated to solving international violent crime - investigate what brought him to Sweden, eight Eastern European women vanish from a refugee center outside of the city while an elderly professor, the tattooed numbers on his arm hinting at his terrible past, is executed at the Jewish cemetery. Three cases, one team of detectives, and an investigation that will take them across Europe and back through history as they desperately search for answers, and the identities of their killers.

     Today on the deep dive into my to-be-read pile I came across Europa Blues by Arne Dhal. His was a name I had seen come up countless times on Sancdi noir to read. So I guess at some point I must have snatched up a copy of this to dip my toe into his fictional world. Not to mention the fact that his books were turned into a tv show back when that was more of a rarity, so that had to have been good to start with. Once again somehow I managed to get one that is not the start of a series. maybe this is just a bookworm thing we get over-excited by a blurb and before you know it you're walking out the shop with a bag full. Some day I may just learn to check but you know what the plot sounded great and I can always go back to the start at a later date. 

     Although coming in on book four of the series I quickly got to grips with this group of detectives. There are your usual staples but then again I suppose he too is reasonable for a few of them becoming such. But what it did mean for me at least is that I had a foot in the door so to speak. Whilst obviously on a much grander scale than real life they did seem to have that natural flow of a group of people who've known each other for some time. They have their struggles but you know that when it comes to their job they will all pull together by the end to bring the perpetrators to justice. He has managed to give them a perfect mix of following the science without being afraid to follow up on those little things that itch at the back of the brain. It allows the narrative to have more of a tv feel to a real-world look at policing.  Also, maybe in part due to the hydra of a case, it meant that a larger group of people could be involved outside of the unit. So whilst the author bounces us around Europe we get to meet a vast array of the good the bad and the ugly. Ether way Dhal managed to bring each of them to life in a plausible way. His characters feel like people you might pass in the street or those you might know. 

     As for the story it was one I could really get my teeth sunk into, not only spaning multiple countries but also taking us back in time to some of their more troubled pasts. And whilst this might just tread a few boards that have been walked before I think he managed to bring a slightly new direction to it. It helped to have these three supposedly separate cases to work with. It allowed the author to shine a light on a litany of wrongdoings whilst blending in a few more themes or in fact genre to the usual breed. It just goes to show the skill he has as an author. But then again I suppose he is one of the tops of his field so you would kinda hope so. For me, the way he weaves these different strands almost seems to be effortless. As if this was the natural outcome of events set in motion so very long ago. And whilst I may have worked parts out before reaching the gripping climax I was still taken aback by a few moments. And I think that is the key to such works. If I work out every strand before the end it starts to feel a little pointless. But for Dahl, it would seem he like to let us at least find the edge pieces to a bigger picture. 

     Overall, I can clearly see why Dhal has gotten to where is in the literary world. He shows his mastery of the mystery novel. Taking a bit from here and there and delivering a coherent story that at first glance might seem very separate by conclusion fall together like a charity shop puzzle. By which I mean whilst we get to see the overall image there are still a few bits missing and not quite wrapped up in a bow. So much like real life, you could say. Either way is an author that would be perfectly happy to jump back into his work any time.