I love the Arne Dahl series on BBC 4 but hadn't read any of his books - but when I heard he was doing a Q&A in Malahide in September, I went along and he was really interesting to listen to. While we were waiting for him, I heard other members of the audience say that "To the top of the mountain" is his best book so I bought it (and got him to sign it!). It was originally published in 2000 and some of the mobile phone/internet access references date it a bit. I enjoyed the book - it is well writ...

Insanely complicated crimes or lucky coincidences? And mostly human cops, NOT drowning themselves in coffee and alcohol. Weird.

The third book in the Intercrime series and it was as engaging as the other two. It's subject matter is brutal and horrible, so it is not for the faint of heart, but justice prevails at the end. And, there is a love story interwoven in it, one that happens fast & furious and is the light in all the darkness.

Last summer I stumbled upon the Swedish crime drama Arne Dahl* for the first time. Here in the UK it aired on a Saturday night on BBC4, and after about only ten minutes I knew that I was going to be completely hooked. I absolutely adored the format of the show and the characters were wonderful. Recently, I was offered the opportunity to read the latest English translation of Arne Dahl’s work the third book in the Intercrime series, To the Top of The Mountain.Initially, I was a little concerned t...

A compelling mixture of political thriller, murder mystery, police procedural and turn of the millennium Swedish political/cultural philosophy. Events, seemingly unrelated, combine to tie into a neo-Nazi terrorist threat. The characters are finely developed and and engender empathetic familiarization.Note: Readers will understand and enjoy this book more after having read the first two in the series.

If you already know about Arne Dahl then you probably met the author’s ensemble detective series courtesy of the BBC4 Swedish TV drama which holds its head high among the very best Nordic noir. The books in the Intercrime series are even better…Although this is the third novel in the series you can skip the preceding two and cut to the chase: the opening chapters deftly explain the salient points of the back story. The team was disbanded after everything spiralled a little too wildly out of cont...

I finally found a Scandinavian mystery I didn't like (but kept reading for some unknown reason.). Just never gripped me and I didn't really care about any of the characters or the outcome. Not exactly sure why - but that's sometimes just the way it is.

My View:There are many threads to this plot and I do confess it took me a little time to start to join the dots but once I did I was mesmerised. I think the greatest strength in Arne Dahl’s writing is his ability to finely draw complete and realistic characters whom the read can relate to. I love the way this team, the A Team, functions; it debates, discusses, it acknowledges individuals strengths and allows the individual to use their abilities to benefit the team and the investigation. The ind...

Really a 4.5. Really like this writer s his books combine characterisation equally with complex crimes. He often combines the socological, personal and historical with his stories. They are definite not a quick read as per other more visceral writers, but they are literate and complex in their own way. And the crimes themselves resonate thru the story on many different levels.

This third installment of Arne Dahl's Intercrime series, To the Top of the Mountain, is as good as its predecessors, though has less humor, adds more depth to the characters and offers a more complex plot. As you read it, at first it seems there are three, then two, then three, then one main plot that brings the various threads together in the end. (Sorry if this is a spoiler.) The book is intense, literary and intelligent. The A-unit is at its best, and eventually joined by another set of detec...

I received a copy of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review, my thanks to the publisher for the opportunity.This is intelligent crime fiction, not your usual run of the mill stuff whatsoever, you can't take your eye of the page or you will miss something critical in the clever intertwining plots that are in full swing.I am a fan of the TV show "Arne Dahl" so it helped possibly that I knew the main characters that make up the "A Unit" - the team given the mos...

The best in the series so far. A real page-turner !

Despite I usually like Swedish crime novels, I did not really fancy this one. I'm not exactly sure what's the reason for it. For one, I did not like the style of writing very much. There was a part in the book, where in 3 pages text, 4 times the same lines (about 10 of them) were written. I really wonder why. I'm not senile yet.... This and the fact that I did not really get into the book made me think that it might have been written of a TV-series or a movie. There it would be perfectly logical...

Installment #3 of Arne Dahl's A-Unit, a collection of individuals brought together to solve bizarre and baffling murders, features a slowly unwinding plot beginning with the death of a soccer fan, clubbed over the head with a beer stein. There is an explosion at a prison which kills a single inmate in his cell but does no other damage, a car-bombing and shoot-out in which five persons are killed, and a pedophile investigation. Oddly, the investigation into the pub death reveals a link between al...

Arne Dahl's A Team is top notch crime novels and this one is almost perfect. Three or four separate strands all come together nicely and make this an enjoyable read. All of Dahl's books are highly recommended.

Not real good but certainly not bad either. At parts a good read but here and there astoundingly boring apparently that makes it a literary thriller. I'd say stay focused on the crime(s), all these personal involvements and so called backgrounds do not make the characters more interesting. However if they would be more humorous they may have gotten more depth to me. I'll read one more and then decide if I will spent more time with them.

A football supporter is murdered in a pub brawl, five men are gunned down during a hijack, a prisoner is killed in a blast inside Kumlar prison. These seemingly unrelated crimes will bring Jan-Olov Hultin out of retirement and the previously disbanded A-Unit together once more.I enjoyed the banter between the different characters and Hjelm’s dry wit. I loved the way the different plot lines twisted and crossed and then all came together.Dahl has managed to pull off the short sharp sentences expe...

An intricate---but convoluted---plot came together at the end, but it took a lot of work. So, while I appreciate the twists and turns, this well written and interesting novel could have done with a few less subplots and still come out on top.

I really wanted to enjoy this book as I did the previous two, however it was very disappointing.The plot meandered, it never had any momentum and the prose left me impatient, sometimes sparse and then going on too long. The introduction of new characters left me wondering why he had included the 'old gang' since we never got to enjoy them.A good editor was very much lacking here

Perhaps it is partly the translation but I found this book rather patchy. It is complex and would probably make a good TV drama. In fact, I am pretty sure that it already has. But it is also a touch pretentious, sporting the literary critic credentials of its author in a slightly awkward manner. I don’t think that I’ll be hurrying back.