Borkmann's Point

An Inspector Van Veeteren Mystery

By: Håkan Nesser, Laurie Thompson - translator

Narrated by: Simon Vance

An ex-con is brutally murdered with an ax in Kaalbringen. Then the body of a wealthy real-estate mogul is found, also the victim of a violent attack. There appears to be a serial killer on the loose, and Chief Inspector Van Veeteren is called in to help the local police. As details surrounding the grisly murders are collected, Van Veeteren finds little to go on. But then there's another murder, and shortly thereafter one of Van Veeteren's colleagues, a promising female detective, goes missing - perhaps because the criminal knows she has come too close to the truth.

©1994 Original material by Håkan Nesser. Originally published in Sweden as Borkmanns Punkt by Albert Bonniers Förlag AB, Stockholm. Translation © 2006 by Laurie Thompson. Published by arrangement with Linda Michaels Literary Agents. Recorded by arrangement with Pantheon, an imprint of the Knopf Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc. (P)2011 HighBridge Company

Critic reviews

"International bestseller Nesser makes his U.S. debut with this classy and rewarding whodunit, which won the Swedish Crime Writers' Academy Prize for Best Novel in 1994.... Thompson's smooth translation makes this worthy mystery readily accessible to American readers." ( Publishers Weekly)

"No reader of hard-boiled crime fiction should miss the Scandinavians, and Nesser immediately vaults to near-Mankell status. Let's hope Borkmann's Point, which won the Swedish Crime Writers' Best Novel Award for 1994, is only the first of a steady stream of Nesser imports." ( Booklist)

Simon Vance is brilliant!!

If you could sum up Borkmann's Point in three words, what would they be?

And a good story too.

Have you listened to any of Simon Vance’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I've listened to the entire Aubrey/Maturin series...over and over. Vance's performances are like beautiful music!

As good as a stage play

The character development is excellent as is the narration the pace is good no passport required to visit other parts of the world this series has become another one which I will have read all written and eagerly await the next

Loved it

I started reading Stieg Larsson before he got popular. Tried finding other Swedish or even Scandinavian authors translated in to English to no avail. Now with the popularity of the Millennium Trilogy the publishers have caught on to the dollars they would make in the english reading audience. THANK GOODNESS. Because otherwise we would not be able to enjoy books like Borkmann's Point. This book was originally listed on Audible as Book 1 in the Series (Although questionable as to whether it is the first or second book in the series different sites vary in opinion). I am getting to read to true book 1 in the series. Thanks to the translators and especially to the Scandinavian authors.

Brooding, compassionate and mysterious

I really like Nesser. His heroes are thoughtful, compassionate men and women. The mysteries he crafts keep you guessing. You can't figure them out easily. If you love Nesbo and splashier, action oriented mysteries with tormented detectives and graphic violence, you may not like Nesser overall.

Inspector Van Veeteren is an intuitive detective, and a big believer in letting all the information roll in until you reach that point (Borkmann's point-- listen to the book to hear more about it) when you can solve the crime. This is not flashy business, no fist fights nor jumping from roof tops, just mood, clever plotting and likeable characters. Simon Vance does a great job as narrator.

This mystery is about an axe murderer so there's some gory parts but the sensitive style and substance of Nesser ensures that this book will make you care and think.

Nesser is one of the most dependable Scandinavian mystery authors. He's always interesting and satisfying!

Difficult to follow Narrator's character's voices

Would you try another book from Håkan Nesser and Laurie Thompson (translator) and/or Simon Vance?

The story was good but the narrator didn't seem to be successful in knowing when to change between voices of different characters. It was often difficult to tell if it was the Inspector's lines or another's lines in the narration. They kept tripping over each other.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Borkmann's Point?

The point at which I was finally able to recognize all the characters became memorable.

Would you be willing to try another one of Simon Vance’s performances?

This performance was one of, if not the greatest, weak links in the telling of the story.

Well-written procedural.

Like the first book, Mind's Eye, the book is dark, engaging, well-paced, eloquent, with a bit of wit and introspection to spice it up. This is a psychological thriller, a procedural just as good as the first book. The wit is more reserved than that of Adler-Olson. I'm anxious to listen to the third book in the series. The narration is wonderful, slow, calm and detailed.

yawn

I did not enjoy the first book but thought I would give the second a try. I’m sorry I did. It was worse than the first. Story of an axe murder. That’s all I could tell you. Simon Vance is one of my favorite all time narrators in the audio book genre he could read a grocery list and make it sound interesting. With all his talent he just could not make this one work.

Dull

This is a rather slow, dull book that does little to hold the listener's attention.