Suckered into Another Scandinavian Mystery

I loathe my blog header today. First of all, a person is never "suckered into" a book. To be honest, I made a deliberate, face-forward choice to read the book in question and to continue reading it, and it's clear I won't stop reading until it's finished.

And I detest, I hate, I find loathsome the misnomer "Scandinavian mystery."

Why? Because I have discovered that each "Scandinavian nation" has its own literary identity, which flows through each author's work. Norwegian writers are very different from Swedish writers are very different from Danish writers, and all the way around. National identities do count, though it's true, a writer's personal identity always counts more, naturally. And Icelandic writers! Suffice it to say, they would have fits if anyone were to consider them "Scandinavian."

So what book is causing this agitated blog post? It's Call Me Princess by the Danish crime novelist Sara Blaedel. I believe Amazon has listed the book amongst its "Best of August" titles. This is Blaedel's first novel to be published in the US (Pegasus).

Before it appears that I am discrediting the novel, I must say that 1) I am turning the pages rapidly, 2) I am more than halfway through, and 3) I am intent on finishing it.

But! There are holes in the crime fiction elements that I could shove my fist through. It's not tight, as far as the police procedurals are concerned, and this aspect has me biting my lip at times. My conclusion: This book needed much more time in the editorial process. It has a good story line, good plot potential, but a few points needed resolution. The character development is fairly weak and the setting elements are minimal, but that's not unusual when it comes to detective fiction.

So, as you can see, I may have lost respect for myself by continuing to read it. Still, it is entertaining, and though it's 352 pages, it's going surprisingly quickly. The truth may be that I am becoming addicted to "Scandinavian" crime novels.