Three Seconds
In this superb translation, Sweden’s latest contribution to crime writing tackles some weighty subjects—specifically, the nature of identity, the Swedish police force’s use of civilians in its operations, and the safekeeping of its prisoners—as it twists, turns, and hurdles towards its conclusion. Despite the intensity of its finale, however,Three Secondsis a novel to be savored, its multifaceted story line leisurely unfurling over the first 200 pages. The critics diverged over the novel’s characters— “complex” (USA Today) or “tiresome [and] vaguely flawed” (New York Times)—but most agreed that Roslund and Hellström’s gritty material, graphic style, and ingenious plotting combine to makeThree Secondsa gripping, intelligent, and, above all, worthy successor to the works of Stieg Larsson and Henning Mankell.