Mind's Eye

Mind's Eye is the 1st of the Van Veeteren mysteries by Hakan Nesser. I've also read the 2nd in the series. I bought them both when I was looking for something different and a new author/series to explore. I won't be reading more. I did like Borkmann's Point well enough and had looked forward to this one, but I find this one disappointing. I'm just not especially interested in the main character. The secondary characters seem an awful lot alike to me, so that I have trouble separating them by name. The plot moved slowly along, but -as with the characters- I didn't find it engaging enough to seek out more. I find the writing style choppy. There could be several explanations for this, including translation artifact, but I didn't care for it. All the reviews I see online love it, so I don't know what my problem is. Tastes differ, I guess.

from the back of the book:

Hakan Nesser is firmly established as one of the world's best crime novelists. And now the novel that introduced Chief Inspector Van Veeteren is available for the first time in English.

The swift conviction left Van Veeteren uneasy: Janek Mitter woke one morning with a brutal hangover and his wife dead in the bathtub. With only the flimsiest defense, he is found guilty and imprisoned in a mental institution. But when Mitter is murdered in his bed, Van Veeteren regrets not following his gut and launches an investigation into the two killings. As the chief inspector delves deeper, the twisted root of these violent murders will shock even him.

Eurocrime gives the series positive attention and says, "THE MIND'S EYE is a quick read, partly because the first section is dialogue followed by the trial transcript which is then followed by the investigation proper, but also because it's fun to read." Kirkus Reviews says, "Amiable Van Veeteren is a sly, cocksure sleuth."