Judas' Kiss - Anna Grue
Judaskysset
Judas' Kiss
Vol. 2
Politikens Forlag 2008
368 pages
Foreign rights sold to:
Norway/CappelenDamm, Iceland/Forlagiđ, Sweden/Piratförlaget, France/Gaïa,
Italy/Marsilio and Germany/Atrium
Summary
The 53-year-old school teacher Ursula Olesen has just come to terms with the idea of being single for the rest of his life when the young, handsome Jacob Heurlin shows up to sweep her off her feet. Ursula throws caution to the wind and enjoys the most tempestuous love affair of her life - until one day she discovers that Jacob has disappeared with her entire fortune.
As Ursula cannot bring herself to seek help from the police, she approaches Dan Sommerdahl, who immediately starts searching for the mysterious marriage swindler. It's going to be a long and surprising investigation that turns out to be connected to the bestial murder of a young student in a garden shed near Christianssund.
Reviews:
"The elegant and smooth dialogues are a bit of an art, an art that Anna Grue has mastered better than most. None of this decorating every single line with redundant garlands like 'she asked curiously' or 'he admitted hard-pressed ' - no, she lets one one line follow the other like hands in a chain dance and you immediately feel like a fly on the wall, without losing track of who says what. Changes of scenery and cross-cutting are done with almost the same cinematic tempo and rhythmic flow - it can only be a matter of time before Anna Grue's crime series featuring The Bald Detective - aka Dan Sommerdahl - is made into a TV series. (...)Anna Grue really knows her stuff - with 'Judas' Kiss', she cements her position as one of the best of the contemporary Danish crime writers. Bring on volume three! " - Katinka Bruhn, Weekendavisen
"There is both wit and bite to the character descriptions, the
description of time is precise, ensuring that the reader is well
entertained. (...) Anna Grue convincingly demonstrates that appearances
can be deceptive; - especially when there’s hair dye involved. Anna Grue
has the ability as an author to bring her characters to life, to make
the situations sparkle and to leave the reader happier than when reading
so many other Danish or foreign crime novels. "
- Mette Winge, Politiken
"The game that plays out between these two men is one of the book's
silent masterpieces. We’ve only reached volume two but the framework for
a great drama of destiny is set to unfold, book by book. (...) 'Judas'
Kiss' is called a crime novel but it is in fact more of a detective
novel, with the emphasis on novel. The plot doesn’t contain a great deal
of tension. The book's real drama is found in the characters and in the
language. But here, Anna Grue is a true master."
- ***** Poul Madsen, Ekstra Bladet
"Grue - more than most of her colleagues - has a way with words: The lines are idiomatic and frequently amusing and the flow and the language are precise and fast paced." - Mette Højbjerg, Information
"Anna Grue has formed an entertaining detective duo with Dan, the
luxury bohemian and the down-to-earth Flemming. It all takes place in an
easily recognisable provincial town . Anna Grue knows what it takes to
sell crime novels. A credible and well-composed mystery is needed to
keep the reader turning the pages. And there has to be elements of
recognition generously sprinkled throughout the text (...)And Anna Grue
manages all this quite well. "
**** Lars Ole Sauerberg, Jyllands Posten
"It's very difficult to follow up on a successful first volume of a crime series but with 'Judas' Kiss', Anna Grue has succeeded. (...) Anna Grue writes good, well-designed crime novels that contain a certain amount of social criticism, perfect for curling up on the sofa with. It’s not innovative but it’s a crime series that is guaranteed to be a success." - **** Jan Vandall, MetroXpress
Anna Grue - Author of the Dan Sommerdahl Series
