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Still Waters
Still Waters
Still Waters
Audiobook9 hours

Still Waters

Written by Viveca Sten

Narrated by Angela Dawe

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

3.5/5

()

About this audiobook

The first book in Swedish author Viveca Sten’s enormously popular Sandhamn Murders series.

On a hot July morning on Sweden’s idyllic vacation island of Sandhamn, a man takes his dog for a walk and makes a gruesome discovery: a body, tangled in fishing net, has washed ashore.

Police detective Thomas Andreasson is the first to arrive on the scene. Before long, he has identified the deceased as Krister Berggren, a bachelor from the mainland who has been missing for months. All signs point to an accident—until another brutalized corpse is found at the local bed-and-breakfast. But this time it is Berggren’s cousin, whom Thomas interviewed in Stockholm just days before.

As the island’s residents reel from the news, Thomas turns to his childhood friend, local lawyer Nora Linde. Together, they attempt to unravel the riddles left behind by these two mysterious outsiders—while trying to make sense of the difficult twists their own lives have taken since the shared summer days of their youth.

LanguageEnglish
TranslatorMarlaine Delargy
Release dateOct 1, 2015
ISBN9781511311335
Still Waters
Author

Viveca Sten

Swedish writer Viveca Sten has sold almost four million copies of her enormously popular Sandhamn Murders series. In 2014, her seventh novel, the hugely successful I maktens skugga (In the Shadow of Power), was published in Sweden and cemented her place as one of the country's most popular authors. Her Sandhamn Murders novels continue to top the bestseller charts and have been made into a successful Swedish-language TV miniseries, which has been broadcast around the world to thirty million viewers. Sten lives in Stockholm with her husband and three children, but she prefers to spend her time visiting Sandhamn to write and vacation with her family.

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Reviews for Still Waters

Rating: 3.744186046511628 out of 5 stars
3.5/5

43 ratings18 reviews

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  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    A solid series start and a fun companion while I’m doing housework. The characters were really sympathetic and the mystery had some good twists. Makes me want to go to Sandhamn!
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    A body washes up on the beach of the island of Sandhamn, in Sweden, and at first it looks like an accident. It takes a while to identify him, but Krister Berggren seemingly just had an accidental fall off a boat, and wasn't noticed in time. Police Detective Thomas Andreasson identifies him, and talks to Krister's only close relative, his cousin Kicki Berggren, in Stockholm, and is about to close the case when Kicki turns up dead, apparently badly beaten, in a bed-and-breakfast on Sandhamn.

    Circumstances make this effectively the first major murder investigation that Thomas has led, and his local knowledge of Sandhamn, where he spent many a childhood summer, and his friendship with local lawyer Nora Linde give him some badly needed advantages in a very puzzling case.

    Sten is a Swedish writer, and I discovered her books while mucking around with my new-to-me Kindle fire. I'm glad I did. It's a really good, solid mystery by someone i wouldn't ordinarily be seeking out. Thomas and his colleagues, and Nora and her friends and neighbors, are well worth getting to know, and the story is solidly plotted. It's worth noting that Sten didn't feel compelled to make Nora and Thomas a romantic couple. They each have their own romantic and relationship issues, but their relationship with each other is just longstanding, solid, reliable friendship.

    Since I'm not Swedish, have never been to Sweden, and am overall unlikely to go to Sweden, this book also gave me a bit of an out-of-culture experience, and that's always enjoyable, an added benefit to the good mystery and good characters.

    Recommended.

    I bought this audiobook.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    I watched the TV adaptation of this – called Morden i Sandhamn – and bought my mother the book for Christmas, and then spotted the ebook was only 99p so I decided to give it a go myself. I couldn’t actually remember the plot of the TV episode based on this novel, although bits of it seemed familiar. But then about halfway in, I suddenly remembered who the murderer was. Oh well. But I’m fairly sure there’s an entire subplot that never made it into the TV adaptation. Sandhamn is the only village on the island of Sandön, which means “the sand island”, because it’s known for being sandy rather than rocky, as all the other islands in the Stockholm archipelago are. Thomas Andreasson is from Sandhamn, but currently works for the Stockholm police in Nacka. When a body washes ashore at Sandhamn, and the victim has no connection to the village or island, it’s initially thought to be an accident. But then the victim’s only living relative, his cousin, is murdered, and it’s starting to look like something strange is going on… The book pushes one theory of the crimes for much of its length, before more or less stumbling over the real motive, and murderer. The prose is basic at best, and I wonder how much of that is down to the translation. Annoyingly, everything has been translated from metric to Imperial (for the US market, obviously). It made for an entertaining piece of television but felt a bit slow for a novel of 448 pages. There are currently ten books in the series. If the Swedish prose is as simple as the English prose, I’m tempted to try one in its original language…
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This is the first of a mystery series set in Sandhamm, a quiet resort community on a Swedish archipelago.When a body washes up onto the shore, it’s assumed to be a terrible accident – even though the body is tangled in a fishing net and has a loop of rope around it.But when a second body - poisoned, stabbed and battered proves to be the only relative of the first body, the game is afoot.Thomas Andreasson, a policeman with local knowledge takes over the investigation. His long- time friend Nora, a financial attorney living on the island, also contributes more local knowledge..The mystery was good; the sand, beaches lighthouses and ocean community called out to me.Most important, though were the relationships. One character, especially spoke to me and it is her situation that compels me to read the next in the series.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    This is the first book in the Sandhamn series, set in a popular sailing and holiday village in Sweden’s Stockholm archipelago. When a body washes up covered in seaweed and rope, Detective Thomas Andreasson is on the scene and immediately becomes involved in identifying the body. He begins with an assumption of accident or suicide, but then a second person is found dead … and a third … and we have ourselves a murder mystery. In some ways, this book reminded me of Louise Penny’s Inspector Gamache series. LIke Three Pines, Sandhamn is the sort of idyll which should be free from violent crime, but isn’t. Author Viveca Sten builds a community of interesting characters you can’t help caring about, and I'm guessing their stories build over successive novels. The mystery itself was a little weak, and some of the dynamics between characters seemed oversimplified. But I enjoyed this enough to read the next one …
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This is a well plotted and engaging police procedural, somewhat weakened by -- I think -- the translation. First, the good news. This is NOT Scandie noir, instead it takes place in the summer sunshine of the Stockholm archipelago, with (mostly) positive characters and (not much) angst. The central characters -- policeman Thomas Andreasson and his lawyer friend, Nora Linde -- are likeable and competent, and the subsidiary characters are well drawn. The setting is interesting and appealing. The novel is less bloodthirsty than many other Scandinavian thrillers, indeed it has a somewhat traditional feel. The problem is the prose. It has a wooden quality that suggests to me a weak translation. It doesn't spoil the book, but it does make me give three and a half rather than four stars.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    An interesting character and setting for a mystery series. I liked the story and learned a bit about Swedish culture and law. My only complaint was that the author's technique of starting a chapter with results before explaining the process got a little tiresome. But everything was accounted for in the end, and made sense.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I'm not sure to what extent it was the fault of the translation which felt a bit stilted/clunky, but while I enjoyed the fact that the tale was set in a small island community, the more I think of it, the more the book feels like a collection of mystery novel 'tricks' cleverly put together, rather than anything particularly novel or gripping.I did enjoy reading about Nora, who was the most fully-developed character in the book--although perhaps Thomas was supposed to be the main character--and fully sympathized with depictions of her irritation as a working mom on a family vacation with an oblivious husband who's off doing his own thing.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I loved the setting of Still Waters and the little tidbits of information I gleaned from the story. For instance, a sweltering summer day in Sweden is merely a winter's day here in southern Arizona. Another piece of trivia was learning what the Swedes call geraniums and impatiens. Perhaps it's because I do have a trivial mind, but I enjoy learning about things like this. As in other Swedish crime fiction that I've read, the author tends to be very precise about the streets traveled and the towns passed through as the police conduct their investigation. At this point, I've gotten used to it.Viveca Sten's precision includes her characterizations. The main characters are described, warts and all. Nora's husband, Henrik, is a "wonderful" combination of spoiled brat and doctor-with-a-God-complex, so it's easy to see there's going to be some tension there. The characterization I found most rewarding was that of Thomas. He's a good police officer, hardworking, and very caring and understanding of others, but his reaction to his infant daughter's death definitely shows that he's not perfect.Sten has written an excellent, multi-layered mystery in a vivid setting; however, I felt the entire book suffered from descriptive diarrhea. I think this was done in order to show the actual progression of a murder investigation. These things do not get solved within the hour timeframe of a television drama, as most people are accustomed to. But there are better ways of doing this than describing the exterior and interior of every building the characters enter (believe me, I don't think they left any building unentered), the clothing worn, or by each character having large periods of introspection. Still Waters has a wonderful setting, a very good mystery, and some interesting characters, but all the added extras were exhausting. I doubt I will continue with the series.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    The first in a mystery series that takes place on Sandhamn Island in Sweden. Standard run of the mill police procedural mystery establishing the main characters for the continuation of the series.I will not rabidly read through the series, but will pick one up now and then when in need of a mindless mystery.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    When a man's body washes ashore on Sandhamn, Thomas Andreasson goes there to investigate with a couple of junior detectives while the team leader departs for her vacation. The recently divorced Thomas' connection to the island makes him a good choice to ask questions of the locals. When the dead man's only known surviving cousin also turns up dead, the team realizes both victims likely met their fate at the hands of a murderer. One story line which eventually shows a slight relation to the other involves Nora, a friend of Thomas, and her doctor husband who argue over a job opportunity. While this isn't a perfectly plotted mystery, its setting and likable characters keep readers engaged. While the book fits the police procedural category best, Nora does a bit of amateur sleuthing, making this one readers of both sub-genres might enjoy.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Rating: 3.5* of five, rounded upI downloaded this onto my Kindle when it was a Kindle First offering about three years ago. It finally snagged my attention. I think it finally got me because, when I opened it, I read this:The department’s coffeemaker produced a liquid that was positively toxic. How Margit could knock it back in such quantities was a mystery. Thomas had switched to drinking tea for the first time in his life because of it.THOMAS!! RUN!! Run fast and run far, no good can ever come from a place where the coffee is so bad that *retch* tea *shudder* is a better beverage option!*glowers Blightyward* Y'all got nothin' to say here, Brits, you gave the world chattel slavery, John Bull, and cricket, and kept National Health Service, Cornwall, and Prince Harry!Thomas Andreasson is from the Stockholm archipelago's unfashionable bit, or at least it wasn't fashionable when he was a lad. His world has been upended in so many ways in recent months, his life as a husband and father is over without warning or any desire for it to be so, his best friend Nora is suddenly among murderers on their shared childhood home of Sandhamn, and he's got no clues to solve the suspicious death followed by sure and certain murder, followed by *very* suspicious death and bring the killer to justice.So he plods along, doing responsible policework, following leads that don't lead, until he is weary of the routine as well as of the whole enterprise of staying alive. We switch PoV characters a good bit in this book, but Thomas is the policeman so he gets most of the tedious legwork in the story. His senior partner, Margit, is dying to spend the short, sweet Swedish summer with her husband and teenaged daughters somewhere south. This case is foiling her desire to get away. Interestingly, Thomas has no issue with Margit being the lead in the case; he's never once shown being resentful of her authority, but once feels a bit downhearted when she corrects an error he's made...because he made the error, not because a woman corrected him. This was refreshing.One lead, found by Thomas' lovely young colleague (and clearly intended to be love interest) Carina, takes him and Margit to a self-made man's home on Sandhamn. Thomas' past on the island makes the appearance of the house grating to him, and Margit's social conscience shows up for a pleasant interlude:Apart from the white eaves and steps, every last piece of timber was nauseatingly green. Without the eaves and steps you could easily have imagined you were standing in front of a giant marzipan cake. Only the rose was missing."I’ve never seen such a fine example of nouveau riche." (said Margit)We see that a lot on the South Shore of Long Island. It's the arrivistes buying old cottages and slapping down out-of-proportion McMansions onto their zero-lot-line dreams of seaside living. Drearily familiar to anyone living by a water feature. Thomas doesn't like the house and really doesn't like the man in it...there is something *wrong* with a person who moves to a strong, distinctive community like Sandhamn and flouts every tradition and norm that makes the place itself!But then there's Nora, whose roots on Sandhamn go way back before even Thomas' do. She doesn't like this new reality at all, and doesn't like the cultural shift it represents. She feels it as an affront to her core principles, as we're told directly:It gave Nora the unpleasant feeling that everything was for sale. Everything could be bought or sold.Sandhamn is more than a place to Nora, it's a life and a lifestyle she feels is hers down to her very core. These values agree with mine. I approve of them and wish there were more Noras in the world.So what the hell drew her to the insensitive clod of a scion of the booboisie that she married?!Henrik just didn’t get it. He was blind and deaf to any hint that his mother might not be the best mother-in-law in the world. Nora gave in.Now she had been offered her dream job, and he didn’t even seem to want to discuss it. It wasn’t fair.Why challenge Henrik, instead of paying attention to the clear signals he had given her?I found this infuriating. Which is it, Author Sten, Nora's a modern woman or a housewife? She started their marriage with compromises on where they'd live, what he'd be expected to do as a parent, and somehow thought he'd magically divine that she was seriously convinced he'd do the same for her?! Why?! How?! Begin as you mean to go on, Nora. Was it Mary Poppins who said that first, or just most famously? Anyway, there was absolutely no reason to think Henrik would ever be anything but his parents' son, since he never made a single solitary peep of dissatisfaction with them and the way they live(d) their lives. Oh! Oh! And then there's her best friend, Thomas, whose reaction to Henrik should've made Nora run screaming:There was an underlying distance between the two men that never quite disappeared in spite of the fact that they had known each other for a long time. Henrik’s upper-middle-class background and deeply conservative values didn’t exactly improve matters.There's no way in hell that didn't show in Thomas' responses to Henrik over the years. So lay off the shockhorror about the way the reactionary poltroon responds to your desire to do something for yourself, lady, he's never been different and expecting him to change will only make both of you and your kids angry and upset and end up in divorce. Skip the middle bit: Get the divorce, start the new life, and make sure the kids know *why* mommy left daddy without rancorous vituperative invective flowing from you. Him, you can't affect. As should be obvious to you by now.The two sleuths are close friends and each has made a hash of their personal life. This isn't familiar at all, is it. But it's an evergreen for a reason, since it gives the author a great line of attack to keep series readers reading. Nora's marriage is doomed, Thomas' relationship with Carina is doomed, the whole island of Sandhamn...faithless to the crime statistics for Nordic countries...will soon be hip deep in dead bodies, much more will be made of Nora's diabetes (which figures in the action but not the resolution of this book), and if there is a just and merciful gawd Nora's mother-in-law will be savagely torn to bits by ravening wild dogs on live television.Translator Delargy, based in the UK, uses some tricks to keep the prose feeling uniquely Sten's own. One is the use of a nonstandard form of the verb "to get hold (of)", viz. "ahold." In spoken words I'm not averse to this formulation of the verb, but it abounds in this book and I found it irksome after the sixth or seventh usage. It's purely a personal twitch, no knock on the skills Delargy brought to bear on the Englishing of the book. I am on record many places as despising the unnecessary and ungainly "u"ification of perfectly simple words like "valor" and "honor" so I needn't go into why that made me flinch every time I ran across it. Delargy does a creidtable job making Sten's words readable in English, and that's no mean feat, so kudos to you Madam.The world has lots and lots of gritty Scandicrime. You can hardly open your Kindle without being offered some more gritty Scandicrime. What the world doesn't have is cozy Scandicrime. Sten's involving debut novel is both pine-scented Scandi and cozy, sense-of-place crime. I like that about it and it's what will cause me to seek out the next book in the series.So switch your mental gears to Swedish cozy. Step out of the Vauxhall and into the Volvo station wagon.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This book attracted me in particular as it is set on a real island in the Stockholm archipelago which I've cruised through. The plot is cleverly conceived and executed, keeping me guessing until near the end and the characters are interesting and believable.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I enjoyed the twists in this one! It was a quick read and I didn’t expect the way it ended. Murders. Family drama. Takes place in Sweden. Detectives. Unexpected twists. What more could you ask for in a light read?
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    A reasonably good cozy mystery, but it didn't really hook me.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    I found this novel very boring. Deaths were happening, and I found it difficult to care. The narrator Angela Dawe, was about as monotonous as you could possibly think, and only made the audiobook worse, imo. I stopped after the third death, at about most of the way thru chapter 34, and I cannot possibly feel any better by jettisoning this novel to the wayside.
    2 stars, if that. Not recommended.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    My first impression of Still Waters was thrilled engagement. I thoroughly enjoyed Thomas Andreasson and the characterization of the supporting characters was strong. Then the narrative seemed to be derailed and increasingly overshadowed by some clunky backstory, flash-forward events and extraneous personal drama.Perhaps some of this roughness was due to inexpert translation. However, that aspect didn't account for why the tale involved a tense matrimonial situation or the intrusion of too much description. I was especially derailed by Hendik's treatment of Nora; his behaviour was a huge trigger for my exclaiming out loud, "You stupid, self-centred prick, why don't you grow up?".This degree of emotional involvement on my part does demonstrate that the author's writing can be extremely effective. But did it move the plot forward? Did such drama contribute to the theme developing around multiple murders and the main character's development? I think Thomas got a little lost in the chronicle with a very rushed dénouement. As well, the situation with Nora, which was never fully rounded out, resulted in a flat-lined story that left a strong 'meh' feeling. A sequel with Thomas is all very well, but would not be the place to recapture the tension build up in seeing "what happened with the other characters".
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    A very good mystery with great characters. Add to that the setting in islands near Stockholm, Sweden, which makes it delightful.