The Axe Woman

This title was previously available on NetGalley and is now archived.
Buy on Amazon Buy on Waterstones.com
*This page contains affiliate links, so we may earn a small commission when you make a purchase through links on our site at no additional cost to you.
Send NetGalley books directly to your Kindle or Kindle app

1
To read on a Kindle or Kindle app, please add kindle@netgalley.com as an approved email address to receive files in your Amazon account. Click here for step-by-step instructions.
2
Also find your Kindle email address within your Amazon account, and enter it here.
Pub Date 1 Sep 2022 | Archive Date 1 Sep 2022

Talking about this book? Use #TheAxeWoman #NetGalley. More hashtag tips!


Description

Sweden 2012. When Inspector Gunnar Barbarotti returns to work after a terrible personal tragedy his boss asks him to investigate a cold case, hoping to ease him back gently into his police duties.

Five years previously a shy electrician, Arnold Morinder, disappeared from the face of the earth, the only clue his blue moped abandoned in a nearby swamp. At the time his partner, Ellen Bjarnebo, claimed that Arnold had probably travelled to Norway never to return. But Ellen is one of Sweden’s most notorious killers, having served eleven years in prison after killing her abusive first husband and dismembering his body with an axe. And when Barbarotti seeks to interview Ellen in relation to Arnold’s disappearance she is nowhere to be found . . .

But without a body and no chance of interviewing his prime suspect Barbarotti must use all the ingenuity at his disposal to make headway in the case. Still struggling with his personal demons, Barbarotti seeks solace from God, and the support of his colleague, Eva Backman. And as he finally begins to track down his suspect and the cold case begins to thaw, Barbarotti realizes that nothing about Ellen Bjarnebo can be taken for granted . . .

The Axe Woman is the fifth and final Inspector Barbarotti novel from bestselling author Håkan Nesser.

Sweden 2012. When Inspector Gunnar Barbarotti returns to work after a terrible personal tragedy his boss asks him to investigate a cold case, hoping to ease him back gently into his police duties.
...


Advance Praise

Praise for Håkan Nesser:


‘Told with wry humour and compassion, Nesser has four more Barbarotti stories to come – cherish them all’ - Daily Mail on The Darkest Day


‘One of the best Nordic noir writers’ - The Guardian on The Root of Evil


‘A master of suspense’ - The Sunday Times on The Secret Life of Mr Roos


‘One of Sweden’s best crime writers’ - The Mail on Sunday on The Lonely Ones

Praise for Håkan Nesser:


‘Told with wry humour and compassion, Nesser has four more Barbarotti stories to come – cherish them all’ - Daily Mail on The Darkest Day


‘One of the best Nordic noir writers’...


Available Editions

EDITION Other Format
ISBN 9781509892334
PRICE £18.99 (GBP)
PAGES 464

Available on NetGalley

NetGalley Shelf App (PDF)
Send to Kindle (PDF)
Download (PDF)

Average rating from 12 members


Featured Reviews

Nordic noir at it's best and from one of my favourite authors. This is the last in the series to feature Inspector Barbarotti and this author has definitely saved the best for last!!!
Barbarotti is in the depths of grief as he has lost his beloved wife after a long illness. His boss thinks that working will help with his loneliness and gives him a cold case.
Five years ago a man went missing, got on his moped and went to the local petrol station to get a local paper and was never seen again. There days later his moped was recovered from a swampy area but no sign of the man. His partner Ellen Bjarnebo claimed he walked out after a row. Ellen has spent eleven years in prison after killing her abusive husband and dismembering his body with an axe. The more Barbarotti delves into this case the more he learns that nothing is what it seems and Ellen could be very dangerous. Packed to the rafters with tension and suspense, full of heart stopping moments and so many twists and turns it was making me dizzy. This author has finished this five star series with a BANG!!!! Loved it!!!!!!

Was this review helpful?

The Axe Woman is the Fifth,and sadly the last,in Hakan Nesser's Gunnar Barbarotti series.
After a devastating personal tragedy Barbarotti returns to work and is annoyed when he thinks his boss is patronising him by giving him a seemingly unimportant "cold case". He's tasked with investigating the disappearance of an electrician 5 years previously whose moped is found in a swamp after seemingly being last seen buying petrol. The man's partner claims that he went abroad to find work but that partner being someone who had several years earlier served a lengthy prison sentence for the axe murder of her husband had Police launching a thorough investigation. that led to no evidence of foul play.

With Barbarotti wondering why his Boss has bothered asking him to re-investigate an old missing person case with seemingly no grounds he struggles to get anywhere ,while also trying to deal with his loss,

This series is for those who enjoy the likes of Henning Mankell's Wallandar books or Jorn Lier Horst's William Wisting series. There are no car chases or punch ups and like Wallandar Barbarotti is a rather melancholy figure in this book. The books are rather pedestrian,which won't be to everyone's taste but they're very involving and the characters are complex and interesting. These are books to savour,take your time with and appreciate rather than speed read .

As with the rest of this great series Barbarotti develops a case out of initially very little with his usual dogged determination and powers of deduction and what he initially suspects is a waste of his time turns into a complex and tangled case.
The only thing I disliked about this book was that at times Barbarotti ponders on religious,more specifically Biblical,matters which for me is an instant turn off and I skipped through a few pages as a result.
That aside a great read and a fitting end to a superb series.

Was this review helpful?

I would like to thank Netgalley and Pan Macmillan for an advance copy of The Axe Woman, the fifth and final novel in the DI Gunnar Barbarotti series, set in Stockholm county.

Barbarotti returns to work after a personal loss and is asked to look into a cold case. Five years ago electrician Arnold Morinder disappeared from his cabin and the only trace found of him was his moped. His partner thinks he went to Norway, but his partner is Ellen Bjarnebo and she is one a Sweden’s most notorious killers, having spent eleven years in prison for murdering her abusive first husband and hacking up his body with an axe. Now she isn’t answering Barbarotti’s calls and seems to have disappeared.

I have mixed feelings about The Axe Woman. Yes, it has an interesting story to tell, but, principally, it is a novel about grief. I recently and very unexpectedly lost my brother in his early fifties and found it difficult to wade through Barbarotti’s feelings and coping mechanisms, especially as they bear no relationship to mine. To be fair, everyone grieves differently and the author does a good job in some respects, the malaise, the sense of not being in control, the inability to concentrate and the general loss of previous priorities and self confidence. I’m less sure about the belief in messages, seeing a lost one and turning to the bible, although I must admit that the final words in the novel made me smile.

The novel switches timelines between 1989 and the events leading up to the murder of Bjarnebo’s husband and 2012 and Barbarotti’s re-investigation. Both are quite long and slow as they are more concerned with the protagonist (Bjarnebo and Barbarotti respectively) and their thoughts and feelings than the actual events, which tend to act as a catalyst for said reactions. Still, it manages to keep the reader on tenterhooks as it implies that all is not as it seems and there will be twists to come. I think this comes from Bjarnebo’s deliberate attempts to ghost Barbarotti. It builds the tension and anticipation, makes the reader question her motives and evokes mystery.

The resolution is neat. It turns the reader’s assumptions on their head and made me look at what I knew in a different light. The clues are all there, albeit difficult to discern in a cloud of distraction and emotion, so it’s simply a matter of deduction. Ok, simply might be an exaggeration as I failed miserably.

The Axe Woman is a good read that I can recommend.

Was this review helpful?

He may be uncrowned but Hakan Nesser is undoubtedly the King of Scandinavian Noir. To call his crime novels police procedurals is an insult, ignoring his literary genius and storytelling intellect.
I love the Gunnar Barbarotti novels. They are every bit as good as the Van Veeteren series. I love Gunnar's relationship with his wife, Marianne, now deceased but still a major character, and with Our Lord.
Hakan Nesser writes about dark deeds and the darkness of the human psyche but with the lightest touch - and I don't mean Cozy! - and a great sense of humour.
I thank Our Lord that Barbarotti and Van Veeteren will return in The Left-handed Association.

Was this review helpful?

Readers who liked this book also liked: