by Håkan Nesser
A few hours later he went to the water’s edge one last time. He lit his last cigarette as well, and stood there all alone until it was finished, contemplating the agitated breakers rolling in toward the shore.
Things were breathing again. Both sky and sea—the same threatening gray-violet combination, the same irresistible force; and when he felt the first drop of rain in his hand, he turned his back on it all and made his way up toward his car.
Time to get away from here, he thought.
The curtain has fallen. The tragedy is over.
Exit Oedipus. Exit Van Veeteren.
He started the car. Switched on the headlights as darkness fell rapidly, and set off inland.
And yet, it might not be for good. Perhaps Kaalbringen would have the pleasure of entertaining his presence again . . .
For even retired Axmen must eventually be allowed time out on parole. And even the narrowest of leads at chess must allow a challenge.
What wouldn’t one do for a decent glass of wine?
Thought Detective Chief Inspector Van Veeteren as he started groping in the glove compartment for Penderecki.
A NOTE ABOUT THE AUTHOR
HŒkan Nesser was awarded the 1993 Swedish Crime Writers’ Academy Prize for new authors for his novel The Wide-Meshed Net; he received the best novel award in 1994 for Borkmann’s Point and in 1996 for Woman with a Birthmark. In 1999, he was awarded the Glass Key Award by the Crime Writers of Scandinavia for the best crime novel of the year, Carambole. His novels have been published to acclaim in nine countries. Nesser was born in 1950 in Sweden, where he still lives.
A NOTE ABOUT THE TRANSLATOR
Laurie Thompson taught Swedish at the University of Wales and was editor of Swedish Book Review from its launch in 1983 until 2002. He has been a full-time literary translator for several years and has translated nearly forty books from Swedish. He was born in York, but now lives in rural west Wales with several cats and a Swedish wife.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
English translation copyright © 2006 by Laurie Thompson
All rights reserved. Published in the United States by Pantheon Books, a division of Random House, Inc., New York. Originally published in Sweden as Borkmanns Punkt by Albert Bonniers Förlag, Stockholm, in 1994. Copyright © 1994 by Håkan Nesser. Published by arrangement with Linda Michaels Ltd., International Literary Agents, New York.
Pantheon Books and colophon are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Nesser, Håkan, [date].
[Borkmanns punkt. English]
Borkmann’s point : an Inspector Van Veeteren mystery / Håkan Nesser ; translated from the Swedish by Laurie Thompson.
p. cm.
I. Thompson, Laurie, 1938– II. Title.
PT9876.24.E76B6713 2006
839.73'74—dc22 2005050935
www.pantheonbooks.com
eISBN: 978-0-375-42427-4
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