Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Borkmann's Point: An Inspector Van Veeteren Mystery
    Borkmann's Point: An Inspector Van Veeteren Mystery
    Borkmann's Point: An Inspector Van Veeteren Mystery
    Audiobook7 hours

    Borkmann's Point: An Inspector Van Veeteren Mystery

    Written by Håkan Nesser

    Narrated by Simon Vance

    3.5/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    An ex-con is brutally murdered with an ax in Kaalbringen. Then the body of a wealthy real estate mogul is found, also the victim of a violent attack. There appears to be a serial killer on the loose, and Chief Inspector Van Veeteren is called in to help the local police. As details surrounding the grisly murders are collected, Van Veeteren finds little to go on. But then there's another murder, and shortly thereafter one of Van Veeteren's colleagues, a promising female detective, goes missing-perhaps because the criminal knows she has come too close to the truth. . . .
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHighbridge Company
    Release dateJun 14, 2011
    ISBN9781611742725
    Borkmann's Point: An Inspector Van Veeteren Mystery
    Author

    Håkan Nesser

    Håkan Nesser is one of Sweden’s most popular crime writers, receiving numerous awards for his novels featuring Inspector Van Veeteren, including the European Crime Fiction Star Award (Ripper Award) 2010/11, the Swedish Crime Writers’ Academy Prize (three times) and Scandinavia's Glass Key Award. The Van Veeteren series is published in over twenty-five countries and has sold over ten million copies worldwide. Håkan Nesser lives in Gotland with his wife and spends part of each year in the UK. In addition to the popular Van Veeteren series, his other books include the psychological thriller The Living and the Dead in Winsford and The Barbarotti series.

    More audiobooks from Håkan Nesser

    Related to Borkmann's Point

    Titles in the series (6)

    View More
    View More

    Related audiobooks

    Police Procedural For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      3 Page-turners

      Oct 7, 2020

      This is the third novel from Sydneysider Tania Blanchard inspired by her German grandmother’s tales, and we start in Australia in 2019 with a letter from Berlin. It’s about a deceased estate and its recipient is the biological daughter of the letter

      1 min read

    • Article

      A Little Trip

      Aug 2, 2021

      As the first morning light peeked through the gap in the curtains, Alice left her new husband in bed. She wrapped her silk kimono around her; a present from Jeremy, it reminded her yet again just how generous he’d been since their wedding. Even this

      5 min read

    • Article

      Bard In The Woods

      Nov 30, 2020

      Bard In The Woods
      4 min read

    • Article

      Lamport Hall

      Mar 7, 2024

      Lamport Hall
      6 min read

    • Article

      The Sound Of Music

      Apr 3, 2020

      The Sound Of Music
      5 min read

    • Article

      Readers’ Letters

      Dec 13, 2023

      SIR: I found Dunphy's cartoon about incompatible typefaces (November issue) most amusing, not least because it reminded me of a verse I wrote during a few moments of boredom in a meeting at which typefaces suitable for exhibition posters were being d

      3 min read

    • Article

      Commonplace Book

      Jun 4, 2018

      I like long walks, especially when they are taken by people who annoy me. —Fred Allen I have always wondered, in reading travels, at the childish joy travellers felt at meeting people they knew, and their sense of loneliness when they did not, in

      4 min read

    • Article

      Summer Beach Reads

      Jan 10, 2021

      Summer Beach Reads
      7 min read

    • Article

      Branching Out

      Jan 25, 2024

      The excitement of coming across an old barn find is filled with great optimism that you have unearthed a piece of history. Once you have, you’re desperate to share the news with all and sundry, but there comes a point when it becomes an old story tha

      4 min read

    • Article

      La Otra Historia

      Jun 30, 2022

      La Otra Historia
      14 min read

    • Article

      Wolves of Karelia

      Jul 19, 2019

      Wolves of Karelia
      19 min read

    • Article

      More Things In Heaven

      Dec 10, 2021

      It’s the deep mid-winter, when sailors check their warps, settle down in lamp-lit saloons, top up their bogey stoves and pour themselves a dram. If they’re in tune with the outside world, they’ll also shut off the flickering screens, kill the music m

      5 min read

    • Article

      Gem

      Apr 27, 2020

      Gem
      7 min read

    • Article

      Skeleton Crew

      Nov 6, 2020

      Skeleton Crew
      6 min read

    • Article

      Skeleton Crew

      Nov 6, 2020

      Skeleton Crew
      6 min read

    • Article

      Ghost Girl, Banana

      Aug 21, 2023

      By the time I was 25, there were only two things I remembered about Mumma. The first was that she smelled of watermelons, the second was that we were happy. We’d taken our father’s name of course, but a name is only half a story. The other half exist

      6 min read

    • Article

      New Wave

      Apr 19, 2024

      New Wave
      3 min read

    • Article

      Until The Sea Closed Over Us And The Light Was Gone

      Jul 1, 2020

      —Dante, Canto XXVI But if the truth is dreamed of toward the morning—El Paso Although it was really last summer’s song,all this summer Despacito played on as slower then I turned myself to gazeupon Juarez. The summer everything hurts my eyes, a dozen

      6 min read

    • Article

      Waterman Redux

      Apr 24, 2019

      Waterman at Cornell, 1926 There are times I am facetious in these articles. It’s not always perceived. Therefore, allow me to take a moment to clarify my last piece about the limericks of the poet Paul Waterman. I do not actually think Waterman was c

      5 min read

    • Article

      The Wild Laughter

      Jul 24, 2020

      The Wild Laughter
      4 min read

    • Article

      Retreading The City

      Nov 2, 2023

      It’s hard to pinpoint when and how inspiration strikes for a novel, but I know exactly when it did for The Detective. The Waiter and The Cook were the first two books in my Kamil Rahman thriller series about a disgraced policeman from Kolkata who co

      6 min read

    • Article

      21,915

      Jul 7, 2022

      21,915
      2 min read

    • Article

      21,915

      Jul 7, 2022

      21,915
      2 min read

    • Article

      Tom Cunliffe

      Nov 6, 2020

      Tom Cunliffe
      5 min read

    • Article

      Tom Cunliffe

      Nov 6, 2020

      Tom Cunliffe
      5 min read

    • Article

      The Glove

      Mar 4, 2024

      The Glove
      8 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Borkmann's Point

    3.5/5

    353 ratings34 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 2/5
      Big clumsy man fingers all over this story. Ugh!
    • 4/5
      a nice Scandi police procedural
    • 4/5
      The second in the Swedish Inspector Van Veeteren series, and it's really growing on me. Usually I like some meat on the bones, but these spare novels about a cynical and dryly bemused detective are just the thing for a reader needing something that just skims along on the top of the story. I don't mean the crimes aren't intriguing, although I did guess this one about 3/4 through (and I'm not that good at it), but these books are just easy to digest and zip right through. The story is told through the viewpoints of the Inspector, his main associate Münster, a deft female detective from the town where they are all searching for a serial ax killer, and the killer himself. Van Veeteren believes in his mentor Borkmann's main idea about solving crime: at some point you know everything you need to, and more input only distracts you from what you have. The trick is to find the balance, and Van Veeteren is a master at it.
    • 4/5
      beautiful empty beaches, small towns, axe murders, clever and intuitive detectives and detectives who reason... and thoroughly enjoyable.
    • 4/5
      Much better than Mind's Eye and a couple of the later books. The translation seemed better, but it was done by the same translator.
    • 2/5
      It read easily but without flair. Too much padding in attempt to prolong little bursts of weak suspense. Too much extraneous detail about various characters' interior lives which was completely irrelevant to the story, without the saving grace of providing a different perspective into the human condition. This seems to be a common pitfall in this genre. Enjoyed the short snippets of the villain's POV. Other than the names, it felt generic.
    • 4/5
      Rather like the last book I read, this book's overall Good Reads rating fits exactly to my view of its merits. It is a bit unclear as to whether this is the first or second book in the series (it seems more like the second, because there is little in the way of "set-up", but no matter. I was surprised to find out he is a Swedish writer, writing about a Swedish policeman in that there is a lot less introspection than is normal in Nordic noir. But I have already purchased five more books in the series; so you can tell I enjoyed it and look forward to the next one!
    • 2/5
      Mostly dull and tedious, with an implausible plot. In place of the usual red herrings and white elephants, the narrative here is sustained (and stretched beyond believability) by police failure. These cops seem lazy and stupid, though when you reach the end you do have to realise that the culture which impedes the investigation (indulgent long lunches, booze, sloppy interviewing, inadequate record-keeping and analysis of information, etc) may be a deliberate construction. It might repay a rereading after the final twist in the tale, but it's not well-written enough to warrant that. For someone who simply relishes the whodunnit element, this would probably be good enough, but the cliched characters and scenarios provide nothing more than that. It kept me reading until the end, but the repetitive, simplistic prose seemed a chore I had to plough through, and the increasing dramatic tension toward the end correlated directly with growing implausibility.
    • 3/5
      3.5 stars

      This is another Scandinavian author whose catalogue is gradually being translated for the North American audience. It features CI Van Veeteren, a Swedish cop with more than 30 years on the job.
      Van Veeteren is currently enjoying the last days of his summer vacation when his chief calls. Seems they're having a little problem with an axe murderer in nearby Kaalbringen. Would he mind popping over & having a look around?
      There he meets Bausen, the soon-to-retire chief & his crew, one of whom is a young, ambitious detective named Beate Moerk. Unfortunately they're spinning their wheels. After exhaustive investigation, there seems to be no rhyme or reason behind the murders. And while they shift through endless reports & interviews, another victim falls to the axe.
      If you're into fast paced thrillers with lots of car chases & things that go boom, this is not for you. Yes, it's a police procedural but it's also a character study of its' star, Van Veeteren. He's a man of a certain age who has closed every case in his career, save one. His personal life has not been as successful. He's divorced & alone with a son currently out on parole.
      He's not a flashy or aggressive character. Instead, he's the soft spoken guy on the periphery who sees & hears everything. Long walks & playing chess allow him to let all the information percolate in his head until the connections start to appear. It can be frustrating for those around him as he doesn't appear to be doing anything. Beate reacts by striking out on her own, desperate for action & to make a name for herself. It could cost her life.
      This is a slow, introspective read that is more about the characters than the case. Even the killer gets a chance to tell his gut wrenching story about his quest for revenge. The pace pick up in the final few pages as his identity is revealed but the resolution brings the team more sadness than satisfaction.
      As for the eponymous Borkmann, well...he shows up more in spirit than in person. For fans of Barbara Fradkin, David Whellams or Quentin Bate's "Gunnhildur" series.
    • 2/5
      I'm sorry to say I found this desperately slow going. It took me weeks to get to within 50 pages of the end. By this point I was as desperate as the fictional detectives to get the murder solved, especially as nothing had really happened and they had no real suspect. The last 50 pages were quite good, if only the rest of the book could have been as well paced,
    • 3/5
      I enjoyed this crime novel quite a bit. A series of murders using an ax terrorizes a small northern European town and the Inspector is brought in to help catch the murdered. It takes a while, strangely enough for a small town where everyone seems to know each other, but they do eventually uncover the murdered. Wonderful characters that seem real while also serious and funny. Not an easy combination.
    • 3/5
      Borkmann's Point: "the point beyond which we really don't need any more information. When we reach that point, we already know enough to solve the case by means of nothing more than some decent thinking. " It took me until page 75 to reach that point...
    • 4/5
      This is the second in the Van Veeteren series. This isn't as dark as most Scandi crime fiction, but Nesser does a great job keeping his readers in suspense until the very end.In this book, an ax murderer has killed 3 people in a small town. The local constabulary have no experience with murder and Van Veeteren is called in to offer some assistance. There are no clues and no apparent motive. No witnesses or at least no reliable witnesses and most frustratingly, no apparent connection between the 3 men. I like the way the story builds. I had thought I figured out who the killer was and possibly what the motive was, but I was completely blown away when I discovered at the end that I was wrong and that I'd been barking up a wrong tree in a completely different forest.
    • 4/5
      A brilliant plot. I love the characters, and I love the atmosphere the author creates. He is one of those writers who can sketch a person or a place with just a few sentences, and you see everything so vividly. I am planning to read all his books!
    • 3/5
      There is no point to reiterate the plot, that is done so well by other reviewers. the point that I want to make other than Borkmann's, which I missed by the way, was that when trying to find similarities between the victims of a serial killer even some wild speculations would have been better than absolutely zilch. The fact that the first victim was a drug addict should have at least suggested drugs were possibly related. There were a lot of arrows pointing at the killer from early in the book and then they would disappear or fade for a while eventually to return.
    • 4/5
      Chief Inspector Van Veeteren is asked to curtail his vacation in order to help solve a case involving the murders of 2 men by a killer using an axe., He doesn't hesitate overlong to agree to look into the matter. Van Veeteren comes across as a stereotypical moody, broody Scandinavian detective, similar to Wallander and Martin Beck. He likes to listen to classical music like Colin Dexter's Inspector Morse, but his car is definitely NOT a Jaguar or Lancia. While I tend to get annoyed with depressed main characters, I did like his sense of humor and optimism. He actually expected to solve the case quite quickly. As time dragged on, the details built up, and detectives checked and rechecked leads. I find this type of police procedural to be fascinating, but some readers get frustrated at the slow progress. The personalities of the detectives helping Van Veeteren came through distinctively, and most of them actually had personal lives beyond the investigation. In fact, one of the detectives went missing part way through the book which added to the suspense and put pressure on the team to solve the case more expeditiously. All in all this audio version was well done and held my interest, although I wasn't pleased by the "surprise" twist at the end. I'm not sure if I'll follow through with other books in this series.
    • 1/5
      A book where you turn the pages to see if it gets better, not because you are interested. It's his first that I've read and it's unlikely that I will read another. Sadly, there is a good mystery story here, but it's buried in endless, pointless writing with a raft of characters whom remain no more than names, some with titles who do nothiing but clutter and confuse the story. Unfortunately this seems to be a standard technique with the Scandinavian crime writers. 
    • 5/5
      I figured out who the axman was early on but that in no way diminished my opinion of the book. Nesser's strength is in showing the humanity of every person, of how one deals with the messy aspects of life, some better than others. Clearly, the axman could not absorb a loss in his life. It was well written and absorbing.
    • 3/5
      Borkman's Point is a solid police procedural by Hakan Nesser. Here, Inspector Van Veeteren is sent to the Swedish coastal town of Kaalbringen to assist local law enforcement when two men are killed with an axe-like weapon as they are walking home at night. The media shows up and the citizens of Kaalbringen are terrified, but Van Veeteren pursues the Axeman with dogged determination. He's assisted by the affable local police chief, one of his own detectives and an ambitious Kaalbringen detective who throws herself into the investigation, determined to make a name for herself. The story is well put together, with no sudden surprises, although the eventual revealing of the Axeman's identity did surprise me. Van Veeteren is not flashy; his one conceit is that the sound system in his rusty Opel is worth much more than the aging car itself. He does solve the case, of course, but with a strong reliance on the value of ordinary police diligence than on being a super-detective.I listened to the audio version of this book. The narrator was chosen, I believe, because he was able to interject Swedish names and expressions without pause. He also managed to make each character's voice distinct, without resorting to funny voices.
    • 4/5
      This was the second of two Van Veeteren crime novels that I read during a recent trip that involved cross-country flights. While I found some aspects of the story interesting -- chapters that focused on the unidentified villain's reason for committing his crimes -- I was able to identify the villain about 3/4 of the way through the book, so the ending was not a surprise. It's worth reading, but does not come close to the work of other Scandinavian crime writers.
    • 5/5
      This is an amazing novel which happens to be a mystery. Nesser is a wonderful writer. I listened to this book on an Early Reviewer CD and had to wait until my husband finished it before I could start. Steve came into the house chuckling that he knew who the axe murderer was and that it was a fabulous book. This from a man who almost never even reads fiction. I was excited to listen to it since I love Henning Mankell. The setting. characters, and plot were beautifully rendered. Though the crimes were horrific, Nesser was never gratuitous in his violence. What a great read. I will definitely read more by this fine writer.
    • 3/5
      Borkmann’s Point is the recent English translation of Håkan Nesser’s third book. Originally written in 1994, it was awarded that year’s Best Swedish Crime Novel Award. Nesser’s story is reminiscent of the works of fellow Swedes Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö (The Laughing Policeman) and early Henning Mankell (Faceless Killers), it begins with a violent and shocking crime but soon evolves into an extensive police procedural with two capital ‘P’s. The overtaxed local police department is assisted by Detective Chief Inspector Van Veeteren, a world weary police veteran who, in his many years of service, has seen and worked on every kind of case there is, except axe murders. Now he is working on two of them, which have taken place in the seaside village of Kaalbringen, in a fictional country amazingly similar to Sweden. If identifying and apprehending a serial axe murderer doesn’t put enough pressure on the officers, one of their own disappears soon after announcing she has something she needs to discuss.As with most good procedurals, the police follow every possible lead, interview hundreds of people, gather massive reams if information, pursue unrelated lines of inquiry and, somewhere in the process, find the one piece of information that will ultimately break the case wide open. It’s sort of like finding a needle in a haystack. To some, this type of story will be boring. Such people are likely to want lots of action and a resolution they don’t need to figure out for themselves. Nesser will probably appeal to a more cerebral crowd, one that wants an experience closer to what actually happens in an investigation and one that offers the reader the chance to spot the relevant clues before the detectives.This is the second in a series of books featuring DCI Van Veeteren. I haven’t read the first book and did not feel like I was missing anything by it.This review is of the unabridged audio recording by Englishman Simon Vance, a prolific narrator best known for Patrick O’Brian’s Jack Aubrey series. I personally believe I would have gotten more out of this book had I read it rather than listened to it, mainly because of the level of attention required to fully appreciate it. This is not intended to be a slight against the author or narrator, merely a statement of personal preference.The review copy of this book was obtained from the publisher via the LibraryThing Early Review Program.
    • 4/5
      This is a review of the audio book version of this police procedural, by the Swedish author Hakan Nesser. This mystery has some very familiar elements – the mysterious serial killer whose motive (if any) is unknown; an aging, world-weary detective (we know him only as Detective Inspector Van Veeteren, no first name); and a cast of police detectives of various skill levels and degrees of eccentricity. Nesser’s writing skill is really the only thing that sets this book apart from many Scandinavian counterparts. His dialogue is crisp, his descriptive paragraphs evocative. His plotting is not exceptional, at least in this volume, but the story keeps moving forward in fits and starts.My personal reaction to most northern European mysteries is, I have to say, depression. Like so many protagonists in such books, Van Veeteren is obsessive, keeps his thoughts to himself, and doesn’t seem to have any friends or family. If he were a Sherlock Holmes and promptly identified the killer, one would understand why he is a revered homicide detective, but, at least in this instance, he seems to be making little progress in his detection until the end.Kudos to the narrator (Simon Vance), who manages to give the various characters their own voices, even if the police chief reminded me strongly of John Cleese.
    • 4/5
      The audio edition was of this book was excellent. I adore Simon Vance, whom I first loved for his reading of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Vance does an excellent job bringing the characters to life and engaging the listener. Borkmann’s Point was an first-rate mystery with well developed characters. Though at times it became a bit slow, the plot was still good and had an interesting twist at the end. This was my first Inspector Van Veeteran book and I am excited to read more in the series.
    • 5/5
      I had come to the conclusion that the fiction offered by Early Reviewers was all bunk. This was fabulous.I had come to the conclusion that Swedish writers were too "dark" for my tastes. This was fabulous.I had come to the conclusion (okay, so only after one audio book) that Simon Vance was not a good narrator. This was fabulous.The mystery unfolds in a rather different manner than most. Although I didn't guess the 'evil-doer' for a long while, I did know the motive. And although I did guess--in a manner of speaking-- [no spoiler alert] who done it, I didn't quite get there until the end.Simon Vance did an excellent job of distinguishing the voices of the various characters--though a Swedish speaking listener may object that they mostly sounded British--which is not necessarily that easy in making it all sound "foreign." As most foreign-language translations, not being familiar with the character names takes some getting used to. All authors--all editors--all publishers should think hard about having each character's name start with a different phonetic sound!!I hope if you read this, or listen to this, you enjoy it as much as I did.
    • 4/5
      The audio version of this book is an excellent production. I concur with the earlier reviewer who commented on the strength of the reader, Simon Vance. What distinguishes the audiobook is that Vance truly brings the story to life utilizing a variety of voices and convincing voice inflection. At many points, I wondered if there were additional readers. I prefer this style of reading and it really enhanced the experience for me. The audiobook is a superior production. This is my first Van Veeteren book, although I have several of the books from the series waiting to be read. I was invested in the story and enjoyed all of the characters, whom were all well developed. I enjoyed Van Vetteren's musings and attitude. I can certainly understand Nesser's appeal to the discerning scandinavian mystery reader. I will definitely continue the series. Those things being said, I thought the wrap-up to be a bit thin. Typically, in a scandinavian thriller, I am not overly focused on the end, so long as the ride is worth it. I was mixed on this ending. On one hand it nicely pulled together some of the books earlier details, but in other aspects I thought it was a little forced. Regardless, the ride was worth it and I will tune in for his other adventures.
    • 4/5
      First, I need to disclose that I am reviewing the audio book and that I received the Audio Book in the monthly readers auction. Second, I have read the book before I received this audio book, so I knew what to expect, but I was VERY impressed with the reader(Simon Vance) and with the audio book debut. It was like meeting knowing where we were going, but I did enjoy the ride. Now onto the book.... Borkman's Point. This is Nesser's second book in the Inspector Van Veeteren series. I have read 4 of his books - Mind's Eye, Borkmann's Point and Woman with a Birthmark and The Return. All four are excellent.... if a little gritty. The inspector is an interesting (and normal, customary and usual) Swedish character and the story has many twists and turns. This audio book is unabridged and runs for over 7 hours. I would highly recommend the audio book verison. Paul Floyd, Mpls, MN.
    • 4/5
      Kind of a funny thing about this book. I read a review by a friend and put it on my wish list, then forgot about it.Two years later, I found a copy of Borkmann's Point at the local Goodwill and grabbed it up, confusing Nesser's Van Veeteren with the mystery writer Janwillem Lincoln van de Wetering, and his wonderful series of books starring Grijpstra and de Gier, a pair of Amsterdam police officers. The book was snagged by my darling husband, who is a huge fan of Scandinavian mystery writers. He liked the book a great deal. He returned it to me to read, but before I could get to it, he loaned it out to a mutual friend, who had it since December. She returned it two weeks ago, and I again put it on my TBR pile. Then, the day of our BookCrossing meetup, he handed me a pile of books to take, pointing to this book, and asked that I give it to Kiptrix to read. That did it. I'd reached my Borkmann's point ("the point beyond which we really don't need any more information. When we reach that point, we already know enough to solve the case by means of nothing more than some decent thinking. " ) I knew that I had all the information I needed. If I didn't read this book NOW, I'd have to wait another two years. I took the hint, and devoured the book in a day.Well written mystery, with a really great lead character, who will keep me seeking out other books in the series. The story was well paced, the plot with enough twists and turns to keep the reader occupied. (It's my firm belief that plot summaries are readily available elsewhere. I prefer to give you my thoughts and feelings about the books I read.) I found myself easily visualizing the police chief's cottages lost in the tangle of roses, the lonely cliff side and beach of coastal Kaalbringen, a sleepy town awake with fear from two recent ax murders. But most of all, it is the quirky nature and quiet intelligence of the inspector that charmed me. I am very glad that at the closing of my local Indie bookstore, I had the foresight to snag Van Veeteren #3 (now being read by javaczuk.)
    • 2/5
      A little slow for me but well crafted with developed characters and a solid mystery. Not a lot of atmosphere though - it could have been happening in any part of the world. The translation was first rate - Ive read a few by similar authors such as Mankell where the translation is just a little bit off.
    • 4/5
      First Nesser book I have read and I'm very impressed. Just been to the library and borrowed Woman With a Birthmark. Must read more of this author.