The commercial success of Henning Mankell and Stieg Larsson sometimes obscures the fact that there are other Swedish crime writers whose books are equally worth reading. Håkan Nesser’s long- running series about the detached and intuitive Chief Inspector Van Veeteren, set in an unnamed north European country, is gradually being translated into English. Unlike so many fictional policemen, Van Veteeren is not defined solely by his job — in fact he eventually becomes an antiquarian bookseller. In The Inspector and Silence, he slips almost by accident into a case involving the alleged disappearance of a girl from a remote summer school run by a dodgy cult. After the discovery of another girl, raped and strangled in the surrounding forest, the investigation becomes darker and far more urgent, while the members of the cult continue to be perversely uncooperative.

So far, perhaps, so familiar. But Van Vetereen refuses to fit neatly into the standard mould of gloomy Swedish cop. His contemplative intelligence brings another ingredient to the mix. The novel is as much about his thought processes and private pleasures as it is about a murder enquiry. The result is wry, thought- provoking and often surprisingly funny.

Andrew Taylor’s new novel, The Anatomy of Ghosts (Michael Joseph), will be published in September.

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