Oh, Taste and See (Djävulens tonsteg)

Hans-Olov Öberg

 

Västerås in October 1978. Jimmy Magnusson and his friend Elias Fagervik are going to rehearsal with the boy choir when Jimmy remembers something he has to fix. Eleven hours later the boy is found brutally murdered on the stairs to the loft of the Cathedral. Does someone really have reason to kill a young choire boy or is this the act of a madman?

 

The young police inspector Benny Modigh, as famous for his sharp intuition as for his weakness for synth music, ends up in the center of the investigation. He gets good help from the former warcorrespondent Annelie Free. At the same time it’s cooking in the criminal circles of Västerås. Is it preparation for the release of the notorious bank robber Sverre Naslund and, does this has something to do with the murdered boy?

The answers to these questions are as unexpected as painful and they reminds us about humanity’s limitless ability to commit evil actions.

 

Oh, Taste and See is the first standalone title in the trilogy about Elias Fagervik and Benny Modigh. The series spans over three decades. The environment is a Swedish small town in the seventies and the book contains many accurate time-markers as Hans-Olov Öberg routinely leads the reader through a web of colors and scents, through the narrow corridors of the Cathedral and by the current episode of The Macahan Family. The book is fast paced, exciting and we must warn the audience for stretch reading.

 

 

300 pages

 

Rights sold

Sweden: Kalla Kulor

 

Reviews

"L.O.V.E.D. this book!"

Kashays blogg

 

"An unusual and unusually good crime novel. The setting with the cathedral in the center is deeply alive, as well as the character depiction which is very nuanced and characterized. The language is excellent, reader-friendly and telling, especially the youth slang."

Bibliotekstjänst

 

"Oh, Taste and See may very well be the best crime novel of the year."
Deckarhuset

 

"A pageturner."

Kristina Simar blogg

 

"With this book Hans-Olov Öberg gets my immediate attention – and it lasts throughout the book."

VLT

 

"A puzzle crime novel both cozy and exciting. Tender and touching."

DAST