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4 primary booksEvert Bäckström is a 4-book series with 4 primary works first released in 2005 with contributions by Leif G.W. Persson.
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I came to this mystery novel after rewatching Rainn Wilson's Backstrom television series. I liked the series. I was sorry that it was not renewed after ten episodes. I was fascinated by the Backstrom character. So, I got this book, not really expecting the series to have closely followed the book.
In truth, apart from the main character's name, and the similarity of subsidiary character's names - e.g., Motoele becomes Moto, and we get the inside joke why the TV character's renter's name is sometimes “Valentine” - there is virtually no similarity between the original book and the television series. In the series, Backstrom was quirky but intuitively smart; in the book, Backstrom is a narcissistic idiot who is more lucky than smart.
That said, I did find the book enjoyable. The character was humorous in a way with his brazen corruption and narcissistic vision of himself as better than others. I'm not sure if this is the reading of the character that the author wanted the reader to get, but that is what I took away. Although one of his apparently competent female subordinates becomes infatuated with Backstrom, who is variously described as “fat” or “round faced” or looking like Andy Siepowicz, it is hard to see that there really is that much to justify this infatuation.
This is particularly the case since Backstrom can be accurately characterized as a pig. He is a sexist, a racist, corrupt, alcoholic and a walking coronary. While some readers may be offended by the un-PC notes, all this is part of Backstrom's charm.
The mystery was serviceable and it was enjoyable to watch the characters being put through their paces.
I liked the “new” Swedish setting where Sweden is depicted as a little bit crazy with its leftist tendencies, e.g., Swedish police are required by Police guidelines to only shoot suspects below the knees lest a thigh shot cause a clot to reach the heart.
However, all in all, I found the character, plotting and writing to be average.
