![]() ![]() In the days following Halland's death, filtered through Bess's mind and unique sense of humour, we meet an assortment of odd neighbours and villagers in this Danish hamlet on the banks of a beautiful fjord. Bess has been in mourning in the ten years since. She had not anticipated that their 14-year-old daughter would not only refuse to stay with her mother but would cut off all contact with her. Bess had been married before but had left her husband Troels to be with Halland, after a five-minute encounter in a bookshop. She thinks she understands why life with Halland, apparently harmonious and intellectually refreshing, was under strain. Or, the world that Bess thought they had created. At first confused and defensive at being accused of committing the crime, Bess gradually comes into focus as we witness her thoughts about her past life and the world she and Halland had created together. In its delicately constructed 157 pages, we come to know Bess, whose partner Halland is mysteriously shot on the third page (one of the old "rules" of crime fiction is to have the murder on page 3). THE MURDER OF HALLAND is in many ways a perfect "literary" crime novella. Paperback: 189 pages (June 2012) Publisher: Peirene Press Ltd ISBN: 0956284078 ![]() ![]() ![]() Juul, Pia - 'The Murder of Halland' (translated by Martin Aitken) Review - The Murder of Halland by Pia Juul ![]()
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