What do readers think of Three Seconds by Anders Roslund & Borge Hellstrom? Write your own review.

Like a fast moving roller coaster through a cold dark night, this thriller speeds along from the very first page to the explosive end. A drug deal resulting in an execution brings in Detective Inspector Ewert Grens, a complex man with his own set of private problems. At the center of the drug deal gone bad is Piet Hoffman who has infiltrated a high level drug organization. When Hoffman is sent to prison, he soon discovers he's wanted dead by both the drug gang and the police. Lots of twists and turns in this story, and characters are not always what they seem. A compelling read that once started, readers will be hard pressed to put down, because who knows what will happen next. Recommended for those who enjoy thrillers and Swedish Noir.

This book confirms what we learned from Stieg Larsson - Sweden is a dangerous place! Although there is a lot of action, this is primarily a psychological thriller that gets into the minds of the ex-con working with the police on a complex mafia-busting effort, and of the detective investigating a major crime without knowledge of that effort or the ex-con's involvement. Both major characters are complex and interesting, and there are no bright lines between right and wrong.

I absolutely loved this book- I would recommend it highly. It is very fast paced and I found myself reading faster and faster to find out what happens. I have since ordered his other book "Box 21" that is available in the U.S. If you like crime, intrigue, espionage,etc. you will love this. It would make a great movie!

I was excited to get this book because the authors had been touted as the next Steig Larsson. I had read Larsson’s three books and then read them again because they are so excellent. I did a little research on Three Seconds and discovered that it is fifth in a series. Only four, including Three Seconds, are available in English.

From the first page, I had trouble with Three Seconds. This book does not appear to be completely stand-alone. I spent far too much time wondering why Ewert Grens was so tormented and what was up with the music, the death of the woman in the nursing home, and boxing up everything that reminded him of her and hiding it in the evidence locker at the police station.

The plot was compelling and the characters were flawed and intriguing, so it took me a while to determine that the major problem is the translation. I thought that if I made it to the point where Piet went into prison the story would pick up for me, but I finally gave up just before he went inside. The words on the page are all correct, but they are in the wrong place and there are far too many of them to make flowing sense. It is as if the translator literally translated from Swedish to English without taking into account word order. Words are also translated into English without regard to English colloquialisms, making some of the phrases understandable, but incorrect. For example, the one phrase that comes to mind is “it was a 9mm caliber Radon” – in English we would not put millimeter and caliber together; caliber is redundant. Perhaps it would have been better if Reg Keeland had translated the book, as he did the three Larsson books.

I gave this book to my husband thinking that he might like it better than I did. He made it five pages farther than I did and gave up, too. Sadly, I think that this book is one instance where the movie will be better than the book. I understand that Universal Studios has picked up the movie rights…

This is an excellent book that is meticulously written. Tension builds for the reader right from the beginning. This book is an indictment of the Swedish justice system use of criminal informants rather than undercover policemen that the American justice system uses. The characters are described fully. In all my years, this is the most suspenseful book I have ever read and one of the very best books I have ever read. If you like mysteries and thrillers, this is the book for you.

To stop a branch of Eastern European mafia from taking control of amphetamines in prisons, Swedish officials decide to use former criminal as covert informers. "You have to be a criminal to play a criminal" gives us Piet Hoffman who is the undercover cop in this situation.Although it is hard from him to keep thoughts of his family out of his mind, he realizes if he is fingered as an infiltrator, he will have "three seconds" to protect himself.

In the contrasting role is Det. Inspector Evert who is investigating a drug related killing, not knowing his suspect is working as an undercover cop. Grens' success record is outstanding, but now forces within the justice system are holding out on him.

Excellent characterization and ingenious plot make this an easy book to recommend to mystery lovers. It has been added to my favorite Scandinavian mystery authors.

Book club members might like to raise the question "Does the end justify the means".

I found Three Seconds to be a mix of reality and fiction. Some parts are difficult to believe could ever happen in real life. Given the authors combined backgrounds as parole officer, drug therapist and probation officer, they give us insight into the criminal world. It is a much darker world than I could ever have imagined. Hang on, there are lots of twists and turns especially in the last few pages. I would recommend Three Seconds to anyone who enjoys a good thriller.

I found this book to be fairly typical of Scandinavian crime fiction (Mankell, Wahloo, Sjowall). I did enjoy aspects of the book that addressed various issues of illegal drug usage in prisons. Character development wasn't enough to cause any real emotional attachment. Given a choice of only one word, I would choose "confusion". Sometimes I just felt like I "missed" something. The details needed to be tightened up or maybe it is an editing issue. All in all, I have to say I can't figure out the basis for the major award this won in Sweden.