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

The best description of my feelings about Three Seconds is ambivalence. On the one hand, it is loaded with details that enrich the story and enhance the suspense. While the reader can probably figure out the ending before finishing the book, the story holds interest to the last page. On the other hand, I found it difficult to relate to any of the characters. None are multidimensional and there doesn’t seem to be anything about them that evokes empathy. The book is stern and stiff and lacking in even a hint of humor. If you can make it through the first 100 pages which are agonizingly slow, the pace picks up rather quickly. I am disappointed in not discovering another Steig Larson but willing to give the authors the benefit of the doubt by hoping that something was lost in
translation.

Drugs, Drug mules, prison guards and the police force are at the core of this novel. I found the police officers Gren and Winters were intriguing characters and was surprised at the extent of the drug problems in the prisons. Found the going back and forth between characters and scenes a bit confusing but all in all it was a well written book. Did like very much the fact and fiction excerpt by the author at the end of the book. Also thought that the book was a bit too long.

I'm a Mankell fan and was looking forward to sampling another voice in this genre. Although Three Seconds is a good read, and very suspenseful at times, I was a little disappointed. I found myself getting sidetracked by minutiae: names, relationships -- the storyline didn't pull me from chapter to chapter in high anticipation of what was to come next. But I still recommend that Swedish mystery fans give it a try.

Overall, I enjoyed Three Seconds, but often found it confusing. I don't know whether that was the result of a bad translation or that the book had not been edited. The first part of the book where Piet is planning the takeover of the prison drug trade dragged on, but I think the book would make an exciting movie.

I loved this book. It was a page turner from the first page to the last.... Great characters with a plot that has an unusual twist. A great read!

I wanted to review "Three Seconds" because I am a huge fan of Maj Sjowall and Per Wahloo, the pioneers and unchallenged masters of the Swedish police procedural, as well as Henning Mankell, who has followed in their footsteps with his charming and clever Wallender mysteries. "Three Seconds" is heir to the traditional formula in that it combines an intricate plot with pointed criticism of the Swedish state. Several crimes that are initially thought to be unrelated are shown to be part of the same larger picture. The lead detective is flawed, eccentric and interpersonally-challenged. The humor is missing, however, and therefore the book reads much more like a thriller a la James Patterson. I was distracted by the repetition of information, and by the occasional Britishisms in the translation (Can you really describe the indisposition of a cold-blooded criminal as a "dicky tummy?") At first, the rapid switches between stories and characters was difficult to follow. On the other hand, the plot was engrossing and the jumpy structure probably enhances the suspense as intended. There is a sort of a trick ending, but the impact is reduced by the fact that the reader has already figured it out, and is just hanging around to find out how it was done. In spite of its flaws, I enjoyed reading "Three Seconds", and I would rate it an above-average thriller that should appeal to those who like this genre.

Having read the media review for this book, and the hype about the authors, I have to say that I was disappointed. I felt there was no depth to the characters, and by the time the plot gains any speed or real interest the actions of the main characters do not make sense. I was disconnected, just reading to get through. Definitely not at the level of current writers of this genre.