• The Return

  • An Inspector Van Veeteren Mystery
  • By: Håkan Nesser
  • Narrated by: Simon Vance
  • Length: 7 hrs and 18 mins
  • 4.0 out of 5 stars (162 ratings)

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The Return  By  cover art

The Return

By: Håkan Nesser
Narrated by: Simon Vance
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Publisher's summary

While on a field trip through the woods on the outskirts of Behren, a young girl stumbles upon a decomposing body wrapped in a carpet and lying in a ditch. The body has no hands, feet, or head, but this was not the work of wild animals. A brutal killer is on the loose - but who is the victim?

From the hospital bed where he is recovering from surgery, Chief Inspector Van Veeteren begins to piece together the fragmentary clues that involve a nun who hides a secret, a crippled woman, the murders of two other women, and a former track star who served two sentences for murder and has been missing since the date of his return to society.

No one is who they appear to be, and a sleepy village finds itself reopening cases long considered closed. With the assistance of his colleagues, Van Veeteren faces the prospect of taking the law into his own hands in the face of a flawed system of justice.

©1995 Original material © 1995 Håkan Nesser. Originally published in Sweden as Återkomsten by Albert Bonniers Förlag AB, Stockholm. Translation © 2007 by Laurie Thompson. Published by arrangement with Linda Michaels Literary Agents. Recorded by arrangement with Pantheon, an imprint of the Knopf Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc. (P)2011 (p) 2011 HighBridge Company

Critic reviews

“The sardonic Van Veeteren is an entertaining lead character, and this book should lead many to seek out earlier entries in the series.” ( Publishers Weekly)

What listeners say about The Return

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Scandi Procedural

Like the first two books in the series, the writing is calm, detailed and yet mysteriously engaging. I like the way the author paces the story; the writing is eloquent. I found the story quite interesting and I like the main character. This is a psychological thriller, a procedural just as good as the first two books. The wit is more reserved than that of Adler-Olson. I expect to listen to the entire series. The narration is excellent. The quality of this third book is just as strong as the first.

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4 people found this helpful

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So boring!

Okay, so I though this might be another Jo Nesbo - NOT! I am a couple of hours into it and after a promising opening, I am bored out of my mind. The narration is flat - I can't tell the characters apart and at this point, I don't even care. It might get better, but I'm not chancing it - there are too many other great books out there.

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2 people found this helpful

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Very, very disappointing

Simon Vance is always brilliant and thank god for that or I would have stopped listening much earlier to this very bad story.

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1 person found this helpful

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A great read! I love this series!

Great twists and turns! I love the narrator and the pace! Can't wait for the next book!

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