Slugger

This is the final part of the Stockholm Trilogy with ex-boxer Harry "Kvisten" Kvist back on the streets after another spell in prison and working as a debt collector. His life revolves around the worst criminal elements of 1930's Stockholm.
Sweden's capital not only has to contend with the powerful gangster syndicates which control the city but also the rise of National Socialism. As with Germany and other European countries at this time, there are street battles between Nazis and Communists. In the aftermath of one of these street fights, Harry is badly beaten by police, even though he was only a bystander.
One of his friends, a Catholic priest, Gabrielson, is found brutally murdered in his church and Harry decides to investigate, using his fists as a means of interrogating witnesses and possible suspects. The nature of the priest's death leads to a rise in anti-Semitism as Jews are blamed for his murder.
Kvist's closest friend is an elderly undertaker, Lundin, who he looks after as the man is slowly dying. Meantime he drinks and wanders the streets having occasional run-ins with the police who won't give him a break. He is aproached by Ma - the female head of one of Stockholm's largest gangs - who tries to coerce Harry into working for her with the promise of helping him leave Sweden and travel to the USA where he has family.
Stockholm is in the grip of a heatwave which serves only to add to the sense of heavy feeling doom and gloom which permeates this tale. Harry's inquiries lead him to discover that a gang of smugglers may have been involved in Gabrielson's murder and he becomes involved in a plot by Ma to destroy one of the city's big gangs. As the story moves forward to an extremely violent and bloody climax, Harry clings to his dream of escaping to America.
Because of his past, Harry has a pessimistic view of life. "You're born, you die. The rest is just numbers." is one of the book's memorable quotes and, despite the relentless mix of poverty and violence, the language of "Slugger" verges on the poetic. After finishing this book, I felt as if I'd gone 15 rounds in a boxing ring. This is a portrayal of the worst of life in a major European city during the years of the Great Depression - peopled by pimps, prostitutes, back street abortionists,petty thieves and murderous gangsters. It's an exhausting but also an exhilarating read and made me want to check out the first two books in this series.

Slugger is the third book in the Harry Kvist trilogy by Swedish author and teacher, Martin Holmén. It is flawlessly translated from Swedish by Annie Prime. It’s summer, 1936, a heatwave, and Harry Kvist, now almost forty, is wondering if he’s going soft: he has just surprised himself with an act of kindness. But his mood is immediately darkened when he learns that Reverend August Gabrielsson has been murdered. DCI Alvar Berglund lets him see his friend, crucified with 9-inch nails on the floor of Katarina Church, a star of David sketched in blood at his head.

Harry does not get involved in politics, but he knows Gabrielsson was strongly anti-Nazi, and has no faith in Stockholm’s Police Force to deliver justice, so it’s up to him to mete out punishment once he finds the killer. His enquiries point him in a certain direction, but he has other demands on his time: his boxing trainee, Hesse is due for a bout; his landlord is ailing and needs his care; a lover has materialised in his life; and a letter from America holds promise of a sort.

Most disturbing, though, is the demand from one of Stockholm’s gangster families for his cooperation in what looks like becoming a turf war. Kvist works alone, and is inclined to believe this can’t end well for him. Another stint in Långholmen prison? Going out with a bang would be preferable.

Once again, Holmén conjures seedy mid-1930s Stockholm with consummate ease: men in hats and suits, the scarcity of telephones, the mix of horse-drawn and petrol-driven vehicles. There’s lots of smoking (Harry is seldom without a cigar in his mouth); there’s lots of hard liquor, violence and gunplay. The heatwave means lice infestations, dust and public water so scarce there’s a bounty on stray dogs. The humour, too, is dry and often black, and it’s Harry Kvist, so the sex is not vanilla.

Holmén’s descriptive prose is often evocative: “We approach an old lady sitting on a wooden bench on the level of the secondary grammar school. Life has carved razor-sharp lines in her sunburnt face. She dunks an old crust of bread in milk and shoves it in her mouth. She holds out a cupped hand as we pass. A moist, slovenly sound comes from her toothless mouth, almost like when you poke some bastard’s eyeball.”

The plot is riveting, rushing the reader headlong to an exciting climax: a dramatic chase, plenty of dead bodies and a miraculous escape, all against the backdrop of the imminent Nazi menace. It’s dark and gritty, and a fitting end to this brilliant Scandinavian trilogy.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Pushkin Press.