Review of "The Man Who Played With Fire: Stieg Larson's Lost Files and the Hunt for an Assassin" by Jan Stocklassa

This work of creative non-fiction by Jan Stocklassa offers a comprehensive overview of the murder of Olof Palme.


Author Jan Stocklassa


Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme

*****

On February 28, 1986, Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme was assassinated on the corner of Sveavägen and Tunnelgaten in Stockholm.


Corner of Sveavägen and Tunnelgaten in Stockholm

After dismissing his security guards for the evening, Palme and his wife Lisbeth went to the movies, then decided to walk home.


Olof Palme and his wife Lisbeth

As the couple was strolling along a gunman closed in and shot Palme in the back, killing him almost instantly. A second shot in Lisbeth's direction only drilled two holes into her coat, and she was unharmed. The killer then ran away and escaped.

The hunt for the shooter spawned a laundry list of suspects and a plethora of conspiracy theories, but at the time of this book's publication - more than three decades later - the killer still hasn't been unequivocally identified.

To write this narrative, Jan Stocklassa relied heavily on the archives of Stieg Larsson , the author of 'The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo' series.


Writer Stieg Larsson

Most people aren't aware that Larsson was originally an investigative journalist and illustrator who did extensive research on white-nationalist, right-wing, and neo-Nazi groups in Sweden.

Larsson suspected that far-right organizations conspired to assassinate Palme, and immediately began investigating the murder from that point of view. Larsson's theory morphed over time to include pro-apartheid groups in South Africa, because Palme strongly and vocally opposed this policy of racial segregation.




Apartheid signs in South Africa

Larsson died in 2004, but left reams of research about Palme's murder in the archives of 'Expo' magazine, which he published.


Stieg Larsson's Expo magazine

The Swedish authorities in charge of the Palme investigation were either as incompetent as Keystone Kops or scandalously corrupt because - year after year - they ignored valid clues and tried to nail their own bugbears for the crime.


Keystone Kops

Files related to the Palme assassination could probably fill a room, and Stocklassa read innumerable documents for this book. After immersing himself in the existing paperwork, Stocklassa launched his own investigation - doing research; traveling to South Africa and Cyprus; interviewing persons of interest; forming hypotheses; and working with a female 'spy' to gather additional information.

The result is this book, which contains a fascinating analysis of the Palme killing. Some reviewers kvetch about the length of the book and the large number of people with hard-to-pronounce names, but this didn't bother me.

After describing the actual shooting, Stocklassa devotes many pages to the observations of various witnesses - some of whom (allegedly) saw surveillers with walkie-talkies following the Palmes and some of whom think they saw the killer running away or climbing into a getaway car. In addition, the author discusses wife Lisbeth Palme's confusion about the shooter's appearance, and the creation of a composite photo from the observations of a nightclub worker on a cigarette break.


Composite drawing of Palme's shooter (left) beside a photo of Jan Stocklassa

As the assassination tale unfolds, Stocklassa identifies the multiple persons and law enforcement agencies who ran the Palme investigation. The first man in charge, Police Commissioner Hans Holmér, was dubbed Sherlock Holmér 😊. Unfortunately, Hans didn't have Sherlock's success, and was replaced after a time. In fact the investigative personnel changed several times over the years as one alleged perpetrator after another fizzled out.


Police Commissioner Hans Holmér

The main suspects targeted by Swedish officials were, in turn: the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK); Swedish extremist Viktor Gunnarsson; and criminal drug addict Christer Pettersson.


Kurdistan Workers Party


Extremist Viktor Gunnarsson


Criminal Christer Pettersson

When these targets didn't lead to an ultimate conviction, the Swedish cops were seemingly at a loss - though investigative reporters and true crime aficionados suggested many other suspects.

A good part of the book is devoted to journalists' and authors' speculations about who might have conspired to kill Palme. Suspects include Swedish right-wing zealots; Swedish intelligence officers; Swedish cops; Iran-Contra schemers; South African spies; South African political organizations; Americans who supported apartheid for monetary purposes; and more.

Once Stocklassa formed a solid theory about the perpetrators, he conducted his own intelligence operation with Lída Komárková.


Lída Komárková

Lída is a beautiful, fearless Czech woman who buddied up to a prime suspect while sporting spy paraphernalia, including a pen camera-recorder; a GPS device; and eyeglasses with a hidden camera.

In the end, Stocklassa's discoveries DO suggest a likely shooter, and a location for the murder gun. Moreover, Stocklassa outlines an entire assassination operation that involves a leader; a planning group; a murder group; a surveillance group; and a patsy. The Swedish authorities have this information and may eventually resolve the mystery.....or not (given their woeful history).

A fascinating (to me) chapter of the book includes a report from Stieg Larsson's archives, called "A Study of Assassination", which outlines pros and cons of assorted assassination techniques (possibly compiled by the CIA). The methods included are:

- Manual: Use your bare hands (which is very hard unless you're an expert); use a tool like an axe, hammer, or screwdriver; use a rock or heavy object to administer blunt force trauma to the head; employ a rope or belt for strangulation; etc.







- Accidents: Arrange a fall from a height of 75 feet or more; cause a car/truck accident; push someone in front of a train or bus; etc.







- Drugs: Administer a lethal dose of some sedative or painkiller, like morphine (if you're a doctor or nurse, this is especially convenient).





- Edge weapons (knives, swords, bayonets, etc.): Either pierce the heart or sever the spinal cord in the cervical region.





- Firearms: These are less reliable than many people think; if you use a gun, it should have immense destructive power.





- Explosives: Very effective; make sure the victim is less than six feet from the detonation.





In fact, Palme's assassination was associated with the demise of MANY individuals who may have colluded to commit the crime, or worked to unmask the perpetrators. And lots of these deaths were 'accidents.' 😲 Stocklassa speculates that this may have been an attempt to tie up loose ends and/or protect the most prominent conspirators.

Stieg Larsson and Jan Stocklassa also endured repercussions from their investigations, but these were largely self-inflicted. Larsson smoked incessantly and both men hung out in cafes with strong coffee and delicious pastries....which piled on the pounds.


Café in Stockholm

This is an excellent true crime narrative that reads like a mystery thriller. Highly recommended to readers interested in the subject.


Olof Palme Memorial Plaque in Stockholm

Rating: 4.5 stars

Review of "The Second Marriage: A Novel of Suspense" by Jess Ryder

Thirty-year-old primary school teacher Lily Baxendale, recently out of a long relationship, needs a new challenge.

So Lily interviews with Edward Morgan, a rich widower looking for a private teacher for his 8-year-old son Noah.



Edward explains that Noah is still traumatized by the loss of his mother several years ago, and warns Lily she can NEVER mention Noah's mum as it will cause a panic attack. Lily enjoys tutoring Noah, a lonely boy who's almost completely insulated from the outside world at Edward's instructions.



Lily also gets romantically involved with Edward, a charming 45-year-old man who claims he fell in love with Lily at first sight.



The couple get married just months after they meet.....



......though Edward's grown daughters, Tara and Georgia, are cool toward the idea.



Lily is just starting to enjoy her newlywed bliss when young Noah makes a shocking confession. Noah secretly tells Lily he 'remembers everything' and that his father and sisters have been lying. Noah goes on to say that his mother is alive and will be coming to get him.



Lily HAS been concerned about Noah being purposely isolated at home, and - with the help of her best friend Marsha - secretly investigates Edward.



Lily learns that Edward has lied to her about many things, and that he may not be the man she thought she married.



For me, Lily is one of those fictional protagonists who are much too compliant with manipulative deceptive controlling men. Though Lily has proof Edward lied about something very important, and her friend Marsha advises Lily to get out, Lily decides she has to give her marriage a chance. Even after Edward exhibits more shady behavior, Lily seems to brush it off.

In fact Lily DOES have some backbone, and continues her inquiries about Edward and his late wife, but she's too naïve for my taste. I can tell Jess Ryder tried hard to make Lily's actions seem brave and sensible, but (for me) she didn't completely succeed.



Lily's (somewhat) gullible attitude aside, this is a thriller that would appeal to many fans of the genre.

Thanks to Netgalley, Jess Ryder, and Bookouture for a copy of the book.

Rating: 3 stars

Review of "The House of Ashes: A Novel" by Stuart Neville

This review was first posted on Mystery and Suspense. Check it out for features, interviews, and reviews. https://www.mysteryandsuspense.com/th...


When university student Sara meets architect Damien Keane in England, Sara is swept off her feet by Damien's charm, love and attention.



After Sara graduates and takes a job as a child protection officer, the couple marries, and things change. Damien becomes jealous, controlling, and aggressive, and manipulates Sara into distancing herself from her family and friends.



Sara's subsequent breakdown gives Damien an excuse to move the couple to his hometown in Northern Ireland, where Damen's ex-convict father Francie has bought - and is upgrading and expanding - an isolated farmhouse for his son and daughter-in-law.





The local residents fear Francie, who's mean, belligerent and has a reputation for violence.

Sara is lonely in Northern Ireland, with no job, no car, and no friends.



It's into this atmosphere that a disheveled old woman named Mary wanders early one morning, and knocks on the Keanes' farmhouse door.



Mary insists it's her house and asks where the children are. It turns out Mary is the home's former owner, and she now resides in a care home. Damien quickly gathers Mary up and takes her back to the care home, brushing off Sara's questions about the incident.

Sara's curiosity leads her to nose around town, where she learns a mass murder occurred in the farmhouse sixty years ago, and Mary was the only survivor.



Damien gets angry when Sara confronts him about this, saying the murders are ancient history and Sara should be more appreciative of Francie's generosity.



Sara pays surreptitious visits to Mary in the care home, and Mary tells her that a recent fire, deliberately started by someone, forced her to sell the farmhouse. Mary also tells Sara there are children in the dwelling, hiding in the walls, corners, and floors. It's clear terrible things happened in the house, and we learn exactly what as the story unfolds. Mary's speech is sprinkled with Irish vernacular, but it's easy enough to understand what she means.



The novel alternates back and forth between the past, when Mary was a child in the farmhouse, and the present, when Sara and Damien reside there.

In Mary's most vivid memories of the past, she's about ten years old, and she and two Mummies live in the cold damp basement of the farmhouse.



Their plight is dire and may have been shared by other people, including children, who came and went. Mary's recollections are sketchy, though, so parts of her story are uncertain.

In the present, Sara is lonely, dislikes living in a murder house, and is growing terrified of Damien's almost pathological jealousy. Sara regrets not heeding her best friend's warnings about Damien, but doesn't know how to extricate herself now. As Sara's situation gets more and more harrowing she starts to see the ghost of a woman as well as spectres of children, who seem to be trying to tell her something.



All this leads to a dramatic double climax that seethes with agony and retribution.

This is an excellent thriller that's gruesome and hard to stomach, but completely believable.

Rating: 4 stars