The tattoo (novel)

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The tattoo is the third volume in the Irene Husse series by the Swedish writer Helene Tursten . The German translation by Holger Wolandt took place in 2002. The detective novel describes a series of macabre murders from the red-light district of Copenhagen .

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In May 1999 a pediatric nurse found the torso of a male corpse with a conspicuous tattoo in a black plastic bag on the rocky beach on the island of Stora Amundön, off the coast of Gothenburg . In this case, the investigative team of the Gothenburg criminal police around Inspector Irene Huss, Sven Andersson and Johnny Blom is called in. The next day it was announced in the headline of the Gothenburg Post: “Part of a dismembered murder victim found at the bathing place”. Forensic medicine examines the torso and determines that all organs have been removed from the corpse. The artistically elaborate tattoo, which consists of a dragon and an Asian character, is particularly striking. The details of the crime, in which the victim's anus and genital organs were removed, appear particularly repulsive and the police are looking for a necrophilic sadist as the murderer. Because the dissection is carried out professionally, it is assumed that the perpetrator has a certain knowledge of autopsy . The tattoo sample is sent to Interpol in order to identify the victim. It will also be published in the press.

Irene Huss gropes in the dark for a long time and has an unpleasant encounter with the Hell's Angels during the interrogation in the Gothenburg tattoo studios . Until Danish colleagues report a similar case in Copenhagen , in which the Swedish prostitute Carmen Østergaard was killed. Carmen was addicted to drugs and is said to have been HIV positive. So Irene Huss goes on a business trip to the southern neighboring country. Your contact person is Commissioner Peter Møller, who shows her the milieu of the Copenhagen red light district Vesterbro. Møller reveals to her that street junkies are often exposed to the worst abuse here. Irene Huss receives a note with the message “ The little mermaid is dead ” and a little later the corpse of prostitute Isabell Lind is found in a hotel on Colbjørnsengade. Isabell is the daughter of her neighbor in Gothenburg, who found work in Copenhagen in the agency “Scandinavian Models” and one day inexplicably disappeared. Her body shows mutilations similar to that of the first victim. The trace of the other case leads Irene Huss to the studio of the former sumo wrestler Tom Tanaka, who, after initially reluctance, can give her more information. The character on the Japanese tattoo is an upside down Y which means man. He identifies the murdered man in the plastic bag as Marcus Tosscander by means of the tattoo. Little by little, more details about the murder are revealed, for example a hard object was stabbed in the vagina and anus of both victims . The suspicion that it could be a rubber baton from the police is expressed. Emil Bentsen becomes the third victim. The man close to Marcus Tosscander is strangled and his abdomen mutilated. Here, too, certain muscles from the chest and buttocks are missing . Whether cannibalism has occurred cannot be determined with certainty. From now on, the investigators call the perpetrator “ Jack the Ripper ”. Witnesses report that the perpetrator had a peculiar smell (possibly food smells attached to clothing). The trace investigation shows that rice flour was found near the victim , which is nowadays used instead of talcum powder when using surgical gloves. Marcus Tosscander, a gay designer, had apparently made new male acquaintances in Denmark and was lured into a trap. Instead of taking him to Thailand to start a new life, he was killed and cruelly dismembered.

In the meantime, events in Irene's immediate vicinity are precipitating. Tom Tanaka is ambushed and seriously injured by an unknown man dressed in black. He has to be hospitalized. According to a DNA analysis, hair from the body bag with the torso of Marcus Tosscander clearly belongs to Emil Bentsen. “ Snuff videos” are found in Bentsen's apartment , which clearly show how Emil disembowels Marcus and feels lust in a pathological way. The scene where Bentsen cuts off Carmen's head with a circular saw is recorded in a second video . Their legs and arms are severed, and their entrails are thrown into a plastic bucket. The dismemberment probably took place in an assembly hall of a shipyard. Another indication of Bentsen's sadistic tendencies is a video from the forbidden Giallo film “ The New York Ripper ”. It is becoming increasingly clear that the murderer has a great desire to kill. Marcus, Emil and a hitherto unknown man called “Basta” had formed a homosexual triangular relationship and practiced sadomasochistic sexual practices. However, the sequence of acts of violence does not reveal a clear pattern. Two years had passed between the murders of Carmen and Marcus; Isabell and Emil were murdered within just two hours. The plan to kill Marcus was made long in advance. The murderer had repeatedly practiced assaulting prostitutes in Vesterbro. The murderer assaults Irene in her private house, but escapes again undetected. Tusscander's head is eventually found in a mausoleum .

The photographer Erik Bolin becomes the fourth victim of the series of murders, even before he can make statements to Irene Huss that lead to the perpetrator's arrest. Sperm residues whose DNA belongs to Emil Bentsen are found in Bolin's hair . “Basta” is Sebastian Martinsson, in whose apartment the police find self-painted portraits of the severed heads of Carmen and Marcus. Martinsson was an art student and worked in forensic medicine. As pallbearer, he had the key to the mausoleum, in which he deposited Tusscander's head. In the end, Martinsson is found dead in his apartment, the pad slit open and the intestines removed.

Blurb

One morning in May, a male body was found on the fjord in Gothenburg. It is a torso - arms, legs, and head have been severed, the body cruelly mutilated. Who is the dead The only trace is a strange Far Eastern tattoo on the victim's shoulder. It finally leads inspector Irene Huss to Copenhagen, where a prostitute had died two years earlier under similar circumstances. When a series of more gruesome murders occur, events precipitate. In her search for the perpetrator, the young police officer is faced with a multitude of puzzles: What is Tom Tanaka, the former sumo wrestler who had contacts to some of the victims, hiding? Is he the link between the dead? Why are some of your Danish colleagues acting so strangely covered? And can she still trust anyone at all? Because she has long felt that the murderer has clung to her heels like a shadow.

linguistic style

“ The wind did not suggest anything terrible. On the contrary. For the beginning of May, the sea breeze, saturated with kelp, blowing in from the icy water was surprisingly mild. The sun sparkled in the low crests of the waves, trying to pretend summer had already come. It was one of those unusually warm spring days that is disappearing as quickly as it has come. "

- overture. Helene Tursten: The tattoo (Tatuerad Torso), btb Verlag Munich, 2000, ISBN 978-3-442-73147-3 , p. 7

Helene Tursten creates various storylines, suggesting various clues and connections for the reader. The action jumps between two locations: the tranquil Gothenburg and the impenetrable and morally depraved Copenhagen. It's not just about the eerie criminal case, but also about impressions of the landscape, cityscapes and, in a slightly humorous way, about the mentality differences between Swedes and Danes.

“ » The section is elliptical. That has to do with the sexual ambivalence of this type of murderer. Nobody knows exactly what he thinks when the corpse is dismembered, only that it is an outlet for his strong emotions and fantasies. What can be observed from a purely objective point of view in the case of the victims is that the violence is always directed against the breasts, the anus and the sexual organ. Always. "" Why? "" It has to do with power. The power to eradicate gender. The total power to wipe out the humanity of the victim. " "

- Dialogue between the pathologist Prof. Dr. Yvonne Stridner and the investigator Birgitta Moberg on the motives of the murderer. Helene Tursten: The tattoo (Tatuerad Torso), btb Verlag Munich, 2000, ISBN 978-3-442-73147-3 , p. 60

In this story Tursten provides insights into the perverse and inhumane practice of the sex industry, which exploits, uses and ultimately throws away its victims.

reception

The third case of Irene Huss is not necessarily seen as a “ milestone in Swedish crime literature ” due to linguistic and logical deficiencies . The explicit attention to detail (the protagonist's addiction to caffeine , “ 1000 cups of coffee and IKEA furniture ”) and the description of mundane everyday activities are also an obstacle to reading. Minor characters in the story, who no longer play a role in the further action, are described with exaggerated intensity. Helene Tursten would come up with a harsh bloodthirstiness with this detective novel, which her readership had not yet known in this form. However, in all reviews Tursten's ability is highlighted, even with “The Tattoo” to have written a consistently exciting story with a number of unforeseen twists.

Text output

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Notes and individual references

  1. ↑ Helene Tursten: The tattoo (Tatuerad Torso), btb Verlag Munich, 2000, ISBN 978-3-442-73147-3
  2. ↑ Helene Tursten: The tattoo, flotsam with consequences on Carpe Librum
  3. ↑ a b c d Krimicouch. Helene Tursten: The tattoo, by Sabine Reiss
  4. ↑ Swedish series criminalistics. Helene Tursten's " The Tattoo " unfortunately belongs to the " good, badly implemented idea " category . The finished reading is an uphill battle despite the interesting plot. It could have been so exciting.
  5. ↑ Helene Tursten's review, "The Tattoo"