Three Seconds was awarded with the Swedish Academy of Crime Writers’ Award (Svenska Deckarakademins pris) 2009 for Best Swedish Crime Novel of the Year.
The jury’s justification (in Swedish):
“En explosiv tegelsten till roman som tar pulsen på samtiden”
Reviews:
“Three Seconds is impossible to put down before one has finished it. This novel is not only Roslund & Hellströms best one so far, it is also constructed with such suspense that it outshines most of the international competition.”
– Expressen
”Roslund & Hellström are in a league of their own. They write about a cold, violent world that most of us know nothing about. And they do it with such devilish skill and engagement that I read their nearly 600-page book in one sitting.”
– Aftonbladet
”Roslund & Hellströms new thriller Three Seconds grabs you right from the start. /
/ Its brutal and uncomfortable, but worst of all is probably the feeling that this reality really exists, the authors have done formidable research for this book. /
/ But above all Three Seconds is a well-written, suspenseful and terribly good story.”
– Göteborgs-Tidningen
”Roslund & Hellströms latest book is terrifyingly good. /
/ The main character has calculated that it takes three seconds to die. In the same amount of time the book accelerates from 0 100 km/h and in a dizzying pace this crime roller coaster has reached full speed.”
– Eskilstuna Kuriren
”Roslund och Hellström prove that Swedish crime fiction is part of the definitive world elite right now. In addition, Three Seconds is undoubtedly their best book so far. 592 pages generate respect, but there are no tedious passages and it never comes to a standstill
infinitely suspenseful!”
– Kristianstadsbladet
“A strong and well-written crime novel with both significance and terrifying suspense. [It is] a pleasure to plow through the 592 pages.”
– Dagens Industri (5 of 5)
”Three Seconds is in parts so hair-raising that I have to put it down, pace around the apartment to catch my breath, and try to calm down. /
/ It is terribly good reading.”
– Västerbottens Folkblad
”This is a real page-turner, which cost me a couple nights of troubled sleep. It is also the dazzling duo Roslund & Hellströms best so far. /
/ Roslund & Hellström have indeed won The Glass Key once before (for their début The Beast), but Stieg Larsson was awarded it twice posthumously. So it would certainly be appropriate to award the dazzling duo, that keep the banner flying for Swedish, socially conscious thrillers, once again.”
– Värmlands Folkblad
“Roslund & Hellström you owe me a nights sleep. But those nocturne hours could not have been spent in a better way. You are without a doubt superior in the Swedish crime genre and you keep your readers in a tight grip that one neither can nor wants to get out of.”
– Tove (5 of 5)
”This summers best crime novel. /
/ In the steady flow of Swedish thrillers, Roslund & Hellström are the only ones who clearly uphold the heritage of Sjöwall & Wahlöö. /
/ When Three Seconds is all over, the reader has experienced an incredibly dramatic and moving journey that doesnt loosen its grip for a single second. The plot is extraordinarily
strong. The angle [on it] is created to really engage the reader in the issue from every viewpoint. And at the same time the dramaturgical structure is brilliant. This is, according to myself, their best since their début. And I consider the three novels in between really good.”
– Länstidningen i Östersund
“Roslund & Hellström have now published five books and they are among the best one can read. The series with the obstinate superintendent Ewert Grens is simply unbeatable in comparison with other contemporary crime novels. And we all know that the competition in Sweden is serious business. /
/ Three Seconds has it all. It is characterization of the highest degree. /
/ I am deeply impressed by them.”
– Gefle Dagblad
”Roslund & Hellström just keep getting better.”
– Må Bra (4 of 5)
“Three Seconds is just as its predecessors very well-written, in a prose that is a joy for the soul. None of the increasingly inept language of crime writing can be found here. Every page wants to turn itself and it takes a great deal of willpower to put it down. /
/ Three Seconds is a fascinating journey into a world that is very far removed from our ideas of it.”
– Folkbladet
“I read it in one sitting and 592 pages went by in no time! Anders Roslund and Börge Hellströms latest crime novel Three Seconds is an intensely moving, explosive, and strong story. /
/ Three Seconds takes me straight into a world that I hardly knew existed, but that I have no problems believing in. /
/ Anders Roslund & Börge Hellström are a fantastic author duo that in one crime novel after another very authentically portray Swedish reality, from a vital view point of crime, punishment, and revenge. /
/ Moreover, Three Seconds is awfully well told when it comes to
style, it practically spits out sentences written in a staccato pace which provides huge energy. /
/ The crime wave has come a long way and I have read a whole lot. But nothing has so far made such an impression as Three Seconds. The subject is just as explosive and blazing as the jacket cover and I totally recommend it to everybody!”
– Skånska Dagbladet
“Roslund & Hellström handle the subject with outstanding knowledge and substantial gravity. In addition, it is dreadfully suspenseful. // I might as well say it again: if a better Swedish thriller were to be published this
year, it would make 2009 a brilliant year for the domestic crime novel. And I would be pretty surprised.”
– Sydsvenska Dagbladet
“Roslund & Hellström’s strength is in the ability to handle the darkest mechanisms in us all with credibility, and to shape them and their hosts with empathy. To do so with elegance and clarity as well, is a unique achievement.”
– Göteborgs Posten
“Three Seconds is incredibly skillfully constructed.”
– DAST Magazine
“Roslund & Hellström present 600 pages packed with drama. It’s fast-paced and intensely suspenseful.”
– Norra Västerbotten
“Hard to put down? Absolutely. The book is incessantly driven forward by the condensed language and intense plot.”
– Läns-Posten
“Roslund & Hellström appear to have parked, once and for all, on the pinnacle of the Swedish crime writing elite. Their ability to weave in social commitment and with the help of fiction take a stand in important issues is fascinating. In this regard I can only think of one author they don’t outshine quite yet John le Carré. // The plot is hair-raising and
awfully suspenseful. Roslund & Hellström have outdone themselves once again!”
– Mariestads Tidingen
“The strongest action thriller by Roslund & Hellström so far, impossible to put down before the unexpected end.”
– Dagens Nyheter
“Three Seconds is this summer¹s definite must-read when it comes to Swedish crime novels.”
– Journalisten
“Roslund & Hellström write so convincingly that I for a moment think it all must be true. // They hold their readers in a tight grip and don’t even let go when the book comes to an end.”
– Blekinge Läns Tidning