After the Monsoon audiobook

AGAIN, Robert Karjel takes a political-military-spy thriller to a whole new level. If you'll find another author who writes at least approximately in the same manner, please let me know IMMEDIATELY! I need more of Ernst Grip, I need more of Robert Karjel's intelligent intriguing twisting plot and I need more of his complex multilayered characters. I knew AGAIN at 50% ALREADY that this book would be a winner for me. If I could, I would give it more than 5 stars. If you ask me which book I love more, I have to be honest and admit that I don't know. I actually reject to compare The Swede with After the Monsoon. You can read any of these books as a stand alone, but I highly recommend you to read them in the chronological order. The story told in the first book doesn't have anything to do with After the Monsoon, but you simply need to get to know Ernst Grip, an agent of the Swedish security police, better and closer. And believe me, it is sooooo worth it. Like in The Swede there are more than one story-line here: a Swedish family that has been kidnapped by pirates from their luxury yacht while sailing around the world and a death of a Swedish soldier, a member of a Swedish anti-piracy mission, during the shooting range in the desert. It seems that the only connection between these two cases is the coast of Somalia. The shooting case seems to be a clear matter- a tragic accident, not more not less. Ernst Grip arrives in Djibouti for his investigation that has to be of a purely formal character. For every other police officer it COULD be, but not for Grip.The truth starts unfolding, layer after layer; the deeper Grip dips into this complicated case, the more unanswered questions appear, the more mystery the whole investigation becomes, the more darker secrets are revealed, the more lives endanger. I. COULDN'T. PUT. THIS.BOOK.DOWN. Not for a second. What a ride, what a fantastic read. I'm EXTREMELY sad now because it is over. I can't have enough of Ernst Grip. What a provoking, unforgettable, compelling character!Don't wait, go and get the first book! Read it! This part concerns only those readers who decide between two editions: I purchased a German edition first. My thoughts were: It is a translation from Swedish anyway, it doesn't matter. It did. Believe me. I have to switch to an English edition after some pages. If you can't read it in an original language, please, choose the English translation. Nancy Pick did such a great job. You won't notice it you won't compare. I did. Judge it by yourself. Just as an example (there are many of them):in German: "Es war nur ein weiteres der viel zu vielen nichtssagenden Bilder, mit denen er gefüttert wurde." in English: "Only that he was being fed too many simple truths." Robert Karjel makes me proud to be European. Bless him for that.

As a lieutenant colonel and helicopter pilot in the Swedish airforce for 25 years, Robert Karjel brings a depth of authenticity that is present in his writing. “After the monsoon” is the second of the Ernst Grip books and takes us to the volatile and lawless Horn of Africa. Set primarily in the tiny yet strategically poised nation of Djibouti, Karjel unravels a paradoxical tale where good is wrapped up in bad which is wrapped up in good. Binaries are blurred and Grip is gripping as the protagonist who not only exists in a blurred binary but navigates double dealings with outcomes that do not end with a happily ever after.

Ernst Grip is sent to Djibouti to investigate the death of a Swedish soldier noone there seems overly keen for him to look into. Meanwhile, a Swedish family sailing around the world has been kidnapped by pirates demanding an outrageous sum of money for their release. As Grip slowly pieces together the circumstances that led to the soldier's death, he stumbles upon evidence that both cases could be related.After reading the brilliant first book featuring Ernst Grip, The Swede, I was thrilled to find that while the sequel unfortunately isn't available in English (yet?), the German translation was just released, allowing me to continue the series without delay. With a suspenseful, tightly woven plot and intriguing twists that just keep on coming, this was another gripping read from start to finish, although I didn't love it quite as much as the first one. Nevertheless, I sure hope there'll be more to come from this series in future!

I can't compare this book to anything I've read, because I really don't think there is another book quite like it. I think the author brings a realism to the military action that goes far beyond most military thrillers, and perhaps an international perspective sorely needed in English-language thrillers. The Djibouti setting is wonderful. The characters are compelling. The writing is very different, slightly out of focus and elusive in ways I have trouble pinning down, much as does the main character. Truly gripping!

Another great book by Karjel - not as captivating as his first (The Swede), but definitely a must read for those who enjoy an intelligent thriller.

The setting—Djibouti—is interesting, if depressing. The main character, Grip, was introduced in Karjel's first book ("The Swede"). Grip works for a branch of the Swedish military that provides bodyguards and investigates dicey murders. He is gloomy, but he has his reasons. His task is to investigate the death of a Swedish naval lieutenant by a local on a firing range. The Swedish sailors present are all very coy about the death, their captain is thick as a brick, and the death is connected to everything from a smuggling ring to the kidnapping of a Swedish family by Somali pirates. No one in the Swedish government seems to be in a hurry to resolve any of the matters, so Grip is largely on his own hook except for whatever deals he can wrangle with the CIA, the local UN presence, his boss, and a Russian cocktail pianist. How he manages to set some things almost right makes for an interesting book, but it takes a long time.

Set in Djibouti in the Horn of Africa, a novel dealing with Somali pirates, a kidnapped family of four from the open seas, a murder of a Swedish lieutenant on Djibouti, and the fight against terrorism. Quite eye-opening and suspenseful.

I enjoyed reading After the Monsoon. I thought it was fresh and unique, particularly as it's a Swedish novel with a Swedish protagonist in Africa (American protagonists have become stereotypical in so many thrillers). Strong characters, interesting plot, consistent pacing.

The juxtaposition of extremes always has the potential to infuse a narrative with an extra jolt of energy. And, in Robert Karjel's After the Monsoon, mixing calm, logical, and morally enlightened Swedish investigators and peacekeepers with the exotic, khat-fueled and morally bankrupt craziness of the Horn of Africa certainly conjures up some amazing sparks. Pirates, Swedish Military, geopolitical shenanigans, scandal, murder, sexual-preference politics, and just the right dose of action make this an exceptional and delightfully twisty thriller.

Robert Karjel: Efter monsunenISBN: 9789198182057, Förlag: Partners in Stories 2016Under en otillåten skjutövning anordnad av MovCon-enheten dödas en svensk löjtnant av ett skott. Från Sverige skickas en SÄPO-agent, Ernst Grip, för att utreda fallet. En somalier är redan fängslad och alla verkar bara vilja ha en officiell bekräftelse för att fallet skall kunna läggas åt sidan. Vittnesmålen är väl tillrättalagda och Grip fattar ovälkomna misstankar. Han påbörjar en egen utredning som leder honom för nära ett nätverk som utnyttjar den svenska armén för illegala pengatransporter. Samtidigt har en svensk barnfamilj kidnappats av pirater i Adenviken. Den generella inställningen att aldrig ge efter i gisslansituationer försätter familjen i än större livsfara och Ernst Grip, som redan befinner sig i området, kopplas in. Före avresan till Djibouti hade Ernst Grip deltagit i en räd mot misstänkta terrorister i en Stockholmsförort. Inga terrorister påträffades dock och spåren verkade sluta där. Dessa tre trådar flätar Robert Karjel elegant samman till en spännande intrig. I gränsområdet mellan Somalien, Etiopien och Eritrea där samtidigt Adenviken och Röda havet möts precis utanför Jemen blir Djibouti den brännpunkt där denna thriller utspelar sig. Han låter på ett mästerligt sätt Grip använda sin intelligens och förmåga att med eftertanke iaktta personer och se samband snarare än att använda knytnävarna. Även om Grip tänjer på ett antal gränser i Efter monsunen är det ingen tvekan om att han vill att sanningen och rättvisa skall segra. Robert Karjel har en bakgrund som gör att han trovärdigt och med säker hand kan teckna ett drama som detta. Därtill berättar han med djup insikt och en klarsyn som jag, som rättspsykiater, kan uppskatta. Med gedigen berättarkonst och utan tröttsamma transportsträckor lockar han läsaren så lätt och ledigt genom handlingen att varje mening verkar självklar. Han har därtill en stil och ett språk som griper tag och får mig att smälta och gör läsningen till en ljuvligt fängslande upplevelse trots det sorgset tragiska temat. Efter monsunen är Robert Karjels femte bok, men den första jag kom att läsa. Det blir inte den sista, den här läsupplevelsen vill jag inte vara utan – jag har redan beställt samtliga hans andra böcker!Robert Karjel är civilingenjör i teknisk fysik samt även helikopterpilot och överstelöjtnant i svenska flygvapnet. Han är den ende svenske pilot som även utbildats vid amerikanska marinkåren och flugit deras attackhelikoptrar.Christina Gustavson, forskare, rättspsykiater, författare

A fun, politically correct (yes, that's a compliment) action/police novel set mostly in East Africa. Lots of interesting locations and characters and a non-hetero protagonist, which is nice for this gay reader. The English translation is a bit rough at times, especially in the beginning, which is strange as the author cross-trained with US Marines. He's a former helicopter pilot Swedish Air Force lieutenant colonel and has clearly spent a fair amount of time in the region and knows his stuff. I've purchased another in the series and look forward to reading it.

This is a phenomenal thriller, set in the horn of Africa, pitting a smart, Swedish security agent against Somali pirates. The setting is a little known one, from a westerner's point of view, and as such, hugely interesting.

Uppföljare med Ernst Grip. Riktigt bra!

Karjel draws on his experiences as a helicopter pilot for the Swedish navy fighting Somalian pirates. Enjoyed it a lot and I'm not a big lover of spy thrillers.

Fascinating plot.