An unlikely trio of misfits--a one-star hotel receptionist, a disenchanted Protestant priest and a former hitman--hatches a scheme in Jonas Jonasson's (The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared) rollicking satire about religious fanaticism, tabloid media and the joys of giving and taking.
Per Persson's life as the receptionist of the Sea Point Hotel is lackluster and mundane when Johan Andersson, aka Hitman Anders, is released from prison and checks into the hotel. But that all changes when Johanna Kjellander, an atheist priest, also takes up residence at the Sea Point. The three eccentric hotel inhabitants put their entrepreneurial talents together to form a business, one in which Anders does violent work--most anything short of murder--in exchange for payment. The receptionist and the priest drum up business with the help of the sensational headline-loving press and Anders's reputation. Their unorthodox business plan works out swimmingly--until Anders finds Jesus and decides he can't hurt people anymore. Per and Johanna aren't so ready to let go of their golden goose, though, so they hatch a con scheme that lands them on the wrong side of Sweden's most dangerous gangsters and sends all three running to church.
This fast-paced, zany adventure offers societal cautions in a witty, suspenseful, entertaining style. Jonasson's characters are the bumbling antiheroes readers can't help but love and root for. The strong translation maintains Jonasson's clever dialogue, and the universal themes on which he provides commentary make Hitman Anders enjoyable for any reader. --Jen Forbus of Jen's Book Thoughts