Mystery review of mystery book

Maxim Jakubowski writes in Guardian Unlimited: Arts blog - books: The unsubtle art of crime reviewing about a review of Britt-Marie Mattsson's new crime novel Fruktans Makt. Just a small problem with the review. Can you guess? The book isn't written yet, but is only at outline stage. Seems to be a black mark for the reviewer, Kristian Lundberg, and the newspaper that published the article, Helsingborgs Daglad?

So you might think, but Lundberg seems incomprehensibly unrepentant: "The errant reviewer was however both less apologetic and frankly candid, telling Svensk Bokhandel magazine that he had "got worked up in advance about Britt-Marie Mattsson because I detest her so very greatly. But let's hope the book is published so I get the chance to say it for real." "

Jakubowski finishes his article with another chilling anecdote:

"Which mischievously reminds me of another true reviewing story: some 10 years ago, a crime critic of my acquaintance, who shall remain nameless, had just come out of a torrid affair with a book editor. Out of spite he literally tore to shreds in his column, for several months in succession, every novel the female editor in question had been involved in. Who said the book world was genteel?"

Comments

[Maxine]

Update: I just read on Crime Scraps that the reviewer has been fired.
http://camberwell-crime.blogspot.com/2006/12/creative-stormaktstid.html

[Susan Balée]

There's an apocryphal story about a theatre critic who was fired after turning in a lukewarm review of a play from the night before. Problem? The playhouse had caught fire before the curtain went up and, this being before the Internet, the hapless reviewer did not know the play he'd missed had already gone up in smoke.

[Steve Clackson]

"a crime critic of my acquaintance, who shall remain nameless"

come on cleanse your soul sister, you'll feel all the better for it:)

[Maxine]

And your story, Susan, reminds me of that joke about Mrs Lincoln not enjoying the play, but my memory is such that I can't remember the details...

Yes, Steve, it is intriguing, isn't it?!