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Over the past few weeks, recent crime novels set in Sweden and the United Kingdom have warmed my chilly nights with fevered tales of murder, mayhem and injustice. As I finished the second, I was struck by the contrasting ways in which each book reflects not only its country of origin, but the era in which its writer has come of age.

Sweden

Stieg Larsson's slick, contemporary thriller "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" is the first of a trilogy that the author dropped on his publisher's desk shortly before dying of a heart attack at age 50. Translated from Swedish, the novel exposes the seamier side of Scandinavia in a plot driven by shady financial dealings and disturbing family secrets.

The most compelling reason to pick up the book is its unlikely heroine, Lisbeth Salander - a tattooed "pale, anorexic young woman (with) hair short as a fuse, and a pierced nose and eyebrows." Enigmatic, anti-social, and often underestimated, 24-year-old Salander is nevertheless the investigative genius of a Swedish security firm celebrated, ironically, for its "conservative stability." While her tough veneer masks a savage vulnerability, her astonishing intelligence and indomitable spirit electrify the atmosphere whenever she is on the scene.

With the action centered in the fictional Swedish coastal town of Hedestad, Larsson deftly lures the reader into a complex web of high-tech global financial corruption, missing persons, and monstrous sexual violence. The novel's surreal world is not for the faint of heart or soul. But Salander provides some deeply satisfying, if morally questionable, moments of rough justice. The UK

It is not surprising that P.D. James's latest crime novel, "The Private Patient," feels a world and time apart from Hedestad, despite its 21st century setting. Its 88-year-old author is the current grand dame of a genre celebrated for using the conventions of classical detective fiction to create order from the mysterious chaos of the human heart. One knows what to expect from James - a literate, artfully composed novel and police procedural in which justice ultimately prevails.

"The Private Patient" contains all the traditional elements of an English "house" mystery: a remote setting - the picturesque Cheverell Manor House on the coast of Dorset, offering private medical care and a quiet retreat for patients undergoing plastic surgery; the victim, "private patient," and investigative journalist Rhoda Gradwyn; a closed circle of potential suspects; and Scotland Yard's top investigative team.

For the 14th time, James calls upon her most popular detective, the intelligent and intriguing Adam Dalgleish, to puzzle methodically through the clues that will reveal the murderer. I was eager to experience once more of James's nuanced character exposition, atmospheric driven plot, and the moods and musings of the erstwhile poet-detective, Adam Dalgleish.

But this time, Dalgleish seemed a pale shadow of the man I have come to admire. For me, some essential energy was missing in the characters and flow of plot. The book became put-downable - interesting but unexciting. And that made me wonder: Have I become so accustomed to the fast-action pace of modern crime novels that my lust for P.D. James's anglophilic style has lost its lustre? Or is "The Private Patient" genuinely a bit anemic compared to other James novels I have known and loved? Whatever the answer, the time will come when I will once again crave the reassuring rituals of the traditional genre; and when it does, I will turn for solace to P.D. James.

Despite their cultural and generational differences (and Larsson's considerably darker vision), both authors are fierce champions of justice who believe in the transforming power of love. In their concluding chapters, Lisbeth prepares to leap, and James's characters agree that our ultimate defense against life's dark forces is to "hold fast and believe in (love), for that is all we have."

KATHY HICKMAN'S column, "The Reading Room," appears the first Tuesday of each month. You can contact her at news@thesunchronicle.com.