The fire dance

Swedish author Tursten isn't in top form, and neither is her lead character, in the disappointing sixth Inspector Irene Huss mystery (after 2013's The Golden Calf). In 1989, Irene, a novice policewoman, responded to a house fire in which a man died. The police suspected his 11-year-old stepdaughter, Sophie Malmborg, knew what happened and might even have started the fire, but Sophie refused to talk and the case went cold. Fifteen years later, a dancer's body is found incinerated in an abandoned shed. When Irene learns Sophie was the victim, she turns to the old case for clues. Her investigation takes her to the House of Dance, where Sophie had been choreographing "The Fire Dance," a performance resonant with personal history. Irene also encounters Sophie's scheming mother, Angelika, and half-brother, Frej, a photographer who appears obsessed with fire. Characters are complex and unusual, but Irene seems unfocused and misses an obvious clue that would have solved the mystery far earlier. Still, series fans should enjoy glimpsing her early days on the force and seeing her 18-year-old daughter, Katarina, find a passion for dance. (Jan.) [Page ]. Copyright 2013 PWxyz LLC

Swedish author Tursten isn't in top form, and neither is her lead character, in the disappointing sixth Inspector Irene Huss mystery (after 2013's The Golden Calf). In 1989, Irene, a novice policewoman, responded to a house fire in which a man died. The police suspected his 11-year-old stepdaughter, Sophie Malmborg, knew what happened and might even have started the fire, but Sophie refused to talk and the case went cold. Fifteen years later, a dancer's body is found incinerated in an abandoned shed. When Irene learns Sophie was the victim, she turns to the old case for clues. Her investigation takes her to the House of Dance, where Sophie had been choreographing "The Fire Dance," a performance resonant with personal history. Irene also encounters Sophie's scheming mother, Angelika, and half-brother, Frej, a photographer who appears obsessed with fire. Characters are complex and unusual, but Irene seems unfocused and misses an obvious clue that would have solved the mystery far earlier. Still, series fans should enjoy glimpsing her early days on the force and seeing her 18-year-old daughter, Katarina, find a passion for dance. (Jan.) [Page ]. Copyright 2013 PWxyz LLC

Investigating the arson murder of a young ballerina whose stepfather died under similar circumstances when the present-day victim was a child, Detective Inspector Irene Huss confronts the disturbing possibility that the ballerina was responsible for the original crime. By the author of The Golden Calf.

"In this sixth installment in the critically acclaimed Swedish crime series, the murder of a young ballerina named Sophie, apparently an arson victim, sets off shrill alarm bells for Detective Inspector Irene Huss, who remembers the matching details of an unsolved case from fifteen years earlier, when Irene had only just started in the police force. The stepfather of the then eight-year-old Sophie has been murdered in a very similar way, and at the time the girl herself had been under suspicions. The circumstances force Irene and her colleagues to confront an uncomfortable question: can a child be responsible for the cold-blooded murder of an adult? The case awakens vivid memories that take the reader back to Irene's days as a young police officer"--

Investigating the arson murder of a young ballerina whose stepfather died under similar circumstances when the present-day victim was a child, Detective Inspector Irene Huss confronts the disturbing possibility that the ballerina was responsible for the original crime.

Detective Inspector Irene Huss hasn’t seen Sophie Malmborg for over fifteen years, but she’s still haunted by the strange young ballerina’s role in the fire that killed her stepfather. Why had she refused to speak to Irene and the other case workers? Could an eleven-year-old—even one as disturbed and aloof as Sophie—truly be capable of setting her own house on fire?Irene’s questions resurface when Sophie, now a young adult, disappears, and the charred remains of a dancer are found in an abandoned warehouse. Irene has a startling realization that could shed light on the case that has been lingering in the back of her mind since the beginning of her career.