Review by Booklist Review
In this eighth Ann Lindell procedural, she and her former colleagues in Uppsala's violent-crimes unit try to find their footing as their lives and Sweden's social fabric shift. Former police inspector Lindell has decamped to Tilltorp village and left her confidante, Sammy Nilsson, to navigate Uppsala's crimes and his imploding marriage on his own. But when Sammy asks Ann to meet with an old informant, she takes a deep dive into Tilltorp's hidden neo-Nazi underbelly. Shortly after Tilltorp's refugee housing was torched by unidentified arsonists, another fire burns the smithy at the village's most prosperous farm. A woman's body, identifiable only by a swastika tattoo, is found inside, while the smithy's owner lies beaten to death near the drive. Investigative curiosity awakened, Lindell puts her interrogation skills to work digging into the village's secrets, certain that the farm fire and the recent arson of Tilltorp's refugee housing are linked to the informant's report of a large theft of explosives. A pivotal series entry, blending procedural details with nuanced character development and insightful social commentary.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Eriksson's exceptional eighth ensemble police procedural to be published in the U.S. (after 2016's Stone Coffin) spotlights Ann Lindell, who has quit the Violent Crimes Unit in Uppsala, Sweden, and started a new career as a cheese maker in the village of Rasbo. Then an unknown man calls Lindell's former office and insists on speaking with her. He says she's "the only one who listens," adding, "someone may die." Before a former colleague can pass on the message to Lindell, a woman dies in a fire that burns down an old school in Rasbo being used to house political and war refugees. Though the investigators don't find conclusive proof, the consensus is that it was arson. Lindell is drawn to the case, even as she's the target of an unknown enemy, who leaves a dead badger in her bed, its belly slit open. When she finally listens to a tape of the caller, the voice sounds familiar. Eriksson adeptly teases whether there's a connection between the call and the fire, even as violence claims more lives. This artful blend of mystery and psychology is sure to please Scandinavian noir fans. Agent: Anneli Høier, Copenhagen Literary (Denmark). (Nov.)
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
A pair of arsons and a handful of murders lead investigators into the dark world of young Swedish neo-Nazis. Upon retiring from the Violent Crimes Unit, veteran detective Ann Lindell leaves Uppsala for a rural cottage where she plans to make cheese. But when an anonymous caller warns police that "someone may die," Lindell's successor, Sammy Nilsson, decides to consult her. In the interim, a rural school attended by many Afghan refugees is burned to the ground, and some students go missing. Was this the subject of the anonymous call? As usual, Eriksson folds the lives of his engaging detectives into the mystery. A disillusioned Sammy contemplates separation from his wife, Angelika, and deals with his erratic new partner, Bodin, while Lindell rekindles a friendship with her ex, Edvard. Eriksson's nuanced portraits of suspects and witnesses add depth and texture. Villager Gösta Friberg recognizes one of the arsonists, and a couple of others have strong suspicions. Falsely telling Sammy that she can't identify the caller, Lindell decides to probe on her own. Soon after she questions Gösta and others, a dead badger is left gutted in her bed. When she goes to the city to question Justus Johsson, the man on the tape, he advises her to investigate young Swedish Nazis. Then there's a second fire at a farmhouse owned by suspected Nazi Daniel Mattsson. A female corpse is discovered inside the burned house, but where is Mattsson? The heroine's eighth case uses a clever whodunit to treat contemporary issues with complexity and compassion. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
