Synopses & Reviews
Inspector Irene Huss, stationed in Göteborg, is called through the rain-drenched wintry streets to the scene of an apparent suicide. The dead man landed on the sidewalk in front of his luxurious duplex apartment. He was a wealthy financier connected, through an old-boys’ network, with the first families of Sweden. But the "Society Suicide" turns out to have been a carefully plotted murder. As more murders ensue, she tangles with street gang members, skinheads, immigrants and neo-Nazis — a cross-section of Sweden’s disaffected — in order to catch the killer.
Review
"Add the voice of Helen Tursten to the list of mystery writers who know how to craft a truly satisfying police procedural." Philadelphia Inquirer
Review
"An absorbing, intelligent mystery that holds its own alongside the best feminine hardboiled novels currently being written by Englishwomen Val McDermid and Liza Cody, and our own Sara Paretsky." Maureen Corrigan, NPR, Fresh Air
Review
"The picture Tursten provides of Sweden’s growing anti-immigrant resentment — embodied in Huss’ skinhead daughter — imbues this novel with a cold chill of dread that can’t be attributed only to the subfreezing temperatures of Göteborg in winter." Chicago Sun-Times
Synopsis
One of the most prominent citizens of Goteborg, Sweden, plunges to his death off an apartment balcony, but what appears to be a "society suicide" soon reveals itself to be a carefully plotted murder. Detective Inspector Irene Huss finds herself embroiled in a complex and high-stakes investigation. As Huss and her team begin to uncover the victim's hidden past, they are dragged into Sweden's seamy underworld of street gangs, struggling immigrants, and neo-Nazis in order to catch the killer.
About the Author
Helene Tursten was a nurse and a dentist before she turned to writing. Other books in the Irene Huss series include Night Rounds, The Torso, and The Glass Devil. She was born in Goteborg, Sweden, where she now lives with her husband and daughter.