A Bit of Scandinavian Crime Fiction: The Ice Princess and Sun Storm

Earlier this fall I dived deeply into Scandinavian crime fiction. We are talking a bit beyond the Steig Larsson Millennium series. (Although those were good too.) 

Camilla Lackberg has been labeled the next Swedish crime queen. (You'll find out she is not the only one who has been labeled thusly!) The Ice Princess starts out a bit gruesome with a shocker and gets better. She sets her story in a tiny village (which gave her some comparisons to Agatha C.) with her heroine - Erica - coming back to town after the deaths of her parents. One of her former schoolmates Alex dies - was it a suicide? - no - it was murder. But Alex was the local glamour girl who had everything - looks, wealth, and position. But as Erica starts to write about her, she soon uncovers that everything is not as it appears to be. And her memories of a good childhood are being tested by the realization that others in her classroom had been in hell. The secondary story of her classmate Patrik, who happens to be the police detective investigating the case, and how their work collides and their relationship blossoms, adds a depth and a warmth to the story. A great story of uncovering the evil that lies beneath... A good read.

Asa Larsson writes about the area of Sweden that sits above the Arctic circle in the book Sun Storm. Her heroine Rebecka is called back to her hometown, Kiruna, when she learns that the leader of the town's largest revivalist church has been murdered. Now a tax attorney, she was once a member of that church community, and we learn more about Rebecka's past through flashbacks and the villagers who still remember her. Was it the jealous religious elders who killed their leader? Was it an outsider? The church has made the community wealthy. Where is all the money going? Rebecka finds herself taking care of the leader's sister who seems helpless, or is she just manipulative? Rebecka is a great character who Larsson allows us to see in bits and pieces.  As she asks the questions,  she makes others very nervous. A good read. I'm looking forward to seeing how Larsson continues Rebecka's story in the next book.

Pel and the Faceless Corpse

Mark Hebden's Inspector Pel series features a lead character who a bit of a worry wart. Pel is concerned about his digestive system, his hostile television addict of a housekeeper and his smoking habit. But he isn't worried about murder. It happens and he solves it with his team. How pragmatic. How French.

This case, Pel and the Faceless Corpse, brings Pel to a tiny town in the mountains, where outsiders are easily noticed and memories of the war (WWII) are long. The dead man is an outsider, but because of the way he was murdered it is hard to tell who he is. Maybe the better question is who do the locals think he is? He was found at the base of a monument dedicated to the local group of Resistance fighters who were shot during the war. Was he a Nazi or just a German? For some the label is enterchangable. Pel and his team must straighten out the past, and look into the rumors of money that the Germans lost when they left the town. Who is telling the truth?

Pel is a engaging character and his team provides a bit of realism that some mysteries do not. And it is an interesting view of small town France. I would like to take a look at other books in the series. A good read.

Whiskey Sour

J.A. Konrath's book Whiskey Sour, features a Chicago policewoman named Jack Daniels. Lt. Daniels (she got stuck with her name when she married and didn't change it after the divorce) works very hard for her violent crimes unit, and has an appalling lack of a social life. This police procedural features the case of a serial killer who mutilates his victims. But in the midst of the case, Daniels is an appealing character - a bit of a cynic, but someone you want to root for especially after the killer finds her fascinating as well.

I really enjoyed the book in spite of the fact that this is something I would not normally pick up at first glance. I am reading it for a book discussion. It is a bit too gory (for me) in places - but perhaps I just have a vivid visual imagination when I read. But there is something always interesting in taking a chance on a new author or new genre that is a bit more than your used to. If you don't like it - the result can be agonizing- to have wasted your reading time and energy on something you really dislike. Or it can be a pleasant surprise and a new discovery. Try something new, you might like it. Or in my case, I found a new mystery series to watch for. Don't know if I will read every page of the gruesome details, but I really like this character and want to see her go places.