June 2, 2014
In Swedish writer Kallentoft’s psychologically gripping third novel featuring Supt. Malin Fors (after 2013’s Summer Death), Count Erik Fågelsjö of Linköping, Sweden, is forced to sell Skogså Castle, his family’s 17th-century home, because his son and heir, Fredrick, has incompetently managed the estate. The buyer, arrogant and resentful millionaire Jerry Petersson, spent his childhood in Linköping, where people like the Fågelsjös snubbed him. Soon after moving into the castle, Petersson is found face down in the moat with a fatal blow to the head and 40 postmortem stab wounds. Despite her alcoholism and a personal life spiraling out of control, Malin skillfully leads the complex investigation. Potential suspects include members of the Fågelsjö family, several villagers Petersson wronged over the years, and the victim’s former business partner, convicted criminal Jochen Goldman. Well-drawn characters help propel the plot to an exciting climax. Agent: Joakim Hansson, Nordin Agency (Sweden).
August 15, 2014
This third seasonal case for Superintendent Malin Fors of the Linkoping Police proves that Sweden's autumn can be just as grueling as its frigid winter or pitilessly bright summer.Ten years after their divorce, Malin is back with Janne, her firefighter ex-husband, trying to make a go of it with their daughter, Tove, who's gradually recovering from the trauma of her abduction (A Summer Death, 2013). When Jerry Petersson, the wealthy lawyer who's just purchased Skogsa Castle, is found floating in his ancient property's moat, "[m]urdered with extreme force," Malin and her partner, Zeke Martinsson, catch the case. The first mystery they face is the question of why Count Axel Fagelsjo would suddenly have sold the castle after it had been in the family for nearly 500 years. Only after answering that question can they begin rooting around for suspects, who turn out to be disconcertingly plentiful. The Fagelsjo children, Fredrik and Katarina, aren't exactly happy that their father sold their ancestral home. Petersson may have conspired with his client Jochen Goldman, a celebrated corporate looter who's fled to the good life in Tenerife. Years ago, Petersson was involved in a fatal car crash on the Skogsa estate that seems to have left deep scars. But Malin's dedication to the case is seriously undermined by her drinking, which escalates so insidiously that she has to keep assuring everyone she's not an alcoholic. Despite her paranoia about the dangers her investigation may pose to her daughter, it's clear that the greatest threat to Tove comes from her mother. More than most recent Scandinavian procedurals, this series draws its model from Stieg Larsson's buried family secrets, troubled investigators, flaring emotional intensity, excessive length and multivolume architecture. The sex, however, is mostly good old-fashioned adultery.
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August 1, 2014
Linkping, Sweden, police superintendent Malin Fors has been on a guilt-driven drinking binge since a killer she was hunting nearly murdered her daughter (Midwinter Blood, 2012), and she's steadily destroying her career and alienating her family. When the body of multimillionaire lawyer Jerry Petersson is found in the moat of his newly acquired castle, Malin is hardly in the best state for investigating. But, renowned for her eerily accurate instincts, Malin senses something swirling in the background of interviews with the castle's aristocratic former owner, Count Fgelsj and his adult children. Or, is the killing related to Petersson's notorious client Jochen Goldman, a white-collar criminal suspected of darker deeds? Before investigators have combed Petersson's business papers for leads, another body is found at the castle, leaving Malin's team with one less living suspect but no more answers. Malin wields a keen mind and uncanny people-reading skills, and her self-condemnation offers intriguing contrast to this psychological mystery's commentary on class divisions. Recommended for fans of literary psychological procedurals like those by Elizabeth George and Lars Keplar.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)
March 1, 2014
Kallentoft has sold more than 1.5 million copies of his books--and this is only the third in the Swedish police superintendent Malin Fors series. Here, the cold-blooded new owner of Skogsa Castle is found floating in the moat.
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