Book #22 for 2022: Savage Spring by Mons Kallentoft
Savage Spring by Mons Kallentoft
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
The fourth book in the Malin Fors series opens with a bomb blast in a busy town centre that kills two young girls. Most of the book's plot involves Malin trying to figure out why the girls were targeted, and who the bomber was, and as usual the book plays with the readers' expectations a lot. It also does a good job of acknowledging the very modern problem of Islamophobia in relation to terrorist activity. As usual, the ghosts of the victims appear, following Malin around, and speaking to her, as though to suggest that she had a psychic link with them, although it is still not made explicit.
There are also a couple of subplots too. Firstly, Malin's mother has just died at the start of the novel. This book explores Malin's childhood, and explains why her mother ran away, leaving her father to look after Malin, and uncovers a secret that has been hinted at in previous titles.
Another plotline involves Malin's complicated relationships, including her previous affair with a colleague, and also her ex-husband, Janne, who starts seeing another woman in this book, causing Malin to react jealously. It also hints at a new love interest for her.
As usual, this book leaves a few loose plot threads at the end, and I suspect that they will all be wrapped up in the next book in the series, "The Fifth Season".
I enjoyed this a lot, and it maintained the high standard the series has set so far, by taking a situation that doesnt make sense, and gradually revealing more, and throwing in a few red herrings and even a double bluff. I can't wait to read more about Malin Fors.
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