Book 1 2014: Bad Blood by Arne Dahl
Book 1: Bad Blood (Intercrime #2).
Author: Arne Dahl, 1998. Translated from the Swedish by Rachel Willson-Broyles, 2013.
Genre: Crime Thriller. Police Procedural. Nordic Noir.
Other Details: Hardback. 341 pages.
Detective Paul Hjelm and his team receive an urgent call from the FBI. A murderer whose methods bear a frightening resemblance to a serial killer they believed long dead is on his way to Sweden. For years the FBI hunted the so-called ‘Kentucky Killer’, their agents haunted by the terrible injuries he inflicted on his victims through his signature device: a weapon that squeezed the vocal cords shut. Has he somehow returned from beyond the grave to torture a new generation, or do they have a copy-cat on their hands? And what do they want in Sweden? If they are to capture the killer, the team must collaborate with their colleagues in the FBI on a desperate hunt that will take them from rain swept city streets to deserted Kentucky farmhouses, and will push them to the limits of their endurance. - synopsis from UK publisher's website.
It is very easy to see why these novels have sold so successfully in Sweden as they are intelligently written with an ensemble cast of characters of the Intercrime unit who each bring their individual skills to bear on the investigation as well as wrestle with personal issues. I would note that there are some quite disturbing scenes though my reaction as a reader of the the scenes was naturally not as strong as the Swedish police in the story though I had sympathy for them.
This novel was translated into English in 2013 though was originally published in 1998 as is obvious given the references to recent events in the Middle East, which clearly indicates this is pre-2001.
As with 'The Blinded Man' although I had seen the TV adaptation of this novel fairly recently there were sufficient differences and plenty to appreciate in terms of characterization and aspects of plot that didn't make it into the show.
Cross-posted to 50bookchallenge.