Book 26: Savage Spring by Mons Kallentoft
Book 26: Savage Spring (Malin Fors #4).
Author: Mons Kallentoft, 2010. Translated from Swedish by Neil Smith, 2013.
Genre: Crime. Police Procedural. Nordic Noir. Slight Paranormal Theme.
Other Details: Paperback. 521 pages.
The Swedish town of Linköping is bathed in Spring sunshine. The trees are blossoming and families are having breakfast at outdoor tables in the main square. Then a deafening explosion rips through the air. Broken glass and tulip petals cover the cobblestones, and two little girls, twin sisters, are killed while their mother is left fighting for her life. Detective Inspector Malin Fors has just attended her own mother's funeral when she is summoned to the devastating scene. But, although Malin is plagued with questions about her past and the secrets her mother never revealed, she must once again bury her own pain if she is to find Tuva and Mira Vigero's killer before he strikes again. - synopsis from UK publisher's website.
About 18 months has passed since the events that took place in Autumn Killing, and I was relieved to find that Malin had addressed her drinking problem in the interim as she had been headed for disaster and it was hard to see how she could continue to function as a detective. In this book she is still struggling with her desire to drink and there are also her anger issues; some of which have been brewing for some time about secrets that her parents have kept from her. Thank goodness these were finally revealed!
This proved a highly compelling case with a plot that drew to a nail-biting climax. Once more Malin is acutely aware of the voices of the victims, more so now that she is sober. I have noticed that not all readers enjoy the 'voices of the dead' that have been a distinctive feature in this series but I have appreciated this aspect throughout.
There is a final chapter that could have served as a rounding up for the series though I was pleased to discover there is a fifth novel that will be published in English later this year.
Cross-posted to 50bookchallenge.