Alsterdal, already a best-selling author in her native Sweden, makes her American debut with this series launch, which was named Swedish Crime Novel of the Year. Police officer Eira Sjödin has left Stockholm and returned to her childhood home in the rural north of Sweden to care for her mother, who has dementia. On Midsummer's Eve, Eira gets called out to the scene of a suspicious death: Sven Hagström has been found dead in the shower by his son Olof. Eira immediately recognizes the name from her childhood; 23 years ago, Olof had confessed to the rape and murder of a teenage girl named Lina, although Lina's body was never found. As Eira and her fellow police officers investigate, it seems that past crimes may hold clues to this recent death, and someone close to Eira may have answers she won't like. VERDICT While still full of very grim crimes, this mystery's setting in the countryside during the summer makes for a less bleak setting than usual for the genre. Alsterdal plots enough twists to keep the police procedural interesting and writes a great woman protagonist; fans of international mystery will be happy to discover her.--Melissa DeWild, Comstock Park, MI

Swedish investigator Eira Sjödin learns that the policing advantage of knowing everyone in the country's High Coast region cuts both ways. For 20 years, Olof Hagström has managed to distance himself from the grisly crime in his past until an impulsive visit to his childhood home leads him to his estranged father's body. the first cop on the scene, Eira realizes that Sven Hagström has been stabbed, and she recalls Olof's teenage confession to the rape and murder of Lina Svenstad. The investigators' hopes for a slam-dunk resolution are dashed, however, when Olof's alibi checks out, another suspect with a motive to silence Sven turns up, and a vigilante firebombing demolishes the crime scene. As the murder and arson investigations progress, Eira becomes convinced that Olof's teenage murder confession was coerced and follows the trail to another body that puts someone she loves in the spotlight. This compelling and expertly constructed procedural, the winner of the Glass Key Award for Nordic crime fiction, makes a winning recommendation for fans of Helene Tursten's Embla Nyström and Ragnar Jónasson's Dark Iceland series.

At the start of Alsterdal's taut, fraught U.S. debut, Olof Hagström returns to his family's house in Kramfors, Sweden, which he hasn't visited since he was convicted 23 years earlier at 14 for raping and killing a girl, though no body was found. Too young to be sentenced, the learning-disabled Olof was sent to a youth home. Inside, Olof releases a dog that's been shut in the kitchen, and finds the dead body of his reclusive father, Sven, in the shower. Olof drives away, but the dog blocks the road, where he stops long enough to be approached by Patrik Nydalen, a neighbor who soon realizes who Olof is. Olof tells Patrik his father is dead. Police detective Eira Sjödin, who was nine at the time of Olof's conviction, investigates what turns into a murder case, in which the locals suspect Olof. In her compulsive hunt for the truth, Eira must deal with pernicious changes in Swedish policing and grapple with her mother's descent into dementia. Strong local color, convincing characters, and a twisty plot make this a standout. This is Swedish noir at its murky best. (Sept.)