Before the Frost / Henning Mankell

Henning Mankell authored the internationally known detective series featuring Kurt Wallander. This particular volume features his daughter Linda, a character who has been in previous novels, but in this installment she is a recent graduate of the police academy and now joining the police force in Ystad, following in her father’s footsteps. Their relationship is fraught with tension, even though they are probably more like each other than either would care to admit. You don’t always show your best side with family, and this book certainly illustrates that, but I think it is all the more realistic for it.

The main storyline focuses on Linda’s friend Anna. Linda tries to determine her whereabouts after she mysteriously disappears. Things all become a bit complicated with the reappearance of Anna’s long missing father, a cult, arson, and two brutal murders. The final scenes stretch credibility, but are nevertheless suspenseful.

I liked the sense of place in southern Sweden, the strained father-daughter relationship, and the other Ystad characters. I was not so fond of the cult story. In my opinion it needed more development, and was just too sketchily drawn. I think we needed to know more of how the cult was born and grew, why Sweden, and how the cult members were recruited and hid themselves for as long as they did.

Anyway, a trip to Sweden, even through the pages of a book, is always enjoyable. I found myself looking up pictures of Ystad, Lund, and other cathedrals mentioned in the text.

Found this on Hoopla to download for free through the library.

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