Overall 3.75/5
Set in Sweden
Crime
Midwinter Sacrifice by Mons Kallentoft (translated by Neil Smith) is the first in the series of books featuring young female police inspector Malin Fors.
It is the depths of midwinter in Linköping and one of the coldest the city has experienced. Malin and her partner Zeke Martinsson are called in to investigate the discovery of a mutilated body hanging from a tree in the frozen wastes on the city’s outskirts. Initially, it is thought that the murder could be connected to the ancient practice of a ‘midwinter sacrifice’, making offerings to ‘the gods’ in return for prosperity. However, the murdered man, a social outsider whose nickname is ‘Ball-Bengt’, was a target of teenage bullies and his difficult family history may also have a role in the crime.
The story takes a while to get going, which allows for the various characters, their history and their relationships to be introduced. Malin is a single mother living with her 13-year-old daughter named Tove, but with an amicable relationship with Tove’s father, Janne, who lives nearby. She also has a sort of relationship with a journalist on the local paper, Daniel Högfeldt and a somewhat strained relationship with her parents, who have moved to Tenerife.
Malin is an obsessive once she has a case to work on, which can mean she neglects those around her, including her teenage daughter, who has begun a serious relationship. She also isn’t averse to working the case on her own, much to the annoyance of her partner and also to the possible peril of her own personal safety. There are a large number of potential leads that the team needs to follow, including an earlier case of rape and it isn’t clear if the murder is going to be solved at all, until … (you’ll just have to read it and see).
It may seem in Midwinter Sacrifice that solving the murder is secondary to the focus on Malin’s obsession with police work and her various, somewhat uncomfortable relationships, however, this adds an air of reality to what must often be the real slog of police work required in an investigation. This is a highly readable book but as I have read a couple of the later books in the series, I would recommend you ignore the parts written from the point of view of the murder victim. Not because it is poorly written, just that it is unnecessary to the narrative.
Running Chook Books 