Black Lies, Red Blood

Kjell Eriksson's Swedish police squad returns for a fifth time in Black Lies, Red Blood. While Beatrice Andersson and Sammy Nilsson head up the investigation of a murdered homeless man who'd just begun to turn his life around, Ann Lindell works on a missing person case--a 16-year-old girl who disappeared without a trace on her birthday. Ann is determined to find out what happened to the teen, but she's also quietly keeping one eye on her coworkers' murder investigation; the journalist she's secretly been dating is a prime suspect, and he's abruptly left the country.

As Ann tries to find her lover and unravel his connection to the murder, she examines her life and the emptiness that continues to plague her. Though Black Lies, Red Blood is a later entry in an established series, the mystery is easy to pick up without having read the other titles; the necessary background is incorporated without superfluous detail. The emotionally damaged detective is a common trope in crime fiction, and Ann fits easily into that role.

The writing is rich and compelling, though at various points it's uncharacteristically crass--this may be due in part to the translation. Eriksson's characters lack any distinctive qualities to be true standouts, but the plot is captivatingly constructed. Clues and red herrings pop up in sparse enough quantities to avoid spoiling the outcome but frequently enough to keep readers guessing. Fans of a plot-driven mystery should find Black Lies, Red Blood a criminally good treat. --Jen Forbus of Jen's Book Thoughts

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