Snowdrift by Helene Tursten

 

First Line: The front door slowly opened a fraction of an inch.

 

Detective Inspector Embla Nyström was fourteen when her best friend Lollo disappeared from a nightclub, and Embla has been haunted by it ever since. When she recognizes her friend's voice on the phone before the call was cut off, Embla is thrilled that her friend is still alive, but before she can begin to search for Lollo, work intrudes. 

 

A man has been found shot dead in one of the guest houses run by Embla's relative. Can she come take a look? When she arrives, she's stunned to see that the dead man is a well-known gang member and one of the last people seen with Lollo. Moreover, the same night that Milo was killed, his brother Luca was also. Who's targeting these brothers-- and where is brother number three? Embla launches her investigation with the help of a local detective and his police dog in training and hopes against hope that she will finally find Lollo and put an end to her nightmares.

 

~

 

Helene Tursten is skilled at crafting mysteries that keep you wanting more. I love her Detective Inspector Irene Huss series, but for some reason after reading three books in this new series, I can't seem to warm up to Embla Nyström. I think it is partly due to the fact that this younger woman keeps everyone at a distance and has a tendency to look down on anyone who doesn't eat as healthy as she does. Lighten up, Embla! For whatever reason, I can't quite put my finger on why she leaves me cold. (But I certainly appreciate Tursten keeping us informed about Irene Huss who works in the same unit.)

What I can put my finger on is that Snowdrift needed some tightening up by fifty pages or so-- and that the twist at the end which is supposed to be a shocker didn't surprise me at all. Not every book in a series can be a barnburner, and for me, Snowdrift was decidedly flat. Combine that with the fact that I can't get enthused about Embla, and I have doubts about continuing with this series.

 

Snowdrift by Helene Tursten

Translated from the Swedish by Marlaine Delargy.

eISBN: 9781641291613

Soho Press © 2020

eBook, 384 pages

 

Police Procedural, #3 Embla Nyström mystery

Rating: B

Source: Net Galley

Winter Grave by Helene Tursten

First Line: Her heart was pounding and her stomach contracted with fear.

Twenty-eight-year-old Detective Inspector Embla Nyström is still recuperating from her recent brush with a killer. Those injuries prevented her from defending her title of Nordic light welterweight boxing champion. She doesn't have time to dwell on that, however, when a little girl goes missing.

The last person the missing girl was seen with was a mentally disabled teenager who gave her a ride home from school. The investigation is made more difficult because the boy will hardly say a word. Public tempers are running high, and when another child goes missing and a police officer is found dead, all hell is about to break loose. Embla and her fellow detectives definitely have their hands full. It's absolutely crucial to find those missing children, and time is running out.

Tursten has created an excellent mystery involving the disappearance of two young children that shows us how easy it is for public opinion to find a scapegoat... and how some people have no business being around children at all, let alone being parents.

For those readers still missing Tursten's Irene Huss, she does make a token appearance. And while we're on the subject of characters, the lives of Embla's fellow officers are fleshed out more, and that adds a lot to the story without bogging down the pace.

I'm having a difficult time warming up to Embla. She's constantly judging people on what they eat, on their weight, how they dress, how they smell. I know human beings do this without even realizing it for the most part-- and to be honest, Embla doesn't voice many of her opinions-- but I do get tired of reading about them. She's abrasive and she knows what she wants. A lawyer in Winter Grave learns that the hard way.

Embla has recurring nightmares about the disappearance of her best friend Lollo when they were both teenagers. Embla feels a great deal of guilt because she hindered the police investigation. Winter Grave ends on a cliffhanger (I can hear groans from some of you) that leads me to believe that we may find out what happened to Lollo in the next book in this series. Even though I don't really care for Embla, I have to admit that I am interested in learning what happened to Lollo. We shall see...

Winter Grave by Helene Tursten

eISBN: 9781641290777

Soho Crime © 2019

eBook, 336 pages

Police Procedural, #2 Embla Nyström mystery

Rating: A-

Source: Net Galley

Hunting Game by Helene Tursten

First Line: After nine rock-hard rounds, the sweat was dripping from both contestants and their movements were noticeably slower.

Twenty-eight-year-old Embla Nyström has learned to channel her anxious energy from her chronic nightmares into sports and into her position as Detective Inspector in the mobile police unit in Gothenburg, Sweden. Taking a vacation from her high-stress job, she is attending the annual moose hunt with her family and friends.

When Embla arrives at her uncle's cabin, she sees a new face: the handsome, newly-divorced Peter, who isn't welcomed by everyone in the hunting party. (He's unlucky number thirteen.) Sure enough, strange things begin to happen which all culminate in the disappearance of two hunters. Embla takes charge of the search, and one of the missing men is found floating facedown in a nearby lake. Now, with the help of local reinforcements, Embla has to begin looking into the pasts of her fellow hunters in order to find a killer.

For readers who are ardent opponents of hunting, I would suggest they give this book a miss. Since my grandfather was a hunter, I found this look into the moose hunting traditions of Sweden very interesting and a good backdrop to the story. I also loved Tursten's descriptions of the forest-- otherworldly, sometimes menacing, but always beautiful. She actually made me feel as though I were walking through those trees alongside Embla.

I was sad to see the author end her Irene Huss series, but at the same time, I looked forward to seeing something new. Fellow Irene Huss fans, never fear. I think you're going to like Embla. Huss was a prizewinning kickboxer; Nyström is a prizewinning boxer. Yes, both women certainly know how to take care of themselves. I was a bit anxious to see how tormented Nyström was by her nightmares-- sometimes I tire of psychologically damaged main characters and enjoy reading about someone who could be considered normal. Thankfully, Nyström isn't all that far off from normal.

Hunting Game tells us a bit about Embla's backstory and the cause of her nightmares, and I think that's going to add some interesting angles to future books in the series. I was a bit disappointed that I wasn't made to work very hard to deduce the identity of the killer, but that was just the mood I was in. This book is more of a whydunit than a whodunit, and the why certainly keeps the pages turning.

I may have been forced to say good-bye to Irene Huss, but I am looking forward to more encounters with Embla Nyström, and I think you will, too.

Hunting Game by Helene Tursten
Translated from the Swedish by Paul Norlen.

eISBN: 9781616956516

Soho Crime © 2019

eBook, 289 pages

Police Procedural, #1 Embla Nyström mystery

Rating: B+

Source: NetGalley