This book is set in the early 1990s on the Swedish island of Oland.
Julia pays a visit to her Father Gerlof after he receives through the post a small boys sandal he is convinced it belongs to Jens his Grandson who went missing 20 years ago.

An old man called Ernst is found dead he was a stonemason and some stones landed on him.
The Police aren't sure if it is murder or an accident.

The book jumps back in time a bit and tells the story of Nils Kant an ex resident of the island who ran away after World War II because he killed 2 German soldiers and the local Policeman. He ran away to Costa Rica.
Nils eventually comes back to Oland after stealing an other Swedish persons identity.
Nils had buried treasure he had stolen from the Germans. He needs help retrieving it.
He is killed and at the same time Jens also dies. Both of these crimes are covered up.
The new Policeman called Lennert is involved in the cover up.

Jump 20 years later to the present day, Julia is falling for Lennert. Another man is also involved in that crime from the past is Ljunger.

Gerlof works out what happened all those years ago. Ljunger drives him away throws him out the car hoping he freezes to death. Julia and Lennert rescue him.

Lennert arrests Ljunger and then shoots him.

OK book this. ( )

For the most part enjoyed the story. Didn't care for the ending. Not believable. ( )

Julia's young son Jens went missing while staying with his grandparents on the island of Oland. Twenty years later, Julia still has not recovered from her grief, when her father Gerloff calls from Oland to say there is news. Gerloff has received a sandal in the mail, which appears to be the sandal Jens was wearing the day he disappeared. Julia returns to Oland, and she and Gerloff (and some of his elderly friends) begin to investigate.

The present day story of their investigation alternates with a story from the past, beginning in 1936, of Nils Kant, a thug who had committed crimes, including murder, on the island in the past, and whose crimes remain legend on the island. However, Nils is dead and buried in the island graveyard. But was it really his body in the coffin?

This is a book in which the setting plays an important part, and the atmosphere of the island is mysterious, foggy, austere, and evocative. Large parts of the plot take place on the "alvar" which is a raised rocky plain that takes up about a quarter of the island. The role of the island as a prominent fishing and sea port in the past, and its present economic reliance on tourism were well-portrayed.

I also loved the characterizations, and enjoyed the use of old (and sometimes infirm) characters as prominent investigators--who better to know the past? And there is a real twist at the end that was totally unexpected, but totally logical.

This book won the prize for Sweden's Best First Crime Novel.

Recommended.

3 1/2 stars ( )

Nijak moc detektivky nezboznuju (s vyjimkou Sjowallova, Wallo:-D), takze slib pomaleho melancholickeho plynuti temneho jak mlhy na alvaru mne nalakal. Bohuzel pomale plynuti= rozvlekla nuda. Aspon ja to v pulce chtela odlozit, protoze se tam o patrani spis jen mluvilo. Coz je pak kontrast k posledni ctvrtine, kdy se konecne zacne neco dit. Ale stejne mi to prislo vic ukecany, nez akcni (a to nejsem priznivec akcnich drastaku)- nemam rada, kdy se vse ukazuje jen naznaky a v posledni kapitole dedek vypravi, jak to vse teda jako bylo. Pusobi to na mne jako "nedarilo se nam naznaky dostatecne spojit, tak vlozime Vypravece, co odvypravi rozuzleni".
Tak trochu zklamani. ( )

Evokes Oland Sweden expertly and SO enjoyable! The mystery was so well done. ( )