I am such a sucker for Swedish crime novels. I liked this author and will definitely pick up another of her books. The pacing was good, the characters interesting and the scenario (a homeless woman hustling for a hotel room as a quiet, clean place to crash) unique. ( )

Missing by Swedish author Karin Alvtegen is an engaging psychological thriller that centers on the dilemma of Sibylla Forsenstrom, a homeless 32-year-old, who becomes the prime suspect in the murder of a businessman she had conned into paying for her one-night stay in an upscale Stockholm hotel. Sibylla's history of mental illness makes her the perfect scapegoat for the murder; but scapegoat for whom? That becomes the driving motivation for both Sibylla and the reader.

As more bodies pile up the reader becomes privy to Sibylla's childhood memories and what drove her from a very comfortable upper class life to the constant deprivation of life on the streets. As publicity shines its bright spotlight on Sibylla, the reader also learns some of the tricks and traps used by and against the homeless population. Quickly realizing that law enforcement will not look for the real killer when they have such a convenient suspect close to hand, Sibylla begins her own investigation which eventually draws in Peter, a teenage ally bored by his mundane suburban life. Through Peter, Sibylla connects with a hacker who is able to put names behind the one solid clue Sibylla has unearthed: all the victims have been organ transplant recipients.

Eventually, Sibylla's fighting instincts pay off and she comes face to face with the real killer. But did she succeed in her quest only to become the denouement for the killer's careful plotting? Alvtegen has written a dynamic whodunit that keeps the reader focused on her central character until the final word. ( )

Agood story that carries the reader along into another world; a good underlying plot and plenty of Sewdish atmosphere. ( )

Very unexpected tale of a homeless woman who gets framed for murder. ( )

For the last fifteen years, Sybilla Forsenstrom has been living as the ultimate outsider. In breaking away from an oppressive girlhood, where her mother quashed thoughts and actions in the most passive-aggressive way possible, Sybilla has found a way to survive by drifting on the streets of Stockholm. Although she gets a monthly stipend--sent to a post office box--she hordes the money, never spending it. What money she does get is obtained by the occasional scam or two. The one that's worked the best of late for Sybilla is to waltz into a hotel restaurant, charm a well-to-do gentleman into buying her dinner and perhaps a night's stay in a hotel room. When she meets Jorgen Grundberg at the Grand Hotel, the scam goes according to plan. But the next morning, Sybilla awakes to a horrifying nightmare. Grundberg is the victim of a ritual murder, and all the signs and physical evidence points to Sybilla as the killer. But she has no recollection of what happened.
This is the first of Alvtegen's novels to be translated into English. Excellent, excellent, excellent ( )