Reviewed for Reviewing the Evidence.

Annika Bengstzon has been battling her bosses, struggling to balance her demanding career as a journalist and motherhood, and dealing with a troubled marriage through a series that started in 1998 with THE BOMBER. This eighth entry takes on those issues and more in story that follows closely on LIFETIME. Since it involves some of the same characters and conflicts, it may be a bit baffling to readers coming to the series for the first time. But for veterans, this entry will be a pleasure.

As the book opens, a ruthless band of criminals led by women prepare to use gas to rob a house in Spain belonging to a former sports star and his family, a method of robbery that is popular on the Costa del Sol, where many wealthy Swedes have settled. The sports star, his wife, and two small children are killed. The thieves make off with a safe and number of valuables, and Annika Bengtzon picks up the story from Stockholm, where another story is unfolding. A man imprisoned for murder in a case she previously reported is being released from prison after his conviction is overturned. Annika has a feeling that story isn't over.

When she travels to Spain to learn more about the murders, she meets a handsome undercover detective who is investigating drugs that travel through Spain on their way to Scandinavia, has to deal with a newspaper photographer who is more interested in art than in photojournalism, and copes with mixed messages from her ex-husband. As usual, she pieces together things about that nobody else has uncovered. We get a close up look at how a journalist who has both an itch to get to the bottom of things and a competitive streak does her work in a stressed and commercialized newsroom as she tries to find time for her children.

These issues have always been part of the series, but Spain seems to suit Annika, who sometimes comes across as whiney and self-centered. Here, she is self-critical, but also professional and capable and the leisurely pace of the story seems to have taken the series on a refreshing holiday. It's a long book, full of detours and rambles, and the heroine seems improved by them. The tension picks up toward the end as several threads tie together in a knot that needs to be sliced through with dramatic action. While perhaps not the best place to start the series, this is a book that series fans will enjoy, both for the way it plays variations on two previous books in the series and to see Annika come to terms with herself without losing any of her prickliness.

The Long Shadow is the eighth North American release in Liza Marklund's Annika Bengtzon series.

The Long Shadow picks right up from the last book, Lifetime. Annika's personal life is in shambles - her husband has left her for another woman, he has custody of their children and her home has burned down. She's just learned that she'll now be reporting to a man who used to be her subordinate at the Swedish newspaper she works at.

She's sent to Spain to report on the death of a former Swedish national. It looks like they were originally just targets of the latest European crime wave - pumping gas into the victim's home until they pass out, then robbing them. (This is frighteningly true!) But something went wrong this time - he and his family have been killed. Or was it deliberate?

Annika is a tireless reporter. Or perhaps obsessive is a more apt description. She's headstrong, impulsive and plunges headlong into her stories, often to her own detriment. But, she trusts her own instincts and follows them regardless. It often pays off - she saved the life a young boy in the last book. And this time is no exception. Annika knows this current story is much deeper than her editor thinks. When he wants her to move on to other pieces, she lets him believe she has - then pursues her own leads.

Marklund's plots are quite detailed and intricate. I do enjoy her style as it really keeps the reader engaged and on their toes. Having followed the series, I was easily able to keep up with the players and past references. But new readers might find the number of characters, established relationships and connections a mite confusing. Much of this book's plot is tied to previous cases. An interesting twist is slowly revealed through flashbacks to someone's childhood.

Woven throughout is the secondary storyline of Annika's personal life. I think Marklund has handled and written this very well throughout the series. . Although I've heard some other readers remark that this secondary storyline muddies the waters of the main plot, I disagree. I quite like seeing the two sides of Annika's life - personal and professional. For me, it makes the character more realistic and believable when we see vulnerability in such strong personality.

The setting was brought to life with detailed descriptions of ex-pats and luxury. And corruption and crime.

This is an excellent series with a character I quite like, even though she's not always likable. Definitely recommended. I'll be watching for the next in the series. And on a side note, I was thrilled to discover that the Annika books have been made into films. And my library carries them! ( )