Mesmerizing was a good descriptor. I'm not even sure if I liked the story, but the writing... mesmerizing. ( )

In einem verrufenen Hotel mitten in Göteborg wird eine junge Frau tot aufgefunden - sie wurde erhängt. Ihre mit weißer Farbe bemalte Hand gibt Erik Winter Rätsel auf. Welches Geheimnis verbirgt sich hinter dem mysteriösen Zeichen?
Bestsellerautor Åke Edwardson erweist sich erneut als ein Meister der Spannung. Zimmer Nr. 10 ist eine Reise in die Abgründe der menschlichen Seele.

En kvinna hittas död på ett hotellrum i Göteborg. Erik Winter kommer dit. Han inser snabbt att han har varit där förr, just i det rummet. Då gällde det också en kvinna. En försvunnen kvinna. Winter såg något då, för arton år sedan. Något han vet att han borde förstått, men missade. Något som också kan ha betydelse för det nya fallet. Har de två kvinnorna något mer gemensamt än rum nummer 10?
Erik Winter har hunnit bli tvåbarnsfar. Familjen är nere i Marbella hos hans mamma, och snart ska Erik gå på pappaledighet. Bara mordet på Paula blir löst. Då inträffar ännu ett mord.
Rum nummer 10 är den sjunde romanen om Erik Winter och hans kolleger vid Göteborgspolisen. En tät och suggestiv kriminalroman i bästa Edwardson-klass.

Eric Winter book

A YOUNG WOMAN IS DISCOVERED hanged in a room in a decrepit hotel, and Gothenburg’s Chief Inspector Erik Winter must try to figure out what happened. As Winter looks around, he realizes that he was in the same hotel room many years earlier, when it was the last known location of a woman who subsequently disappeared and was never found. The two women seem to have nothing in common except for this hotel room, but Winter suspects that there may be other connections.

The young woman’s parents are bereft and unable to explain the puzzling contents of a note she left behind. Winter, however, senses that they are holding back some secret that might help him to find her murderer. As he pursues his hunch and digs into the old police report on the woman who disappeared—one of his first cases as a young detective—Winter becomes increasingly convinced that the two cases are somehow related. Room No. 10 is a first-rate thriller, suffused with the gray seaside beauty of Gothenburg and filled with the characters that Åke Edwardson’s readers have come to love: Winter, the veteran detective who veers between pessimism and optimism but never gives up; Bertil Ringmar, the methodical old-timer whose analytical mind keeps everyone focused; hotheaded Fredrik Halders, whose temper sometimes overwhelms his passion for justice; and Aneta Djanali, Halders’s girlfriend, an immigrant from Burkina Faso whose ability to talk to other women can open new leads. As compelling as they are dedicated, they are an unforgettable team determined to find a bizarre killer. ( )

An intriguing mystery from a Swedish writer. The story begins with the discovery of an apparent suicide. The deceased had her right hand painted white and had left a suicide note for her parents. Chief Inspector Erik Winter studies the scene thoroughly and determines that the suicide was actually a murder. Then he remembers back that a woman 17 years earlier had disappeared from the very same room and was never found. The story further developes as Inspector Winter searches further into both cases convinced that they are connected. I felt the story was well developed and well written. The writing style is a little different since it was translated into English. I enjoyed learning a little about the Swedish life style as the story moved on through their fall season. There is a lot of conversation in the book, but when I got into the last five chapters, I could hardly put it down! ( )