The Snow Angel

'The Snow Angel' is an engaging police procedural story, a strong start to a new series and a creditable debut novel.

I know nothing about how policing in the north of Sweden works but this book felt authentic as a description of an investigation. The plot is relatively complex and the police have to uncover and collate a lot of information to make the connections that will tell them what's going on and who is doing what to whom. The exposition is managed in a low-key down-to-earth way that seemed very believable to me but which still kept me engaged with the puzzle.

Because it's set in the north of Sweden in the depths of winter and starts with a suicide and ends up including multiple murders, I'm sure 'The Snow Angel' will be listed as show more Scandi-noir. Yet, this isn't a bleak book. There is little or no despair. The two main detectives, while facing some personal challenges, are not depressed or alcoholic or suffering from PTSD. They're just police officers doing their job and coping with a rising and apparently unconnected number of murders in what should be a relatively peaceful part of Sweden,

I liked that there was always a lot going on, The story gained momentum as it went along and more and more connections between the players were revealed.

There are several teenage characters in the book and at least three of them are very unhappy. I was impressed by how well the characters and the pressures that they face were described. That we sometimes saw what was going on from the point of view of a teenage girl who found herself at the centre of events that she was powerless to influence added a human element to the story that made it more than a puzzle to be solved.

The adults in the book often turned out to be more complicated than they at first appeared to be. I liked that at least one of the criminals wasn't all bad, that one of them was close to insane at times and that one of them was simply running a business, albeit a heartless, exploitative, sometimes lethal business.

The two detectives who around whom the series will be based make interesting foils for one another. One is a local, a family man with two teenage sons and an obsession with his work The other, who works for him, is a wealthy woman with an aristocratic name and a posh Stockholm accent who has moved into the frozen north after her divorce and wants her teenage daughter to join her. I thought they were both interesting and I liked how they worked together. I only got a surface-level understanding of their thoughts and backgrounds but it was enough to engage me with them as people and I'm sure more details will emerge as the series progresses.

There are several tense moments in the book and some very dramatic scenes with strong visuals. I think this would make a compelling TV series in the right hands. show less

Umea in Northern Sweden is a cold place in winter, a place where the temperature drops and daylight is limited. Stockholm police officer Charlotte von Klint has moved to Umea but her past is following in the shape of a psychopathic gangster who is out to find the person undercutting him in this area. Meanwhile local teenagers are high on a mixture of drink and drugs and the two worlds are about to collide
This is a decent enough Scandi-crime novel (there are few bad ones!) but I did find it a little over the top in parts of the plot. I really loved the focus on bored youth and the way that they are exploited. This is a first novel and I suspect subsequent ones are more assured but it's still gripping for a few hours.