Asa Larsson Sun Storm

Sun Storm

Asa Larsson

Delacorte, May 2006, $22.00, 320 pp.

ISBN: 038533981X

Meijer and Ditzinger tax attorney Rebecka Martinsson hears on the news that Viktor "the paradise Boy" Strandgard died in The Source of All Our Strength Church in her hometown of Kiruna, Sweden. Though pale as a ghost when hearing the news, Rebecka thinks of the irony of the locale before his sister Sanna calls to plead with her to come home. She is the prime suspect in the murder of her brother having found his corpse. Though she should say no as she has written on her legal pad, Rebecka reluctantly comes home for the first time in years as Sanna pleads with her once best friend to help her.

Assistant Chief Prosecutor Carl von Post demands a fast investigation as he will gladly hang Sanna on shaky evidence. Inspector Anna-Maria Mella and Detective Sven-Erik Stalnacke head the inquiry into the "slaughterhouse" killing of Viktor that makes the motive seem personal. As Rebecka comes home to "defend" Sanna though that is not her expertise by a long shot, the investigation takes several twists into religious zealousness but all roads lead back to the victim's sister.

SUN STORM is a terrific translation of a delightful Swedish police procedural legal thriller. The story line moves forward on both sub-genres' paths in a sort of DNA helix twisting plot. Rebecka is a fabulous protagonist and the two cops remain professional in spite of pressure. Though the afterward of giving birth seems unnecessary; Fargo style would have been better; that minor cute ending aside, Asa Larsson provides a super tale set in the stark frozen yet beautiful land of the Aurora Borealis.

Harriet Klausner