Helene Tursten, Detective Inspector Huss

Detective Inspector Huss

Helene Tursten

Soho, May 2004, $13.00

ISBN: 1569473706

Financial mogul Richard von Knecht jumps off Goteborg, Sweden apartment balcony. Suicide seems obvious, but some counter evidence quickly surfaces that murder may have occurred. Irene Huss of the Violent Crimes Unit investigates the von Knecht death with a word of caution that the victim is connected to the Swedish elite.

Rather quickly Huss and her competent team trace von Knecht's life into the criminal underground of drug dealing and motorcycle gangs. Not long afterwards, the case turns deadly again when a bomb blows up Von Knecht's business office, killing two people. Huss and her squad struggle with finding the specific motive though in some way she knows that von Knecht's underworld and business connections have crossed at a fatal junction making her worry that more killings will follow if they do not stop the unknown perpetrator now.

Ironically, the reader can figure out who the culprit is rather quickly, but that does not interfere with a fine Swedish police procedural. Huss is a delightful protagonist struggling to make it in a world in which male domination is not limited to the men's room. The police force, especially those who work with the heroine are a wonderful group as their verbal exchanges and professional investigation make for a fine read for sub-genre fans who also can look forward to future translations of Detective Huss' caseload.

Harriet Klausner