Killer's Island

Starred review from November 11, 2013
Jansson knows that to truly engage a reader in a whodunit, the victim must be someone whom the reader has come to know. Her second Maria Wern thriller to be translated into English (after 2013’s Strange Bird) rewards readers’ patience with the chilling murder of a character they’re likely to have grown attached to. And well before that, she offers up a disturbing opening scene, as Wern, a police detective on the Swedish island of Gotland, intervenes when she witnesses a boy being savagely beaten by three men—only to be assaulted herself. As she struggles to return to duty, her colleagues tackle a horrific murder in which the killer dressed the decapitated victim as a bride and placed the head in the corpse’s lap. More deaths follow before the wrenching psychological motive for the crimes is revealed, along with the culprit’s identity. Sophisticated depictions of human frailty, both among the police and civilians, make this a memorable read.

Starred review from December 1, 2013

On the Swedish island of Gotland, DI Maria Wern and her colleagues are confronted with a serial killer. With the first victim, a nurse dressed as a bride, Jansson cleverly weaves into her story line the ancient Norse myth of the White Sea-Lady, who lures men to their deaths. A widowed single mother raising two children and jumping back into the dating scene, Maria also must endure a tense waiting period to find out if she has been exposed to HIV. The inclusion of Harry, the island hypochondriac, adds another interesting character to an engaging mystery story. VERDICT Jansson's second book to be translated into English (after Strange Bird) is sure to be a hit with avid fans of Scandinavian crime fiction. Book clubs will find that this story provides many current and relevant topics to discuss.--Janet A. Ohles, Western Connecticut State Univ. Lib., Danbury

Copyright 2013 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.