Publisher's Weekly Review
The extreme darkness of the human spirit-a quality that marks Lackberg's novel and the work of many other Swedish crime writers-is expertly portrayed in this audio edition by narrator David Thorn, who previously read earlier installments in the author's Patrik Hedstrom series. Although it may take listeners a few moments to become accustomed to Thorn's British accent, this discrepancy quickly becomes a nonissue given the narrator's deliberate pace, which serves to underscore the bleakness of both the external and the internal terrain. This time around, Hedstrom is particularly invested in solving the crime; as a new father, he's affected by the murder of an eight-year-old girl even more strongly than usual. And Thorn is especially effective in portraying the detective's exhaustion from tending to his infant daughter, which only adds to the strain of working the grisly murder case. A Pegasus hardcover. (May) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Library Journal Review
The listener braces for a story of child abuse and pedophilia when a fisherman hauls up the body of a little girl along with his lobster pot. The dead girl, however, is not the central figure in this mystery, although Det. Patrick Hedstrom is desperate to solve the puzzle behind her death. He knew this child and has a daughter of his own. Narrator David Thorn makes the Swedish names accessible in a way print does not. His tongue glides over the unfamiliar pronunciations, leaving the listener engaged in the story, which stretches back to the 1920s. Even the red herrings take you somewhere you need to go. VERDICT With the popularity of all things Scandinavian, this is a must purchase. ["Readers of Lackberg's two previous books will not be disappointed. The author keeps the interest high in both story lines and ties the two together in a disturbing conclusion," read the review of the Pegasus hc, LJ Xpress Reviews, 4/13/12.-Ed.]-Jodi L. Israel, Birmingham, AL (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
