Sun Storm, by Asa Larsson

Murder cases were never as open-and-shut as the one in Mind's Eye: Janek Mitter wakes one morning with a brutal hangover. He can't remember anything from last night - for a moment he can't even remember his own name.Then he discovers, behind the locked door to the bathroom, his wife of three months - Eva Ringmar - lying face down in the bathtub, dead.

Chief inspector Van Veeteren has his doubts about the case and searches for more evidence. However, with only the flimsiest excuse as his defense, Mitter is found guilty of a drunken crime of passion and imprisoned in a mental institution.

But Van Veeteren’s suspicions about the identity of the killer are borne out when Mitter a little later also becomes a murder victim. Now the chief inspector launches a full-scale investigation of the two slayings. More and more he feels that finding the solution involves finding out the secrets of the dead - in particular that of Eva Ringmar. As it turns out, finding out more about her is much more difficult than anticipated. A mysterious letter that Mitter wrote shortly before his death plays a prominent part in this.

Mind's Eye is an excellent crime book by Hakan Nesser. He captured me after only a very few pages, less than ten! And held me there. All the way through the book I was one small step behind van Veeteren it seemed. And all the while my sympathy for him as well as the suspense were building. Watching Chief Inspector Van Veeteren connecting the dots in this delicately woven plot was great. So is Hakan Nesser's subtle humor, that runs throughout the book. A top read! The best of Hakan Nesser's books so far, I think!

You may order Hakan Nesser books from amazon US. Or, order The Mind's Eye by Hakan Nesser from amazon UK! See also, by Hakan Nesser, The Return.

The Shadow in the Water, by Inger Frimansson

The Shadow in the Water was awarded with the Swedish Academy of Crime Writers’ Award (Svenska Deckarakademins pris) 2005 for Best Swedish Crime Novel of the Year, just as Good Night My Darling was awarded with the same prize in 1998.

In Scandinavia several female crime writers currently write fabulous psychological thrillers, and to my mind Karin Fossum, Karin Alvtegen and Inger Frimansson are the top writers on this list. If anything, The Shadow in the Water proves why she deserves a prominent place on the list. Her books leave a lasting impression on readers.

Six years have passed since the events in Good Night My Darling. Tor Assarson still misses his wife. She disappeared after meeting the frightening Justine Dalvik. Tor, and her best friend, Jill Kylén, are trying to move on with their lives. Both harbor lingering, foggy suspicions about Justine. Together they travel on vacation to Lofoten in Norway. And start, inevitably, to dig into the past.

Also lingering in the shadows is Micke, a young man who struggle to find a place for himself in the world. Micke is the son of Nathan and Nettan. Nathan left Micke’s mother years ago. The last time Micke saw Nathan he was preparing to leave for a trip to Africa. Justine had traveled to Africa with Nathan, her lover, but Nathan never returned from the trip. Justine states that he was lost in the jungle and although many search parties had been sent out, he was never found. Micke never saw his father again and has been haunted by the fact that someone must know something of what happened to his father.

Also out there, still searching, is a stubborn policeman with violent tendencies that is increasingly becoming interested in several of the already closed investigations.

Justine, in the mean time, has moved together with a man, Hans Petter Bergman, who loves her and has the utmost respect for her. But now she is again being haunted by the deaths. The police are sniffing around again, as well as the relatives of one of the women, the same woman Justine is convinced she can see just under the surface of a lake in her nightmares - The Shadow in the Water. And as Justine more and more feels the pressure mounting, the action intensifies.

The Shadow in the Water is not a book for the faint in heart. In spare but dense prose, Frimansson skillfully weaves a frightening tale with guilt and innocence, suspicions and doubts, dreams and realities, and life and death as ingredients. It is a great tale, and strongly recommended.

You can also order books by Inger Frimansson from amazon UK.