I enjoy reading crime/thriller novels. Instead of counting sheep to fall asleep, I often count the victims or go through the plot or case in a crime novel to calm my mind and drift off to sleep. The new school librarian recommended Swedish crime writer, Stefan Ahnhem and I read the first book of his Fabian Risk series. He is compared to the more famous Scandanavian author, Jo Nesbo.
The basic plot is a serial killer is murdering an entire graduating class of a secondary school in Helsingborg, Sweden about 20 years after they have left school. He is a Hanibal Lector-type villain, arranging intricate methods to slowly kill them. The deaths of the classmate relate to their characteristics from school, for example, one victim had her tongue ripped out because she was known to have a sharp tongue in school. The plot is obviously unrealistic, but it was a page-turner with lots of action. I also liked the detective Fabian Risk. He is one of the stereotypical detectives in fiction, battling family trouble while being a maverick with his investigation methods, always skirting traditional protocols.
Our family spent a week in Helsingborg, Sweden visiting friends 10 years ago (how time flies!) so I could picture the places in the novel. I love the outdoor scenery of Scandanavia as it reminds me of my home in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. It differs in the infrastructure however, with a socialist-democratic government putting more money into public areas (parks, roads, etc.) than in the USA.
The book is not life-changing but it is a good airplane or easy read to unwind. I might check out a later book in the series to follow the development of the detective, Fabian Risk.
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