The Blood Spilt

This novel takes place Kiruna, in northern Sweden. A woman priest is found murdered, and it seems as though she had few friends. An attorney winds up involved in the case along, with a female inspector. The story makes some dark flashbacks as we see that the spirit of despair lurks in more than one character's life. Infighting among the town residents, church politics, and the puzzle of who could be the criminal, all compel the reader through this tautly paced book. Although it has some weak spots, overall I enjoyed it. (This review is based on the audio book.)

The recorded version of this book is even better than the print version. Like some others I found the sections returning to the wolf's story something to fast forward through. On the whole it provided an interesting set of characters (with a few subplots) and some real suspense about the culprit. It made feel as if I were back in Sweden listening to Swedes speaking English.

The reviews aren't really doing this book justice--although as an ex-lawyer my connection to the main character's mixed feelings about her job and colleagues might have swayed me a bit. Larsson deserves enthusiastic praise for the naturalness of the writing, plenty of detail about the characters' thoughts and dilemmas, and the well-described settings. She also is very skilled at making almost every character appealing in some way, despite major flaws, bad judgment, or mental disorder--all that, and still nothing seemed overdone, sentimentalized, or "romancey". The limited amount of police procedure and forensic chops is really not a problem--the book is still engrossing and entertaining. Can't wait for the next...where is it? Oh, and the wolf Yellow Legs--hope she appears again, too! A neat element of the story brought to life.

and I am so looking forward to Number 3 in this series, which I believe is due to arrive shortly. Readers of truly good murder mysteries, where you can relate in some way with the main character, will enjoy the writing of Asa Larsson.

Three years have passed since Rebecka Martinsson killed three men in self defense and saving the lives of children, but she has not gotten pass the trauma. She cannot sleep and rarely goes to work. When one of the layers at her firm asks her to accompany him to Kiruna, a place she has avoided, she reluctantly agrees to help him try to win the church as a client. When their business is completed, Rebecka decides to stay there in order to confront her demons. She makes friends with a person who has a man's body but a child's mind. When church officials ask her to get the key to a murdered priest's locker, she does; before giving it to them she copies his papers and hands them to the police, which enables her to find peace for the first time in years until another priest is killed and she begins to wonder if another serial killer exists in the area. The first book in this series won Sweden's Best Crime Novel Award and readers will agree that THE BLOOD SPLIT is worthy of at least further nominations. This is a literary crime tale with a cast of memorable realistic characters. The audience will feel sorry for Rebecka who has suffered much trauma due to the priest killings. Asa Larsson follows up the terrific SUN STORM with an excellent thriller. Harriet Klausner