(1) (Knutas)

I enjoyed Unseen, which I picked up in London where Swedish mysteries are very popular. THis writer was new to me but she certainly creates an environment of mystery and suspense on the island of Gotland where a brutal murder of a woman and her dog occurs. You will have trouble guessin who is murdering women on the island, while Insp. ANders takes you along on his investigation. There is also a love story that develops between a news reporter Johan and Emma, a schoolmate of the victim. I am reading the next mystery soon.

Very interesting, well-written -- a very human and believable plot unfolds. Waiting to read her next book. Enjoyed her style of writing.

At the beginning of this book, "Unseen" it starts off quite slow. By chapter two things are picking up and are flowing quite fast. I did find the names in this book (city names, etc) quite difficult to pronounce, being thats from a different part of the world. Traditional/typical Swedish names. This mystery thriller is brilliant and I cannot wait to buy more books from this author. This book will have you hooked immediately.

The friends meet at a resort on the Swedish island of Gotland in the Baltic Sea. Helena is with Per; Emma with her spouse; Olle and his neighbors Eva and Rikard; and finally Beata and her American husband are all there. However, instead of an amiable get together at the trendy tourist locale they chose, jealousies explode leading to accusations and rage. Not long afterward, the prime focus of the dispute Helena vanishes from her home on the island. However, she is quickly found dead, someone brutally used an ax to hack her to death. Police Inspector Anders Knutas leads the island investigation, but makes no progress as everyone is in shock and denial. As he struggles with the homicide investigation two more brutal murders of females occur amongst the friends, Anders wonders if this is a case of nine little Indians leading to one or just no female survivors. This is an entertaining serial killer Swedish police procedural in which the audience will have solved the case before Anders figures out what is going on. That is the strength of the story line as it brings freshness that the detective is average not a Wallender offspring or a Clouseau clone which still can frustrate the audience that he cannot see the obvious links. The setting is terrific for this fine Swedish whodunit. Harriet Klausner