Nora's newest case focuses on a money laundering scheme. The defense attorney for the primary suspect Andreis is sharp so she knows she needs solid evidence to put him away. Andreis physically abuses his wife Mina. She knows leaving him will put her life and her child's life at risk if he finds her. Even her parents are in danger. Nora helps Mina move to Freya's Haven, a safe house. Thomas, of course, warns Nora of the danger she might be in and investigates tips she finds which help solidify the case. Every so often, a few pages focusing on a story of Andreis' family's past before they came to Sweden appears. These pages felt completely unnecessary, and I found them uninteresting. They seemed to lengthen the story without adding to it. As in previous installments, the author creates too many chapters which interrupt the flow. I think having Thomas, a police detective, and Nora, an economic crimes attorney, both as the principal characters weakens the series. The series becomes less believable with each installment. Both characters carry a lot of baggage. ( )

This Swedish series is set in Stockholm and the Swedish archipelago, and features Thomas Andreasson, a police officer, and Nora Linde, a lawyer working with the Economic Crimes Unit. Previous books have dealt with murders and other violent crimes; this time Nora takes center stage as she investigates a money laundering operation. The case takes a hard turn when the suspect, Andreis, violently abuses his wife Mina. Mina is relocated to a shelter at an undisclosed location, and Andreis becomes increasingly violent as he simultaneously attempts to locate Mina and avoid conviction on the economic charges.

While I was drawn into the story and it held my interest, I have mixed feelings about this series. The writing -- or perhaps it’s the translation -- can be spare and simplistic. Viveca Sten also keeps chapters very short and choppy, possibly for pacing. But 137 chapters in 480 pages is a bit much. And then there’s character development beyond the principal characters. In this novel Mina, Andreis, and Andreis' lawyer Ulrika seem like cardboard cutouts, stereotypical and lacking depth.

And yet, over the arc of this series, Sten has given Nora a more substantive role. Initially she was just Thomas' long-time friend who meddled inappropriately in the investigations. Now her career gives her a legitimate reason to work on cases, even though she does overstep and do dumb things from time to time. I like the evolution of Nora's role and purpose, and I am invested in Thomas' personal story as well, and that's what keeps me coming back to this series despite its weaknesses. ( )