If like me, you are seeking other Swedish crime thrillers, I recommend skipping this one. It takes most of the book to understand the two lead characters (Detective Inspector Maria Wern and her friend/co-worker Erika Lund, a forensic technician), probably because this is Book #11 in a series. Maria stops to defend a young boy being viciously attacked by a trio, and is rewarded by being stabbed with a syringe filled with blood. The police are making no progress on this
case, when Maria is called to a crime scene where a beheaded woman, dressed as a bride, is found. Then, a neighbor is found hanged in another cop's home, with the connection being a psychiatrist, who is dating Erika. Figured out the killer about 75% of the way through, after an incorrect guess about 60% through. ( )

Detective Maria Wern is called upon to solve some bizarre murders; in the process she senses a connection to an attack on herself. She and the rest of the team struggle to find motives and means.

We meet an interesting nurse, interesting detectives, and others in their lives. The characters kept me reading, even as I tried to suss out what was going on.

This is the second book I have read that takes place on Visby, on the island of Gotland, country of Sweden. This time I didn't have to go hunting on Google for images. I remembered the wall, the character of the town. I found the characters here compelling enough to seek out others by this author.
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Standard!!! Det verkar som om alla svensk deckare följer samma mall.... Ok spänning för stunden ( )

“Fresh Meat” by Clare Toohey for Criminal Element

When I was in high school, I worked two summers at a nearby theme park. Like the residents of the historic medieval town of Visby, I know that vacationers don’t necessarily overflow with surplus fun and joy for those serving them. While they frolic, you’re on the clock, and among things park employees perceive differently is the scenery, because they know behind which ornamental shrubbery are the exits to the utility corridors, the functional arteries of people and materials that serve the backstage of the park.

Set on the Swedish island of Gotland, Visby has just over 20,000 full-time residents, but many more than that descend from ferries every summer, and especially during Medieval Week in August. (In another recent Fresh Meat of Swedish crime, Jordan Foster discussed the undeniable attractions of Visby from the traveler’s point of view.) However, D.I. Maria Wern deals with these visitors as ugly business more than pleasure, totting up the property damage, thefts, and violent crime. The characters of this novel—full-time residents—transit a functional circuit between their lonely homes, the police station, and most often, the hospital.

Read more at: http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs/2012/05/fresh-meat-killers-island-anna-jans...

Disappointing Swedish crime novel, which is too bad given its setting. This is a police procedural set on the island of Gotland, a beautiful island some 50 miles off the Swedish coast, which functions mainly as a summer resort. This book is part of a series of thirteen, according to Wikipedia, but is the only one currently available in English. The setting of the island is fascinating (and is also used as a series locale by at least one other Swedish crime writer). The plotting, however, is muddy and discursive. The police characters are likeable, at least the women, but there is an awful lot of introspection, and not a hint of humor. There is a lot of extreme violence and a totally crazed killer -- both frequent features of Scandie noir. This one, however, doesn't work so well for me as many other authors in the genre. If more books come out in English, I will probably read them, if only because I like Gotland so much! ( )