A college-age couple disappears while exploring an abandoned building in southern Sweden. Criminal inspector Leonore Asker is on the case until a former fling, Jonas Hellman, arrives to help. Hellman schemes to have Leo demoted and she is assigned to manage a unit in the basement known as the "Department of Orphaned Cases and Lost Souls". There, she discovers her colleagues have been working on a vandalism case involving a model railroad station. However, the more Leo looks into it, the more it seems to be connected to the missing couple, as well as other missing persons cases carried out by a figure who calls himself The Mountain King.
I liked this book a lot. It was a super quick and engaging read and there were times when I actually had to make myself stop reading because I needed to go to sleep or had other things that needed to be done. The chapters are short, anywhere from 2 to 5 pages, which keeps the pace and momentum going. Each chapter focused on a different character so the action and the plot were always progressing.
I loved the location of the book in southern Sweden and loved reading about Lund and Malmo. One of the characters remarks that his furniture is from Ikea which made me giggle. You know you're reading a book written by a Nordic author when Ikea is mentioned in a serious way. The setting here was fabulous, especially the old and abandoned buildings deep in the forest. The idea of being locked into a deserted and decrepit building in the middle of nowhere was super creepy.
The mystery was good and I was surprised by the identity of the Mountain King. Leo Asker is a fascinating character with a very interesting backstory. As this book is the first in a series, I can only hope that we learn more about Leo's history in subsequent books.
This is a great nordic noir book and it did not disappoint!
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