The Disappeared - Kristina Ohlsson

I quite discovered Swedish author Kristina Ohlsson by accident when I picked up her first book "Unwanted". Fortuitous accident - because it was the first in a fantastic crime series featuring Investigative analyst Fredrika Bergman. The third book, Disappeared, is newly released and it too was a fantastic read.

The prologue's opening lines, set in the past, grabbed me immediately....

"When the film begins she has no idea what she is about to see. Nor does she realise what devastating consequences this film and the decisions she then makes will have on the rest of her life."

Present day. Two years after she disappears, the dismembered body of Rebecca Tolle is found by a dog walker in a shallow grave.  When the crime scene team expand their excavation of the grave site, they find another body. But the second body has been buried for at least thirty years.

Are the two connected? Is this the work of a serial killer spanning thirty years?

Frederika and the special unit of the Swedish Federal Police are called in. Their case builds slowly, with multiple suspects - one of them close to a member of the team. I really enjoy Ohlsson's character building. She has given each main character a rich personal life that provides a more intimate reading experience. 

Ohlsson is extremely clever with her plotting and delivery of her story.  Interspersed with the investigation are Internal Affairs interviews held after the case has ended.

"You're here because you were in charge of an investigation that ended in disaster."

We get wee snippets of information that heighten the tension, provide subtle clues, provide teasers - and kept this reader up far too late. Midway through, I went back to read that prologue again as the pieces started to fall into place.

An intelligent, well written series (with a side of grisly) that I can easily recommend. I do hope Ohlsson plans to continue with this series.  Read an excerpt of The Disappeared.