Protected by the Shadows

by Helene Tursten Narrated by Suzanne Toren

Overview

With gang violence escalating in Goteborg, Sweden, the Organized Crimes Unit pairs with the Violent Crimes Unit to help defuse the situation. But could there be a mole on the force? In this final installment of the internationally bestselling Irene Huss investigations, the gang warfare that has been brewing in Goteborg is about to explode. A member of a notorious biker gang has been set on fire-alive. Even in a culture where ritual killings are common, this brutal assault attracts the attention of both Irene's unit and the Organized Crimes Unit. Anticipating a counterattack, the two units team up to patrol the lavish party of a rival gang, but that doesn't stop another murder from occurring just outside the event hall. And that's not the only thing going up in flames. Someone has planted a bomb under Irene's husband's car. Fearing for her family's safety, Irene sends her husband and daughters into hiding and takes up residence at a colleague's apartment. Still, she can't shake the feeling that she is being stalked. Somehow, the gangs are always one step ahead of the police. Someone is leaking information. But who? Irene's life depends on discovering the answer.

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly

10/09/2017
Set in Göteborg, Sweden, Tursten’s lackluster 10th novel featuring Insp. Irene Huss (after 2016’s Who Watcheth) opens with a burning man staggering out of a building and dying in agony in the front yard. The ensuing investigation reveals that the man was a victim of a turf war between two gangs—Gothia MC and the Gangster Lions—and Huss’s involvement isn’t just professional. Her husband Krister’s car is bombed, a warning from Gothia MC: they believe Krister owes them for a debt incurred by his former business partner who has disappeared. The threat is real enough that the Huss family goes into hiding. Meanwhile, an apparent informant is working inside the police department. The book’s subject—the insidious, ruthless nature of the gangster underworld (the “shadows” of the title)—is a worthy one, but the prose is frustratingly simplistic, perhaps a fault of the translation. And Tursten doesn’t do Huss or her story any favors by larding it with domestic details. (Dec.)

From the Publisher

Praise for Protected by the Shadows

"Written in Tursten's familiar straight-ahead style . . . will have you on the edge of your seat." 
—The Toronto Star

"Tursten fans will be excited to read this satisfying tenth and final book in her Swedish procedural series."
—Library Journal

“A terrifying look into the life of a police officer more personally involved in a case than she’d like to be.” 
—New York Journal of Books

"Tursten keeps the level of suspense high from beginning to end."
—Kittling Books

"In addition to the skillful interweaving of personal and professional tension, Swedish author Helene Tursten provides memorable descriptions of the gritty reality of crime investigation."
—Kingdom Books

"[Protected by the Shadows] is a hallmark of sorts in the series, given that it features a tale in which Irene’s two worlds collide dangerously and violently."
—The Book Reporter

Praise for the Irene Huss series

"As good as Louise Welsh's similarly creepy tour of Glasgow."
—Gillian Flynn, Entertainment Weekly

"These days Scandinavian crime writers are thick on the ground. It's nice to see that the women can be just as bloodthirsty as the men."
—The New York Times Book Review

"[Tursten] imbues this novel with a cold chill of dread that can't be attributed only to the subfreezing temperatures of Göteborg in winter."
—Chicago Sun Times

"Truly satisfying."
—Philadelphia Inquirer

"An engaging mystery with a very likable heroine. With a writing style reminiscent of Camilla Läckberg or Henning Mankell, Helene Tursten offers a detective with a nuanced and compelling personal life, as well as a dark and intriguing mystery.”
—Shelf Awareness

Library Journal

10/01/2017
When Göteburg detective Irene Huss answers the phone the morning after her silver wedding anniversary celebration, she has no idea it will be the final case of her career. Irene's husband, Krister, has finally fulfilled his dream of opening his own restaurant. But when an employee is killed by a car bomb that was meant for Krister, Irene connects it to a gang-related case that she is working on. She realizes that her daughters are in danger, too. She hides her family in a secret location, but how can she be sure that they are truly safe? With stubborn determination and the help of longtime partner and friend Tommy, Irene finds clues that lead not only to a huge shipment of heroin and two notorious gangs but also the presence of a mysterious rival gang. And now Irene feels like someone is stalking her. VERDICT Tursten fans will be excited to read this satisfying tenth and final book in her Swedish procedural series. A rarity for Scandinavian crime fiction, this sleuth has a family who loves her and a happy ending. [See Prepub Alert, 6/12/17.]—Susanne Lohkamp, Multnomah Cty. Lib., Portland, OR

Kirkus Reviews

2017-08-30
Gang warfare erupts in Göteborg, catching DI Irene Huss (Who Watcheth, 2016, etc.), her family, and her Violent Crimes Unit in the crossfire.There's never been any love lost between Gothia MC and the Gangster Lions, but the new round of outrages kicked off when Gothia member Patrik Karlsson is doused with gasoline and set afire inside a former Gothia stronghold seems more horrifying than ever. Maybe that's because it's not such a new round after all. Shortly after Jan-Erik Månsson, the old friend whose gambling debts forced him to sell Glady's restaurant to Irene's husband, Krister, disappears and Anton Fritzell, Glady's hardworking new fish chef, is nearly killed by a car bomb clearly intended for Krister, the forensics team identifies the explosive as the same stuff that blew up Soran Siljac, a refugee from the former Yugoslavia and restaurant worker who refused to pay the gangs for protection last year. After a pregnant and extended silence between Irene and her husband, he acknowledges that he's been approached by a pair of Gothia members who insist that with the purchase of Glady's comes the responsibility for assuming Jan-Erik's unpaid debts. Irene announces her terms for dealing with the situation: "They had to vanish without a trace." Krister and their twin daughters leave town and go into hiding; Irene goes to ground uninvited in Superintendent Tommy Persson's home so that she can continue to work the case. You have to wonder how safe she is even there, though, once evidence mounts that at least one of the gangs has infiltrated the Violent Crimes Unit itself. Middling, professional work notable for its high body count, its number of guilty parties, and its understandable and contagious lack of interest in arousing much curiosity about which gang members killed exactly which others.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940170760336
Publisher:	Recorded Books, LLC
Publication date:	11/28/2017
Series:	Inspector Irene Huss Series , #10
Edition description:	Unabridged

Read an Excerpt

The Huss family was celebrating. As one might expect, given their connections to the restaurant business, the table was adorned with artistically folded linen napkins and flickering candles, along with a range of glasses and cutlery to go with each course. Needless to say the menu was pretty special too, thanks to the two chefs in the family.
(Continues…)

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Excerpted from "Protected by the Shadows"
by .
Copyright © 2017 Helene Tursten.
Excerpted by permission of Soho Press.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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