The Deathwatch Beetle: A Mystery

by Kjell Eriksson

Overview

Kjell Eriksson's next Ann Lindell book, The Deathwatch Beetle is an atmospheric thriller and a tender depiction of the countryside and the people of Roslagen.

Four years have passed since Cecilia Karlsson disappeared from the island of Gräsö in Roslagen. When Ann Lindell receives a tip that she has been seen alive she cannot help getting involved, even though she is no longer with the police.

The black sheep of the island, Nils Lindberg, has never forgotten Cecilia Karlsson, with whom he was in love as a teenager. And he carries a secret. He may not be completely sober all the time, but he has no doubt of what he saw out on the bay just before Cecilia disappeared. Cecilia's parents are desperate, not knowing what happened to their daughter. Yet their silent house contains many things that have been left unsaid.

While Ann struggles to put the jigsaw puzzle together, she is trying to establish herself in her new life together with her lover Edvard who, like herself, is marked by life. At the same time, someone is hiding in a cottage in a remote part of the island. Someone who is looking for revenge...

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250766168
Publisher:	St. Martin's Publishing Group
Publication date:	11/23/2021
Series:	Ann Lindell Series , #9
Pages:	288
Sales rank:	1,025,825
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.20(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

KJELL ERIKSSON is the award-winning and internationally bestselling Swedish author of The Ann Lindell Mystery series. His debut won the Swedish Crime Academy award for Best First Novel and The Princess of Burundi later won for Best Crime Novel. Eriksson is also a gardener, and now living in Brazil.

Editorial Reviews

★ 09/06/2021

Eriksson’s excellent ninth series mystery to be published in the U.S. takes Ann Lindell, who retired from the police force in 2020’s Night of the Fire, to the Swedish island of Gräsö, along with her “great love,” Edvard Risberg, for a vacation. Lindell’s investigative instincts click in when Gräsö native Cecilia Karlsson resurfaces after disappearing four years earlier—just after Cecilia’s boss, Casper Stefansson, went missing and is presumed dead. Cecilia, attractive, intelligent, and successful, provoked strong reactions from Casper and others, including her controlling father. She “saw herself as a victim... of the men who explained the world to her.” An indelible picture emerges of Cecilia’s world, her understandable anger, and her desire for change. Eriksson effectively portrays Sweden in the throes of change, being eroded from the inside out like the destructive insect of the title, while exploring social class, family, and, above all else, how men treat women. The plot slowly and steadily builds to a genuinely shocking denouement. Fans of literary fiction will be equally rewarded. Agent: Anneli Høier Copenhagen Literary Agency (Denmark). (Nov.)

Publishers Weekly

"Excellent...Eriksson effectively portrays Sweden in the throes of change, being eroded from the inside out like the destructive insect of the title, while exploring social class, family, and, above all else, how men treat women. The plot slowly and steadily builds to a genuinely shocking denouement. Fans of literary fiction will be equally rewarded."—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"Top-notch Scandinavian noir and a welcome addition to the series." —Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher

11/01/2021

In her ninth outing (after The Night of the Fire), retired Uppsala detective Ann Lindell, now a cheese maker, visits her lover Edvard Risberg on the Swedish island of Gräsö. She learns that a young woman named Cecilia Karlsson disappeared from the island four years ago, and her parents are still trying to find her. Unable to ignore a mystery, Ann visits Cecilia's parents to see if she can help them by uncovering their daughter's fate. When a neighbor of Cecilia's insists that he recently spotted her in Lisbon, Ann calls in some favors from her former colleagues and digs deeper into the disappearance; is it a coincidence that Cecilia vanished the day after the (apparently accidental) drowning of a Gräsö resident? When a new death occurs, the police are brought in, and Ann and Edvard work with them to find out if there's any relation to their case. Unlike earlier books in Eriksson's Swedish detective series, this isn't a traditional police procedural; instead, it's a study of a dysfunctional family and their roles in a series of tragic events. Themes of obsession and misguided revenge also drive the plot. VERDICT Recommended for fans of Eriksson's series and of psychological crime fiction.—Jean King, West Hempstead P.L., NY

Library Journal

2021-09-01
A Swedish ex-detective who strongly identifies with a missing woman picks up the case after a possible sighting.

Though former Uppsala police inspector Ann Lindell has left the force for a quieter rural life, her innate curiosity and empathy for the victims of crime continue to exercise a hold on her. When her former lover Edvard Risberg bring up the unsolved case of Cecilia Karlsson, who’s been missing for four years, Ann keeps private her bond with Cecilia, whose disappearance she likens to her own retreat from society. Retired homicide detective Folke Åhr’s claim to have seen Cecilia provides just the impetus for the restless Ann to reopen the investigation, though Åhr’s drinking makes him a less than completely reliable witness. Counterpointing Ann’s search with the aftermath of Cecilia’s vanishing, which did indeed begin as an escape from her life, Eriksson skillfully reveals several possible motives: awkward romantic entanglements, criminal activity, threats against her life. At the same time, Ann reexamines her own life choices now that she’s in closer personal contact with Edvard once more. Foreign locales like Portugal, Italy, and South America figure prominently in Cecilia’s travels and plans. Her wanderlust contrasts with Ann’s personal investment in her rural community, which Eriksson depicts with depth and affection. The twists in Cecilia’s tale keep the reader engaged, and the finale is a satisfying shocker.

Top-notch Scandinavian noir and a welcome addition to the series.

Kirkus Reviews