The Cruel Stars of the Night: A Mystery (Ann Lindell Mysteries)

When The Princess of Burundi was published last year by Thomas Dunne Books, American critics hailed Kjell Eriksson as Sweden's Ed McBain, and they compared him to Henning Mankell. Now The Cruel Stars of the Night , the next in this internationally acclaimed crime series, unveils a spellbinding new tale again featuring police inspector Ann Lindell. The Cruel Stars of the Night opens one snowy day when thirty-five-year-old Laura Hindersten goes to the police to report that her father, a local professor, is missing. Inspector Ann Lindell and her colleagues can find no motive for the man's disappearance. And when the corpses of two elderly men do turn up, neither of the dead men is the missing academic. Unexpectedly, the police get help from one of the professor's colleagues, who believes there is an astonishing link between the murders and the disappearance of Professor Hindersten. But as the pressure on Lindell increases dramatically, she is shocked to discover that the killer has many more diabolical schemes in store. Combining heart-pounding suspense with brilliant psychological insight, The Cruel Stars of the Night moves like a comet as it approaches the cliff-hanging climax. It is sure to win Kjell Eriksson a whole new galaxy of American fans. From Publishers Weekly In Swedish author Eriksson's fine second ensemble procedural (after 2006's The Princess of Burundi ), members of the Uppsala Violent Crime Division try to connect the dots linking the separate murders of two old men and the disappearance of a third. Eriksson eschews crackling dialogue and facile descriptions in favor of longer, slower developing profiles of the principal men and women of the police unit: Ann Lindell, Ola Haver, Sammy Nilsson, Allan Fredricksson and others. Their investigation proceeds in parallel with the story of Laura Hindersten, daughter of the missing man. Eriksson balances these stories nicely as the detectives reach for clues. Lindell, the single mother of a young boy, emerges as the most compelling investigator, but the others are also distinct individuals. The author's squad of detectives displays the kind of interdependency and fractious loyalty that endeared Ed McBain's 87th Precinct squad (_Cop Hater_, etc.) to fans for so many decades. (May) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From This second procedural to appear in the U.S. from yet another Swedish crime fiction star follows in the substantial footsteps of the critically acclaimed Princess of Burundi (2006). This time Eriksson departs a bit from the Ed McBain-like ensemble focus used in the previous book; here the point of view stays mostly with police inspector Ann Lindell as she and her colleagues investigate the murders of three seemingly unrelated men in Uppsala. The connection, unclear to the police, is immediately apparent to the reader, as Eriksson alternates point of view between Lindell and a troubled woman, Laura, whose father has recently disappeared. Dramatic irony builds as we wait for Lindell to connect the dots. Once again Eriksson displays considerable finesse in portraying the inner lives of his cast and in showing how the various inspectors attempt to cope with the strains of the job. This time, though, the alternating focus on the civilian characters is less successful, with the detailed dissection of Laura's tangled psyche proving more distracting than compelling. Still, Eriksson is a major talent, and his feel for ensemble narrative will have McBain devotees enthralled. Bill Ott Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved General,Fiction,Mystery & Detective,Police Procedural,Mystery fiction,Women detectives - Sweden,Detective and mystery stories,Women detectives,Missing persons As Autumn creeps across the Swedish city of Uppsala, elderly Professor Ulrik Hindersten disappears without a trace. When the bludgeoned corpses of two local farmers are unearthed within days of each other, Inspector Ann Lindell and her team are called in to investigate what might connect the crimes. Caught in the middle of a dangerous web as distant events take on a devastating and urgent clarity, Lindell must unravel the threads if she is to stop the dranged killer, who may be closer than she thinks... The cruel stars of the night opens with the abrupt disappearance of an elderly professor, followed quickly by the suspicious deaths of two more old men. Inspector Ann Lindell instinctively knows that she is tracking a most cunning serial killer. As she closes in on the demented murderer, a diabolical death trap awaits Detective Ann Lindell Already Has A Case Concerning A Local Professor Reported Missing By His Daughter. When Two More Elderly Men Are Found Dead, There Doesn't Seem To Be Link. But One Of The Professor's Colleagues Has Evidence To The Contrary. Kjell Eriksson ; Translated From The Swedish By Ebba Segerberg. Police Inspector Ann Lindell and her colleagues are called in to investigate the disappearance of a local professor, a case that could be linked to the murders of several elderly men