A serial killer stalks a Swedish tourist destination—sending a chill through Midsummer celebrations—in this “remarkable debut” crime thriller (Der Spiegel, DE).

The island of Gotland is in the middle of a busy tourist season and getting ready for Midsummer when a young woman and her dog are found brutally murdered. The dog is beheaded and missing a paw; the woman is naked, covered in axe wounds, with her panties stuffed in her mouth. The gruesome crime appears to be committed by the victim’s jealous husband…until a second body is found.

The island is gripped by panic as a serial killer terrorizes tourists and locals alike. And pressure mounts for Inspector Anders Knutas, who must face the media and local politicians who are worried about bad PR for the island.
Knutas finds an ally in Johan Berg, an intrepid young journalist from Stockholm who gets involved with Emma, one of the first victim’s close friends. But as Knutas and Berg approach the case from different angles, the killer passes unseen among the island's inhabitants—ready to strike again.

Mari Jungstedt