The Crow Girl

Horrors abound in the pseudonymous Sund’s scathing first in a trilogy that rips asunder the appearance of Sweden’s contemporary welfare state to reveal just about every conceivable human crime—including torture, pedophilia, and child abuse and trafficking. Det. Supt. Jeanette Kihlberg, who’s soul-sick from 20 years supporting her artist husband and early-teen son as a Stockholm police officer, and her solid colleague, Jens Hurtig, investigate an apparent serial killing spree that leaves bodies of homeless boys, drugged and mutilated, across the city. Soon Jeanette becomes romantically involved with Sofia Zetterlund, a psychotherapist with her own dark secrets, including a succession of multiple personalities, headed by the mysterious Victoria Bergman, who becomes the central figure of this challenging multifaceted descent into the abyss of evil and madness. Sund is the pen name of the Swedish writing duo Jerker Eriksson and Håkan Axlander Sundquist. 100,000-copy first printing. Agent: Niclas Salomonsson, Salomonsson Agency (Sweden). (June)