Room No. 10

Meticulous observation and persistent psychological analysis can find solutions that not even modern forensics can provide, as shown in Edwardson’s intricate seventh novel featuring Chief Insp. Erik Winter (after 2012’s Sail of Stone). When the body of 29-year-old Paula Ney is discovered hanging in Room 10 of Gothenburg’s sleazy Hotel Revy, an obvious murder victim, despite a mystifying suicide note, Winter recalls that 29-year-old Ellen Börge disappeared in a case involving the Hotel Revy 18 years earlier and never seen again. Painstaking police work, including endless interviews with Ney’s oddly unemotional parents, alternate with Winter’s recollections of the earlier case and the beginnings of his working relationship with Det. Insp. Fredrik Halders. The old and new investigations intertwine and merge in a fascinating fashion. This is a must-read for those who appreciate psychologically astute mysteries, though readers should be prepared for repetitive dialogue and relatively little action. Agent: Peter Riva, International Transactions. (Mar.)