Killer’s Art

The foggy island of Gotland provides the eerie, atmospheric setting for Jungstedt’s beautifully written fourth novel featuring Det. Supt. Anders Knutas (after 2008’s The Inner Circle). Before respected art dealer Egon Wallin can make some drastic personal and professional changes, he’s murdered, his body left to hang from the top of the Dalman Gate in the medieval town of Visby. Knutas and his assistant, Det. Insp. Karin Jacobsson, get on the trail of a deranged and vengeful killer in a case that attracts nationwide attention. The seductive tale of The Dying Dandy, a legendary Swedish painting whose theft is linked to Wallin’s death, adds depth. Knutas, a decent man, deplores the growing tastelessness of Swedish media as much as Jungstedt’s other protagonist, ethical journalist Johan Berg, in a noir novel that exposes the vicissitudes of a society in which cheating the system has become the norm. Agent: Niclas Salomonsson, Salomonsson Agency (Sweden). (Oct.)