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Reviews
Delivers in spades
Delivers in spades
An all-round chilling read, and an interesting beginning to what will be a fascinating five-part series of crime fiction page turners featuring the policewoman.
Meditative. Dark. Really, really cold . . . This is a worthy successor to Larsson's Millennium trilogy . . . This first installment in Kallentoft's crime series is a splendid representative of the Swedish crime novel, in all its elegance and eeriness.
Don't bother with Stieg Larsson, Kallentoft is better
One of the best-realised female heroines I've read by a male writer
The highest suspense
He has a completely unique style, an exquisite narrative that you drink in with pleasure . . . I'm convinced: a crime novel doesn't get much more beautiful than this
A gripping opening gambit . . . Investigating inspector Malin Fors is a feisty single mother, whose flaws are intriguing and endearing . . . The chillingly suspense-filled story works up to a truly stunning finale.
Sharp writing and original insights add spice
This is a dark novel, full of awful people and desperate loneliness. Kallentoft is ruthless in his descriptions, but there is a great story here with solid police work leading Fors to the tale of the dead man in the tree. A must for the fans of Swedish crime novels.
Most successful as an in-depth exploration of small-town life in a country which is theoretically democratic and egalitarian, but only on the surface.
Kallentoft is gifted . . . He has a knack for characterisation and describing the slow burn of police work.
A cleverly crafted . . . dark multilayered murder mystery
Malin Fors is an intriguing and complex heroine . . . MIDWINTER SACRIFICE shows the hidden life under the picturesque surface . . . Kallentoft is an outstanding writer
More very impressive input from another Scandinavian writer with something refreshingly different to say and with a different way of saying it . . . the background of Sweden in the grip of a cruel and punishing winter is brought vividly to the page. His illustration of the complex character of his heroine is also impressive . . . An impressive book.
Engaging
Gripping
My current favourite among the Scandinavian crime writers is another Swede, Mons Kallentoft. So far, three of his Malin Fors books have been translated into English: Midwinter Sacrifice, Summertime Death and Autumn Killing. I loved them all, particularly for the way Kallentoft gives a voice to his victims.
The prose is spare and the dead man whispers to the detective which she seems to hear and transform into an unerring instinct for the truth.
[Kallentoft] is rightly praised for his skill at plotting, as well as his ability to create strongly-realised female protagonists . . . The author's sequence featuring his wonderfully rounded female protagonist Malin Fors is rapidly acquiring a devoted following.
