Review: Midwinter Blood by Mons Kallentoft

Title:Midwinter Blood

Author:Mons Kallentoft

Series:Malin Fors, #1

Published:January 2013, Atria/Emily Bestler Books

Format:Paperback, 464 pages

Source:Personal copy

Meet police superintendent Malin Fors: Talented. Troubled. With a sixth sense for the truth.

In
the early hours of one of the coldest February nights anyone in
Linköping, Sweden, can remember, the bloody body of an obese man,
stripped bare and horribly mutilated, is found hanging from a lone oak
tree in the middle of a snow-covered, windswept plain not far from town.
Malin Fors is assigned to the case.

Thirty-four years old,
blond, single, and divorced with a teenage daughter, Malin has taken a
violent and hazardous path in life. And now, together with her
colleagues, she must follow in the frigid wake of a killer who has just
begun his work. It is a manhunt that will take Malin into the darkest
corners of the human heart, where the sins of the past—hidden away—all
too often wreak havoc from one generation to the next.

My thoughts: I love finding new series to read, especially ones from my favorite crime fiction blogger, Abby over at Crime by the Book (if you’ve never checked out her blog or instagram feed you seriously need to!) She was reading this book last fall and I immediately ordered it, but of course only recently got around to reading it. It was actually the 1st book I read this year and has got me excited to continue on with the series!

This book is a bit long, and I admit at times it does drag a bit, but I really did enjoy it. I liked all the detail, especially as I’m not really familiar with Sweden at all. I find it’s hard to picture these foreign lands sometimes, not having any frame of reference, so all the detail just helps me build a better picture in my mind. Since this is set in a small-town, I felt that Kallentoft does a good job of building that small-town feel, and he definitely does a great job of creating atmosphere and setting – I felt cold just reading this book at times!

This was a pretty solid police procedural. I really like the character that Kallentoft has created in Malin Fors and am looking forward to getting to know her better as I continue on with this series. I think we get a good look at her, but she’s a complicated character and there’s much more to her than we have been made privy to at this point. 

The case that Malin and her team are working on is brutal to say the least and a bit complicated as it appears to be a ritual killing. But the murdered victim’s family history might have a role in the crime as well…only time and a thorough investigation will tell.

Once the book gets going, it was hard to put down and I found myself completely engaged and wanting to find answers as desperately as Malin and her team did. I am really looking forward to reading on in this series – hopefully soon! 

Books in this series:

1. Midwinter Blood
2. Summertime Death
3. Autumn Killing
4. Spring Remains
5. Fifth Season
6. Water Angels
7. Souls of Air