#11: The Blood Spilt by Asa Larsson

The second novel from Swedish crime writer Asa Larsson has lawyer Rebecka Martinsson still recovering from the events of Sun Storm when another religious figure in her hometown is slain, prompting local police to speculate whether a copycat killer is on the loose, and drawing Martinsson back to rural Kiruna.


The tension isn’t notched as high this time around, as we explore how this new murder impacts various lives and exposes long-held secrets. The Blood Spilt works better as a character study than a thriller, with a rather abrupt denouement tacked onto a generally ruminative narrative.


I have been enjoying this new spate of translations of popular Scandinavian mysteries for their different (although admittedly often gloomy) take on the genre and a chance to see other cultures; though Larsson’s latest isn’t the strongest place to start, though I am sure I will seek out the next in the series.

I checked this out from the Morrison-Reeves Public Library in Richmond, Indiana.