This is one of those books that looks at gender issues but does it very subtly. Irene Huss is not a perfect character, she might not even be the smartest detective in the room, but unlike many other detectives, in particular nordic ones, that I can think of, she is one of the most well adjusted ones. She is an everywoman, and there is something comforting about that.

The mystery here is quite good and rather engrossing. It plays with the ideas of ghosts, both "real" and emotional.

This book starts with a ghost story and the chill of it lingers right to the end. Inspector Huss is called to investigate a murder but also researches a cold case that starts with a suitcase. Someone is a pyromaniac. I could not put it down.

There were quite a few things I liked about this book, and only a few I did not. First, the book is part of a series, and I have not read the earlier books. However, I was able to easily follow the story and figure out the characters and the ongoing relationships. The main character, Inspector Irene Huss, actually has a life- family ( a husband and twin daughters, even a dog) and does not drop everything to focus exclusively on the case. She still has to walk the dog, clean the house, be there for her children. This level of realism was great to see- most 'detective' fiction involves either singles or people who can just never come home for days on end.
The characters were multi-layered and complex, with many red herrings and interesting side stories. There was even a sub-plot involving one of the detectives family members, which added an interesting dimension. The only thing I did not like about this was that I found some of the psychology of the characters confusing, especially in terms of the decisions that they made regarding the case. People hid major information from the police for reasons that seemed unclear to me. If someone is missing and perhaps dead, would you really withhold information about who they are dating from the police, potentially endangering the investigation? Also, the motives of the person who does end up being the criminal are not fully explained, or at least not in a way that made sense to me.
I enjoyed the discussion of social issues that came up over the course of the book- some related to the investigation (like the problems of mental illness and homelessness) and some arising out of other parts of the story, like sexual harrassment and environmental movements.
All in all a very good story, I only gave it 4 of 5 stars because I had trouble with the psychology and motivation issues in a way that made it hard for me to find some characters truly believable.

So good. Just as good as the first book.

Second in the Swedish procedural series starring Irene Huss, this episode involves three murders at a private hospital linked to scandals in the present and a generation before, while Huss' rebellious teenage daughter has joined up with militant vegans who fire bomb a meat truck.

Good book! Finished in 2 days! I liked the protagonist, Irene.

Very well plotted -- enjoyed this one even more than the first Irene Huss novel. A lot of suspense and creepiness in this story about a private hospital (in "national health" Sweden) where the power goes out one night and the result is two deaths (a patient and a nurse) and a ghost sighting. Irene and her colleagues dig through the past to figure out what is going on in the now, as a series of events occur that are seemingly unrelated ... but ominous. I did not guess the perpetrator until nearly the end, just before the reveal.

Irene takes a beating again (twice), and once again daughter Jenny is led down a dangerous path and needs to be rescued, but the results were rewarding.

Now: to read the third in the series right away, or read something else as a break? It's a hard choice.