I stopped reading in the middle of chapter 10, right before what I'm sure would have been a detailed, clinical description of a tortured, dying fox.

Before that, I had been treated to the death of about a dozen moose, the poisoning of a dog, the beheading of a protected species of viper, and the chatter of a baker's dozen of thoroughly unpleasant Swedes.

I was desperately trying to ignore the carnage in hopes of finding a new writer of Scandanavian noir to enjoy. Tursten will not be that writer. I could have endured the animal violence (since it is, after all, fictional) if it had been handled differently, but the descriptions seemed almost celebratory.

If you cheered when Bambi's mom died, have I got a mystery series for you!