***WINNER OF THE CRIME WRITERS' ASSOCIATION'S INTERNATIONAL DAGGER 2017***
***WINNER OF THE DANISH ACADEMY OF CRIME WRITERS' PALLE ROSENKRANTZ PRIZE (Best Crime Novel 2012)***
***WINNER OF THE FINNISH ACADEMY OF CRIME WRITERS' AWARD (Best Crime Novel 2012)***
***WINNER OF THE GLASS KEY (Best Scandinavian Crime Novel 2011)***
***WINNER OF THE SWEDISH ACADEMY OF CRIME WRITERS' AWARD (Best Crime Novel of the Year 2010)***
LARS MARTIN JOHANSSON is a living legend. Cunning and perceptive, always one step ahead, he was known in the National Criminal Police as “the man who could see around corners.” But now Johansson is retired, living in the country, his police days behind him.
Or so he thinks.
After suffering a stroke, Johansson finds himself in the hospital. Tests show heart problems as well. And the only thing that can save him from despair is his doctor’s mention of an unsolved murder case from years before. The victim: an innocent nine-year-old girl.
Johansson is determined to solve the case, no matter his condition. With the help of his assistant, Matilda, an amateur detective, and Max, an orphan with a personal stake in the case, he launches an informal investigation from his hospital bed. Racing against time, he uncovers a web of connections that links sex tourism to a dead opera singer and a self-made millionaire. And as Johansson draws closer to solving the crime, he finds that he will have to confront not just a mystery but his own mortality as well.
Winner of The Glass Key Award for Best Scandinavian Crime Novel
Winner of The Danish Academy of Crime Writers’ Palle Rosenkrantz Prize
Named Best Crime Novel of the Year by both the Swedish Academy of Crime Writers and the Finnish Academy of Crime Writers
“A brilliant police procedural. . . . An absolutely masterful crime novel.”
—Booklist (starred review)
“Memorable. . . . well-paced. . . . brooding. . . . the crux of the story lies in Johansson’s wrestling with an appropriate solution to a crime that, incredibly, is fast slipping to the other side of the statute of limitations: does he let the bad guy get away, or does he take justice into his own hands? A knotty, sinuous story that leads to a hard-won resolution—and a decidedly conclusive end.”
—Kirkus
“The King of Swedish crime writing. Period.”
—Kvällsposten, Sweden
“Extraordinarily fascinating . . . Extremely hard to put down.”
—Jyllands-Posten, Denmark (five stars)
“With this amazing novel, Persson proves himself to be a significant voice,
classic yet original.”
—La Repubblica, Italy
“Phenomenally brilliant.”
—Politiken, Denmark (five stars)
“Persson is a divinely gifted storyteller.”
—Dagens Nyheter, Sweden
“Excellent . . . Clever, amusing and imaginative.”
—Folketidende, Denmark
