From Powells.com
Hot new releases and under-the-radar gems for adults and kids.
Staff Pick
This dark tale of a gruesome serial killer tracked by a police detective and a psychologist is an unflinching look at the multi-generational damage caused by violence and abuse. I was thoroughly engrossed in the police procedural, but the larger story of innocence taken and survival by revenge or forgiveness and sometimes healing was the real heart of this disturbing psychological thriller. The Crow Girl is as black as a Swedish winter night with both strong and fragile characters you come to care for and to hope for. Recommended By Kathi K., Powells.com
Synopses & Reviews
The #1 international sensation, a mesmerizing and explosive thriller that reaches into the darkest corners of the human psyche and asks: How much suffering can a person inflict upon another before creating a monster?
In a Stockholm city park, police find the tortured body of a youth. Then, they find two more, and it becomes clear that they are facing an extraordinary case — and an extraordinarily twisted killer. Detective Superintendent Jeanette Kihlberg heads the investigation, battling an apathetic prosecutor and a bureaucratic police force. She turns to the therapist Sofia Zetterlund for her expertise in psychopathic perpetrators, and under the pressure of the investigation, their lives become inextricably intertwined. As the two women draw closer to the truth about the killings, they begin to discover a hideous evil at work, and it’s much closer to them than they think. Mesmerizing and explosive, The Crow Girl is a tale of almost unfathomably heinous deeds and of the catastrophic damage, and the profound need for revenge, left in their wake.
Review
"Engrossing.... This disturbingly fascinating look at revenge, abuse, and the impact of childhood on adult choices is not for the faint of heart, but it is highly recommended for those [who] appreciate dark, psychological mysteries." Library Journal
Review
"The most disturbing book you’ll read all year.... There’s a fantastic twist in store." The Guardian
Review
"What is it about Sweden that produces such deliciously, darkly off-kilter thrillers, featuring idiosyncratic, complex characters such as Lisbeth Salander and now Detective Superintendent Jeanette Kihlberg? As Kihlberg investigates a killer who targets immigrant children, she must deal with xenophobia, extreme right-wing politics, and other hot-button issues that only deepen our morbid fascination." O, The Oprah Magazine
Review
"You will find [The Crow Girl] to be among the most wide-ranging and forceful Scandinavian crime novels you have encountered.... Complex and very dark." Financial Times
Review
"Unfolds in kaleidoscopic fashion.... Fired up by moral concerns, this book’s engine never stops humming." Chicago Tribune
About the Author
Erik Axl Sund is the pen name of Swedish author duo Jerker Eriksson and Håkan Axlander Sundquist. Erik Axl Sund is the author of four novels so far: Crow Girl (2010), Hunger Fire (2011) and Pythia's Instructions (2012), that form the trilogy about Victoria Bergman, and Glass Bodies (2014), the first stand-alone novel in the new Melancholia trilogy. In addition to writing, Eriksson has been a prison librarian and the producer of an electro punk band, and Sundquist has worked as a sound engineer, musician, and artist. They live in Stockholm.
www.erikaxlsund.com