Rebecka Martinsson is still damaged, and Anna-Maria Mella and Sven-Erik Stålnacke are still the doughty pair of investigators, in THE BLACK PATH, Åsa Larsson’s third installment in a series. Larsson notes in the acknowledgements that the series is now half-done, but I’ll be very sorry if she stops writing about these characters entirely, because she is easily one of the best mystery writers going today. If you enjoy tightly plotted, closely felt mysteries with very real and likable characters, then you should start with SUN STORM, follow it with THE BLOOD SPILT, and then this.
A female executive of Kallis Mining is found murdered and stashed away in an ice-fishing cabin. While Mella and her team attempt to piece together the mystery, involving Martinsson’s expertise in financial law, the author tells the story of the murdered executive, her brother and their boss, the powerful Mauri Kallis. The Kallis family had a rough upbringing, and Larsson is especially good at plucking our heartstrings when she devotes a chapter to Mauri’s younger sister.
Larsson and other Swedish mystery writers seem to have a knack for domestic crimes — an insular approach that usually eschews thriller-style plots and exotic locales. That’s why it’s a surprise to encounter the Ugandan aspect of this case, in regards to Kallis Mining’s interests. Coupled with the increasingly self-absorbed Martinsson and her mental health issues, this could have gotten out of hand with a lesser writer.
But Larsson is too smooth, too professional with her characterizations and motivations of almost every single character, too competent in her storytelling to let the book go pear-shaped. It’s not the best of the three, but it’s a great continuation, and sets up new storylines for the next book with Rebecka, Anna-Maria and Sven-Erik. Can’t wait. This is a good series worth your time. —Mark Rose
OTHER BOOKGASM REVIEWS OF THIS AUTHOR:
• THE BLOOD SPILT by Åsa Larsson
• SUN STORM by Åsa Larsson
Related posts:
- The Blood Spilt
- Sun Storm
- The Black Dove
- The Black Tower
- Exquisite Corpse: Surrealism and the Black Dahlia Murder
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Agreed, I just read this book and reviewed it for Euro Crime (where I also reviewed the first two). I think this one is even better than the first two. A great series.