Winter Grave

Embla Nyström #2

by Helene Tursten, Marlaine Delargy (Translator)

In this thrilling mystery set in rural Sweden, Detective Inspector Embla Nyström must solve a murder case and find two missing children before the small town takes matters into their own hands.

When a little girl disappears a few weeks before Christmas, suspicion falls on the last person she was seen with: the mentally disabled teenage boy who gave her a ride home after school. Complicating the matter is the fact that detectives can hardly get a word out of him. When a second child disappears and a police officer is found dead, tensions in the small town of Strömstad reach an all-time high.

Meanwhile, 28-year-old Detective Inspector Embla Nyström has just returned to work and is still recovering from her recent brush with a killer, which left her unable to get back in the ring to defend her title of Nordic light welterweight champion. As she hunts for the missing children, Embla can’t help but think of the case that has been haunting her for years: the disappearance of her childhood best friend. Could the incidents be linked? With the passing of each dark winter day, the odds of finding the children alive shrink, and desperation mounts. Their parents want answers and will stop at nothing to get them.

Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Crime, Audiobook, Sweden, Suspense, Scandinavian Literature

336 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2016

About the author

Helene Tursten (born in Gothenburg in 1954) is a Swedish writer of crime fiction. The main character in her stories is Detective Inspector Irene Huss. Before becoming an author, Tursten worked as a nurse and then a dentist, but was forced to leave due to illness. During her illness she worked as a translator of medical articles.

Series:
* Irene Huss

Reviews

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Winter Grave” is a suspenseful novel taking place in the Swedish countryside. Two young children mysteriously vanish, both close to home and late afternoon/early evening. Detective Embla Nystrom and her squad are called in to investigate. While they are investigating, a major drug lord is found slain. The townsfolk wrongfully target a teen boy who suffers from autism as the child predator. There’s a major fire, two more dead men (one a local cop), a drug over-dose, and some domestic drama. Yes, it’s a suspense story filled with the major mystery and all these other fillers that add dimension to the story. It’s a solid mystery/suspenseful read.

[Bam cooks the books · Rating 3 out of 5]

*3-3.5 stars.

Every parent's nightmare: a child disappears without a trace between home and school. In this police procedural set in Sweden, the police are baffled. The public wants to blame a young autistic man who gave her a ride earlier but he has an alibi. When another child disappears, the pressure is turned WAY up for Embla and the team to solve these crimes before it happens again. A heart-wrenching but intriguing mystery.

I got my hands on Snow Drift, the third book in this series, earlier in January and read that one first. I wouldn't recommend reading them out of order because a big mystery from the past crops up towards the end of this book and is then carried on into book 3.

[Kyra Leseberg (Roots & Reads) · Rating 3 out of 5]

A young girl goes missing in rural Sweden just before Christmas.  The young man who gave her a ride home from school on the day of her disappearance is under suspicion and detectives struggle to get him to answer questions, especially with his protective father involved.

A young boy disappears soon after and then a police officer is found dead on the side of the road.

With tension mounting in the town of Strömstand, the parents of the missing children are ready to take matters into their own hands, placing the blame on the only suspect.

Detective Inspector and welterweight champion Embla Nyström has just returned to work after a serious injury received during a case.  As she works to determine if the missing children and dead police officer are all somehow linked, she is haunted by the disappearance of her own childhood best friend.

Nyström knows she must act quickly if she hopes to find the children alive but untangling these crimes proves to be a complicated matter when everyone has a secret to keep.

This was an intriguing mystery with three crimes. The details unfold at an even pace and the plot overall was strong.  
The back story on D.I. Embla Nyström felt like an afterthought as we're given brief pieces of her past that don't really fit in with the overall story. Her personal life filled up space without feeling necessary or adding anything to the story.  It's a great mystery but with a main character I unfortunately haven't connected with.
I'm a huge fan of Tursten after reading An Eldery Lady is Up to No Good last year so I'm willing to give her next book a shot!

Thanks to Soho Books and Edelweiss for providing me with a DRC in exchange for my honest review.  Winter Grave is scheduled for release on December 3, 2019.

For more reviews, visit www.rootsandreads.wordpress.com

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have a love/hate relationship with series books that don't require you to have read the previous books but when you're done reading you realize that you really do need to go back because you enjoyed what you read. This is one of those books (and yes, I know, I'm meant to be taking things off the TBR list not adding). Any police procedural set in Scandinavia immediately leads you to think "Nordic Noir" but this isn't that, it's just a procedural. Embla and her colleagues are just quirky enough to keep you interested in their lives, while the mystery has enough depth to not completely telegraph the solution.

eARC provided by publisher.

[Denise · Rating 3 out of 5]

This crime thriller set in rural Sweden by an author new to me was an engaging introduction to Detective Inspector Embla Nyström of Vastra Gotaland County Bureau of Investigation Mobile Unit. She and her two colleagues, Superintendent Goran Krantz and Hampus Stahre, are sent to help in Stromstad after a series of crimes rocks the area. The cases include "two missing children, a fatal stabbing, arson with a presumed fatality, a serious assault and the murder of a police officer." What in the world is going on in that town? NO SPOILERS.

This was extremely descriptive police procedural with all the details. I had not read the first book in the series, but this worked fine as a standalone with enough background information to get me up to speed and allow me to appreciate the development of Embla's character. I like her -- she's no nonsense and independent and I definitely liked that she didn't go off on her own half-cocked and get herself into trouble as many book detective protagonists typically do. I really want to read more about her so will want to obtain the next installment in this series. I liked the writing style and the setting and feel that I'll really like learning more about all members of the team. The cases were resolved and they weren't as grisly as the murder plots I'm used to reading.

Thank you to Soho Crime and NetGalley for this e-book ARC to read and review. Forgive the lack of appropriate Swedish umlaut throughout and consistently placed in my review.

[justonemorepage_ · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am obsessed. Did I read this book in one day? Yes. Do I have regrets? Only that I didn't read it sooner. Holy smokes, I really enjoyed Hunting Game but damn this book is taking the cake for the best in the series. I mean, ya the series is only 3 books so far and I haven't read the third yet, but still. Also, why isn't this rated higher on goodreads?!
.
A little girl disappears a few weeks before Christmas, obviously suspicions fall on the last person who was seen with her. Only problem is, he's innocent. A few weeks later an officer is found dead, and another child is missing. INSERT MY GIRL, Detective Inspector Embla. I was getting nervous for awhile there that Embla wasn't going to be in this book(even though the series is about her), thankfully she showed up to help save the day. This was seriously one twisted, tangled web of a case that Embla and her team has to solve. I couldn't put this book down. I needed to solve the mystery as quickly as possible because I had NO idea what was going on! Literally just when you thought the case was going one way, plot twist, it's going another way now. There was literally SO much going on that my head was spinning and when the cases were finally solved I was just left SHOCKED. Like, did all these things seriously happen?! Yes, yes they did. Alright. Gotta go buy and read book three now.

[Linden · Rating 3 out of 5]

The second in a series. Two young children go missing in Sweden. There's really a lot going on in this book, maybe a bit too much. 3.5 stars.

[Bookreporter.com Mystery & Thriller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Helene Tursten, best known for her Swedish police procedurals featuring Irene Huss, has continued her series with Embla Nyström, a detective who is interesting and smart. In her second appearance, Embla and her team are trying to solve the disappearances of two children and the murder of a policeman. Clues are hard to come by, but in Tursten’s hands, each event is a major surprise. In addition to her job as a policewoman, Embla is a highly trained hunter and tracker, as well as a Nordic boxing champion.

The first disappearance is of a little girl on her way home from school. She was observed getting into a car belonging to a mentally challenged teenage boy, Kristoffer Sjöberg. Everyone assumes he killed her, even though he has an alibi. The town is up in arms because he is not arrested immediately. The father of the second missing child, Viggo Andersson, informs the police that his son was playing in the garden with his flashlight and insists that the same teenager was responsible for taking him. Then a policeman is found bludgeoned to death, and the crime leaves very few clues. Later, Kristoffer is severely beaten and is barely alive when he is taken to the hospital, where his aunt sits by his bedside.

The next catastrophe occurs when Olaf Sjöberg, Kristoffer’s father, is burned to death in his son’s auto repair hut. The investigation proves that this tragedy was caused by an accelerant such as gasoline and is ruled to be arson. Both father and son had a passion for cars. They spent many hours tinkering with automobiles and were able to build a reputation based on the quality of their work.

Another theme woven through the narrative is drug trafficking and cocaine use. At first, the police are unaware of this problem. The dealers are very cautious and lie to keep out of prison. But as the story unfolds, clues pile up and have to be put together without getting mixed up with red herrings, of which there are many.

Tursten does a fantastic job limning the characters who populate WINTER GRAVE. Her writing is clear and smooth, and is a pleasure to read. The plot is fast moving, and fans of noir will find themselves fully engaged in the puzzle she creates in her storytelling. The book is translated from the Swedish by Marlaine Delargy, and is a must read for lovers of crime novels that tweak your imagination.

Reviewed by Barbara Lipkien Gershenbaum

[ForTheThrillofBooks · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m a huge fan of Nordic crime, books and shows, so I was really excited to read Winter Grave by Helene Tursten.
When a young girl goes missing, suspicion falls on the teenage boy who gave her a ride home, but having some disabilities they can’t get much out of him. When another child goes missing and a police officer is found dead, tensions rise in the small town.
Detective Embla is brought in on the case as time is running out to find the kids alive and the town people begin to take matters into their own hands.
I’ll be honest, I struggled with the first half of this book. I just wasn’t really feeling the characters or the story. This is also the second book in the series which probably didn’t help. By the second half I was invested in getting to the ending and the pace did pick up. Overall a decent read but I don’t think I will be running out to read the whole series. 3.5 ⭐️

[Kathleen Freeman · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am a fan of this author and have liked the transition from the Irene Huss series to the Embla series. I liked how Irene got a cameo in this story. The book started a bit scattered for me, but part way through it hit a stride and I did not want to put it down. I look forward to the next in the series.

[Mayar Mahdy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't really enjoy this. There was no character development and the mystery itself was very boring

[Renita D'Silva · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tense and fast paced

[Mira123 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dieses Buch hat mich durch die Prüfungsphase begleitet. Deswegen hab ich dafür leider auch länger gebraucht, als eigentlich geplant. Total nervig, weil jetzt mein Leseplan total durcheinander ist, aber egal. Jetzt sind ja Ferien, jetzt hab ich wieder etwas mehr Zeit. Gott sei Dank. Die nächsten Tage werde ich mich mit meinen Katzen und einer großen Kanne Tee verkriechen und einfach nur noch lesen.

Aber jetzt weg von mir und hin zum Buch. Dieses Buch wird die meiste Zeit aus der Sicht Emblas erzählt. Embla ist eine ziemlich coole Polizisten von irgendeiner besonderen Einheit, deren Sinn ich nicht ganz verstanden habe. Sie ist eine moderne Frau, die ihrem Beruf mit Herzblut nachgeht. Der Fall der verschwundenen Kinder geht ihr ziemlich nah und sie möchte alles geben, um die Kinder bald wieder zu ihren Eltern zurückzubringen. Ich mochte sie. Das einzige, was mich an ihr gestört hat, war, dass sie irgendwann in der Mitte des Buches dann plötzlich eine dunkle Vergangenheit bekam. Diese dunkle Hintergrundgeschichte war für den Rest der Geschichte nicht wirklich relevant. Davor hat überhaupt nichts darauf hingewiesen, aber plötzlich war das dann halt einfach da und hat das restliche Buch überschattet. Das wirkte dabei irgendwie so, als hätte die Autorin nach einem Lückenfüller gesucht, der der Protagonistin mehr Tiefe verleiht und so den Leser fesselt und dazu bringt, den nächsten Band der Reihe auch noch zu lesen. Das hätte man sich meiner Meinung nach sparen können. Das Buch wäre doch auch ohne spannend gewesen! Das hätte ich persönlich sogar besser gefunden, weil es authentischer gewirkt hätte.

Die Geschichte des Buches fand ich ziemlich gut und sehr spannend. Besonders anspruchsvoll ist das Buch nicht, aber ich wollte während meiner Prüfungsphase auch auf keinen Fall irgendwas zu hohes lesen. Wenn ich eh schon den ganzen Tag Platon, Saussure, Goethe und Kristeva lese, dann will ich nicht auch noch am Abend hohe Literatur lesen. Aber egal. Weiter im Text. Das Geschichte machte Sinn und verlief total anders, als ich es gedacht habe. Dieses Ende hätte ich nie im Leben erwartet. Im Laufe der Geschichte muss Embla sich mit sehr vielen unterschiedlichen Problemen befassen. Die meiste Zeit war ich mir gerade zu Beginn nicht sicher, ob und wenn ja, wie zur Hölle die einzelnen Fälle denn zusammenhängen. Die Autorin hat es aber tatsächlich geschafft, alle Stränge so zusammen zu bringen, dass das Sinn macht. Im letzten (oder vorletztem) Kapitel, wo sich dann alles auflöst, war ich einfach nur noch baff. Wow! Damit habe ich echt nicht gerechnet. Fand ich gut, hat mir gefallen.

Den Schreibstil fand ich auch in Ordnung. Er war jetzt nicht der beste, den ich jemals irgendwo gesehen habe, aber ich fand ich ganz in Ordnung. Gut genug, um mich fesseln zu können.

Mein Fazit? War ganz gut. Die Lektüre fand ich gut, aber es gab halt leider doch ein paar kleinere Schwachstellen.

[Britt-Marie Kullin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Betyg: 4 av 5.

Sandgrav är den andra fristående boken i Helene Turstens serie om polisen Embla.

Så här skrev jag om den första boken i serien, Jaktmark:

”Helene Tursten har ju tidigare skrivit bland annat tio böcker om polisen Irene Huss. Jag har bara läst dom två sista böckerna i den serien, och här är en länk till min recension av den tionde och sista boken, ”I skydd av skuggorna”.

”Jaktmark” är den första boken i en ny serie, även den här om en kvinnlig polis, Embla.

Jag tyckte mer om den här boken, mot vad jag gjorde om dom två tidigare böckerna som jag har läst av Helene Tursten.

Gillade verkligen huvudpersonen, och dom andra poliserna, och övriga personer, så jag ser fram emot att läsa fler böcker i serien.

Rekommenderas absolut om man gillar lättlästa svenska deckare.”

Och ovanstående ord gäller även för Sandgrav. Plus att det är en mycket gripande handling i Sandgrav, med barn inblandade.

[VickiLee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yes, two different children disappear, a couple of men are stabbed, and the small Swedish community is cruel to a young man who is different from others. Detective inspector Embla Nystrom and her crew are actively pursing answers and trying to resolve the crimes.

This novel did not feel particularly like a mystery. More time was spent on the individual police, their sex lives, and their affection for tea and coffee. I was a little put off but the boar hunt that Embla attends, and I then recalled that I could not read The Hunting Game by this same author because I have difficulty reading about killing animals.

[Linden · Rating 4 out of 5]

Helene Tursten is one of my favorite Nordic Noir authors; I was glad to see that another of her books has been translated by one of the best, Marlaine Delargy. When a 9 year old girl and a 5 year old boy both go missing in a small town in Sweden, DI Embla Nystrom is assigned to the case. Suspicion falls on a young man who gave the little girl a ride. Is he guilty, or is someone trying to cover their own guilt by framing him via social media? There are many twists and turns in the plot, and I look forward to reading more Swedish police procedurals with these characters.

[Carol Teitelman · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was disappointed in this book. While reading the Irene Huss series I was intrigued by the plot as well as the characters. In this book I felt like there was little character development and most of the book seemed more like a screenplay. This book included scenes of what seemed like obligatory sex or description of places that did little to develop the personalities of the characters or to move the plot along. Don't waste your time in reading.

[Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this one more than the first. I’m getting to know Embla and she’s interesting. I don’t see a third book listed yet. Hope one is published soon.

[☺Trish · Rating 3 out of 5]

I always have reservations while reading crime fiction when it involves a child. Even when the case is eventually solved and the perpetrator is brought to justice I am left feeling rather depressed. It is kind of a hollow victory - the child is still dead and their loved ones still grieve. So very sad . . .
That said, the reader gets to learn more about Embla and her background. This story ends with a gasp-inducing cliffhanger.

[Jane Considine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another Scandinavian author whose book was hard to put down. A "murder mystery" but also many interesting characters whose lives have challenges and conundrums just like the rest of us. I think this book is just one featuring detective Embla Nystrom ...

[Cheryle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another fabulous book by Swedish author Helene Tursten. Winter Grave is the second in a new series featuring inspector Embla. It is just as good as Tursten's previous series and I will be looking for additional titles as they become available. The setting for this series is a more rural part of the country and provides new territory to discover.
In this thrilling mystery set in rural Sweden, Detective Inspector Embla Nyström must solve a murder case and find two missing children before the small town takes matters into their own hands.

When a little girl disappears a few weeks before Christmas, suspicion falls on the last person she was seen with: the mentally disabled teenage boy who gave her a ride home after school. Complicating the matter is the fact that detectives can hardly get a word out of him. When a second child disappears and a police officer is found dead, tensions in the small town of Strömstad reach an all-time high.

Meanwhile, 28-year-old Detective Inspector Embla Nyström has just returned to work and is still recovering from her recent brush with a killer, which left her unable to get back in the ring to defend her title of Nordic light welterweight champion. As she hunts for the missing children, Embla can’t help but think of the case that has been haunting her for years: the disappearance of her childhood best friend. Could the incidents be linked? With the passing of each dark winter day, the odds of finding the children alive shrink, and desperation mounts. Their parents want answers and will stop at nothing to get them.

[julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m definitely keeping an eye out for more of these police procedurals from Sweden. Mystery level is approximately on the 3 Pines level but being Nordic it’s a bit darker with less levity.

[Susan Beecher · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fine mystery set in modern Sweden. The second in the series.

[Cam Scali · Rating 3 out of 5]

Leaning toward 2.5⭐️ because of the amount of irrelevant info throughout

[Barb reads......it ALL! · Rating 3 out of 5]

Solid series

[Lulu · Rating 4 out of 5]

I do like it when a character and plot is more complex. This story was a fine weave and even tho I figured out who was the prime suspect, I was not prepared for the surprise ending.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a very sad book because it deals with children - that made it a lot darker than I felt it had to be. Embla still makes some borderline bad choices, but she almost isn't the star here - we get to know her team and those around her better, and I found myself liking some of them more than her. Her relationship with Nisse is interesting, and the pacing here was very different than in the first book in the series.

The mystery was good in the sense that I didn't know where it was going until the last 1/3 of the book. And the book also raises some social issues, about the treatment of those who are different and don't fit into society. I just wish I liked Embla a little more. She's interesting. . . just not that relatable.

The book ends with a bit of a cliff hanger, so I probably will try to check out the next installment.

[Greta · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mystery not particularly compelling. Odd juxtaposition of personal details about the characters that seem to add nothing to the overall narrative. Language is a bit clunky, perhaps the fault of the translator?

[Megan · Rating 2 out of 5]

So many problems with this book. First off, the translation is absolutely leaden, with a couple bizarre choices like saying a policewoman has to get back home to check on her pot plants?? Granted, this is the same policewoman who is SLEEPING WITH THE LAWYER FOR ONE OF HER SUSPECTS, so in the grand scheme of things, growing pot on the side doesn't seem like such a big deal. Fortunately the name of the plant was given, and when I looked it up, it was just a normal everyday houseplant, but it's baffling to me that not a single editor anywhere said to the translator, "Hey, um, we call them POTTED plants-- pot plants are something way different."

On to the author, who created such a jumbled, hard-to-follow narrative that I kept finding it hard to stay focused on what I was reading. Tons of names given way too fast and with little context-- I kept forgetting who was killed and who was a suspect and who was a police officer. I'm still confused about the whole subplot about some guy getting knifed-- was he a criminal, or did he just hang out with criminals? Don't know, and honestly don't care. And who knifed him, was it Ted or Hagen? Don't know, don't care.

As for the police in this book, I feel like the author... hates police? Am I crazy? I don't understand why they would have a huge search for a missing girl, but NOT search the dumpster and beach house that the main suspect had access to. It's wild! And the stupid lobster trap that it was OBVIOUS the girl was in from the moment someone literally tripped over it for no fucking reason? Why why why would any author write this nonsense? I'm just so frustrated. I was hate-reading this thing as fast as I could ever since Embla hooked up with Nadir. I just couldn't understand why this otherwise sane and responsible-seeming character was like, "Yeah, it's not a GREAT idea to sleep with this married skeezeball who's DEFENDING A PERSON I ARRESTED, but I'm super horny, so." I'm not saying I find self-destructive or reckless characters implausible in general, I just didn't understand how it made sense for this particular character. Uff. Anyways, this is my last time trying to read Tursten. I enjoyed her short stories about the murderous old lady, but in novel-length form, what a mess.

[Jasbr · Rating 3 out of 5]

Krimis, in denen es um Kinder geht, finde ich immer besonders schlimm. Irgendwie kann ich es leichter ertragen, wenn Erwachsenen etwas passiert. Trotzdem habe ich mich an dieses Buch herangewagt und kann schon mal vorwegnehmen, dass hier keine Misshandlungen oder ähnliches stattfinden. Hier geht die Autorin sehr behutsam vor und schafft es, dieses schwierige Thema von verschwundenen Kindern so zu beschreiben, dass es zwar immer noch sehr traurig ist, aber nicht unnötig ausgeschlachtet wird. Leichte Kost ist es deshalb aber natürlich trotzdem nicht unbedingt.

Gleich zu Beginn lernt man Amelie kennen, die schon ein Kapitel später verschwunden ist. Einen direkten Einstieg finde ich immer sehr gut, da man direkt im Geschehen ist, ohne dass man erst viele unnötige Details erhält. Leider geht das für meinen Geschmack aber nicht so weiter: Die Aufklärung des Falls schreitet nur sehr langsam voran, es gibt kaum Hinweise oder Fortschritte, dafür aber viel Drumherum.

Dazu gehört auch die Protagonistin Embla Nyström, die mit dem Fall der verschwundenen Amelie und eines weiteren Jungen übernimmt. Meiner Meinung nach zeichnet sie sich in weiten Teilen nicht gerade durch eine geschickte Ermittlungsarbeit aus, sondern mehr durch ihr Privatleben. Das hat mich wirklich gestört, denn mich haben ihre Techtelmechtel nicht interessiert. Vielleicht ist das anders, wenn man den ersten Band gelesen hat und die Ermittlerin schon kennengelernt hat. So blieb sie für mich aber relativ blass.

Dafür, dass die Ermittlungen doch sehr lange stocken, wird es im letzten Drittel des Buches doch noch spannend. Hier kommen Details ans Licht, mit denen ich überhaupt nicht gerechnet habe und die der Geschichte spannende Wendungen geben. Das hat mir gut gefallen. Das Ende ist dann fast schon etwas unspektakulär, aber deswegen nicht weniger erschreckend. Es hat sehr gut gepasst und es bleiben keine Fragen offen. Für mich ein versöhnlicher Abschluss.

Insgesamt hat das Buch für mich einige Schwächen gehabt, aber es hat mich alles in allem gut unterhalten und das Ende macht dann einiges wett. Deswegen gibt es von mir 3 Sterne.