Manden med det lille ansigt

Inspector Huss #7

by Helene Tursten

A speeding BMW leaves a dead pedestrian in its wake and leads police to the corpse of a young girl in a cellar. Detective Inspector Irene Huss's ensuing investigation draws her into the chilling world of sex trafficking.

Göteborg, Sweden: The high-speed chase of a stolen BMW takes a chilling turn when the two police officers involved witness a gruesome hit-and-run. When they finally recover the abandoned vehicle, search dogs are unable to trace the thieves, but they do uncover an entirely different horror: the half-naked corpse of a young girl in a nearby root cellar.

As Detective Inspector Irene Huss and her colleagues struggle to put the pieces together, they discover the man whose car was stolen—a retired police officer—is none other than the victim in the hit-and-run. Could it be a strange coincidence? Or is something larger at play? Meanwhile, the hunt for the girl’s killer leads Irene into the dark world of sex trafficking. An international criminal has arrived in Göteborg, and he’ll stop at nothing to expand his sinister operation.

Genres: Mystery, Crime, Fiction, Sweden, Scandinavian Literature, Nordic Noir, Swedish Literature

286 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 2007

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

[Nancy Oakes]

I've cut way way back on reading series novels, but I've been a fan of Tursten's work from the first book of this series, Detective Inspector Huss. For plot, etc. you can go here; otherwise read on.


There's a very thoughtful blurb on the back cover of my book from The Denver Post which says in part,

"For decades the Swedes have excelled at crime fiction, which is often as gloomy as their long winter nights, filled with philosophical asides on life and politics."

This time around, the dark world of sex trafficking/sex slavery is the main focus, and Tursten doesn't shy away from showing her readers exactly how horrific this "trade" really is. First of all, she informs her readers that
"...human trafficking today turns over more money than the narcotics trade." The girls involved rarely make it out; and those who manage to do so often suffer from severe physical and mental damage. She also notes that most men who pay for sex with a "sex slave" do so likely for reasons of power, and because they see these girls as objects -- not real people. Tursten also reveals that the majority of men who participate are "socially well-established men with families." What's even more eye-opening here is that there is even a market for killing these poor victims after they're no longer of any use -- pimps sell these girls to people who take money for getting rid of them. And as an example of an even worse reality, Tursten also reveals that in some cases, the sex-slave trade is protected by politicians and overlooked in terms of the law because of the potentially huge amounts of money involved. So quite frankly, it boggles my brain when I read an Amazon review of this book where the reader reviewer says the following:

"Maybe I am a bit weary of the crime of sex trafficking so this one was not as good as her others."

Weary of the crime of sex trafficking? I ask you. How does anyone get "weary" of hearing about something that needs so much public awareness? Not only that, but hello ... the subject of this novel is right on the dustjacket blurb so caveat emptor. Duh.

What I like about Tursten's novels in general is that she doesn't have to resort to the now-standard trope of the badass heroine, but instead focuses mainly on the procedural side of police work. She situates Irene Huss in a workplace which is very much a male-dominated environment where there's no escaping from a couple of misogynistic jerks as colleagues, which is probably a more realistic situation than we non-police people realize. The down side of this series as a whole is that while I get that the author wants to portray a woman who must juggle work with home and personal life, I'm just not a huge fan of the continuing story of the dog (and I have two dogs of my own) and the issues with the twins, especially now that they're what -- 20?

While The Beige Man is not my personal favorite of her novels, I must say that the story is much better than the last couple of books Tursten's written and this time around I was pretty much hooked right away and stayed with the story until all was revealed. I will also mention that I had some things figured out early on which is pretty bothersome for me as a crime/mystery reader -- I'm one of those people who wants only tiny little clues to work on until the end so that everything is a huge surprise. That didn't happen here, but that's okay. I stick with these books because I happen to like Irene Huss as a character, and as long as Helene Tursten keeps writing them, I'll keep buying them.

[Regenfisch · Rating 1 out of 5]

Nach 30 Seiten abgebrochen. Ist nicht mehr meins.

[Gisela Hafezparast · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best book of the serious dealing with the horrible crime of sex trafficking of very young, mainly Eastern European girls. Very well written.

[Cathy Cole · Rating 4 out of 5]

I always enjoy visiting the world of Detective Inspector Irene Huss, former national jujitsu champion, mother of twin girls, and head of the Violent Crimes Unit. The Beige Man is no exception. A great deal of the allure of this series is how the main character juggles her personal and professional lives. In this seventh book of the series, Huss has two truly mystifying investigations, one of which takes her to the Canary Islands to follow a lead. At the same time her two daughters are leaving the nest, and her aging mother's health demands that Irene give her special care and attention. Some readers don't care for police procedurals that delve deeply into the characters' lives, but-- as long as the mystery itself doesn't suffer-- I like them. There have to be thousands of police officers all over the world who have to deal with these same demands on their time on a daily basis, and I believe bringing some sort of focus on their personal lives gives true insight into how they manage to get it all done (or in some cases don't get it all done).

While I did enjoy becoming up-to-date with the events of Huss's personal life, I found her two investigations truly puzzling. It wasn't until I had the full advantage of hindsight that I realized I hadn't paid enough attention to the implications of a conversation Huss had had with another character towards the beginning of The Beige Man. It's not often that I'm totally surprised by the solution to a case, so this was certainly a treat.

If you'd like to conduct your own investigation into Swedish crime fiction, I recommend Helene Tursten's Detective Inspector Irene Huss series. Good mysteries, and Huss is interesting whether she's at home or on the job. She's also one of the few police officers who has a boss who may be a jerk, but he's a jerk with depth. (How's that for a character reference?)

[Donald Levin · Rating 2 out of 5]

I won an uncorrected advance copy of this book in a Goodreads giveaway.

I was excited to get The Beige Man because I love Scandinavian mysteries and Helene Tursten is a new writer for me. It starts out nicely, setting up the situation well. But ultimately I was disappointed with almost every aspect of the book. For me the characters, including the main character Irene Huss, lacked dimensionality to the point where it was hard to care about them. I couldn't even tell her police colleagues apart. The pacing began well but then quickly turned glacial; after the midpoint of the book the forward movement flagged noticeably and I had to struggle to finish it. The writing itself seemed surprisingly leaden for such an internationally celebrated author, but perhaps that was an artifact of the translation. And though sex trafficking, which is at the heart of the book, is certainly important, it's also one that is beginning to appear in Scandinavian mysteries with enough regularity that it's losing its impact as a social issue.

I'm sorry I couldn't be more enthusiastic about the book because, as I said, I started it with a lot of enthusiasm. But I didn't find enough to lead me to want to sample another one by this author.

[Graeme · Rating 5 out of 5]

Helene Tursten gets better by the book. She is has become one of my favorite crime writers of all time.

This is my second reading of this book. A seven-year interval was enough to make the second one as enjoyable as the first.

I love the ordinariness of the Huss family, the police, and even the criminals. They are plausible and real. Police officer Jonny Blom plays a minor role, but he is really a stupid shit, and that too is true to life.

Although Ms. Tursten says she "has taken considerable liberties with geographical facts," we could really do with a map of the Göteborg area, presumably modified, to follow the story.

[Carol · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good read but not the best effort of this author. Involves sex slaves, mobs and all the other usual crimes. I like it more when the protagonist has more interaction with her family, especially the spouse and the dog, and with her collegues, which is lacking in this adventure. I am also over all these novels involving sex crimes, altho this one is at least less gooey. I also hope this detective gets over her coffee addiction. It does seem to over occupy her mind. Do love her mom tho.

[Michael L Wilkerson (Papa Gray Wolf) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've often commented in Stephen King being my favorite author and his son, Joe Hill being a close second. I love how they create monsters, things that go bump in the night. I'm not changing that opinion but I have to acknowledge that those bumpy in the night monsters aren't the only kind of monsters there are to fear.

The monsters of King, Hill, Rice, Lovecraft are things of the imagination created in the minds of good and great authors. But there are other monsters who are real. They may come to life in fiction but they are based in reality. These are the monsters of the underworld, murderers, kidnappers, thieves and all sorts of miscreants. But one can easily argue that the worst of the lot are the sex slave masters and the worst of the worst are those who enslave the young, girls and boys alike.

The Beige Man is a work of fiction that deals with a very real problem in our world today; child sex slavery.

If you are a fan of crime fiction you should familiarize yourself with Ms. Tursten. You should enjoy her work, her way with prose, the way she weaves an intricate story. This novel; however; was not one I enjoyed yet I'm glad that I read it and learned.

[Ulla · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ganska tråkig!

[Gloria Feit · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the 7th and newest in the series featuring Inspector Irene Huss, head of the Violent Crimes Unit of the Goteborg police in the west of Sweden and former jujitsu champion more than 20 years ago (now past 40). It is February, and they have been enduring a very harsh winter (not unexpectedly). As the story opens, the police are in hot pursuit of a BMW automobile which had been reported stolen. As the policemen are chasing the car, they witness that same car as it hits a pedestrian, sending him crashing into the ground before it continues to speed along the roadway, leaving its victim lying where he landed. Ultimately, the ensuing investigation reveals that the dead man was a retired police officer known to most of the cops looking for the killers. And things only get worse from there: Shortly after this episode, the body of a young girl, perhaps twelve or thirteen years old, is discovered in a root cellar a short distance away, the body apparently having been there for several months.

Her colleagues are still Superintendent Sven Andersson [62 and seriously overweight, with high blood pressure and asthma, now something of a lame duck, as he was about to move to the Cold Case Squad], and Tommy Persson, and Hanna Rauhala, with whom she was frequently partnered

The story lines alternate between the crime-solving and Irene’s personal life, itself very interesting. Her home life centers around her gourmet chef husband and her twin daughters, now 19 years old and about to begin independent lives (always a challenge for the about-to-be empty-nest parents), and her mother, Gerd (77 years old and becoming more frail) and her 82-year-old significant other, Sture.

As the investigation proceeds, there are indications that sex slavery is involved, and the Human Trafficking Unit joins the hunt. The head of that unit offers “The fact is that human trafficking today turns over more money than the narcotics trade.” The investigation takes Irene to Tenerife, where the body count rises precipitously. She is told “the demand from the clients rules the market. . . If they’re ready to pay, then everything is for sale, and I mean everything.”

I loved the tip-of-the-hat given to the late Ed McBain and his 87th Precinct tales. The plot is somewhat complex, but no less interesting for that, and the writing is very good.

Recommended.

[Valerie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this police procedural by Swedish author Helene Tursten. It has to do with two murders which happen on the same night, but the police are not sure they are connected. A very young girl who is the victim of human trafficking has been found murdered, and not far away, a retired policeman died from a hit and run vehicular accident. Behind the scenes, the events are actually quite complicated as there are two gangs involved in drug and human trafficking operating out of Tenerife in the Canary Islands. The girl was supposed to have traveled there but never showed up with her "chaperone." Apparently, the human trafficking business is alive and well world wide and to me, it is beyond horrible and evil, that this goes on even in the 21st century. Some of the girls are sold by their parents into a life of prostitution, drugs, and eventual early death. In my opinion, those involved in human rights need to be more involved in this; it is happening around the globe in just about every country. Anyway, that being the central theme of the story, Irene Huss, a policewoman in Goteburg, ends up having to go to Tenerife as part of the investigation and it takes quite a bit of investigation, intuition, and plain old guesswork to put the puzzle of who killed these two people together. I found it a fascinating story.

[Larraine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having realized that I missed several of these after reading the first one, I am trying to make them up as quickly as I can. In the most recent book, Irene's children have moved out, her mother has died, they have had to put their dog down, and things are changing at work - and not in a good way. This is the book before that. This book explores the ugly world of human trafficking. It's a bit preachy, but very enlightening. When the police find a dead body near an abandoned car, they are not sure at first if the two are related. The book takes Irene to Tenerife to check out what seems to be a relationship between murders there and the human trafficking in Sweden. The body they discover is of a young girl who is small and undernourished and only 13 or 14 years old. It's a horrific story. The ending wasn't a complete surprise. There is a clue in the book after all. I enjoy the straightforward stories that the author tells. Some Scandinavian crime novels - Jo Nesbo comes to mind - can be exceptionally dark. This series features a female detective who is a normal person leading a normal life which is a nice change from a lot of books.

[Ken Fredette · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was one of Helene's good stories. It was sex trafficking in Sweden from Estonia and Russia. With some exotic tropics thrown in. A lot of action on the part of Irene's girls and her mother. I gave it 4 stars.

[Nancy Cook Lauer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dark, brooding, insightful. These people have a lot of cold, dark days to concentrate on authorship. I'm still liking these Scandinavian police procedurals, although I've read better than this particular one.

[Andy Plonka · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really like this series. A clever plot, and not as morose as many Scandinavian mysteries.

[Mike Cuthbert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tursten’s Irene Huss novels are among the least-frenetic of Nordic Noir examples. Huss is calm, possessed and, while cerebral, normal. She has a loving husband, Krister, a grown daughter and two twins about to sprout into adulthood as well as mostly competent colleagues. Jonny Blom is a constant, sexist, pain in the ass, but he bothers everybody, not just Irene. Much of the novel, as is customary with Tursten, is taken up with domestic concerns. In this case, it’s mostly Gerd, her grandmother, who is getting on in years and, though still independent, has moments that preview a life quite different from the independent course she usually runs. When Sture, her long-held love who lives apart from her, dies, it is a family crisis, especially when she falls and breaks her hip. Irene has to deal with that, the immediate departure of the twins and the return home of Katerina, her adult daughter married to Felipe. Then there are the murders of a young woman, the death of a colleague who was run over while jogging, and a disastrous and nearly fatal trip to Tenerife that all complicate her life. Throughout, Irene is always capable of noticing the handsomeness of strange men she meets though there is no incidence of unfaithfulness. Krister is too good a cook to allow any shenanigans. Throughout the book, as is so often the case in Noir novels, sex trafficking is an issue. It certainly is here as evidence indicates a relationship between the dead young woman, the guy killed by the hit and run and the trip to Tenerife that involves Irene. While a procedural, the novel is less strictly bound by the rules of the game due to Tursten’s casual pace. I find it a bit of a relief and an appealing variant on the general form, especially since Huss is such an intriguing character. We never really know what she looks like other than the fact that she is quite tall, is considered good looking by the men she meets and that she must be athletic since she trains at jiu jitsu at regular intervals and is a former European champion in the sport. Unlike other Huss novels, this one fails to exercise her skills on a victim, (usually a would-be attacker), but the skills are there. There is a surprising ending to the novel that brings into focus the title character. A good read and solid example of the best in Nordic Noir.

[Tony · Rating 2 out of 5]

Years ago, I quite enjoyed the first few books in the series featuring Swedish Detective Inspector Irene Huss. But my appetite for Scandinavian crime petered out, and I stopped seeking out the latest installments. I picked this seventh one up the other day, looking for something relatively short and familiar. And while it did prove to be short and familiar, it's not as good as the other books in the series I've read.

The story kicks off with a hit-and-run that starts with a car theft and ends with the discovery of a dead teenage girl, concealed in a cellar. One of the problems of the book is that there are too many disparate things going on: identifying the man killed by the hit-and-run, identifying the drivers, identifying the murdered girl, tracking down some runaways from a youth detention facility, tracing some or all of this to sex trafficking, etc... It all feels a bit jumbled, especially when Huss ends up making a trip to Tenerife to liaise with an possibly related investigation down there. (I still can't figure out why she had to travel there... other than draw things out and introduce further unnecessary side plots.)

At the same time as all this activity, the story's biggest twist (the identity of the girl's killer) is going to be pretty obvious to most readers simply because there aren't many options presented. I suppose the book's main strength is the detailing of the mechanics of sex trafficking, but as laudable as that exposure is, it's no substitute for characterization, pacing, and plot. 

[Wanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very involved mystery with several things happening at the same time. It starts off with a stolen car that hits a d kills a pedestrian and while searching for the suspects a young girl is found dead nearby. The hit and run victim is a retired policeman who was friends with the head of the investigating unit. Part of the unit is trying to find the drivers and the others are working on the girls death.
Irene Huss is involved in all of it and is dealing with things in her personal life. Her daughters are moving out, her mom is having health problems a d her husband is still dealing with some depression. Two of her coworkers are out sick and there is a lot of work piling up.
The young girl is found to have connections to sex trafficking and the team gets involved tracking some very unsavory characters who also are involved with drugs. They work with a other unit to help arrest these criminals but with no luck. It leads to gangs in Tenerife and Irene goes there to give information to the police there and gets caught up in some gang violence.
A few twists in the end. A bit of a tough subject with the sex trafficking and the way the girls are treated. The author did a good job of handling this subject. Like the interaction between the different members of the police unit. Good job showing each person's strengths and weaknesses.
Enjoyed the book. Have read quite a few in this series and look forward to reading more.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book as a free giveaway from Goodreads. My review is honest - it took me long enough to get to the book! The title doesn't do the story justice - it's really pretty compelling, with two cases that seem unrelated coming together in a disturbing, larger sense. Huss is a likeable character, and with side trips to Tenerife and a possible promotion, it seems her star is on the rise in the department. And I loved catching up with the characters in that group. The focus on her home life put wasn't as comfortable - we're told more than we're shown, and while I think her empty nest syndrome and Krister's issues are typical and worth addressing, they're dealt with in the most boring manner possible. It's almost like they don't fit the rest of the story - we probably could have gotten the same impact with a better edited section on her home life.

This is a compelling installment of a strong series (and it could stand on it's own). I do feel that the series is taking a darker turn here, in terms of the type of crime they're dealing with, the way the crimes are making the lead detectives look inward, and the impact it's having on their home lives. Tursten shows a full picture of her characters, and that's one of the things that makes her books enjoyable.

[Lynne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Irene Huss and her fellow detectives are faced with two crimes that may or may not be connected. Somehow they think they are, and they proceed running down all the information they can find in order to solve the cases.

It began with a stolen car that hit a runner. He was killed on impact. In looking for the stolen car, the cops find the corpse of a young teen or even pre-teen.

Running parallel to this is that Irene's mother fell and broke her hip - for which she was already on the replacement waiting list. The twins are looking into jobs, and her husband is still coming back from a recent mental health low point.

Regardless, Irene gets sent out of the country to learn more about a dead human trafficker of whom they suspect nefarious activities involving the dead teen they found. She nearly gets killed, but she does return to Sweden with more to go on.

Eventually it all comes together, and we learn more about human trafficking that we'd ever suspected would be the case.

The meaning of the title didn't come out until nearly the end, and it was a surprise.

On to the next Irene Huss!

[Katy Koivastik · Rating 5 out of 5]

This page-turning mystery is centered around the lucrative and brutal sex trade. Detective Inspector Irene Huss is a hardworking cop married to a professional chef who goes the extra mile (in this instance to Tenerife from Goteborg, Sweden) to track down the perpetrators of both a hit and run car accident and the murder of a young girl.

The book highlights the ruthlessness of an age old industry and the difficulty in trying to ferret out and prosecute those involved. It also shows DI Huss as human; trying, as we all are, to balance work and personal lives.

There are some highly relatable moments. For instance, she describes the lunch proffered on the plane to Tenerife as a "joke"; anyone who flies knows how true this is. Another example: on a whim, she buys an anti aging cream in the duty free shop and is stunned by the price. Women of a certain age will appreciate this moment for sure.

[Mia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although this is the seventh book in the series, I had no trouble following the characters even though it is the first book I have read. I saw a review of the author’s latest book, and decided to try her out. Frankly, at least one of her coworkers is so unpleasant that I felt glad I had missed him in the first six books. His tasteless jokes would not be tolerated today and not in my long work history here in the United States. But the story moved very steadily along with the story of a hit and run in a stolen vehicle which leads to the discovery of the body of a young woman during search for the escaped drivers. That leads to an investigation of sex trafficking and so forth. The author moved the story along at a fast pace. This was a pretty good read and the fact I have never been to Gotenburg and therefore could not be upset that the geography of the area was manipulated by the author was a bonus.

[Marssie Mencotti · Rating 4 out of 5]

Now that I am a part of Inspector Irene Huss' household, so to speak, I can follow this more complicated plot. I appreciated that the first seven-ten pages there was a stolen car chase, a person run over, a car fire and a young dead girl and the police are left to try to figure out if they are related or unrelated because they seem to have occurred at about the same time. This one, though complicated was a fast read. Between rounding up the usual suspects, investigating the death of a retired policeman and being tied into a crime ring from Tenerife, there's never a dull moment. Sadly, we hear that Irene's mother is going through a crisis as well and Irene's daughters are growing up very fast. I appreciate this "real time" crime procedural because as the police force ages and grows with new voices, older voices depart. There is always hope and new procedures among those who know how to work together.

[Rog Harrison · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the seventh book in a police procedural series (ten books in all) set in Goteborg, Sweden and the fourth book in this series which I have read. I like the character of Detective Inspector Irene Huss.

The story starts off with a man being killed by a car in a hit and run. However when the police come across the torched remains of the car which killed the man they find the body of a dead young girl nearby. This leads into an investigation of sex trafficking so Irene actually spends a couple of days in Tenerife.

The story is told in a matter of fact style but I enjoyed this book. I think it is probably a good idea to read the books in the correct order though apparently the events in the fourth book take place before the events in the second and third books!

I will definitely look for more books in this series.

[Kyrie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I need to give my brain a good shower after this book.

Giving it 3 stars because it IS well-written, and it made me care about Irene,and her family, and the victims. But "liked it" is not the expression I'd use.

The main story - who killed an underage sex worker (well, sex slave- she didn't choose this line of work) is graphic. There were drugs, and crime gangs, and violence. Bad cops, too.

The secondary story about Irene's family, is dark, but with hope. The things going on with some of her coworkers are also vaguely depressing. Having it set in winter in Sweden didn't lighten things up any.

I'm deep enough into this series that I'll read more, but if this one had been the first I'd read, I would not have continued.

[Kerry · Rating 3 out of 5]

good as a police procedural but no real atmosphere and did not come to care about characters much. Maybe as this is my 1st read in this series and I started with a later series edition. Might have cared more if I had been following from the beginning. Plan on watching one of the TV shows to see how main female detective is portrayed. Am thinking about reading the first in the series to see if it intrigues me more. The mystery was about sex trafficing --a subject I find difficult to read about especially as this one included very young girls. Probably might not have continued when I found out it was the subject of this mystery but it was a book club pick.

[David Hallstrom · Rating 4 out of 5]

Helene Tursten's Inspector Huss series is aggravatingly uneven. And so I come and go from these books, feeling a need to complete the series, but with no sense of urgency.

The Beige Man is as good as they come in the Huss series. The story and characters are very well-developed. The subject matter is not pleasant - human trafficking - but is presented in a forthright manner. No hysterics, no moral preening. Just factual.

I do not like leaving reviews of mysteries because I do not want to give away too much of the story. So let me just say that I really enjoyed this book and I wish more of the books in the Huss series were this strong

[Rene]

Hard core book of children and sex trafficking

Its a quick read from this great author. It’s all about the illegal business of child sex trafficking in Russia, the Baltic countries, and Sweden. Our heroine, Irene Huss, pursues the bad guys and finds and helps the kidnapped children. The surprise was that their police colleague, was a client of this business and he was a murderer of one of the very ill victims - the little Russian girl, as they called her. Huss is a great asset to the police department, following up on every clue and bringing the monsters who paid for the children to their final justice!

[CherylB · Rating 5 out of 5]

Swedish Detective Mystery Thriller!

This is the seventh book in this series. Each one gets better. Inspector Irene Huss is in fine form. She can solve the case if she gets more pieces of the murder puzzle. Fortunately we get to ride along with her. This case has many moving parts and just when they think they have it solved an alibi changes the course. This case involves human trafficking, drugs, car theft, murder, a shoot out, kidnapping and a trip to the Canary Islands.

The audiobook is narrated by Suzanne Toren. She does an excellent job bring these characters to life. I love hearing the names of places and people in their native language.

[Carfig · Rating 2 out of 5]

Unfortunately, the title gives away the culprit. Possibly Hannu sees it as a possibility but no one else does. And the theme--sex trafficking with young girls--is unpalatable, but a serious issue. Irene has to go to Tenerife to help out with details of how their Swedish case overlaps with issues there and almost gets killed. Naturally it wouldn't be an uneventful trip....

Anyway, no one is going to suspect the "beige" man, not the kind of person you really notice, doesn't stand out in the crowd... but "he had his quirks.... A mediocre man with a slightly odd personality." And criminal tendencies.