I embarked on this thinking it was the first in a series, only to discover that it is, actually, the tenth book in an established, very popular, crime series. I really wish that publishers would not print series out of order, as though it is irrelevant to the reader. Although I liked lots of things about this, I would have liked it far more had I known more about the various characters and their relationships. It took me ages to get my head around who everyone was and how they related to each other.
Ubbo Heide is the wheelchair bound, former chief of police, who is happily relaxing by the sea when a large parcel arrives, containing a severed head. There is a new Head of Central Criminal Investigation, who has been promoted – although it feels like a demotion – to take over the area formerly run by Heide. Also there is Ann Kathrin Klaasen, the main character of the series, who is more popular with the public than her superiors. It is obvious that there is a different hierarchy to the one officially in place and that Ubbo Heide has a loyal following – meaning that everyone rushes off to investigate why Heide is being targeted.
Although this series obviously has a lot to recommend it, I was, to be honest, confused and I really dislike reading books out of order. If the publisher decide to publish this series properly, from the beginning, I would love to give it another try. I think that, if I had encountered the characters properly, this would have been a four, but, as it took me so long to work out who was who, and what the group dynamics were, I will have to give this a three.