I am reading this in German, though German is not my first language, so I need to be slow and patient. However, this is my fifth book in this twelve book series (I began out of order with Die Frau auf Nordstrand and then went back to the start) and I've now grown used to regularly recurring police terms.
I find with these books that I have to keep notes of the names of the characters: who they are and what their relationship to the victim or victims (there's usually a second murder in an Anna Johannsen book, I've found). These notes are needed partly because I'm finding my way in another language, but also because the plot is complex and I forget who is who (I sometimes do this in English crimis too). However, of all the Johannsen books I've read so far, this had the longest dramatis personae list, and I had to consult it regularly. Having said that, I enjoyed it very much.
I liked the way everything seems to come to a halt half way through, when Lena's old enemy, Groll (as head of SOKO) takes over the investigation, and she is relegated. At this point, we get the whole backstory on the rape attempt Groll once made on her. By the end of the book, she has the upper hand over him in police procedural terms. However, he still hasn't had his moral comeuppance or the exposure he deserves. I assume Johannsen has reserved this for another book.
That pause in the middle of the plot is welcome. Lena can spend some quality time with her loved one, Erck, instead of rushing off at the crack of dawn to catch some ferry or other in hot pursuit of a killer. She has about two days, I think, before she's called back into action for reasons I won't leak here. Still that bit of personal relationship is nice, as is the team-building between Lena, her regular sidekick Johan, and Ole Kotten, the local police officer in Husum, where Lena and Erck are renting (with a view to buy) a house.
I liked the chase across the north sea after a luxury yacht. In fact, I liked the whole business of boats in this particular book, as well as learning a little about the Hallig, where people's houses are built on reinforced banks of mud, and where in real life residents on the various islands must surely be more concerned about environmental change than they are in these novels. A thatched roof is very nice, but not if water levels rise.
I was worried about Lena's diet. She eats an awful lot of pizza for one who (according to her aunt) is too thin. And she and her team do grin a lot when they get together. Masses of things are said grinsend, or (when Lena is with Erck) schmunzelnd. At the very end it's a matter of grinning widely: breit grinsend (twice in two pages). These are aspects of formulaic writing that I might regard as a weakness if reading in English, but when reading in German, I'm grateful to recognise them instantly.
But all in all I enjoyed this. So far my favourites in this series are this and Das Mädchen am Strand. The Mädchen probably has the edge. But still four stars, breit grinsend, for this.