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Red Wolf (Annika Bengtzon (Chronological Order) #5)

3.42 of 5 stars 3.42 · rating details · 727 ratings · 120 reviews

Beneath a dark winter sky . . . death waits patiently.

A journalist is murdered in the frozen white landscape of a northern Swedish town. Annika Bengtzon, a reporter at a Stockholm-based tabloid, was planning to interview him about a long-ago attack against an isolated air base nearby, and now she suspects that his death is linked to that attack.

Against the explicit order

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Hardcover, 400 pages

Published February 15th 2011 by Atria (first published January 1st 2003)

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Aug 03, 2010 Sian rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book is actually 5th in a series....which I didnt realise until I was half way through lol.

The series is based on the reporter Annika Bengzton, the stories she does and her family.

Even though I haven't read any of the other books I still really enjoyed this.

All throughout it I kept getting images of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo...maybe because it was based in Sweden but also it just had the same feel to it. (Along with the hard to pronounce names [:)])
Also the same as The Girl With the D...more

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Jun 01, 2013 Wendy Hines rated it 3 of 5 stars

When I first heard that Red Wolf was coming out, I really wanted to read it. She co-wrote The Postcard Killers with one of my favorite all-time authors, James Patterson.

From what I can see, Liza Marklund is a well-known author in Switzerland, and this is the first book of hers to be published in the USA. Her popular series is Annika Bengzon, an investigative news reporter.

So what happened in the previous books in the series, I have no idea as this is the first one to hit the USA market. What I...more When I first heard that Red Wolf was coming out, I really wanted to read it. She co-wrote The Postcard Killers with one of my favorite all-time authors, James Patterson.

From what I can see, Liza Marklund is a well-known author in Switzerland, and this is the first book of hers to be published in the USA. Her popular series is Annika Bengzon, an investigative news reporter.

So what happened in the previous books in the series, I have no idea as this is the first one to hit the USA market. What I do know, is that for a mystery/thriller reader, is that we have been missing out!

Annika Bengzton is an independent investigative reporter whose primary focus is on terrorism. Forty years ago, terrorism was suspected when a fighter plane exploded, killing one. Annika wants to do a series of articles about the attack because the fortieth anniversary is approaching and she believes it makes good news.

But, her boss doesn't want her to investigate it. It's not current and therefore, no one really cares about it. But Annika brushes off her boss's concerns and starts digging. When a journalist she was supposed to interview is killed in a hit and run, she thinks his death is linked to the terrorist attack. Then the witness of the attack is murdered.

Meanwhile, Annika is having trouble in paradise - marriage problems. Already having anxiety issues, finding out her husband is having affair is just icing on the cake. Trying to push her emotions down so she can concentrate on the case, she comes upon a small communists group calling themselves The Beasts. It will take all of her sanity and wits if she hopes to find out the truth before a viscous killer makes her his next mark.

Heart-pounding and compelling, Marklund takes us on a twisted journey that will have you on the edge-of-your-seat until the final conclusion. She deftly weaves suspense with the personal life of her heroine, Annika. So well written, you will be up long into the night, burning the midnight oil, as you won't want to put this one down!(less)

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Mar 26, 2013 Deanna Drai Turner rated it 5 of 5 stars

What a different surprise! I got this as book-on-tape (12 discs). At first I was unsure about it. The story seemed vague with several seemingly unattached story lines. But I liked the main character Annika so I plodded onward and am pleased I did. I found this to be a FINE FINE story, extremely well crafted indeed. All knots were tied together, in complicated and shrewd ways. Excellent. This is a story placed in Sweden. I liked that very much, not knowing a lot about this country or their custom...more

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Sep 23, 2012 Karen rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: crime, scandinavian

The fifth book in the Annika Bengtzon series, I've absolutely no idea whether or not the entire series has been translated in order or not. I've sort of lost the plot with this series, probably because the first book - THE BOMBER - didn't appeal a lot. The last I read, PRIME TIME, was better, but a lot of the problem is that Annika, as the main focus, is a character I find it very hard to either warm to, or increasingly raise much interest in.

The plot of RED WOLF, that idea of the past having a...more The fifth book in the Annika Bengtzon series, I've absolutely no idea whether or not the entire series has been translated in order or not. I've sort of lost the plot with this series, probably because the first book - THE BOMBER - didn't appeal a lot. The last I read, PRIME TIME, was better, but a lot of the problem is that Annika, as the main focus, is a character I find it very hard to either warm to, or increasingly raise much interest in.

The plot of RED WOLF, that idea of the past having a direct impact on the present, is something I'm noticing a lot these days. The interweaving of the 1969 destruction of a plane on a Swedish air base, home-grown Communist sleeper cells and the impacts of the Cold War on Sweden then and now was carefully drawn out, given immediacy and current day relevance by the death of another journalist, Benny Ekland. It's an interesting idea, in this book executed reasonably well, although it does take a little while to get going. Which wasn't exactly helpful, as there's also a lot going on in Annika's personal life, which, if like me, you're having trouble with Annika, doesn't help with getting into this book.

This is probably my biggest cause of confusion with this series. I can't work out why Annika grates quite as much as she does. Somehow she comes across to me as less stoic and determined and more whingy and inclined to play the martyr. Less put upon and more the cause of most of her problems.

There's also another pattern I've noticed a bit. Whilst having a journalist as an investigator of crimes, outside the law, isn't that big a stretch of the imagination, there is sometimes a tendency to just make out that the official police investigators have "missed" vital clues. Again, not a big stretch of the imagination to think that maybe it could happen... but every time a journalist is involved?

Blast, I think I'm in nitpicking territory. Which isn't a good thing. The biggest problem I've now got is that I'm not keen on the idea of just abandoning a series based on problems with one or two books - working on the principle that a book should stand alone, as well as be part of the series. 3 books out of 5 translated that have left me feeling a bit disappointed might mean that I have to shuffle the other couple down the priority pile a bit.

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Mar 19, 2012 Ellen Keim rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: scandinavian

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Nov 03, 2011 Book Him Danno rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011, books-sent-by-author-publisher-for

This book contains everything I love about Swedish crime fiction. First of all the crimes are realistic based in everyday human emotions. Anotherwords there isn’t some grand scheming mad man with super intelligence out to prove to the world and police that he is smarter than them. He doesn’t purposely tease the powers that be to catch him. I find to much of American crime fiction is dedicated to this type of criminal, and consequently it ends up being boring by trying to be sensationalistic.

Seco...more This book contains everything I love about Swedish crime fiction. First of all the crimes are realistic based in everyday human emotions. Anotherwords there isn’t some grand scheming mad man with super intelligence out to prove to the world and police that he is smarter than them. He doesn’t purposely tease the powers that be to catch him. I find to much of American crime fiction is dedicated to this type of criminal, and consequently it ends up being boring by trying to be sensationalistic.

Second it features a smart, but flawed hero who through hard work, small steps, and maybe a little luck manages to get to the bottom of the mystery. It lets me, the reader know, that if I just keep chipping away at the crime I could solve it too. It doesn’t take unrealistic skills or powers of deduction, it just takes perseverance. I like that and it keeps me in the story, especially the flaws in the protagonist’s life. It makes them real, less of a superhero.

In Red Wolf our heroine is coming back from her own exposure to crime. She is an investigative reporter and wants to write about serious issues, not the pop culture that is the fixture of many news organizations today. So looking at a 30 year old long forgotten terrorist attack for an anniversary piece her contact dies in a tragic accident. Not taking anything for coincidence she looks into the accident, and finds her first bread crumb.
From there we are taken down a path that slowly builds to a fully involved mystery that crosses the ages and involves terrorism, communism (who knew the Marxist and Maoist didn’t get along?), blackmail, love, and conspiracy. In the end I can say I was still surprised by the conclusion, but it did come down to those basic of all motives; shame and pride. That is a true crime, a crime I can believe in.

Nearly perfect with the only flaw being choppy dialogue. I would put that down to the translation process from Swedish to English. No matter how well done it loses a little of the flow and nuance to be found in the original. I suppose I should stop being lazy and go ahead and learn Swedish, but then I would need to learn Icelandic and Norwegian as well. Maybe next year.

So if you are looking for some great Swedish crime fiction, or just plain good crime fiction period, seek out Red Wolf. This is the third book featuring the heroine Annika, so get all three. Plus I can also recommend Henning Mankell and Stieg Larsson, both brilliant as well.
(less)

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May 23, 2011 Beth rated it 4 of 5 stars

A man, born in Sweden near the Arctic Circle, returns to his country after nearly forty years. He has become more comfortable speaking and thinking in French than in his native tongue. He fled Sweden as a young man and now he is returning to die. He needs to see some of the people he knew so well so long ago. He has skills now that he didn’t have then. He is an assassin and he has unfinished business.

RED WOLF begins a few months after the end of THE BOMBER. Annika Bengtzon has become a free-lanc...more

A man, born in Sweden near the Arctic Circle, returns to his country after nearly forty years. He has become more comfortable speaking and thinking in French than in his native tongue. He fled Sweden as a young man and now he is returning to die. He needs to see some of the people he knew so well so long ago. He has skills now that he didn’t have then. He is an assassin and he has unfinished business.

RED WOLF begins a few months after the end of THE BOMBER. Annika Bengtzon has become a free-lance reporter, free to follow stories that intrigue her. One of those stories dates from 1969 when a plane was destroyed on the field at the Swedish air base in Lulea, near the Arctic circle, a clear case of terrorism. A young soldier was killed in the explosion. No one was ever caught but during that period there were a number of groups with varying degrees of activity who supported the Soviet Union. Home-grown Communists may have played a role when talk of the “revolution”, people taking control of their countries to bring about pure communism, was popular. There were cells spread throughout Sweden; members of which had a code names and some have been waiting for forty years for the call to action. Annika believes that there may still be a story worth writing all these years later.

Annika learns that another journalist, Benny Ekland, from a paper near Lulea, is working on the same story and has discovered something that might finally move the destruction of the plane back to the front page. Annika agrees to meet Benny in Lulea and arrives in the town to discover that Benny is dead, killed in a hit-and-run accident. Annika doesn’t want to intrude on the grief of his friends so she goes to the site of the accident, just as something to do, a sign of respect. She discovers something the police have missed – there is a witness. Annika’s source knows without question that Benny’s death was a well-planned execution.

As Annika tries to continue where Benny left off, she is also being dragged into the emotional turmoil of her friend Anne who sees her career being destroyed if she can’t close the deal on a cable television project. The minister of culture is raising obstacles where there should have been none. Coincidentally, the minister of culture is from Lulea. There are so many ties to this small town near the top of the world that Annika wonders of there are connections between the actors in this new drama.

It doesn’t help Annika’s concentration when she sees proof that her husband is having an affair. Annika’s been told by her editors that they want no more terrorism stories. They think Annika is obsessed while she knows that there is something lurking just under the surface that could have serious repercussions for Sweden. But how to concentrate on this so that her editor sees what she sees, when she is still seeing Thomas with another woman?

RED WOLF is the long-awaited sequel to THE BOMBER. Published in Sweden in 2003, RED WOLF is not quite the book that THE BOMBER is. It takes much longer to get the action started. While it is important to the story, there seems to be more details than necessary about Anne and the complicated plan to unite all of Sweden through their connection to cable television. But, when the book hits its stride, about half way through, it clearly has been worth the time invested in all those details.(less)

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Mar 11, 2011 pdxmaven rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: library-book, mystery

If the heroine (or hero) lives in another country that I, the reader, get a little view into; and also has a personal life that the mystery manages to include in a realistic way, it gets points in my book. In this mystery, Annika Bengtzon is not only a writer for a Stockholm newspaper, but wife, mother of two young kids, and friend to Anne (who has her own set of troubles with her ex and the shared custody of their daughter). And her life with them (and the challenges in her marriage)are a count...more

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Feb 27, 2011 Kathleen Hagen added it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011-audio-books, 2011-mysteries

Red Wolf, by Liza Marklund, a-minus, Narrated by Jill Tanner, produced by Harper Audio, downloaded from audible.com.

Annika Bengtzon is a crime reporter for a major paper in Stockholm. She decides to investigate a murder of a journalist. She comes to believe that this crime connects to one that occurred 30 years ago, when a plane was blown up on a Swedish air base and someone was killed in the explosion, and the group responsible for the explosion were never caught. The police had a suspect, the...more

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Feb 13, 2011 Paul Pessolano rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Liza Marklund is a Swedish author who has written 4 books prior to "Red Wolf". She has been well received in Sweden and she has just teamed up with James Patterson in his new novel, "The Postcard Killers". It seems to be an odd partnership in that Patterson's books almost always contan short chapters that hit hard.

Not so with "Red Wolf".

The story focuses around Annika Bengtzon, a journalist for a major newspaper. She receives a mesage to meet with another journalist from a rival paper who says h...more

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Nov 17, 2010 Angela rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I read an ARC of the American version which will be available 2/15/2011.

Red Wolf, by Liza Marklund (co-author of The Postcard Killers, with James Patterson), is the fifth book in a series that follows the life of Annika Bengtzon, a crime reporter for the Swedish tabloid Evening Post. Chronologically in the life of the main character, The Bomber precedes Red Wolf. In The Bomber, Annika is taken hostage and terrorized. Coming into Red Wolf, she is still battling with fear and anxiety caused by her...more I read an ARC of the American version which will be available 2/15/2011.

Red Wolf, by Liza Marklund (co-author of The Postcard Killers, with James Patterson), is the fifth book in a series that follows the life of Annika Bengtzon, a crime reporter for the Swedish tabloid Evening Post. Chronologically in the life of the main character, The Bomber precedes Red Wolf. In The Bomber, Annika is taken hostage and terrorized. Coming into Red Wolf, she is still battling with fear and anxiety caused by her abduction, which greatly affects the way Annika deals with life.

Annika decides to reheat a long cold trail leading from an attack on a Swedish military base many years before. What she ends up stumbling upon takes her to a dark place where twisted minds lurk and people end up dead. How deep does the rabbit hole go? Deeper than you know.

During her journey, Annika also makes discoveries about herself and uncovers the truth about her relationship with her husband. Interwoven are the side stories of her husband, Thomas, and her dearest friend, Anne. Will Thomas stray, and will Anne find harmony with her ex?

This was my first ARC. I was very excited to have won it! I enjoyed reading it, especially knowing that not everyone was privy to the book yet.

This book is very similar in many ways to the Millennium Trilogy, by Steig Larrson. You have the reporter who follows clues to untangle an old mystery, places in Sweden of course, and political scandal. But it is a story that stands out alone in the way it introduces multiple characters whose lives intermingle and the personal relationships each encounters. Not to mention a strong woman as the main character.

Aside from the few technical problems that I'm sure will be addressed in the final cut, I really enjoyed this book. It had good drama, action, and suspense, along with some nice plot twists. If only full names weren't used every time a character was reintroduced!

On a scale of 1-4, I give this book a 3.5. I almost loved it, but definitely recommend it!
This book is published by Atria Books, a division of Simon and Schuster.
ISBN: 978-4516-0206-7 (On sale February 15, 2011)
Thank you to the author, via @ShelfAwareness and Rachel Bostic at Atria Books/Simon and Schuster for the gift of this book. (less)

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Oct 18, 2010 Trish rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, mysteries, scandinavian

Years ago I read a book by Liza Marklund called Bomber , which I thought was fascinating. It was one of the first Scandanavian mysteries that told me something substantive about the health care system and the newspaper business in Sweden, all wrapped up in a finger-biting mystery. Therefore, I gave some latitude to Ms. Marklund for her follow-on novels ( Studio Sex , for one) though I didn't care for them as well.

In this, her fifth Annika Bengtzon novel, Marklund really reminds me what was so goo...more

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Oct 17, 2010 Ronald Roseborough rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: crime, murder, mystery-adventure-thriller

I enjoyed this thriller, mystery which takes place in the frozen land of northern Sweden. Annika Bengtzon is an investigative reporter. She has two young children and an inattentive husband who is starting to stray. She is only barely recovering from being kidnapped and terrorized by a mad serial killer connected with a story she had broken last year. As she tries to readjust to her job and family, she finds herself questioning the usefulness of one and the stability of the other. A small town r...more

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Oct 17, 2010 Susan rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: arc-edition, mystery-horror-thriller

In this book, part of a mystery series, Swedish journalist Annika Bengtzon is looking into a terrorist attack that happened decades earlier, in 1969. Along the way, there are a few fresh murders, but everything is tied up cleanly by the end of the book. The last 50 or so pages were fast-paced and interesting. I wish I could say as much for the rest of the story.

I thought that I would like this book, so when it didn't live up to my expectations, I refrained from just skimming through it until abo...more

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Mar 20, 2011 Chris rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: people who had problems with whatsherface from the Tattoo book

Shelves: beauty-and-beast, mystery-fairy-tales, mystery-nordic, lit-denmark-sweden-norway

Okay, this bit before the review is really an angry rant about publishing. Honestly what is with you publishers? Releasing book five in a series, at least in America, before releasing the other ones? How does this make sense? Fix it!

I first heard about Marklund though a reviewer here at Goodreads that I follow. At that time, Marklund's series was not availble in the U.S., ~~because we American are illiterate readers~~, because I don't know. The books are up on Amazon, but a 25 dollar paperback is WA...more Okay, this bit before the review is really an angry rant about publishing. Honestly what is with you publishers? Releasing book five in a series, at least in America, before releasing the other ones? How does this make sense? Fix it!

I first heard about Marklund though a reviewer here at Goodreads that I follow. At that time, Marklund's series was not availble in the U.S., ~~because we American are illiterate readers~~, because I don't know. The books are up on Amazon, but a 25 dollar paperback is WAAAAAAAAAAY out of my price range. I couldn't find any in any used backstore.

Then Red Wolf came out and I got it this weekend.

I love Liza Marklund. I really, really do. I want her and her creation, Annika, to beat up the publishers and make them publish the rest of the books. (And if any author could do it, it's Marklund).

Now, I can hear you asking - well, if you feel that way about it, why did you give it four stars?

That's the publisher's fault. Because this is book five in a series, there is a sense of entering mid-point. This doesn't make it necessary to read the other books to know what is going on. I, however, have the feeling that reading the other books in the series would answer the central question I have about Annika in this book - whether or not she is suffering PTSD or something more? Additionally, as American, I found the whole bit about the television station, while easy enough to follow, slightly, strange. It felt like it tied into some comment on Swedish or EU television that I didn't get because I lack the political background. Not that it stopped me from enjoying the novel.

Red Wolf deals with the reporter Annika and her investigation into a terrorist attack in Sweden during the 1970s. Annika is a bit like Lisabeth (or whatever her name is) from The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, though I believe this series predates Larsson. Annika is not a socially acceptable woman, she tends to be a bit hard headed, but she also is married with two children. She also has friends and doesn't put people off.

That in part, is why I liked this book. Annika is different but she is not a total outsider. She feels normal as well as different, almost more believable and less cliche. It's nice to the see the friendship in the novels, in particular the friendship she has with two women (one an old friend, another a co-worker). It makes her part of the world instead of part of a man's world, which can happen in books with a heroine.

During the course of her work, Annika must also deal with conflicts in her marriage (and how she deals with it, will spark a 'hey yeah'). In addition to the up front mystery and the homefront sub-plot, Marklund also deals with current trends in newspaper reporting. In other words, if you loved the last season of The Wire, you'll want to read this.

It is most likely true, that the reader will be able to figure out one of the baddies before hand, but Marklund seems to credit the reader with this ability. The writing is wonderful and gripping, though as a new reader to the series, it took about 35 pages to really get into it. I read the last 100 without looking up I was so engrossed.
Now, I just got to get the others in the series.(less)

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Nov 25, 2010 Sandra Stiles rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: adult, thriller

When given the opportunity to read and review this book I jumped at the chance. Every now and then I have to read a good adult thriller. Although I had not read the other books in the series I was able to jump into this one fairly easy. I will need to find the others and catch up. Marklund has drawn some realistic events in the life of Annika Bengtzon. Ever on the look out for the story she stumbles into a ring of terrorism when she learns the journalist she was to meet is dead. She also learns...more

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Feb 01, 2012 Eyehavenofilter rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: scan-nor-rus-crime

This was a task to read but I guess it's really cold up there in the Netherlands! I suppose these authors will now
become the rage after Larsson and Nesbo have braved the Atlantic and hit pay dirt here in the USA! This is an amazing weave of spy vs.
Spy vs. Spy. and misdirection, wrong turns, bad decisions, and misplaced loyalties that just make us glad that we the reader live easier less complicated lives. ( seriously)
I discovered them 5 or so years ago and been on a one woman rant about them! N...more

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Jun 26, 2012 Anita rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: mystery

It took quite some time for this book to become interesting for me. I had only read The Postcard Killers with James Patterson, previously, and not any of Marklund's previous novels on her own, so I didn't have insight into Annika's character. She is psychologically unstable from a previous encounter in a tunnel with a bomber, and I liked that she was flawed, but there was a bit too much emphasis on the angels singing, the room tilting, and the panic attacks. I was unclear what she was investigat...more

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Oct 02, 2010 Miles rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: reviews

Red Wolf by Liza Marklund is the fifth title in a series which follows the trials and tribulations of Annika Bengzton a crime reporter for the Evening Post.

This is the first novel I have read from Liza Marklund and although part of a long standing series “Red Wolf” can certainly be read as a standalone novel.

Entirely based in her native Sweden, (born in Pålmark in Northern Sweden) Marklund’s novel is a compelling and taut thriller that oozes class thanks mainly to her wonderfully descriptive nar...more

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Apr 18, 2011 Maddy rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011-reads

PROTAGONIST: Annika Bengzton
SETTING: Sweden
SERIES: #5 of 5
RATING: 3.25
WHY: Annika Bengzton is an independent investigative reporter who has become interested in an event that occurred 40 years earlier, the explosion of a fighter plane at a base in northern Sweden. As she investigates, people with knowledge about what happened are being killed. She uncovers links to people in power in the present day. There are quite a few sub-plots. I had a hard time with the translation at the beginning of the...more

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May 01, 2012 Kate rated it 3 of 5 stars

The main character in this book is Annika, a crime reporter from Stockholm who is investigating the death of a reporter in northern Sweden. There are a few other side stories that get in the way of this being an edge of your seat story. The death does turn out to be related to a terrorist cell that was active in the late 60s, and Annika continues to follow her leads even after being told not to. What slows the story down are the personal side stories that are only tangentially related to the inv...more

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Apr 28, 2011 Valerie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: first-reads, read-in-2011

Won via First Reads Giveaways - thanks, Goodreads!

I think the really cool thing about the giveaways on Goodreads is that they've matched me up with books I normally wouldn't check out otherwise. My only experience with Swedish crime fiction came via Stieg Larsson, and I'm sorry to say that I couldn't get into The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo at all. Liza Marklund, on the other hand, pleasantly surprised me.

This is apparently the fifth book in the Annika Bengtzon series - the previous ones were t...more Won via First Reads Giveaways - thanks, Goodreads!

I think the really cool thing about the giveaways on Goodreads is that they've matched me up with books I normally wouldn't check out otherwise. My only experience with Swedish crime fiction came via Stieg Larsson, and I'm sorry to say that I couldn't get into The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo at all. Liza Marklund, on the other hand, pleasantly surprised me.

This is apparently the fifth book in the Annika Bengtzon series - the previous ones were translated at one point, but seem to be out of print (judging from Amazon). However, sufficient background is given that one doesn't need to have read the previous books in order to enjoy this.

The setting is well-written - the book bounces between Stockholm and its surrounding towns (including Uppsala) to Luleå, above the Arctic Circle. It illustrates the differences between south-central vs. northern / urban vs. rural Sweden very well; in the beginning, the reader really gets a sense of Annika's discomfort at the sun setting so early in Luleå.

Marklund is also good at portraying emotion - although I was completely new to these characters, I felt I was easily able to delve into their personal lives. The main characters are flawed and irrational - they do stupid things and don't get out of them very easily, even Annika. I found that refreshing. There was one particular scene where Annika's friend sees her estranged husband's new girlfriend picking up her children at the daycare, and the things she says to her are incredibly nasty, but probably realistic given the situation - and there are consequences. Annika tries to start a smear campaign to get revenge on the woman her husband is cheating on her with, and that, too, is dealt with.

I found the mentions of various terrorist factions within Europe, including extremist Basque separatists and Maoists, incredibly fascinating. I liked when one of the characters found to be participating essentially claimed, "You wouldn't understand - you weren't alive during the sixties," which I thought was a neat way to underline the generational gap between them and Annika.

I'll probably tweak this review when it's not 4 AM anymore, but I'd say that if you're interested in a Scandinavian crime novel focusing on bits of overlooked European history, with realistic characters, this is definitely worth a shot.(less)

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Oct 18, 2010 Trishnyc rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Annika Bengtzon, a journalist at a national paper is scheduled to meet with Benny Ekland (also a journalist) on a story she is researching. She arrives to find that Benny is dead and the circumstances surrounding his death including the murder of a witness to his demise, make Annika suspect this case is more complex than first thought. As she begins investigating the first two murders, she comes across more murders and it appears there is a serial killer on the lose. But there is something odd a...more Annika Bengtzon, a journalist at a national paper is scheduled to meet with Benny Ekland (also a journalist) on a story she is researching. She arrives to find that Benny is dead and the circumstances surrounding his death including the murder of a witness to his demise, make Annika suspect this case is more complex than first thought. As she begins investigating the first two murders, she comes across more murders and it appears there is a serial killer on the lose. But there is something odd about this serial killer's victims, they seemingly have nothing in common. When Annika takes her findings and speculations to her boss, he humiliates her and orders her off the case believing that her recent kidnapping by a local terrorist has warped her reasoning. But Annika refuses to let her investigation drop and doggedly goes searching for more information and how it relates to an incident that occurred in the sixties.

I was excited to read this book as it seemed like it would be an entertaining mystery. Unfortunately, I felt like the story got bogged down by too many details and was very slow moving. I found myself lost in descriptions that never really lead to anything of great importance. Annika's musings, her friend Anne's domestic drama, Annika's husband's infidelity etc, just did not add enough to the story to justify their presence. I did find Annika's children to be a welcome and innocent addition that helped lighten a heavy story and character. Through her children, Annika's softer and more sympathetic side come to the surface and make her easier to relate to. When we finally discover who the killer is and his motives, I have to be honest, I just did not care enough. The villain lacked the evil that I would have expected from one who had committed such heinous crimes.

I realized as I began to read the book that it is part of an ongoing series so some of the disconnect that I felt as I read the book may be as a result of this, I can't say for sure. There was something missing from this story and I ended up liking it less than I wanted to.

**Review copy received from Simon and Schuster.(less)

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Jun 05, 2012 Bonnie rated it 3 of 5 stars

Not nearly as good as Last Will, but a thoroughly developed mystery involving Annika Bengtzon solving the attack on a Swedish plane F21 that has never been solved. She arranged a meeting with a journalist up in the northern Swedish town of Lulea about an old case of terrorism – a terrorist attack on a military airport named F21 by a group that called themselves The Beasts. However, when she arrives in Lulea to meet him, she is told that the journalist has been killed in a hit and run accident. I...more

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Nov 30, 2011 Susanhayeshotmail.com rated it 2 of 5 stars

Meh. Didn't realize this was part of a series and it took me close to 200 pages to give a rip about storyline. I never did like any of the main characters. In fact, i can't think why I actually kept reading it ... perhaps because I was so busy with holiday preparations that I only read a few pages here and there and kept thinking I'd just forgotten things and that it would get better. Which it did but it took so dang long. I continue to be interested in the world view of history and politics and...more

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Nov 30, 2010 Jacqie rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

There's a definite Swedish noir feel to this book, the first I've read by this author. We've got the cold, the endless cups of coffee, even the investigative journalism from the Stieg Larsson books.
The female point of view could have been interesting, but the women ended up pretty much being the victims of the men in their lives. Thus far, I'm not a fan of the Swedish version of feminism.
I don't know enough Swedish history to truly understand the backstory of the leftist Swedish groups of the...more

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Mar 17, 2013 Kyra rated it 4 of 5 stars

Can I say how amazing it was to read a Scandinavian mystery novel that did not in any way involve the illegal sex trade with former Soviet bloc countries?
This novel grew on me - now I must go back and read its predecessors. The characters are fully-developed, the plot was fascinating, and the writing sucked me in. Most of all, the devil was in the details - I saw a Sweden beyond IKEA and/or Serbian teenagers locked in basements by oddly lustful civil servants. And I also got to see a Volvo that...more

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Aug 06, 2011 Ruth Crispin rated it 4 of 5 stars

I had never heard of Liza Marklund (which explains why I found the beginning of the book murky; I didn’t know the backstory), but I’ve liked all the other Scandinavian mystery writers, so I was eager to read a new one. And it was good. Maybe not Kurt Wallender-good, but certainly good enough to recommend. The heroine is engaging, and one learns a lot about sixties politics—who knew that Sweden was as radical then as France? (Well,maybelots of you did, but I didn’t). In any case, I’m glad that th...more

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Sep 05, 2012 Terri D rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The only trouble for me with Scandinavian crime books are the names of places! I love the plots and detail and for only a short while I was waiting for Elisabeth Salander to put in an appearance. I first read Liza Marklund when she co-wrote The Postcard Killers so I was interested to read one of her own books. Didn't realise there was a series, I shall definitely track down the others by her now.
It's not many writers who make me go and put a jumper on but I felt really cold towards the end when...more

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Jul 19, 2011 Cynthia rated it 3 of 5 stars

Red Wolf opens slowly, but builds over time to a powerful and satisfying climax and conclusion. When I started, I was unsure--Annika seemed a little too broken for my likes. However, she heals and grows and in the end, I think I liked her. It was not near as violent and brutal as the Larsson "Girl With" books, but the writing was strong, clear, and compelling. Like Larsson, the descriptions of Sweden are wonderful--you can almost feel the cold (how do people live in this bleak place!!!) and the...more

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About Liza Marklund

Scandinavia’s undisputed queen of crime fiction, Liza Marklund is the No. 1 international bestselling author of the Annika Bengtzon series.

Liza Marklund was born in 1962 in the small village of Pålmark, close to the Arctic Circle in Sweden. She is an author, journalist, columnist, and goodwill ambassador for UNICEF. She is also co-owner of Piratförlaget, one of Sweden’s most successful publishing...more

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