Missing in Malmö

Inspector Anita Sundström #3

by Torquil MacLeod

When a British heir hunter fails to return home after a trip to Malmö, Inspector Anita Sundström doesn’t want to get entangled in a simple missing persons case. She shows a similar reluctance when her ex-husband begs her to find his girlfriend, who seems to have disappeared. But when the mysteries take a sinister turn, Sundström finds herself inextricably involved in both baffling affairs, one of which seems to be connected to a robbery that took place twenty years earlier. As the cases begin to unravel, tragedy awaits the investigating team in the third Anita Sundström Malmö mystery.

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

355 pages, ebook

First published November 28, 2013

About the author

Torquil MacLeod was born in Edinburgh and brought up in the north east of England. After a brief spell as a teacher in Worcestershire, he worked in advertising agencies in Birmingham, Glasgow and Newcastle; since 2000 he has been a freelance writer.

See also: Torquil R. MacLeod

Reviews

[Zain · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent!

Anita Sundstrom and her team are looking for the murderer of an heir finder. That’s a person who looks for an heir for a person who dies intestate.

Torquil MacLeod is a Swedish author who brings a lot of fun to his Malmo mysteries. I enjoy the reference to prior books in the series that brings up Anita’s longing for a relationship with a murderer.

In this episode, her ex-husband is in trouble when his “half his age” girlfriend disappears. Although Anita looks for her, she suspects the young woman ran away.

The author sends you all over the place trying to figure out how young Greta disappeared, if she is still alive. While at the same time throwing another disappearance at us.

An Englishman, Graeme Todd, the heir finder, has also disappeared after a trip to Sweden. It appears going to Sweden can get you lost.

Will he be found? Will anyone be found? I don’t want to spoil it for anyone, so I’ll just stop right here.

Five fantastic stars! 💫

[Ken Fredette · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's fun to read these stories out of order, you have an idea of what is going to happen before it does. Torquil MacLeod has an interesting character in Inspector Anita Sundström, she seems everyone's mom but especially Lasse who's her true son. But take Khalid Hakim Mirza and you can see that she treats him like she does her son even though she's the boss and tells him to go home when Chief Inspector Moberg is on the trail. We have two cases in this book even though they seemed to run together. One we have a British man who is found drifting in the ocean dead. And two, we have a beautiful girl that is found dead also in the ocean. Two different deaths but similar. Anita has to solve them both. The first one takes her to England and she meets her love interest (but not yet). And then she has her ex-husband talk to her about his girl friend. The interesting thing is that in solving both cases she has very traumatic experiences which make the book a really good read.

[Gary Van Cott · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good book. It seems a shame that it is only available for kindle. There are some especially nice touches with something for the Wallander fans at the beginning. Like Mankell the author uses a lot of real places in this book, a technique to be commended. While some bad things happen to the people around her, Anita fares somewhat better in this book than in the first two.

[Jacek Slay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well, some things in there have been really predictable but the book - as well as the whole series - is pretty decent nonetheless. Far better than the second book of the series.

[Dianne Landry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a great book but not bad. I had everything figured out about 2/3 through but it was still enjoyable.

[Marian Smith · Rating 2 out of 5]

Insp Sundstrom swimming upstream.

What's up with Moberg and Westermark? Cheap way of writing. Cops like these would not exist in a land of professionalism. Throw them out and add more tension to the plot.

[Mike Collins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book Three of my second series of the year and another really good one. String storyline and although, as others have written, it's not difficult to sort out the whodunnits, that doesn't detract from the either the story, or the enjoyment of reading.
A very strong and interesting book. On the one hand, I can't believe that the other five books will maintain the standard set, but on the other hand, I hope that they do! On to Book Four...

[Claire Reviews · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review: Missing in Malmö (Inspector Anita Sundström #3) by Torquil MacLeod Publisher: McNidder & Grace Crime (10th December 2015)
 
ISBN: 978-0857161154
 
Source: Publisher provided review copy
 
Rating: 5*
 
Synopsis:
When a British heir hunter fails to return home after a trip to Malmö, Inspector Anita Sundström doesn't want to get entangled in a simple missing person's case. She shows a similar reluctance when her ex-husband begs her to find his girlfriend, who seems to have disappeared. But when the mysteries take a sinister turn, Sundström finds herself inextricably involved in both baffling affairs, one of which seems to be connected to a robbery that took place twenty years earlier. As the cases begin to unravel, tragedy awaits the investigating team in the third Anita Sundström Malmö mystery.
 
Review:
Having read and enjoyed the first two Anita Sundström mysteries, I was eagerly looking forward to this third instalment. Torquil MacLeod has an engaging writing style that is easy to read and draws you from the outset.
 
The two missing persons cases that form the plot are both intriguing and confounding, and as Anita and her team delve further, some astonishing facts are revealed. Just when I thought I knew who had done what, another revelation was revealed. There are more twists and turns here than your average rollercoaster!
 
Feisty Anita Sundström is one of the most fascinating characters I've come across in the last couple of years, so getting to learn more about her personal story in Missing in Malmö was a much appreciated bonus to this fantastic story. Her trip to the UK, accompanied by her amusing perceptions of British mannerisms, adds a touch of humour that is both welcome and unexpected.
 
Thanks to McNidder & Grace for the review copy, which was provided in return for my honest review.
 

[Mirrordance · Rating 3 out of 5]

Una trama in molti tratti prevedibile ma non per questo meno gradevole. Hai l'idea di CHI (probabilmente per un modo intenzionale dell'autore di alludere quando scrive) ma non sai esattamente COME o PERCHE', ma nell'insieme la trama scorre e la storia è ben costruita.
Dal punto di vista della narrazione parallela e della vita dell'ispettore Sundström l'autore va un po' per le spicce e si libera di due personaggi che potevano creare problemi alla serie, l'eccessivo ed irritante Karl Westermark sempre descritto come un buon poliziotto ma delle cui capacità e doti non si dà conto nel libro, ed il complicato da gestire Ewan Strachan, letteralemente "amore galeotto" di Anita. E' possibile che in questo modo la serie riacquisti un po' di equilibrio.
Tre stelline e mezza.

[Jeannette · Rating 3 out of 5]

First of all, the only paperback edition listed has 220 pages and my copy was 328 pages. All that aside, this book could have been done in alot less pages. Many boring segments. That aside, an interesting story and although he killed two people, I am happy that we will no longer be subjected to the racist, sexist and homophobic crooked cop. We'll see what happens in the next book. Will Mogberg mello and will Anita finally get her act together? We can only hope.

[Richard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Macleod improves the story and characters with each book. And as disappointed as I am to see Norlund leave, I'm that delighted Westermark is too. Good riddance. The writing and plotting are tighter and Sundstrom's development is good to watch.

[Shawn · Rating 1 out of 5]

Shallow characters. Shallow plot. Shallow settings. Shallow writing. The best thing about this book is its consistency.

[Peter Olsen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mediocre: too contrived with no character development.

The plot depends on a deus ex machina that resolves the plot with an unbelievable weaving together of desperate events.

[Anne Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

When Detective Inspector Anita Sundstorm receives a phone call to say Graeme Todd, an English heir hunter is missing, she immediately dismisses it as a straying husband cheating on his wife. This may not be a coincidence because her own ex husband who strayed repeatedly has turned up on her doorstep asking for help to find his latest squeeze, Greta Jannson. Bjorn is a Professor of English Literature at Uppsala University and Greta was yet another one of his young students who became his girlfriend. Bjorn tells Anita that Greta moved to Malmo a few months ago for a teaching job and that now he can’t get hold of her so he’s worried. We already suspect that Greta left Uppsala because she was running from someone. Could that someone have been Bjorn? Also, how significant is that now she’s disappeared?

So Anna is working two cases, one official and one unofficial and neither of them seem to be going anywhere. But then a body is washed up showing signs of torture. Who is it? And how does all of this relate to the Prologue, the diamond heist that went wrong years ago in the North East of England where Ricky Pew finally went off the rails and killed someone.

[Amanda Jane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Feel like I am reeling...

.. after the twist on that one!!

Detective Anita Sundström's ex-husband, Björn, asks her to help him find his girlfriend, Greta Jansson who has seemingly disappeared from her apartment. Reluctantly she agrees but finds very little to help following a visit to look round Greta's apartment.

Meanwhile at work she ends up with a missing persons case when the Commissioner decides to up the investigation into a missing British visitor. Graeme Todd is an heir hunter who had been searching for the descendants of Doris Little. Unusually he'd kept his research away from his wife telling her it was better she didn't know but that he'd hit the jackpot.

When one after another the bodies turn up, Todd then Greta, Anita is pulled in two directions especially when Westermark decides to focus his and Nordlund's investigation on Björn.

Westermark gloating again has Björn charged and pending trial but Nordlund has reason to believe that something is missing.. there's just something.. can Anita discover what?

[Ilona Bell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Two good mysteries, a bit gruesome, some endings, hopeful of new beginnings.

A lot happens in Missing in Malmo. There are two distinct cases: a missing “heir hunter” and a strangled young woman who was in a relationship with Anita’s ex Bjorn. You will probably figure out two important things, one from each case, well before Anita does, but it doesn’t detract since you won’t get all the details until the end. If not for the usual abrupt “to be continued” ending this would read like the end of a trilogy, but I’m still interested enough in following Anita in her future crime solving. I’m hoping it moves out of the personal. I’m not a fan of police procedurals where every case seems to involve some member of the team. We’ll see what’s next!

[Lilly Hi Way · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent Mystery

This is the best Anita Sundstrom mystery that I've read so far. Two murders are being investigated simultaneously with Anita assigned the most difficult one, the murder of an English heir hunter on business in Sweden to trace the heir of an elderly woman who died interstate. Her colleague and mentor, Inspector Nordlund, is in charge of the second case where Anita's ex-husband is a prime suspect. There's little evidence to begin with but both solve the cases with surprising consequences. Can't say more without revealing the ending. Let's just say it gets more and more enthralling as the story progresses. I highly recommend it to mystery fans.

[Ron Chicaferro · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just knew it would end like this!! Or, I should say I was hoping it would end like this!! Sorry, reader, but I was thinking about the ending of this terrific book by Torquil MacLeod - the third mystery in the Anita Sundstrom series. This story takes place in Malmo, Sweden, Anita's country and also in England. Anita teams up with a British detective to help her in trying to solve a very tricky murder. The characters are well constructed and are well used in the story. The English and Swedish countryside come into play as well. It's a terrific and complicated story but it's no match for Inspector Anita Sundstrom. A terrific series!!

[Douglas Drummond · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is Anita Sundstrom’s third outing but my first exposure. I found it enjoyable and certainly worth reading another. This is what I liked about MISSING.
- not gruesome or noir.
- nice clean writing style.
- Anita is a pleasant, well-adjusted person. I am quite fed up with the usual tropes of detectives who have depression/guilt/addictions/bad marriages/misbehaving teen children/other unresolved issues/etc.
- we see Sweden as viewed by a non-Swede, so we get good contrast.
- characters are well developed and ring true.
- the investigation unfolds in a credible and realistic fashion.

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Nordic noir, and I'm enjoying this series set in Malmo. As are the others in the series that I've read, this one is tightly plotted and suspenseful, while allowing for extensive character development. Anita is a bit prickly, but she is an appealing and bright main character, with her day-to-day issues seamlessly woven into the story's overall plot. A good detective series (plus, it reminds me of the brilliant Swedish-Danish TV series "The Bridge," one of my faves and also set in part in Malmo).

[Martina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Listening to book #3 in Torquil MacLeod's Inspector Anita Sundstrom Mystery series. The ebook was not available and wanted to continue with the series. The narrator's voice is nothing like the 'voices' I had in my mind when reading the first two books in the series, but I'm getting used to it. This is a really interesting series!

Very complicated murders, sends Anita to Britain as well as investigating in Sweden. Lots of tension within the police station among a number of the police who are jockeying for position and for disagreements over who may be responsible for the murder of a young woman and the results from a previous diamond heist. I think it was slightly more difficult to follow because I was listening rather than reading. But for a number of reasons, this was a book with a satisfying outcome. I've already downloaded the fourth in this series. I'll be reading the fourth one. It's easier and I'd rather listen to the 'voices' in my head than the voice of a narrator.

[Kylie H · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is book 3 in the Inspector Anita Sundström series - in this one Anita's ex-husband asks for her assistance when his much younger girlfriend goes missing. In addition to this she is asked to look into the disappearance of an English probate hunter. Anita is struggling with elements of these investigations as well as her son being in a slump having been dumped by his girlfriend. Later in the book comes a twist I had not anticipated and it was quite shocking!
Great Scandi noir - looking forward to book 4.

[Meredith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another Great Scandinavian Mystery

I love this series! I really like all the main characters, especially Anita. Although I object to her addiction to tobacco. Yuck! I like the descriptions of life in Sweden, especially the weather as I live in Southern California where we really don’t have weather!

MacLeod is a very good writer and the plots are always intriguing but not too off the wall. I highly recommend this series for any mystery lover

[Bud Mallar · Rating 4 out of 5]

loved it.

Although our heroine has some of the problems of many of our heroines in these Nordic Noir series, as in folks who don't think cops should be women and all immigrants should go home, this one isn't quite as bad.

Two stories, two whodunits, which meant a few too many names again, but it all came together as it should. And, although I wasn't sure of the where and why, I'd pretty much figured out how all this would end.

Enjoyed and look forward to #4

[Caroline · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the third book in the Malmo series I have read, and found it to be an enjoyable diversion from some of the more intensely complicated books I usually read. Inspector Anita Sundstrom finds herself embroiled in two murders, one of which involves her ex-husband. As with the other books in this series, this one ends with a bang.

[Jan Lehman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this series

Great characters,intriguing stories,and interesting settings make for a captivating mystery. This series has all these components woven together by a skillful author. Looking forward to #4. I find myself becoming quite,attached to the central characters and their journey .

[Terry Slaven · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s bad enough when a foreign visitor goes missing in Malmo, but it’s another thing altogether when a young woman, awkwardly linked to Inspector Sondstrom, also disappears. This is a well-written page-turner; followers of the series will feel mixed emotions from the deaths of some familiar characters.

[James Lurie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the third of a series. I had read the first two some time ago. Will go on to subsequent ones in due course. Good plot and characters, but nothing even remotely deep. This is good when I need a quick read not involving deep thought.

[Carrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A well-spun tale with good pacing. However, the number of times that main characters rush into obvious danger without backup has become distracting. Do police really do that? I won’t probably read more of this series for now.

[A KERR · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant

I really enjoyed this book. I had been concerned that her preoccupation with a convicted murderer was just not natural. But this was sorted out here along with her main protagonist clearing the way for future stories.