Midwinter Sacrifice in Around the World in 80 Books

Oct 20, 2021 Julie Griffin rated it it was amazing

This book is a good example of why I pick up books again that I've put down for a second chance. Its inclusion of narrative from the body of a murdered person annoyed me as gimmicky and overripe, and I put it down, only to become completely involved in the writing and the plot twists when I picked it back up again for a second chance. In fact, the humanity and compassion (in a Nordic Noir!) made this one of my favorite books this year.
This is a grim, grim book to be sure. The compassion in the w This book is a good example of why I pick up books again that I've put down for a second chance. Its inclusion of narrative from the body of a murdered person annoyed me as gimmicky and overripe, and I put it down, only to become completely involved in the writing and the plot twists when I picked it back up again for a second chance. In fact, the humanity and compassion (in a Nordic Noir!) made this one of my favorite books this year.
This is a grim, grim book to be sure. The compassion in the writing is well earned by characters who've led very lonely and unrelentingly sad lives. Even the worst bullies here have survived damaging circumstances, and the writer checks in even on the minor characters to let the reader in on what is going on with all their lives. He takes the saying that you never know what other people are going through to maximum effect here, and interspersed with a very detailed plot and unforgettable characters, it is a very effective and assured piece of writing.
Malin is a single mother and police officer in a town in southern Sweden. She is going through an unresolved separation from her husband and the insecurities of parenting a thirteen-year-old girl and her own aging when she is called out to a murder that happens during one of the worst cold snaps the region has had. The sharp cold underscores the bitter lives as we learn the identity of a lonely bullied man, his background and family before he was hung in a frozen tree in an open field. We are let in to his thoughts as he drifts around watching events; this sounds hokey and put me off at first, but in the end it gives voice to an otherwise voiceless man ridiculed and ignored by society. There is a family of violent criminals led by a Ma Barker figure who all have had tragedies of their own. Malin's life is a reprieve as her daughter finds her own voice and moves along in her life. The threads of the outcasts in the town are woven together with needles of violence and self-hatred, and the resolution of the murder is just so extremely sad. As the author notes, what happens to the children who are denied love and support, is for all of society to suffer. I really liked the heart and soul of this story, despite it's sadness, and will definitely read more of this series. ...more

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Jun 30, 2012 Andy Plonka rated it really liked it · review of another edition

The body of an older overweight man is found hanging from a tree in rural Sweden. Malin Fors a youngish mother od a thirteen year old girl is the lead detective on the case. Although the body is quickly identified as the half brother in a family of misfits who look good for the murder, it's not as clear cut as it seems. ...more

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