Rebecka Martinsson, now an estate and tax lawyer in Stockholm, receives a call for help from Sanna Strandgard. Her brother Viktor has been murdered and she is one of the prime suspects. Frail in both mind and body, Sanna seems an illogical suspect to Rebecka, and though she recognizes the need to return to her home town to help, so many demons associated with her prior life threaten to emerge into the relatively pleasant life she has built for herself.

Viktor had established himself as a pastor in The Source of All Our Strength church as a result of his having survived death when his bicycle skidded on the ice into the path of an oncoming car. His blond cherubic looks earned him the moniker The Paradise Boy, which has no doubt contributed to the popularity of the church though he shares the leadership with three other men.

The local police in charge of the investigation are headed by Sven-Erik Stalnacke. Sven-Erik is not really sure he wants to be the lead investigator, but his boss, Anna-Marie Mella is just about ready to deliver her fourth child and is assigned to desk duty. Nonetheless, Sven-Erik pleads for Anna-Marie’s help with what looks to be a very difficult case.

The most striking thing about this novel is the knack the author has for imparting information for which the reader has no background and then gradually explaining how that information or situation came to be. For example, one page one we are treated to the thoughts of a man dying … for the second time. There are two immediate questions that come to mind: Why is he now dying? When and under what circumstances did he die before? Again when we first meet Rebecka she is the picture of an overworked dedicated young lawyer in a Stockholm firm. Larsson alludes to her abrupt break with her childhood home and association with The Source of All Strength church but leaves us dangling as to what caused her to leave her home and the church. Bit by bit, the back story is revealed but the desire to learn it makes the reader turn more pages.

A powerful sense of place is created in Larsson’s descriptions of parts of Sweden about which Americans rarely learn. The shimmering lights of the Aurora Borealis, the sun storm of the title creates a beautiful but eerie atmosphere amidst the snow covered landscape. The remote location forces the inhabitants to deal with winter cold and snow in unique ways.

The characters are equally memorable in this novel. It is easy to develop empathy with Rebecka, Anna-Marie, and Sven-Erik, less so with Sanna, who though beautiful and attractive to the opposite sex, is, as they would have said fifty years ago, a clinging vine. It is interesting to have positive feelings toward people on two different sides of the investigation. Even more minor characters such as Rebecka’s boss, Mans, who appears to be quite cold hearted reveals himself to be something else by the end of the novel.

A nod should be given to the translator of this work, Marlaine Delargy. The novel reads smoothly in English, and though I am incapable of reading the book in Swedish, the tone and flavor of the book is quite appealing. Even if she is not reproducing exactly the author’s style, these two women have collaborated to produce a remarkable novel.

Apparently experts agree, for the book has received an award for Sweden’s best first crime novel.(presumably in 2003 since the Swedish version was published then). At any rate the second novel by Larsson was published in English in January 2007. The second book is entitled, The Blood Spilt.

--Andy Plonka