cover image Sail of Stone

Sail of Stone

Åke Edwardson, trans. from the Swedish by Rachel Willson-Broyles. Simon & Schuster, $15 trade paper (336p) ISBN 978-1-4516-0850-2

Two amorphous mysteries slowly take shape in Edwardson’s fifth novel featuring Chief Insp. Erik Winter of the Gothenburg police (after 2007’s Frozen Tracks). When Axel Osvald, whose daughter Winter was once involved with, disappears in Scotland while looking into the presumed drowning of his father, John Osvald, during WWII, Winter goes to Scotland in search of answers. Meanwhile, African-Swedish policewoman Aneta Djanali can’t let go of the case of Anette Lindsten, a possible victim of domestic violence who’s reluctant to let the authorities investigate. A puzzled Djanali and her colleague, Fredrik Halders, try to locate Lindsten and make sense out of the complicated tangle of her relationships after she goes missing. Edwardson’s ambling story reveals more about the complex psychology of Winter and Djanali than it does about crime or criminals. Agent: Peter Riva, International Transactions. (Mar.)