After She’s Gone

In Grebe’s stellar crime novel, psychological profiler Hanne Lagerlind-Schön, last seen in 2016’s The Ice Beneath Her, is found suffering from hypothermia and amnesia in the forest outside Ormberg, Sweden, where she was investigating a cold case with her partner, Peter Lindgren. A young woman wearing a gold sequined dress who might have witnessed what happened to Hanne was spotted in the vicinity, but can’t be located. In fact, the potential witness is cross-dressing, bullied teenager Jake Olsson, who has found Hanne’s diary. Peter’s disappearance adds to the mystery. Police detective Malin Brundin, a native of Ormberg, returns to his hometown to help with the various inquiries, which reveal, in part through excerpts from Hanne’s diary, the betrayal that the locals feel after the government resettled a hundred Arab refugees in the forest. That all the factories have shut down and moved to Asia is another source of resentment. Grebe delivers an unflinching, heart-wrenching message about the plight of refugees in this scorching thriller. Agent: Christine Edhäll, Ahlander Agency (Sweden). (Feb.)