Black Lies, Red Blood

Ann Lindell, a not-so-young single Swedish mother, is surprised to find love in Eriksson’s enjoyable fifth mystery featuring the Uppsala detective (after 2011’s The Hand that Trembles). When her talkative lover, journalist Anders Brant, tells her that he will be gone for a while, and his phone number is discovered on the body of a murdered homeless man shortly afterward, Ann must figure out how Anders is connected to this crime. How long can she keep her relationship with him secret from her colleagues? Yet, can she suddenly mistrust a man who means so much to her? Meanwhile, Ann investigates a cold case involving a girl who went missing on her 16th birthday “as if swallowed up by the earth.” Eriksson keeps the reader guessing, but his real strength is his ability to create descriptive details that bring even his minor characters alive. (Apr.)