The Saint

Mathematician Gerhardssen’s intricately plotted if slightly undercooked latest Hammarby murder squad mystery (after Black Ice) finds Stockholm DCI Conny Sjøberg and his team investigating the killing of a man with a spotless reputation. After soccer coach Sven-Gunnar Erlendsson is shot in the neck, execution-style, while returning home from a poker club meeting, Sjøberg and his cohorts pursue a school of red herrings, before most of the investigators conclude that Erlendsson, who spent his free time handing out clothes and food to Stockholm’s homeless population, had no real enemies. That changes when math whiz Hedvig “Walleye” Wallin, an underestimated widow who regularly clashes with Sjøberg, starts to see through Erlendsson’s supposed sainthood while reviewing video evidence, then links him to the recent disappearance of two young girls. Gerhardssen gives each of her investigators room to shine, but her decision to reveal the killer two-thirds of the way through the novel doesn’t pay off, resulting in a somewhat flimsy finale. On a brighter note, the ending leaves plenty of intriguing loose ends for Gerhardssen to pick up in future installments. Series fans will enjoy themselves. (Sept.)