... luck and pugnaciousness!

Linda, As in the Linda Murder: A Backstrom Novel (Vintage Crime/Black Lizard Original) by Leif Gw Persson (Author), Neil Smith (Translator)


What's Detective Superintendent Evert Bäckström to do when the call comes in about a murder of one of their own and he's the only one on duty--albeit in as 'an out of the way position' as his superiors in the National Murder Squad have devised? Work the system of course!
Police cadet Linda Wallin is found dead, raped in brutal circumstances with no clear motive or suspect.
Always able to play the bureaucratic game,  the completely egotistical, vain and avaricious Bäckström puts together a team and heads for the countryside, on the Violent Crime Unit's kronor. Along with his washing and a man sized thirst. His goldfish is another story.
As he bumbles from one thought to another, circumstances and the shrewdness of some members of his team, intervene to a satisfying conclusion. Other agencies bump up against his team as the growing storm of public opinion take the case to a position of prominence.
Bureaucratic faux pas envelope the case and don't make the going any easier. 
The translation is tight and flows well thanks to Neil Smith. A difficult task that can make or break the enjoyment of a novel.

A NetGalley ARC

*** 1/2

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