The Shadow Woman: A Chief Inspector Erik Winter Novel

The second installment of the internationally best selling Erik Winter series

It's August and the annual Gothenburg Party is in full swing. But this year the bacchanalian blowout is simmering with ethnic discord spurred by nativist gangs. When a woman is found murdered in the park-her identity as inscrutable as the blood-red symbol on the tree above her body-Winter's search for her missing child leads him from sleek McMansions to the Gothenburg fringes, where "northern suburbs" is code for "outsider" and the past is inescapable-even for Sweden's youngest chief inspector. Psychologically gripping and socially astute, The Shadow Woman puts this master of Swedish noir on track to build an American audience on par with his international fame.

Swedish crime-novelist Edwardson writes thrillers that bristle with psychological intrigue. In this fifth entry in his series featuring Chief Inspector Erik Winter, the policeman investigates the murder of Helene Anderson, whose body was found in a local park. Armed with few clues, Winter soon learns that the young woman left behind a child who may still be alive. Further probing leads him more than two decades back in time to a bank robbery in Denmark that a very young Helene likely witnessed. (The perpetrators remain at large, a source of great frustration for local law enforcement.) Winter travels to Denmark, and soon a cold case turns hot. Back on the home front, the inspector must contend with the annual Gothenburg Party, a hedonistic free-for-all that prompts riots among nativist gangs. This time Edwardson compensates for a somewhat sluggish plot with a cast of compelling characters and vivid renderings of a landscape that is by turns beautiful and bleak. --Allison Block

"Gripping...An expert melding of sociological observation and psychological acuity."
- Kirkus

"An extremely accomplished cross between crime fiction and psychological thriller...on par with P. D. James."
- Helsingsborgs Dagblad (Sweden)

"Masterful...While +ke Edwardson possesses an undertone of humor, his work is full of darkness...With The Shadow Woman [he] establishes himself among the most exciting crime thriller writers in the country."
- Motala & Vadstena Tidning (Sweden)

"Erik Winter could be related to Elizabeth George's Sir Thomas Lynley, and the almost clinical descriptions might evoke pathologist Kay Scarpetta in Patricia Cornwell's books, while the social ambience could well be inspired by both P. D. James and Minette Walters."
- SmslSnningen (Sweden)

"A dramatic crime chase in Gothenburg, intelligently and excitingly told."
- Der Spiegel (Germany)

"[Here is] the opportunity to discover a Swede well removed from the 'Swedish model' and enter into the world of +ke Edwardson. Try this voyage, and you will return to it."
- Marianne (France)

Åke Edwardson is one of Scandinavia’s most successful crime writers. He has won numerous awards, including the Swedish Academy of Crime Writers’ Award three times.