The Swedish Girl, first published back in 2003, is the tenth book in the DCI Lorimer series, but I haven't read any of the others and I still loved it. (I picked it up in the 3 for £5 section of The Works.)
The Swedish girl of the title is 18-year-old Eva Magnusson, just starting at university in Glasgow and getting to know the new housemates who are sharing the luxury flat bought by her ultra-rich father. She is a bit aloof and has a great sense of entitlement, but, after the death of her mother, she has been brought up as Daddy's Little Princess, so she is used to getting what she wants when she wants - including a whole string of lovers who all think they are something more special to her. The descriptions of the shared housing, with everyone settling into their new roles and seeing each other coming and going, made me smile as it reminded me of my own student days many years ago. This sense of fun and new beginnings is brought to a swift end however when Eva is discovered dead in the living room (which should maybe be renamed the dying room) and one of her male housemates is locked up as the presumed killer.
The only other girl in the house, Kirsty Wilson, is convinced that her new friend can't have done it though and, as a policeman's daughter, she can't help but set out to prove it. DS Lorimer (he hasn't made it to DCI yet) unofficially agrees with her, and when more women, who look remarkably like Eva, start being murdered, they have to wonder if Glasgow has a new serial killer on the loose.
It's a gripping read, full of red herrings and unexpected twists, as well as several characters who could all have turned out to be the killer. My favourite character is big-hearted, determined amateur sleuth Kirsty Wilson, but I get the feeling that she is just a bit-part in the rest of the series, which is a shame. DS Lorimer and his sidekick, psychologist Solly Brightman, seemed rather bland in comparison, but if I'd read some of the previous novels in the series, I would surely have had a deeper knowledge of their personalities and motivations.
star rating : 4.5/5
RRP : £8.99
- Paperback: 480 pages
- Publisher: Sphere (5 Dec. 2013)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0751548227
- ISBN-13: 978-0751548228
I've seen this book in The Works. Haven't read any books in this series. Once I go through some of the recent paperbacks, I might just visit The Works again. :)
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