After She's Gone (Hanne #2) by Camilla Grebe

"Those who sow the wind, harvest the storm."

Hanne Lagerlind-Schön and her partner, Peter Lindgren, from the National Operations Department in Stockholm, along with their colleague Manfred Olsson, are in Ormberg investigating a cold case involving the murder of a young girl who was never identified 8 years prior when her body was discover in a cairn. Two other more local police officers join in the squad, Andreas Borg and Malin Brundin. The group begins examining the little bit of information available about the discovery of the body and start to interview some of the local families in the very underpopulated town. The people have fallen on hard times with the closing of industry and many have moved away. Malin is asked to be on the task force for two reasons: 1. She was the one who actually found the little girl's body when she was a teenager and 2. She grew up in Ormberg and knows everyone. But things are about to get really crazy as shortly after the team gets going, Hanne and Peter disappear. Then Hanne is found wandering in the woods by a local teenager named Jake Birgersson. Hanne gets picked up by a Good Samaritan who happens to be driving by but leaves behind a very important part of herself - her diary. Because Hanne has early onset dementia, she writes everything in that notebook. Jake finds that diary and, instead of turning it over to police (for a very good reason), he reads it. NO SPOILERS.

I could go on and on describing what this book is about, but let me just say that this is excellent Nordic Noir with a very complex and absorbing plot. It has enough twists and turns to stymie even the most savvy crime thriller reader. The most difficult part of reading this book was its structure. It alternates in point of view and back and forth in time and also includes excerpts from the diary as Hanne can't remember anything about what happened to her or what became of Peter. The atmosphere is another character in the story as the setting and the cold temperature provides a chilling backdrop to this incredibly plotted tale. The reveals and the conclusion are well worth waiting for and I really sped through this fully invested in the characters and the events that occurred. Definitely recommend it!

I was lucky enough to read the first book in the series immediately prior to beginning this one so the characters mostly felt familiar. The book also has to do with the plight of refugees and asylum seekers who are re-homed and settled into this depopulated town in Sodermanland. In a final note from the author, she declares, "We live in a difficult time. More people have been displaced from their homes than ever before in history. And this stream of refugees has been met with xenophobia, conflict and fear." The main message that she wants to convey in this book is this: "It could have been you who had to feel from war and starvation."

Thank you to Ballantine Books for this e-book ARC to read and review.

This is the second book in the Hanne series and I suggest you read the first one prior to this.
Genre - Nordic noir, crime thriller, police, cold case