Last Will by Liza Marklund, a Mysterious Review.

Review: Investigative reporter Annika Bengtzon is attending the gala Nobel Prize dinner and dance at Stockholm's City Hall, when shots are fired, a prize recipient is injured and a committee member killed, in Last Will, the sixth mystery in this series by Liza Marklund, though only the second to be published in the US.

Annika immediately recognizes the situation as the story of a lifetime, a first-hand witness to a murder. She is quickly informed that she can't act upon it because she was a witness. That can't stop her from thinking about it, though. Who was the target? Aaron Wiesel, the Israeli-born co-winner for the prize in medicine for his work in stem-cell research, who was seriously injured? Or Carolyn von Behring, the chairperson of the committee, who was actually killed? Or maybe someone else? The killer escapes, but not without being noticed first, most especially by Annika, who was bumped into by her, a woman with cat-like yellow eyes. On leave from her employer, The Evening Post, Annika decides to investigate on her own.

Last Will provides a fascinating look behind-the-scenes of one of the most prestigious awards in the world, the selection process of which is often shrouded in mystery. The murder mystery plot artfully includes these prizes into the story, which is complicated but not convoluted. In addition to Annika's professional interest in the case she's investigating, considerable attention is paid to her personal life. She is financially secure and doesn't really need to work but wants to. Her family life is taking a toll on her, though, with two young children and an unfaithful husband, who are involuntarily dragged into danger.

This is a strongly plotted mystery, one that will have many readers skipping whatever else they have to do to follow along with Annika as she pursues her leads.

Special thanks to guest reviewer Betty of The Betz Review for contributing her review of Last Will.

Red Wolf
Atria Books (Hardcover), February 2011
ISBN-13: 9781451602067; ISBN-10: 1451602065

Last Will

An Annika Bengtzon Mystery by Liza Marklund