The Beige Man by Helene Tursten, a Mysterious Review.

Review: Detective Inspector Irene Huss and her team in the Violent Crimes Unit of the Göteborg Police Department try to connect the high speed chase of a stolen BMW that was involved in a hit and run, killing a former police officer, with the murder of a half-naked young girl found in a nearby root cellar, in The Beige Man, the seventh mystery in this series by Helene Tursten.

The two investigations would seem to have nothing in common. Indeed, the team finds many questions to consider in each case, but precious few answers. The BMW was stolen from the man, who was then killed by it. Is one crime related to the other? And the hunt for the girl's killer leads Huss from the pimps in Sweden into the dark underworld of sex trafficking in the Canary Islands. Her investigation leads her to believe an international criminal has set up business in Göteborg. But who is he? Anyone who knows is afraid to talk for fear of torture and death. It seems impossible that these crimes could be related in some way, but Huss can't shake the feeling that they are.

There is a nice balance struck between the professional and personal lives of Irene Huss. She is happily married with twin teenaged daughters, who are about ready to leave home. As a police officer who has seen her fair share of crime, she worries about them when they'll be on their own, especially given the horrific nature of one of the crimes she's investigating, the trafficking of young girls for sex. The two primary mysteries here are compelling and quite puzzling, for both Huss and the reader. In the end, The Beige Man is a strong, if also troubling, entry in this series.

Special thanks to guest reviewer Betty of The Betz Review for contributing her review of The Beige Man.

Night Rounds
Soho Crime (Hardcover), February 2012
ISBN-13: 9781616950064; ISBN-10: 1616950064

The Beige Man

An Inspector Irene Huss Mystery by Helene Tursten