Series
Genres
Description
"On the day Stockholm police officer Hanna Ahlander's personal and professional lives crash, she takes refuge at her sister's lodge in the Swedish ski resort paradise of �re. But it's a brief comfort. The entire village is shaken by the sudden vanishing of a local teenage girl. Hanna can't help but investigate, and while searching for the missing person, she lands a job with the local police department. There she joins forces with Detective Inspector Daniel Lindskog, who has been tasked with finding the girl. Their only lead: a scarf in the snow. As subzero temperatures drop even further, a treacherous blizzard sweeps toward �re. Hanna and Daniel's investigation is getting more desperate by the hour. Lost or abducted, either way time is running out for the missing girl. Each new clue closes in on something far more sinister than either Hanna or Daniel imagined. In this devious novel by the bestselling author of the Sandhamn Murders series, discover what it will take to solve a case when the truth can be so easily hidden in the coming storm"--Page 4 of cover.… (more)
Publication
Amazon Crossing (2022), 460 pages
User reviews
LibraryThing member AdonisGuilfoyle
A hit Amazon recommendation, who would have thought? I'm not really into detective fiction but I seem to be drawn to the bleak settings of 'Nordic/Scandi noir' novels and to be honest, I loved the cover! Set in Åre, a stunning ski resort in Scandinavia, Viveca Sten's writing is not only a tightly
As with most crime novels, a lot of characters are thrown at the reader in the first few chapters, including the victim, the local detectives and a disgraced police officer from Stockholm who is licking her wounds in her sister's resort home. Hanna really annoyed me at first, sobbing into bottles of red wine over her cheating ex - is there ever such a thing as a detective with a happy home life? - but she recovers her dignity when Detective Daniel and his team recruit her because of her work with domestic abuse victims. Daniel is a new father and we are treated to a lot of his home life too, which becomes slightly repetitive and tedious thanks to the droll narrative style (possibly a translation issue).
From the disappearance and inevitable death of student Amanda after a Christmas party, however, I was drawn into the story and gripped by the plot. Sten provides plenty of suspects and red herrings, from drunk boyfriends to creepy teachers, and also portrays the destruction of a family torn apart by grief with powerful realism.I do wish that the poor dog could have been spared, though! I wanted to shout at everyone for falling apart while sympathising with their very human emotions at the same time. Even the revelation of the killer, which usually turns out to be a weak 'traumatic childhood' psychopath, was well paced and cleverly interwoven with a subplot involving Hanna.
What I loved most, I have to admit, was the 'scenery' - the winter wonderland of the mountains, which must look absolutely stunning but with minus temperatures and storms which can kill in hours. I can't wait to return to the Åre region with book two!
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plotted murder mystery about the death of a teenage girl but also a dark and dramatic introduction to the natural beauty and harsh weather of the region. As with most crime novels, a lot of characters are thrown at the reader in the first few chapters, including the victim, the local detectives and a disgraced police officer from Stockholm who is licking her wounds in her sister's resort home. Hanna really annoyed me at first, sobbing into bottles of red wine over her cheating ex - is there ever such a thing as a detective with a happy home life? - but she recovers her dignity when Detective Daniel and his team recruit her because of her work with domestic abuse victims. Daniel is a new father and we are treated to a lot of his home life too, which becomes slightly repetitive and tedious thanks to the droll narrative style (possibly a translation issue).
From the disappearance and inevitable death of student Amanda after a Christmas party, however, I was drawn into the story and gripped by the plot. Sten provides plenty of suspects and red herrings, from drunk boyfriends to creepy teachers, and also portrays the destruction of a family torn apart by grief with powerful realism.
What I loved most, I have to admit, was the 'scenery' - the winter wonderland of the mountains, which must look absolutely stunning but with minus temperatures and storms which can kill in hours. I can't wait to return to the Åre region with book two!
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LibraryThing member EdGoldberg
Hanna Alhander has essentially been fired from her police job in Stockholm. Her boss called her insubordinate and undisciplined and highly suggested she find employment elsewhere. She went home, hoping to cry on her boyfriend Christian’s shoulder, only to find his bag packed because he is leaving
Venturing into town, Hanna learns that a local girl, Amanda Halvorssen is missing, having not returned home from a party. Hearing that a missing persons group is conducting a search, Hanna joins the search party and is paired with Karro, the sister of local police officer, Anton. While searching Karro mentions several things about Amanda and her friends that Hanna thinks might interest the police. However, Karro refuses to tell Anton, so Hanna decides to visit the police and tell what she’s heard.
Impressed by Hanna’s willingness to get involved in the case and her specialty of investigating brutalized women Anton advocates for Hanna to become part of the team and lead investigator, Daniel Lindskog finally agrees. He is getting nowhere on the case and time is running out if they are to find Amanda alive.
Of primary importance in Hidden in Snow is the harsh Scandinavian winter with raging storms, sub zero temperature and constant snow. Having no idea where Amanda is, could she have fallen in snow walking home from the party and froze, was she abducted and if so where is she are all major concerns of the police. There are miles of barren landscape to search if she was hidden away.
As police interview Amanda’s friends, classmates, teachers, etc., they learn more and more and uncover several nefarious goings on, thus increasing the number of viable suspects for abduction or murder. And true to Hanna’s form, she also investigates things on her own, putting herself in danger.
Additionally, Amanda’s family have their own suspicions as to what happened, which they unfortunately act on.
Sten does a good job of fleshing out her main characters: Hanna and Daniel. Hanna is an independent woman who follows her gut, sometimes to her professional detriment. Daniel is a new father who is torn between his longing to see his baby daughter and the long hours it takes to solve the case.
Hidden in Snow has no happy ending. The case is solved but the impact will leave lasting scars. This is probably the bleakest Scandinavian noir I’ve read and I’ve reviewed some really bleak ones for you. However, it is well worth the read for the suspense as well as the look into the lives of both Hanna and Daniel.
Hopefully there will be a follow up book in the series soon.
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her. He gives Hanna a week to clear out of his apartment. Desolate, she takes refuge in her sister Lydia’s ski resort home in Are where the family used to vacation when Hanna was little. She spends the first few days snug in the house wallowing in self-pity, with snow and wind and sub zero temperatures raging outside.Venturing into town, Hanna learns that a local girl, Amanda Halvorssen is missing, having not returned home from a party. Hearing that a missing persons group is conducting a search, Hanna joins the search party and is paired with Karro, the sister of local police officer, Anton. While searching Karro mentions several things about Amanda and her friends that Hanna thinks might interest the police. However, Karro refuses to tell Anton, so Hanna decides to visit the police and tell what she’s heard.
Impressed by Hanna’s willingness to get involved in the case and her specialty of investigating brutalized women Anton advocates for Hanna to become part of the team and lead investigator, Daniel Lindskog finally agrees. He is getting nowhere on the case and time is running out if they are to find Amanda alive.
Of primary importance in Hidden in Snow is the harsh Scandinavian winter with raging storms, sub zero temperature and constant snow. Having no idea where Amanda is, could she have fallen in snow walking home from the party and froze, was she abducted and if so where is she are all major concerns of the police. There are miles of barren landscape to search if she was hidden away.
As police interview Amanda’s friends, classmates, teachers, etc., they learn more and more and uncover several nefarious goings on, thus increasing the number of viable suspects for abduction or murder. And true to Hanna’s form, she also investigates things on her own, putting herself in danger.
Additionally, Amanda’s family have their own suspicions as to what happened, which they unfortunately act on.
Sten does a good job of fleshing out her main characters: Hanna and Daniel. Hanna is an independent woman who follows her gut, sometimes to her professional detriment. Daniel is a new father who is torn between his longing to see his baby daughter and the long hours it takes to solve the case.
Hidden in Snow has no happy ending. The case is solved but the impact will leave lasting scars. This is probably the bleakest Scandinavian noir I’ve read and I’ve reviewed some really bleak ones for you. However, it is well worth the read for the suspense as well as the look into the lives of both Hanna and Daniel.
Hopefully there will be a follow up book in the series soon.
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LibraryThing member JenniferRobb
I read this as an e-book.
It starts off with Hanna having job woes and boyfriend woes and housing woes all at the same time. Hanna's sister Lydia arranges for Hanna to stay at her home in Are.
While there, Hanna manages to get involved with a murder investigation as well as suspecting human
I haven't read many books set in Sweden so I'll have to leave it to others to know if the police procedures etc. are correct. I was glad to see Hanna turn herself around--to realize that a guy dumping her isn't the end of the world--to realize that there are other jobs out there that might want her even if her current/former boss doesn't.
It's a little unfortunate that the author(s) chose to title the series the Are Murders. They seem to go to great lengths to make it sound like Are is this quiet, lovely town where very little serious crime happens--so one murder would seem to be bad enough, but the series seems to indicate that there are more murders to come so . . . Then again, the book also seems to indicate that there is a tourist season upcoming (which would indicate an influx of people who don't live there) as well as a past world championship held there (that would also seem to bring in people who don't live there) so perhaps some of the murders will result from that type of event rather than being people who live in the area like this one was.
Hanna and Daniel seem a bit similar. Hanna avoids calling her former boyfriend to apologize and puts it off by doing research or working. Daniel doesn't want to deal with home life stresses and immerses himself in his work or tries to convince himself that the work is important. And his work is important--but some of what he did to keep himself at the office seems like it could have been done at home (checking email etc.) so he could have gone home, bathed his baby daughter, had some time with his wife, and then resumed some of the work things that he could take home, rather than working late hours at the office and not really seeing either his wife/girlfriend or daughter. (I thought she was his wife for most of the book but then at the end it said girlfriend so . . .)
It starts off with Hanna having job woes and boyfriend woes and housing woes all at the same time. Hanna's sister Lydia arranges for Hanna to stay at her home in Are.
While there, Hanna manages to get involved with a murder investigation as well as suspecting human
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trafficking.I haven't read many books set in Sweden so I'll have to leave it to others to know if the police procedures etc. are correct. I was glad to see Hanna turn herself around--to realize that a guy dumping her isn't the end of the world--to realize that there are other jobs out there that might want her even if her current/former boss doesn't.
It's a little unfortunate that the author(s) chose to title the series the Are Murders. They seem to go to great lengths to make it sound like Are is this quiet, lovely town where very little serious crime happens--so one murder would seem to be bad enough, but the series seems to indicate that there are more murders to come so . . . Then again, the book also seems to indicate that there is a tourist season upcoming (which would indicate an influx of people who don't live there) as well as a past world championship held there (that would also seem to bring in people who don't live there) so perhaps some of the murders will result from that type of event rather than being people who live in the area like this one was.
Hanna and Daniel seem a bit similar. Hanna avoids calling her former boyfriend to apologize and puts it off by doing research or working. Daniel doesn't want to deal with home life stresses and immerses himself in his work or tries to convince himself that the work is important. And his work is important--but some of what he did to keep himself at the office seems like it could have been done at home (checking email etc.) so he could have gone home, bathed his baby daughter, had some time with his wife, and then resumed some of the work things that he could take home, rather than working late hours at the office and not really seeing either his wife/girlfriend or daughter. (I thought she was his wife for most of the book but then at the end it said girlfriend so . . .)
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LibraryThing member edwardsgt
An interesting crime story set in rural Sweden in winter. Hanna, a Stockholm cop has temporarily moved into her sister's house in Are, having fallen out with her boss and been dumped by her partner. In Are a young girl goes missing and Hanna decides to help.
LibraryThing member FerneMysteryReader
I was intrigued by the title and cover to read the description. Having previously only read a historical fiction novel set in Sweden, adding a noir crime/police procedural became an immediate download. The story begins on December 9, 2019, through December 22, 2019, with the trial verdicts update
A police officer in Stockholm, Hanna Ahlander’s life crashed and burned at home and work on the same day. Her future could not be more uncertain. Hanna’s need for temporary housing comes from her sister’s invitation to use the ski lodge in Åre as the second home, and winter retreat is empty and free. But it’s hard to stop being a police officer when the entire village is distressed by news of a missing local teenage girl, and perilous weather conditions create even more desperation.
Detective Inspector Daniel Lindskog leads the search and pursuit to find the missing girl. Vivid description of weather conditions elevates intensity of this page-turning winter thriller. Hanna was unaware that her sister had a scheduled cleaner for the lodge. The underlying question is whether Zuhra’s reaction to Hanna’s presence is expected or if it is Hanna’s reaction to Zuhra that is suspicious.
Winter reading that intrigues from beginning to end. I loved the atmospheric writing, character depth, and suspense that continued to build.
I recognized the translator’s name from previous reading experiences, but the author is a new discovery. Now I will remember both of their names and can’t wait to read more of their work.
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on July 7, 2020.A police officer in Stockholm, Hanna Ahlander’s life crashed and burned at home and work on the same day. Her future could not be more uncertain. Hanna’s need for temporary housing comes from her sister’s invitation to use the ski lodge in Åre as the second home, and winter retreat is empty and free. But it’s hard to stop being a police officer when the entire village is distressed by news of a missing local teenage girl, and perilous weather conditions create even more desperation.
Detective Inspector Daniel Lindskog leads the search and pursuit to find the missing girl. Vivid description of weather conditions elevates intensity of this page-turning winter thriller. Hanna was unaware that her sister had a scheduled cleaner for the lodge. The underlying question is whether Zuhra’s reaction to Hanna’s presence is expected or if it is Hanna’s reaction to Zuhra that is suspicious.
Winter reading that intrigues from beginning to end. I loved the atmospheric writing, character depth, and suspense that continued to build.
I recognized the translator’s name from previous reading experiences, but the author is a new discovery. Now I will remember both of their names and can’t wait to read more of their work.
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LibraryThing member ibkennedy
Good story
LibraryThing member Birta
Classic Nordic Noir - each central character has various levels of inner turmoil combined with personal life crisis but carries on with stoic determination. Multiple suspects, bad weather in isolated communities; all these things come together to make a good Nordic crime novel come to life.
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2022-12
Physical description
460 p.; 8.25 inches
ISBN
1542037492 / 9781542037495