Book Review | Death In Summer by Lina Areklew

As a kid, Fredrik Fröding lived through one of the worst ferry disasters in Europe. 25 years later, he still believes that his brother, Niklas, is alive. This obsession has cost him his job in the police and has pushed him to the island of Ulvön. Detective Sofia Hjortén has come to the island to escape after her personal life fell apart. When a murder happens at a local hotel, she’s shocked to spot Fredrik in town, reminding her of their brief fling. As she digs into the case, Sofia starts uncovering secrets from decades ago that might be linked to Fredrik. Has his shaky mental state pushed him to commit murder, or is there someone else hiding darker secrets?

He looked up and watched wave after wave hit the life rafts that had made it into the water. The wind lifted them up, causing them to tumble along the surface. He had to decide now: stay put and go down with the ship, or jump into the frigid water. 

There was no surviving this.

Death In Summer takes place on a remote island on Sweden’s High Coast and it’s the perfect setting for a gloomy Nordic mystery. The community is tiny, lacking resources available to investigate a murder. Everyone knows each other and the history of the island. This case leads Fredrik and Sofia to uncover secrets from decades ago at a summer camp. But how does that connect to the murder in the present time? I thought Fredrik’s quest was interesting, but his missing brother is a red herring because this turns out to be an entirely different case.

I loved the location, where the island is isolated enough to create suspense when the characters are unable to leave or call for help. There are enough clues to put the puzzle together, which is pretty fun. Fredrik is an unreliable narrator with erratic behaviour due to family trauma. When he got caught up in the case, I felt sorry for him for the most part. On the other hand, I found Sofia to be a pretty generic detective who made some questionable choices. Her professionalism is affected by her emotional connection with Fredrik and other characters on the island. The book ends with the closure of the case, but not with Fredrik and Sofia’s fates. Maybe we’ll find out in the next book!

About the author: Lina Areklew

Photo by Hans Ott