Modern day St. Petersburg, Russia. A Swedish student, Zena,
is reported missing after a night of drinking. The case goes to police Captain
Natalya Ivanova, an honest cop caught in the middle of a society ripe with
bribes. Normally, she gets domestic cases so this one has the potential to be big.
Both for her and for her police colonel husband who is in line to be head of
the force.
The investigation goes slowly until they learn her Swedish father’s
identity. He is a rich industrialist. And as might be expected, he has a few
secrets he is not terribly excited to divulge about himself, Zena, their
history, and a connection with Russian organized crime.
When the FSB enters the game, political pressures enter the
arena that attempt to protect the city’s economic impact if the whole story
becomes public. Despite external pressures, all Captain Ivanova wants is to do
right by Zena, politics be damned.
This is the first in a series following Captain Ivnaova and
it is a series to be reckoned with. Anyone who loves those dark mysteries set
in Scandinavia will be quite taken by Abson’s heroine. The pacing is excellent
and the mood is elegantly nuanced. Only bad thing is the wait for the next episode.
One of my favorite procedurals with a female lead set
overseas was the Saudi trilogy by Zoe Ferraris. If the next two are as unique
and satisfying as this, Abson place beside Ferraris will be well earned.
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