The Rust Forest by Anders de la Motte

 

Meet Leonore (Leo) Asker. An ambitious detective in the Malmo (Sweden) PD in line for a significant promotion. Her mom is politically connected. But her father (Prepper Per) is quasi-hidden. Seems he developed an AI tool for the company he worked for and was expecting a substantial financial boost for his work. But the company decided otherwise squeezing Per out. He decided to lash out at said company and then went on the run and remains mostly hidden in and around Malmo.  

A vengeful colleague with the police has it in for Leo and attempts to derail her promotion. Gets her assigned to a do nothing unit (think Slow Horses, the acclaimed Apple TV series featuring Gary Oldman). Leo is assigned an unsolved case of murder 10y previous. A young woman was killed in the forest around Malmo. Throat slit and left to die in a old agricultural factory building. Only unusual clue was a missing ring finger. Everyone assumed is was her husband, but he's thought to be in the wind. 

This factory building sits in The Rust Forest, so named because of mineral runoff has discolored the land and water. Some hard cases live in and protect the forest. Trespassers take their lives into their own hands. Our story opens in earnest with a couple of 20somethings exploring the various buildings for their YouTube channel; UrbEx (for urban explorers). They are surprised by what might be a spirit of sorts and take off.

See, The Rust Forest is thought to be inhabited by spirits of a centuries old murder whose remains were found sometime ago. Now on display at the city museum: The Gray Maiden.  Somehow, the death of the wife at the hands of her husband and The Gray Maiden are somehow connected and it's up to Leo and her cadre of misfit cops to find out who killed the wife and what are the connections to the monied and well-heeled of Malmo that keep popping up. 

Leo's investigation runs into more blind alleys and dead ends than should be allowed by law, but keeps on digging even after being told in no uncertain terms to hand off the case to the Cold Case unit else lose her promotion. She's got to the end of the weekend to gather all her material so that Cold Case can effectively be lost in storage.

This is the 3rd Leo Asker book (after The Mountain King and The Glass Man). Both were international best sellers. Easy to see why. De la Motte is quite adept at weaving a complex tale and bring it to a rip roaring finish. Asker is bullheaded, resourceful, skilled at martial arts, firearms, and motorcycles. Every guys dream, right? It's been a while since I last read a book by a Scandinavian author. But having read this one, I'm definitely checking in with the library about The Mountain King.

Oh yes. If you recall, I'm forever saying pay attention to the publishers. That mysteries and thrillers from Emily Bestler Books have been consistent winners. Color me surprised when I noticed that this is another in the long line of Emily Bestler Books. Think I could read exclusively Emily Bestler Books and be quite happy and occupied. 

Thanks to NetGalley for the book in exchange for an honest review. 

ECD