In a nondescript apartment block in Stockholm, most of the residents are elderly. Usually a death is a sad but straightforward event. But sometimes a resident will die and there are no friends or family to contact. This is when Marianne Folkesson arrives, employed by the state to close up a life with dignity and respect. Gerda Persson has lain dead in her apartment for three days before Marianne is called. When she arrives, she finds the apartment tidy and ordered. Gerda's life seems to have been quite ordinary. Until Marianne opens the freezer and finds it full of books, neatly stacked and wrapped in clingfilm, a thick layer of ice covering them.They are all by Axel Ragnerfeldt, winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature, with handwritten dedications to Gerda from the author. What story do these books have to tell, about Gerda, and more importantly about Ragnerfeldt, a man whose fame is without precedent in the nation's cultural life, but seldom gives interviews?

I'd never heard of this author before but enjoyed this thriller which I found to be in a similar vein to Ruth Rendell & Karin Fossum.

The story features a dysfunctional family, none of whom are endearing characters, & their dark family secrets that they have kept over the years begin to come to light on the death of their retired housekeeper Gerda Persson. As Marianne Folkesson, an estate administrator, sorts out Gerda's belongings she unwittingly sets off a chain of events which have a devastating affect on not only the family but a young man a who was abandoned as a child.

I found this a good read, some of the twists weren't very surprising & some parts were a little predictable, although the reason for Annika's death was a bit of a shocker! I'll certainly read more by this author.

Putting with a wishlist book & sending to someone who I hope will enjoy it :-)

Thank you for this surprise RABCK! I have read Missing from the same author years ago and will definitely read this one! I love nordic crime ;)