Helene Tursten’s third contemporary police procedural published in English (but the fifth in the series) opens with a bang. Detective Inspector Irene Huss and her team find Jacob Schyttelius,
There are very few leads to go on in The Glass Devil. The only clues the crime scenes are upside-down pentagrams drawn in blood on the computer screens and an upturned cross on the wall of the rector’s bedroom. Irene visits Jacob’s London-based sister, Rebecka, but she is too devastated by the dual tragedy to offer much assistance. The detectives hit one dead end after another. Huss focuses her inquiry on Sten, a minister who had been investigating a local Satanist movement, in the belief that he may have been killed in revenge.
Once again Helene Tursten balances the story and the ongoing side-stories in the series excellently. She continues her very interesting exploration of the relationship between Irene Huss’ private life, with her twin daughters and her husband, and her work as a female detective; the time pressures, the psychological disconnects between the two very different worlds she lives in. The side story about Irene Huss is interesting, and as a character Irene Huss grows considerably in The Glass Devil. I enjoy reading about her.
The plot itself is good, but perhaps not quite up to the quality of the previous two novels. And the solution to this mystery – which can be guessed – is both logical and depressing. The characters in the book are very interesting and well drawn – they are credible, flawed, and feel real. Huss is one of the most satisfying lead characters in the thriving world of Swedish crime fiction. The Glass Devil is a great crime fiction novel and very entertaining. We eagerly await the next book to be translated into English.
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