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Inspector Anita Sundström #5
Menace in Malmö
On a late summer evening, the train from Malmö to Ystad is involved in a crash. The deaths at the scene seem straightforward until one of the bodies is identified as a well-known conman. It's someone who had crossed swords with Chief Inspector Moberg in the past and he is keen to find out what the dead man was up to. Before long it develops into a far more sinister investigation for Inspector Anita Sundström and the team at Skåne County Police. Yet Anita is finding it difficult to keep her mind focussed as a new Cold Case Group have reopened the first murder she was ever involved in. Twenty-one years before, the young and eager Anita and her colleagues were sure of the murderer's identity, but were unable to find the conclusive evidence for a conviction. Her nemesis, Alice Zetterberg, is heading up the cold case and is determined to prove Anita wrong. While watching helplessly on the sidelines, her own case takes an ominous turn with a brutal murder and a new menace on the streets of Malmö.
320 pages, ebook
First published January 1, 2017
About the author
Torquil MacLeod
18 books135 followersTorquil MacLeod was born in Edinburgh and brought up in the north east of England. After a brief spell as a teacher in Worcestershire, he worked in advertising agencies in Birmingham, Glasgow and Newcastle; since 2000 he has been a freelance writer.
See also: Torquil R. MacLeod
See also: Torquil R. MacLeod
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 75 reviews
August 14, 2018
Menace in Malmo a DI Anita Sunstrom novel.
The story starts out during 1995 when Kurt aged 10 years finds Goran Costa bleeding to death on the floor of a small chapel. Spring forward 21 years and Anita Sunstrom finds that her nemesis Alice Zetterburg is heading up a cold case investigation into this murder which was the first murder case Anita had been involved in with Henrik Norlund and a case that she notoriously leaked the name of the chief suspect, Linus Svard, to the press and he had fled the country.
As this is going on a train crashes into a van stalled on a level crossing, the three occupants and the train driver are killed but the police become suspicious as forensic evidence suggests that one occupant was already dead when the crash occurred. Then an elderly farmer is found dead at his isolated property and the finger prints lead to a young British man who is shot and injured on the railway leading into Denmark.
Anita has forgone her holiday with her English policeman boyfriend but enlists his help to track down the connections with the young man who had been shot and how he had found his way to Sweden. She becomes entangled in both cases that leads her to Malta and the man she had set the press on and changing stories lead an arrest. The British connections to the shooting end in attempts to extradite a suspect and a shoot -out at a safe house.
The plots of this series have improved since the first story which was a self-published down load only book and this one has a complex mix of action on the two separate cases and are inter woven with the dynamics of the police station, mixed with the racial issues surrounding the increasing Muslim community and the attempts of the second generation to integrate fully into Swedish society.
A good but perhaps not an outstanding book. 3 stars.
The story starts out during 1995 when Kurt aged 10 years finds Goran Costa bleeding to death on the floor of a small chapel. Spring forward 21 years and Anita Sunstrom finds that her nemesis Alice Zetterburg is heading up a cold case investigation into this murder which was the first murder case Anita had been involved in with Henrik Norlund and a case that she notoriously leaked the name of the chief suspect, Linus Svard, to the press and he had fled the country.
As this is going on a train crashes into a van stalled on a level crossing, the three occupants and the train driver are killed but the police become suspicious as forensic evidence suggests that one occupant was already dead when the crash occurred. Then an elderly farmer is found dead at his isolated property and the finger prints lead to a young British man who is shot and injured on the railway leading into Denmark.
Anita has forgone her holiday with her English policeman boyfriend but enlists his help to track down the connections with the young man who had been shot and how he had found his way to Sweden. She becomes entangled in both cases that leads her to Malta and the man she had set the press on and changing stories lead an arrest. The British connections to the shooting end in attempts to extradite a suspect and a shoot -out at a safe house.
The plots of this series have improved since the first story which was a self-published down load only book and this one has a complex mix of action on the two separate cases and are inter woven with the dynamics of the police station, mixed with the racial issues surrounding the increasing Muslim community and the attempts of the second generation to integrate fully into Swedish society.
A good but perhaps not an outstanding book. 3 stars.
April 26, 2024
3.5 - I am reading these in order. I am not a detailed reviewer but leave that to those more talented in that skill.
A good Nordic Noir story/mystery, but still too many sections skimmed of hardly relative personal information about the repeating cast of characters. Also, in this series I find myself frustrated by some obviously dumb actions taken by the main protagonist detective. It is what I call the "She forgot her cell phone" ploy... as an easy way to change the scene or force an otherwise illogical action. When it happens 3-4 times in a book, I feel cheated. The plot here is fairly complex with a team of friends that are all suspect, so the action goes back and forth. It also includes a subplot / crime that adds interest to the overall and is an interesting insight into human trafficking in the EU.
With the flaws I perceive I would still recommend this to those reading the genre/series.
May 2023 bring to you peace, happiness, and prosperity. And to me, too.
A good Nordic Noir story/mystery, but still too many sections skimmed of hardly relative personal information about the repeating cast of characters. Also, in this series I find myself frustrated by some obviously dumb actions taken by the main protagonist detective. It is what I call the "She forgot her cell phone" ploy... as an easy way to change the scene or force an otherwise illogical action. When it happens 3-4 times in a book, I feel cheated. The plot here is fairly complex with a team of friends that are all suspect, so the action goes back and forth. It also includes a subplot / crime that adds interest to the overall and is an interesting insight into human trafficking in the EU.
With the flaws I perceive I would still recommend this to those reading the genre/series.
May 2023 bring to you peace, happiness, and prosperity. And to me, too.
November 15, 2017
Not the best in the sequence
I found this novel disappointing and am not surprised that the author has decided to terminate the series. The cold case investigation failed to hold my interest and the other theme of British slave labourers carrying out shoddy drive repairs in Sweden hardly seems commensurate with the murderous violence of those behind the scam, the rewards being so meagre. There were flashes of the previous novels, but the overall effect was lacklustre.
I found this novel disappointing and am not surprised that the author has decided to terminate the series. The cold case investigation failed to hold my interest and the other theme of British slave labourers carrying out shoddy drive repairs in Sweden hardly seems commensurate with the murderous violence of those behind the scam, the rewards being so meagre. There were flashes of the previous novels, but the overall effect was lacklustre.
July 1, 2017
Typical light murder mystery when you don't what to think too much.
July 6, 2022
Book 5 of an enjoyable series but, to my mind, this is the weakest book so far. I didn't think that the plot line hung together very well and there were some aspects that seemed unlikely. Having said that, it's still a decent book.
September 15, 2019
Every one!
Every book in the series has captured my attention and kept it. The authentic cultural and social detail is important to me, and is very well done.Inspector Anita will always be one of my favorite “cops“, smart, reflective, risk-taking and very human. i’m headed into my Amazon to get number six and so glad there is one more!
Every book in the series has captured my attention and kept it. The authentic cultural and social detail is important to me, and is very well done.Inspector Anita will always be one of my favorite “cops“, smart, reflective, risk-taking and very human. i’m headed into my Amazon to get number six and so glad there is one more!
August 25, 2019
The Anita Sundstrom detective series is a good one. It takes place in Sweden so you'll stumble a bit over names and places but don't let it take away from an exciting story. This is a pretty complex yarn - two stories in one. A 21 year old cold case murder that Sundstrom worked when she was a rookie detective. The new person running the cold case is a detective that had an old and nasty run in with Anita. Bad feelings still linger and end up influencing the case. Anita is kept busy working on a new and complex double murder case that has international scope. Luckily, Detective Sundstrom speaks English and Swedish - a big plus in this story. The author does a good job of taking the reader through both stories. You'll also learn a little about Sweden's justice and police system. Skoal!
November 10, 2019
It is the middle of summer and Inspector Anita Sundström interests have narrowed to her coming vacation to visit her English policeman friend. However, the cold case squad is rather ineptly reinvestigating the first murder investigation on which she worked. And several seemingly disconnected crimes turn out to involve all too contemporary human trafficking. The author relies far too heavily on the trope of the protagonist’s dealing with her nemesis, but otherwise tautly written and suspenseful plotted.
February 12, 2017
Another Success
Inspector Sundstrom wants to go on vacation. Instead, she is faced with two cases. The first murder investigation she worked on is being reinvestigated by a "cold case" team led by an old enemy who would relish embarrassing Sundstrom. At the same time, a train accident kicks off a complex and dangerous investigation. Excellent plotting, interesting twists and strong characters (good and bad) make this a first rate crime novel.
Inspector Sundstrom wants to go on vacation. Instead, she is faced with two cases. The first murder investigation she worked on is being reinvestigated by a "cold case" team led by an old enemy who would relish embarrassing Sundstrom. At the same time, a train accident kicks off a complex and dangerous investigation. Excellent plotting, interesting twists and strong characters (good and bad) make this a first rate crime novel.
July 4, 2018
I did like this book better than the last one. One new murder and a cold case that was Anita’s very first. The relationship with Zetterberg is tedious, but we’re not supposed to like her so in that regard it’s very well written. I always enjoy the pieces of history that he weaves into his stories as well
October 24, 2019
The fifth Inspector Anita Sundstrom thriller is another well-developed police procedural enhanced by two parallel plots of mayhem and murder.
July 23, 2023
Anita wants to split herself in two in this story. Maybe that should be into three parts. Anita is meant to be visiting her English boyfriend, Kevin Ash, for a week of sightseeing in the Lake District when Inspector Moberg skippers her plans twice over. We met DI Alice Zetterbergin the previous book in the series doing the government secret services a favour. Now she has her reward. She’s heading up a new cold case unit. She and Anita have had a hate hate relationship since their shared Police Academy days when Zetterberg became convinced that Anita had slept with her then boyfriend, later cheating husband. Anita didn’t but that’s become irrelevant anyway. Mmmm, I wonder which is the first cold case Zetterberg will choose to look at. I think it might just be Anita’s first murder case, led by her mentor, the now deceased Henrick Nordlund. Gorman Gosta was stabbed with a skewer in a small chapel on the coast. At the time, the team believed that his lover Linus Svard had killed him but the prosecutor refused to allow them to progress the case against him, saying there was not enough evidence. The case has sat on the books, and on Anita’s conscience, for twenty five years. Anita is called in at the start of the new investigation basically so that Zetterberg can have a go at her in front of her new team, bandying words around like incompetent and ineffectual. All Zetterberg wants to do is prove Anita was wrong. That’s not necessarily the best way to find out who did it and it enables Anita to forge a channel of communication with one of Zetterberg’s team. It’s a good job someone wants the real murderer brought to justice.
The other bombshell Moberg dropped was concerning the death of a conman, Egon Fuentes, against whom Moberg has a personal grudge. Fuentes conned Moberg’s elderly mother. Now he’s been found in a van, along with two other men, that got stuck on a level crossing and was struck by a train. Everyone in the van died, or should that be only two men died because one of them was already dead. Moberg wants to know what Fuentes was up to and where did the dead man come from and all leave is cancelled until he finds out.
The other bombshell Moberg dropped was concerning the death of a conman, Egon Fuentes, against whom Moberg has a personal grudge. Fuentes conned Moberg’s elderly mother. Now he’s been found in a van, along with two other men, that got stuck on a level crossing and was struck by a train. Everyone in the van died, or should that be only two men died because one of them was already dead. Moberg wants to know what Fuentes was up to and where did the dead man come from and all leave is cancelled until he finds out.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 16, 2021
Tense..
The tension between Anita and Alice Zetterberg grows as Alice, in payment for her work hiding the truth about a previous case for the Swedish secret service, is promoted to run a new cold case department.
Zetterberg reopens the first murder case Anita ever worked on and makes no bones about the fact that she's determined to prove Anita and Henrik Nordlund were completely wrong in their investigation which was cut short by the prosecutor of the time.
A train crash brings to light a very strange situation as one of the bodies was definitely dead before the crash. When one of the others turns out to be an old, criminal enemy of Moberg all bets are off on what is really going on.
Meanwhile, a young British man is trying to escape from the man who employed him and is now trying to silence him.
Anita's planned holiday in England with Kevin is cancelled as crimes seem to be mounting up and she's not just doing her job but also making sure that dear Alice is investigating the cold case properly.
The tension between Anita and Alice Zetterberg grows as Alice, in payment for her work hiding the truth about a previous case for the Swedish secret service, is promoted to run a new cold case department.
Zetterberg reopens the first murder case Anita ever worked on and makes no bones about the fact that she's determined to prove Anita and Henrik Nordlund were completely wrong in their investigation which was cut short by the prosecutor of the time.
A train crash brings to light a very strange situation as one of the bodies was definitely dead before the crash. When one of the others turns out to be an old, criminal enemy of Moberg all bets are off on what is really going on.
Meanwhile, a young British man is trying to escape from the man who employed him and is now trying to silence him.
Anita's planned holiday in England with Kevin is cancelled as crimes seem to be mounting up and she's not just doing her job but also making sure that dear Alice is investigating the cold case properly.
Read
September 11, 2021#5 in Torquil MacLeod's series set in Southern Sweden. I'm enjoying these books, especially the setting and the Swedish ways. The plot of this book is based on actual cases in Sweden. A complex of criminals based out of England and Scotland providing shoddy paving and other similar work especially for older customers. The work is done by young boys/men held in dreadful circumstances and subject to beatings or worse if they raise complaints about their low pay, long work days, or other matters. All of this comes to light during a new Cold Case group looking again into the murder of a young man. The original case was investigated by Anita Sundstrom and her then supervisor who could not close the case. The new head of the Cold Case Group is a woman with her own anger toward both of the original investigators. The case is based in part on actual cases of UK criminals working in Sweden. Very twisty and the investigation is carried out by people working at cross purposes but who finally get to the correct answers.
March 14, 2020
I've been fortunate in reading the #5 Inspector Anita Sunstrom book after #7. Here we can see why Zetterberg got so upset at Anita when Erlandsson (Anita's friend) was coming up to Zetterberg at her press conference with a different killer from 20 years ago. At the same time we now know how Liv Fogelström got shot saving the witness to the killer of Jack Harmer, being sought by McNaught, to save Cassidy. And who has to save Anita none other than her boyfriend from England who now is waiting for his night with Anita in his bed with the promise of extreme sex. All these things happened but not in that order with puzzling facts and figures and quite a lot of action. Read it for yourself and get involved with the series.
July 8, 2018
Average Storyline, Easy Read
This is another in a string of Anita Sundstrom mysteries. It starts off promising by following a wayward youth running away from what appears to be ‘the authorities’. As we discover later he is being chased by thugs intent on killing him. This plot runs concurrently with an old case of Anita’s that has been reopened. Unfortunately, both of these plots have been used many times, in many languages and are now boring. The only benefit of reading this novel is to keep up with the events of Anita’s life in hope that the next book has a better plot and that I will not waste 5 more hours reading a boring book.
This is another in a string of Anita Sundstrom mysteries. It starts off promising by following a wayward youth running away from what appears to be ‘the authorities’. As we discover later he is being chased by thugs intent on killing him. This plot runs concurrently with an old case of Anita’s that has been reopened. Unfortunately, both of these plots have been used many times, in many languages and are now boring. The only benefit of reading this novel is to keep up with the events of Anita’s life in hope that the next book has a better plot and that I will not waste 5 more hours reading a boring book.
April 14, 2020
Good to read another in the Anita Sundstrom series. This one is every bit as good as the previous ones. Like a Scandi-noir novel there is some commentary / observation on the current social make up of Sweden and the problems the transition is causing. The female characters were pretty unconvincing in this book and the issues between the two female leads was unconvincing, which is what lost the book a star. Some of the male characters were stereotypes. The double plot is interesting and Torquil MacLeod handled them well. It was a satisfying read during the C19 lockdown.
April 29, 2020
A cold case task force, led by Inspector Sundstrom’s nemesis, is re-examining the Inspector’s first murder case, which never resulted in a prosecution. The Inspector is called in to “assist” without authority to participate, and is left to wonder whether her team of 20 years ago missed crucial evidence. Simultaneously, a trafficked foreign worker is fleeing his murderous captors, causing lethal confusion that crosses national boundaries. Both sets of crimes need solving, and the tale of how this results is compelling.
March 3, 2021
* Again I am encountering a book whose quality is greatly diminished by the immense amount of clichés blighting its pages. I know the author can do better as evidenced in the quotes below:
"...dusk beginning to hug the landscape" (vii).
"The doors swished open..." (184).
"...the stacked cases and squashed travellers..." (185).
"The sunlight… gleamed with a soft, yellow radiance, and the startling blues of sea and sky seared the scene like the confident daubs of an artist's brush" (187).
"He lumbered around like a ferry about to dock" (268).
"...dusk beginning to hug the landscape" (vii).
"The doors swished open..." (184).
"...the stacked cases and squashed travellers..." (185).
"The sunlight… gleamed with a soft, yellow radiance, and the startling blues of sea and sky seared the scene like the confident daubs of an artist's brush" (187).
"He lumbered around like a ferry about to dock" (268).
May 25, 2022
Good but flawed novel
The basic plots we're interesting but too much was totally implausible. Noone in their right mind would open a cold case on the basis of a newly found murder weapon with no dna and no fingerprints.
Also I really hate it when the baddie can hunt down someone in a big city multiple times like they have a direct link to the supernatural. You see it in movies all the time where the person being chased deep into the many streets of a bazaar emerges to find the evil one just waiting for them. The author in this cases
The basic plots we're interesting but too much was totally implausible. Noone in their right mind would open a cold case on the basis of a newly found murder weapon with no dna and no fingerprints.
Also I really hate it when the baddie can hunt down someone in a big city multiple times like they have a direct link to the supernatural. You see it in movies all the time where the person being chased deep into the many streets of a bazaar emerges to find the evil one just waiting for them. The author in this cases
January 4, 2024
This book is worth reading as it keeps the reader guessing till the end who the murderer was in a cold case over 20 years prior involving Anita Sunderstrom and her first murder investigation as well as her mentor Henrik Norlund. Anita's nemesis, Alice Zetterberg, is bound and determined to find this murderer and prove Anita wrong. The parallel investigation also keeps the tension high while Anita and her team attempt to keep a witness, who witnessed a brutal beating murder, safe from an assassin.
March 19, 2024
another good story line.
Our hero shut out from one (but not for long) by her nemesis, who is not a nice person, and tracking down the second whodunit.
As one would expect, she can't keep her nose out of the first while solving the other. I assume the next book will pick up where this one ended with the 'outcome' of the first.
Good characters, a lot of police procedural, but folks with families, typical issues, tired but with loyalty to each other, and trying to do good.
I look forward to the next.
Our hero shut out from one (but not for long) by her nemesis, who is not a nice person, and tracking down the second whodunit.
As one would expect, she can't keep her nose out of the first while solving the other. I assume the next book will pick up where this one ended with the 'outcome' of the first.
Good characters, a lot of police procedural, but folks with families, typical issues, tired but with loyalty to each other, and trying to do good.
I look forward to the next.
March 28, 2018
I have been staying away from Scandinavian detectives for a few years, after reading all of the Henning Mankell novels — depressing. But this series was recommended so I tried it. I really like experiencing the settings of detective novels, almost more than the detection, and this writer recreates several different areas vibrantly. The plot was (I thought) a bit predictable, and the ending a bit unbelievable — but I'd really like a week at the house by the water!
January 9, 2020
Enjoyable read
I have enjoyed the entire series thus far. There is a story about the protagonists in addition to the mystery story. The details about Sweden add to the flow. There is a bit of violence, which I suppose is necessary, albeit unsettling. The one drawback is the occasional awkward use of words or phrases. An example is "tow the line", when "toe the line" is more usual.
I have enjoyed the entire series thus far. There is a story about the protagonists in addition to the mystery story. The details about Sweden add to the flow. There is a bit of violence, which I suppose is necessary, albeit unsettling. The one drawback is the occasional awkward use of words or phrases. An example is "tow the line", when "toe the line" is more usual.
January 29, 2023
I love the 'Malmo' series
I had read the first few Malmo books years ago and it is great catching up. I enjoy the diversity of characters and it's nice to be introduced to some other parts of Sweden,other than Stockholm,much as I love it. Their is a lot of humour in the book as well as the interest of bringing back a cold case and the subject of trafficking vulnerable young men from UK and Ireland. Anita is such a character,love her.
I had read the first few Malmo books years ago and it is great catching up. I enjoy the diversity of characters and it's nice to be introduced to some other parts of Sweden,other than Stockholm,much as I love it. Their is a lot of humour in the book as well as the interest of bringing back a cold case and the subject of trafficking vulnerable young men from UK and Ireland. Anita is such a character,love her.
April 26, 2018
DI Anita Sundstrom is once again on the trail of a murder suspect on the eve of her vacation (which is cancelled). To make things more complicated, an old case of Anita's rears its head and she begins to doubt her original findings. All of the usual characters make an appearance and Anita is happily enjoying a new granddaughter. Typical Malmo mystery, not a complicated story and an easy read.
February 15, 2019
Many plots, no conclusions
Like many Scandinavian police stories, this had multiple plots (too many) but they never came together and none of them came a conclusion, leaving this reader wondering why I read the whole thing.
How can a male English writer create a story of a Swedish female police detective? Not well...
Like many Scandinavian police stories, this had multiple plots (too many) but they never came together and none of them came a conclusion, leaving this reader wondering why I read the whole thing.
How can a male English writer create a story of a Swedish female police detective? Not well...
September 5, 2021
Menace in Malmo started slow but got more interesting as it progressed. The cold case was the better of the two plot lines. Zetterberg as Sundstrom’s antagonist is not as interesting a character as Westermark was in past books. So unfair for Hakim and his girlfriend! I’m hoping things are better for them in the next book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 9, 2023
Revising the Past
Combining more than one mystery creates breaks in the writing as Macleod switches from one to the other. This may be an issue for the Kindle version only but the shifts from one character to another were not immediately obvious. I would have liked an obvious break to alert me like asterisks or something else. That led to my 4 star review.
Combining more than one mystery creates breaks in the writing as Macleod switches from one to the other. This may be an issue for the Kindle version only but the shifts from one character to another were not immediately obvious. I would have liked an obvious break to alert me like asterisks or something else. That led to my 4 star review.
May 4, 2017
Skillfull Tragedy
Anita is back in fine form. Gripping saga enfolds Moberg, Hakim, Bea, and Anita in a cold case. Alice Zetterberg decides to outshine Anita's work on the Goran case. Who will prevail?
Anita is back in fine form. Gripping saga enfolds Moberg, Hakim, Bea, and Anita in a cold case. Alice Zetterberg decides to outshine Anita's work on the Goran case. Who will prevail?
Displaying 1 - 30 of 75 reviews