Gillar normalt Inger Frimansson. Hennes känsla för psykologiska spänningsromaner är bra. Denna bok känns till stora delar trovärdig men jag saknar den riktiga inlevelsen och spänningen. ( )

Titus Bruun, the renowned publisher, is dying. Waiting by his sickbed is his third wife Ingrid, a chubby and pretty ordinary woman, full of low self-esteem and worry. She’s been bullied by Titus’ young daughters ever since she came into their lives, and she’s never quite understood or felt comfortable with the fact that Titus left his previous wife, Rose, for her. It doesn’t help that Titus has always assured her that Rose is so remarkably strong and confident – that she has long since moved on. Now, on the death bed, Titus wants to meet Rose one final time, to make sure there are no hard feeling. And since Rose never answers her phone, he begs Ingrid to go to her rural cottage outside Södertälje and personally ask her to come visit him. She does so, reluctantly.

Unfortunately for Ingrid, Titus is very wrong about Rose. She lives alone with a hoard of semi-tame rats, does odd jobs reading correcture – and she has by no means moved on. When Ingrid steps into her life, “destroying it for the second time”, an eerie chain of events is set in motion. Soon the two women are involved in a psychological game of life and death.

This is a pitch perfect thriller, beautifully composed and utterly believable. A reader of, say King’s “Misery” will find themselves in familiar landscapes. But Frimansson manages to vary this theme to create a book that is unpredictable, nail-bitingly suspenseful and full of insight into human pettiness. The small cast is played masterfully, and the ending is a wonderful blend of closure and open ends. A joy also to listen to Gunnel Fred’s audio version, where subtle changes in voice give each character a flavor of their own, without ever over acting.

I like Frimansson a lot, but this still took me by surprise with how good it was. It could well be her masterpiece. I sincerely hope it rides the wave of scandi-crime and meets a broad English speaking audience. ( )