Misterioso Intercrime, Book 1 By Arne Dahl Translated into English by Tiina Nunnally An Unabridged Recording Narrated by John Lee An Audible Release (2011) Genre: Crime, Mystery This book is also available in standard print.

Reviewed by Israel Drazin - July 21, 2011

Award-winning Swedish crime novelist Arne Dahl's first book is getting well-deserved raves. Police officer Paul Hjelm is summoned to an immigration office surrounded by police, with a hostage team racing to the site. A disgruntled immigrant is holding three hostages. He claims that he was misled by the officials to believe he could remain in Sweden and is now being told he and his family will be transported back to the Balkans. Hjelm refuses to wait for the hostage team, enters the room with the gunman and hostages, and shoots the gunman in the shoulder.

The newspapers call him a hero, but Internal Affairs officers argue that his actions were rash and bigotry against non-Swedes. They take his gun and badge, and lead him to believe he will be fired and left without a pension. But suddenly, Hjelm is offered a job in a newly organized prestigious police unit to find a serial killer who has so far shot two highly-placed Swedish business men in the head and then tweezing the bullets from the wall. The murder shows signs of being a professional killer. The newly organized team of about a half dozen experienced police officers must find him. The government is worried that perhaps there is a conspiracy to destroy Sweden's businesses. One of the unit's first tasks is to find who might be the third target and to protect this person. Hjelm discovers that the two men were involved in separate sexual exploits and that they were also part of a secret organization that had been recently formed.

So begins this easy to read, engrossing tale with many twists and turns. People do not turn out to be who we think they are. The Russian Mafia seems to be involved. Hjelm needs to find out if he has outgrown his prejudices against minorities. He needs to learn new methods of police work. And most of all, he needs to find who are committing the murders, why, and stop them.

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