by Maj Sjöwall
Part of Martin Beck
First published 1993
A woman's corpse emerges from the depths of Lake Vattern on a summer afternoon in Sweden. Detective Martin Beck stares at the victim with no identification, no witnesses, and no leads. The investigation stretches across three months as Beck works to answer two questions: who was this woman, and who killed her. He discovers her name was Roseanna, a young traveler who died by strangulation. The crime occurred during a lake cruise with eighty-five passengers, any of whom could be the killer. Beck methodically reduces his suspect list while growing fascinated by Roseanna herself. She lived as a free spirit who embraced casual relationships and spontaneous adventures. The detective realizes he faces a murderer driven by a twisted moral code, someone whose sense of righteousness turned deadly. Beck must decode both the victim's unconventional life and the killer's warped psychology to solve his case.
Genres: 20th-century, mystery, crime, adult-fiction, thriller, detective
Vibes: dark, gritty, introspective, methodical, suspenseful
Tropes: detective-procedural, unreliable-killer, victim-investigation
Setting: Sweden, Lake Vattern
Period: 20th century
224 pages · Paperback · Vintage
Content warnings: death, murder, violence