Detective Nils Gunnarsson was a has-been at 47 years of age. Forced to accept what Fate had dealt him, he was well into settling down for a mediocre life in a small town. Then he caught a case; an unusual case.
There was a house fire in the middle of the night, and the people in it died. That was a tragedy. Normally, that should not have spurred the interest of law enforcement, but the disaster hinted at something sinister. Perhaps it was not an accident after all. Perhaps it was actually arson. Perhaps someone had deliberately set fire to the house to kill those people.
Nils was called onto the scene, and he recognized that he had a poser on hand. Yet what puzzled him was not the crime itself, but the nature or characteristics of the crime. It involved things that he was unfamiliar with. It suggested a world of which he was alien to. What could it be, the underworld, money, love, racism, or what? Nils had no real experience with any of those things. All he knew was to dig up leads and follow them, as what a detective was supposed to do. So he went to work.
He gathered a team, made up of young Bryson, more or less the junior member of a partnership, Abel, who was prone to rash actions, and Reginald, a prim and proper professional. Oh, and Samantha and Greg too, who were enlisted to boost up the work force and help kick start the investigation.
Yet, despite the manpower, no viable clues were uncovered. The perpetrator, or perpetrators, left no trace of their presence. There were no fingerprints, no DNA, no nothing.
A journeyman detective would have been discouraged and given up on the pursuit, but not Nils, who was dogged and believed in the system. Despite the difficulties, he and his team pressed on. They followed established procedures and dotted the 'I's and crossed the 'T's. Then they got a break.
Then there was another lead, and another, in quick succession. Now they had a different type of problem: What to make of the new evidence. It pointed a way, alright, but did they want to accept the implications?
For the reader, it is a rollercoaster of a ride. Lean and mean, the narrative has no fat; no stuffing. Nils, Bryson, Abel, Samantha, and Greg, in their own ways, lead you on. Their efforts are relentless, and their dedications are affecting. Yes, they are human beings solving human problems, and they commit faux pas. However, while they may trip up, they pick themselves up. When they find themselves being led into a dead-end street, they back up and retrace their steps.
How the case ended up, of course, is the readers' primary concern. But the journey there is equally important. The detectives' lesson learned is also our lesson learned.
You will relish this tale, an extraordinary yarn.
