[Maria Wern 11] • Killer's Island

In Anna Jansson’s haunting crime novel, Killer’s Island, a brutal and disturbing murder in the mythic town of Visby on the Swedish island Gotland has taken place. The myth of the White-Sea Lady has existed ever since Tjelvar, the first man on Gotland, lit a fire and the island rose out of the sea, said to be some 3,000 years ago. The story is told that a young woman, who drowned in the sea on her wedding night, since that time, tries to lure men down to the deadly underwater currents that tumble off the west coast. The myth comes to life one early summer morning when a well-respected nurse is found murdered and placed for public display on a pavilion in the local botanical gardens. She is mysteriously dressed as a bride holding flowers.

Detective Inspector Maria Wern is put on the case to investigate, but it eventually becomes clear that it is the police that are under observation by the killer. With technical knowledge that far exceeds their own, the killer is able to taunt and provoke the police making him seem omnipresent and more of a threat as each day passes and still at large.

Written in clean and chilling prose similar to Norway’s Karin Fossum, Anna Jansson’s novels have since her debut in 2000 sold in two million copies in more than ten countries. Several titles have been turned into movies.