The Hand That Trembles by Kjell Eriksson ( Allison & Busby, £7.99) (From York Press)

The Hand That Trembles by Kjell Eriksson ( Allison & Busby, £7.99)

9:00am Wednesday 4th January 2012 in Books By Bill Spence

A SWEDISH county commissioner suddenly walks out of a meeting and disappears, leaving a wife and an elderly uncle behind. Sven-Arne Persson is presumed dead as no trace of him is found.

Many years later when he is spotted in Bangalore, India, by an old Swedish neighbour, he feels compelled to return to Sweden. The police have been informed of the sighting and start to reopen the case involving his disappearance and whether it could have something to do with a murder that was committed around the same time.

Meanwhile, Inspector Anne Lindell is investigating a case where a woman’s foot has been found in an area that is dominated by single men, but the owner of the house where the victim is believed to have lived cannot answer any of their questions. There is a lot of work to do if the police can solve all the riddles that emerge from cases that may or may not be related. This is the second book featuring Inspector Ann Lindell, the first winning the Best Swedish Crime Novel. It is a gentle, probing mystery where the characters are engaging but always appear to have a solitary nature. We are drawn into the plot and need to know the answers to the question posed and in typical fashion of the Swedish detective, Ann Liddell works patiently and doggedly until she and the reader know the truth.

This entertaining book is in the same vein as the Baltic crime novels that have proved so popular in the last few years and should do well.