True to many Scandinavian crime novels, the plot of Marklund's latest Annika -Bengzton book (after Lifetime) is an intricate one involving politics, drugs, and murder. A large number of wealthy Swedish expats live in Costa del Sol, Spain, but the idyllic area is shaken when a former hockey player and his family die from gas poisoning-a familiar MO of break-ins in the area. Crime reporter Annika is sent to cover the event as well as follow up on drug-running leads for another story. She soon discovers that the teenage daughter of the slain family is missing. Now Annika has an entirely new story. VERDICT While the complex plot leads to an exciting climax, the multitude of story lines incorporate coincidences that can test readers' suspension of disbelief. Familiarizing yourself with previous books in the series is heavily suggested as it will provide a better understanding of Annika, the supporting characters, and some plotlines that have continued from the earlier books. Fans of Anne Holt will enjoy Marklund.-Frances Thorsen, Chronicles of Crime Bookshop, Victoria, BC (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Marklund's busy eighth Annika Bengtzon novel finds the dogged Stockholm crime reporter still struggling with the personal and professional aftershocks of her deadly previous case in 2013's Lifetime. Her latest assignment for her newspaper is hardly a sunny one: writing about the slaughter of former hockey star Sebastian Soderstrom and his family during the robbery of their Spanish villa. If that weren't grim enough stuff for Annika to handle while trying to adapt to sharing custody of her two children with her ex (and his dim girlfriend), as well as having to suffer an equally clueless new editor, she's soon uncovering money laundering, drug trafficking, and glimpses of a history of horrific abuse and murder stretching back decades. Despite the often confusing subplots, this installment in the Bengtzon chronicles offers plenty of suspense. Agent: Niclas Salomonsson, Salomonsson Agency (Sweden). (Apr.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

*Starred Review* As Spain's Costa del Sol attracts wealthy residents, it becomes known as Costa del Crime, with a proliferation of home burglaries in which residents are temporarily gassed while their homes are stripped of valuables. Then a burglary in which a different gas is used results in the deaths of all five of the home's Swedish residents: former NHL player Sebastian Soderstrom, his solicitor wife, his two young children, and his mother-in-law. Stockholm crime reporter Annika Bengtzon, having just turned down an editorial job on the restructuring Evening Post, pursues the story with her trademark persistence, particularly when she learns that Soderstrom's teenage daughter from his first marriage was absent during the burglary and has disappeared. With Annika's personal life in a state of flux her cop lover turns out to be married, and her ex-husband is making moves to reconnect she has little patience for those who impede her progress as she finds a web of drug dealing and money laundering stretching from Sweden to Morocco and looping back to her previous outing in Lifetime (2013). In Marklund's eighth mystery in this series, she looks at society's strivers as she continues her tradition of superlative Scandinavian crime fiction with a tough but appealingly fallible protagonist who leaves readers wanting more.--Leber, Michele Copyright 2014 Booklist