Savage Spring by Mons Kallentoft

Long buried secrets, questions of motherhood and a deadly explosion await us in Savage Spring, the fourth book in the Malin Fors series.

Genres: Thriller, Crime, Nordic Noir
Published: 11th April, 2013
Goodreads | Book Depository | Amazon UK
Series: Malin Fors #4
Rating: 4

The Swedish town of Linköping is bathed in Spring sunshine. The trees are blossoming and families are having breakfast at outdoor tables in the main square.
Then a deafening explosion rips through the air.
Broken glass and tulip petals cover the cobblestones, and two little girls, twin sisters, are killed while their mother is left fighting for her life.
Detective Inspector Malin Fors has just attended her own mother’s funeral when she is summoned to the devastating scene. But, although Malin is plagued with questions about her past and the secrets her mother never revealed, she must once again bury her own pain if she is to find Tuva and Mira Viger’s killer before he strikes again.

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Malin has calmed down considerably since we last met her in Autumn Killing. With the help from her boss and colleagues, who often act more like a family than her actual family, she is back on her feet and has been sober for over a year. It suits her. She still suffers from the occasional outburst every now and then, but I honestly couldn’t blame the poor woman. Her frayed relationship with her mother comes to an abrupt end with the woman’s death, and the guilt of feeling relief and some painful thruths coming to light don’t put her in an easy position. Loneliness, old flames and obsessions taunt her constantly.

The loneliness she feels is different to a mere lack of sex, she wants a warm embrace to curl up in, ears that listen to what she has to say, and a brain and a heart that respond, that wish her well, that like her for who she is. Malin thinks, I feel a serious longing, maybe for someone to love, but actually admitting that to myself isn’t at all pleasant.

Malin’s relationship with her daughter Tove is strained, but on the mend. Nevertheless, their careful bonding seems to balance on the verge of of a breakdown, and Tove has a secret too.

Family secrets is the theme in Savage Spring, not only for Malin personally, but there’s something about the perpetrator that seems to be firmly rooted in their past. But what is it? How far Malin and her team has to go to uncover the motives of the heinous crime that claimed the lives of two innocent little girls?

With his beautiful, expressive writing Mons Kallentoft paints a dark picture of family relationships and unthinkable acts committed by those we least expect it from.

Human greed is the best friend of evil.

The poignant voices of Tuva and Mira follow Malin around. They know the truth, but are too young to comprehend its meaning. There’s a sense of imminent danger in their innocent reporting of the events, keeping your on your toes the whole time. Are the perpetrators going to strike again? Who is their next target? What the hell is up with up with those lizards they keep talking about? It’s quite terrifying.

Both Malin and Zeke can sense the fear creeping into the room, crawling across the floor like some ravenous, infected lizard, bringing with it an unshakeable stench of rotting flesh.

With extreme violence, graphic details and a relentless investigator, Savage Spring is out there to blow your socks off.