THE SWEDISH GIRL

Four university students are thrilled to be sharing a luxury flat until their fifth roommate is murdered.

Stunning Eva Magnusson’s wealthy father doesn’t let grass grow under his feet. First he buys her a posh flat in Glasgow when she moves there from Sweden to do a course at the university; then he personally vets her flatmates: policeman’s daughter Kirsty Wilson, a nurturing young woman who loves to cook; quiet, young Colin Young, a budding writer; hefty Roger Dunbar, a useful sort to have around; and Gary Calderwood, an Englishman closest to Eva in social class. When Kirsty finds Eva beaten and strangled, all her flatmates are forced to dig deep into their hidden thoughts about her. The police find that Eva had sex shortly before her death, and when DNA proves it was with Colin, DI Jo Grant arrests him for murder. Certain that he’s innocent, Kirsty goes to her father’s boss, Detective Superintendent Lorimer, to ask for his help. But he can’t get Colin out of prison and only angers Grant when he asks her to dig deeper. The beating and strangling of several other pretty young blondes opens the possibility that Colin’s innocent. When Lorimer encourages Kristy to search Eva’s room and ask questions about her life, she’s shocked to learn that Eva has had sex with all her male flatmates plus any number of other men. Lorimer also enlists his friend professor Solomon Brightman, a psychologist and criminal profiler who’s helped him with other cases. Brightman interviews Colin and does think him innocent but also thinks that whoever is killing the other young women did not kill Eva. So Kirsty’s left to continue her amateur sleuthing while the professionals hunt down every clue in hopes of finding a killer or two.

The 10th in Gray’s popular Glasgow series (A Pound of Flesh, 2012, etc.) is sure to please fans as it continues to delve into the lives of the cops who solve the tricky mysteries he sets them.