A pastor is ritualistically murdered inside his church in Sweden. Not just Sweden, but under the writing rules of Scandinavian noir, the murder is committed in northern Sweden, and in the winter, so almost every page is cloaked in snow, ice, and perpetual darkness. Flying up from Stockholm to her isolated hometown of Kiruna is the lawyer Rebecka Martinsson. Rebecka dives into the cultish, charismatic church that has ensnared so many in the isolated community she was so desperate to leave. Three remaining preachers continue to promote an evangelical faith that heals the sick more effectively than medicine. Suspiciously, the pastors have homes and cars to match the outlandish size of their gleaming new megachurch. While preaching piety and patriarchy, unholy secrets lie just below the surface making Rebecka’s investigation, and Larsson’s nearly 15-year-old novel, feel rather contemporary.
