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The Swedish Girl: A DCI Lorimer Novel
The Swedish Girl: A DCI Lorimer Novel
The Swedish Girl: A DCI Lorimer Novel
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The Swedish Girl: A DCI Lorimer Novel

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

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Murdered in cold blood . . . And she wouldn’t be the last.

When Kirsty Wilson lands a room in a luxury Glasgow flat owned by Swedish student Eva Magnusson, she can’t believe her luck. But Kirsty’s delight turns to terror when she finds the beautiful Swedish girl lying dead in their home and their male roommate accused of her murder. Kirsty refuses to accept that he is guilty and, inspired by family friend Detective Superintendent Lorimer, sets out to clear his name.

Meanwhile, Lorimer calls on trusted psychologist Solly Brightman to help unravel the truth behind the enigmatic Eva’s life and death. But it is not long until another woman, bearing an uncanny resemblance to Eva, is brutally murdered. Horrified, Lorimer realizes that Kirsty could be right. Is it possible that Glasgow’s finest detective has put the wrong man behind bars? And is there a cold-blooded killer out there orchestrating the death of the next innocent victim?

LanguageEnglish
PublisherHarperCollins
Release dateJan 9, 2018
ISBN9780062659255
The Swedish Girl: A DCI Lorimer Novel
Author

Alex Gray

Alex Gray was born and educated in Glasgow. After studying English and Philosophy at the University of Strathclyde, she worked as a visiting officer for the Department of Health, a time she looks upon as postgraduate education since it proved a rich source of character studies. She then trained as a secondary school teacher of English.    Alex began writing professionally in 1993 and had immediate success with short stories, articles, and commissions for BBC radio programs. She has been awarded the Scottish Association of Writers’ Constable and Pitlochry trophies for her crime writing.    A regular on the Scottish bestseller lists, she is the author of thirteen DCI Lorimer novels. She is the co-founder of the international Scottish crime writing festival, Bloody Scotland, which had its inaugural year in 2012.   http://www.alex-gray.com/

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Rating: 3.5416666666666665 out of 5 stars
3.5/5

24 ratings4 reviews

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  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    This is one of a series featuring Glasgow Det. Superintendent Bill Lorimer. All the regulars are back: his wife Maggie (teacher), Prof. Solly Brightman (psychologist/profiler) & Dr. Rosie Fergusson (police pathologist/Solly's wife).
    Due to cutbacks, Lorimer has been returned to his old station but now he's the boss & he's welcomed with open arms. He doesn't have long to settle in before they catch their first murder case.
    Eva Magnusson seemed to have everything. Money, beauty, brains & a doting father. She came to Glasgow from Sweden for university & lived with 4 roomies in a gorgeous flat. Everyone she met was struck by her perfect manners & appearance. Too bad it was all a facade.
    When her flatmate Kirsty Wilson gets home late one night, she finds Eva dead on the living room floor. Her father is DS Wilson, one of the cops from Lorimer's station. Although he assigns the case to DI Jo Grant, Lorimer takes more than a passing interest in the investigation.
    And so it begins. Initial evidence points to Colin, one of the young men also living in the flat & he's quickly arrested. Then a second young woman is assaulted. Her resemblance to Eva is startling...have they got the wrong guy?
    Meanwhile, Kirsty can't accept her room mate is a killer & starts her own investigation. Encouraged by Lorimer, she goes through Eva's things & soon finds some clues to pass on. It becomes apparent the Swedish girl had a few secrets & as the team continues digging, they can hardly keep up with the number of credible suspects.
    Sounds like a real page turner, right? Oddly enough, not. This book got me thinking about how our tastes can change as we expand our reading lists with new authors & genres. I read several of the older books in this series years ago but for some reason hadn't picked one up for awhile. I remembered enjoying them so decided to jump back in with this instalment.
    But I guess my preferences have changed as I found this a slow & unchallenging read. I almost put it down several times during the first half but hate to put any book on the DNF pile so kept slogging away.
    This is not the Lorimer I remember. He comes across as indecisive & constantly second guesses himself, strange qualities for a superintendent. He quickly takes an active role & it consumes his thoughts on & off the job. There's no mention of any other cases or duties that would surely require his attention. Also, it's difficult to believe an officer at his level would not only encourage a civilian involved in the case (Kirsty) to carry out their own investigation but divulge confidential information to her concerning what they've uncovered.
    DI Jo Grant is a familiar stereotype as the tough young female cop (although she dressed better than most in popular fiction). She is remarkably close minded & barely skirts insubordination in her dealings with Lorimer. When her speedy arrest of Colin is questioned, her first thought is for herself & the effect on her career, not the suffering of a possibly innocent young man sitting in jail. As for the arrest itself, it's made on the basis of extremely weak evidence & just didn't seem credible. I'm hardly an expert on police procedure but I think any lawyer worth their salt would have had him out PDQ.
    At the core of these novels are the relationships between Lorimer, Maggie, Solly & Rosie. The two couples are close friends & frequently get together. It's all very nice, polite and...dare I say it...bland (gasp).
    There are several more assaults on pretty blondes as the book progresses (and Colin remains banged up) & this is the only aspect of the plot that creates any suspense as you'll figure out early on who killed Eva.
    So this is where I apologize to the author & say it's not you...it's me. We've grown apart. Readers who have been faithful fans of these books over the years will find much the same here & no doubt enjoy this instalment as they have the others.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This was my first book from this author and i enjoyed the real Glasgow locations and the range of interesting characters in the story. A rich Swedish girl student whose father has bought her a flat and is sharing it with 4 other students, is murdered. Suspicion falls on one flat mate who is arrested, but could he have killed her. Superintendent Lorimer isn't convinced, neither is one of the other flat mates, although his inspector is, making it somewhat awkward. Although I'd guessed the identity of the murderer fairly soon, it was by no means certain with enough red herrings to keep you guessing.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    The Swedish GirlByAlex GrayWhat it's all about...Murders of young joggers are occurring and actually increasing in frequency. The women who are murdered are similar in appearance. However a young girl is murdered in the house she lives in. The problem is trying to establish a connection with the other murders or even if there is one. And a housemate has been accused and jailed for this murder. But is he the one? Many secrets and lies come out about the murdered housemate that connect other people...including her father. Why I wanted to read it...This is my first venture into this series but not my last. I already purchased three more books in this series. I love Chief Inspector Lorimer And his wife and his cat. I loved the mystery in the book I read. I loved the other characters and their dialogues as they try to solve these crimes. What made me truly enjoy this book...I loved these characters...well Lorimer and the good guys...not the bad ones. Why you should read it, too...If you love a great Scottish Mystery...this is an amazing series! I was actually sad when it ended so I bought two more! I received an advance reader’s copy of this book from the publisher through Edelweiss and Amazon. It was my choice to read it and review it.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This is one of a series of Detective Lorimer Police novels.Set in Glasgow a young Swedish girl called Eva Magnusson who lives in a nice house that her rich Father bought for her, shares it with another young girl called Kirsty, Rory, Colin and Gary who are also all students. One night Eva is found murdered in her room. Suspicion falls on Colin. He is quickly arrested and sent to Barlinnie prison. Kirsty doesn't think Colin is capable of this crime. Kirsty's Dad is a Policeman and she asks Lorimer to advise her. Some other young Women out jogging who look similar to Eva are also murdered. So they Police may have got it wrong about Colin. Lorimar even goes to Sweden to interview Eva's Father and her old ex Boyfriend Anders. A young Junkie called Kevin is quickly found to be the offender killing young Glasgow women with Blonde hair who look a bit like his ex who died of a Heroin overdose. He confesses but said he never killed Eva.There was an old neighbour called Derek McCubbin who is struggling to cope with the death of his friend who used to own the house the students live in. He thinks they are making fun of him. He goes to live with his overbearing daughter but then returns to his own home, he kills himself and leaves a note confessing his guilt over the murder of Eva. OK easy to read book this.

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The Swedish Girl - Alex Gray

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