Savage Altar

Savage Altar By Asa Larsson



A body lies on the floor of the Crystal Church in Kiruna in Northern Sweden. The church is the home of the pentecostal cult The Source of All Our Strength, and the handless, sightless body is that of its principal inspiration, the Paradise Boy, Viktor Strandgard.

Stockholm tax lawyer Rebecka Martinsson gets a pleading phone call from the victim's sister Sanna, and she hurries home to Kiruna. Rebecka is very familiar with The Source of All Our Strength: she was once a member, and knew Viktor well. Rebecka's boss is not best pleased by her decision to fly to Sanna's help, but she has misunderstood his motives.

The police investigating team consists of the newly appointed Inspector Sven-Erik Stalnacke, the woman he is replacing, the very heavily pregnant, near-term Anna-Maria Mella, and pompous Assistant Chief Prosecutor Carl van Post.

Rebecka Martinnson left Kiruna under a cloud, the reasons for which are gradually revealed as the investigation unfolds. The management of the pentecostal church is not all it should be, and the dynamics that brought it growth and fame are also part of the factors undermining it.

I really enjoyed this book. Now am waiting to grab her next new novel "BLOOD SPILT"
which is yet to be released.

About the author:



Åsa Larsson was born in 1966; she grew up in Kiruna and now lives in Mariefred. She is a qualified lawyer and made her debut in 2003 with Sun Storm, which was awarded the Swedish Crime Writers’ Association Prize for best debut novel. The sequel, The Blood Spilt, was chosen as Best Swedish Crime Novel of 2004. The books were an immediate success; they have been sold to ten countries.