Sun and Shadow

I really enjoyed the story, characters, and development. I frequently found myself lost in the story due to poor assembly of the ebook. At time there were changes of scene and character that happened without a page break or paragraph break. Added to this was the author's generous use of pronouns to the point of finding myself unable to know which "he" or "him" was being discussed, and just who and where was the center of action. I don't know if this is caused by the author, the translator, or the shift from print to ebook, but far too many times it sure made it difficult to follow the story. If not for those reasons I would have given it 5 stars.

Another great Erik Winter case. I really like these mysteries, and the quality of them does not vary as much as other series. To me, every one of them knocks it out of the park. We start off with another tantalizing and vague episode, which usually ends up being from the viewpoint of the criminal or the victim. But, in this novel, more than most, these episodes jump around, and then start to include characters we know! Are these people presented significant to the building of characters and their lives, or the building of clues and suspense? I normally just enjoy the narrative, if I can, but the tension was built so masterfully, that I kept turning back pages, or making little notes, and giggling with delight. I started to mistrust everyone, like I was on that same police force. So little was offered, not in a detrimental way, like the carrot before the mule, that you wanted to read it all in one sitting. I started to wonder if the culprit was indeed someone I knew in the books, or was it all a ruse?! And, despite my gushing, I still didn't realize the magnitude in which I was caught up in it all, until my suspicions of a person were revealed to only be a medical issue. When experiencing lesser mysteries, you would exclaim, "Gotcha" or "That threw me for a loop!" In the hands of this author, it was more like, "I'm glad he's OK!" You really care. There is also more personal development of Erik, but this does not take away from the mystery. It's a great example of how one's personal life can help or hinder one's assessments of facts. Also evident is how the great cop qualities of paranoia, doubt and deception, can be detriments in one's personal life. This was also another great translation, especially well-suited to Edwardson's spare style. There was a UK spelling or grammatical device, her or there, but nothing jarring. The language, and not just the events, built the suspense wonderfully. Three more mysteries to go, and I will sadly have to wait for his next one. So excited.