This is a Scandi noir which covers the never easy topic of (increasing) drug usage and its horrific effects especially on young people. But do not be afraid, it is not very dark read, I´d say quite mild for a Scandi read :) But quite eye-opening as for how sex and drugs are present in the life of young people (also with distorted body image and hollowness without any real bonds with close people).
This vis obviously a start of a series, which might be responsible for quite a slow start as I think a lot of space is dedicated to the past crime and the revenge from it (there will be some aftermatch, obviously). The heroine is quite mild as well (a bit boring, honestly) - a divorced mother with a noble blood (so she is both classy and rich, which should be unusual for a policewoman?).
The novel is not bad, but also not brilliant. But maybe the next installment would be more exciting?

"A teenage suicide. A murdered pharmacist. A missing girl. Is the obvious connection the right one?
When a boy leaps to his death from a bridge in the northern town of Umeå, Sweden, police discover drugs scattered in the snow near his body. The town has seen a dramatic increase in narcotic use among its youth, but nobody knows where the pills are coming from.
Relocating from Stockholm with her teenage daughter, Detective Charlotte von Klint expected Umeå to be a quiet backwater, a snow-covered change of pace from fighting the criminal underworld of the capital. But when a pharmacist is found brutally murdered in her apartment, and a young girl and her dealer boyfriend vanish without a trace after a party, suddenly Umeå doesn’t seem so benign. And the boy on the bridge doesn’t feel like an isolated incident. Is the dealer the perpetrator? Or just another victim? And can it be a coincidence that a shadow from Charlotte’s past, Syndicates boss Tony Israelsson, has recently been released from prison and is reportedly headed for Umeå?
As the snow deepens and the body count rises, Charlotte and her boss, local cop Per Berg, find themselves in a deadly pursuit, with time rapidly running out." Do they run out of time or figure out who the perpetrator is, will have to read the story to find out.
Suspenseful, emotional, thrilling story. I give this book 4 stars.
Thank you to netgalley, Thomas & Mercer for the opportunity to leave an honest review.
Published Dec 1st 2023.

Charlotte von Klint, a police officer with the Major Crimes Unit, has moved to Umea, a small town in Sweden, leaving behind the capital city of Stockholm and the rising crime rate there. She wants to keep herself and her daughter, Anna, safe. But now Tony Israelsson, a mafia don she sent to prison, is being released and he’s headed to Umea.

But Umea isn’t the safe haven Charlotte thought it would be. Crime, it turns out, is everywhere. Her very first case is that of the murder of a pharmacist, Unni Olofsson, who lived alone and was found dead in her bathroom.

Shortly afterwards, Anton, a teenage boy, jumps to his death off a high bridge. Packets of drugs are found at the place where he stood just before jumping.

At first there doesn’t seem to be a connection between these isolated incidents. But soon Charlotte realizes that drugs make up the common thread here. When a young girl, whose family is part of witness protection, goes missing, the police are under pressure to find and rescue her before it is too late.



The story is written in the 3rd person limited PoV in the past tense. The book raises issues about mental illness, the fake world of Instagram influencers, drug and opioid addiction, suicides among young people etc.

The way in which the author blends the weather and the description of Umea city into the narrative drew me in. The writing in the first chapter was beautiful. Not so much in subsequent chapters.

Chapters end on cliffhangers, but the thread isn’t always picked up later when we return to the same PoV. The story line goes all over the place, causing us to lose interest. Towards the end, the author resorted to coincidences to explain things.

The title was referenced only once in the story and it didn’t make much sense. It was the least important element of the plot.

I generally enjoy Scandinavian crime thrillers, but this one fell short by a mile. The dialogue was stilted and unnatural. I don’t know if the problem was related to translation.

Recently, the North of Sweden appears to be a popular choice for crime fiction settings. TV host and journalist Anki Edvinsson’s English debut novel, like Viveca Sten’s, takes place in the small southern town of Umeå. And like Hanna in Sten’s Hidden in Shadows here the main protagonist, Detective Charlotte von Klint, has also relocated from Stockholm.

Despite these and other similarities between the two recently published books I’ve found The Snow Angel more enjoyable.

Full review: https://westwordsreviews.wordpress.com/2024/01/29/the-snow-angel-anki-edvinsson-transl-paul-norlen/

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this eARC.

I found this police procedural captivating and well-crafted.

Themes include: teen peer pressure (regarding drugs and sex) familial relationships and suicide.

Not only a mystery that is hard to put down, this story also is a psychological domestic thriller that will have you glued in your chair until you turn the final page.

Well done, I am looking forward to the next book in this series!

I really enjoyed this book. The police are concerned about an increase in drug use among the young people in a small town in Northern Sweden. Detective Charlotte von Klint has moved from Stockholm with her daughter. Her partner and her are investigating the influx of drugs, the murder of a local pharmacist and the disappearance of a teenage girl. A gang leader from Stockholm has also arrived to find out who is cutting into their business. There are lots of twists and turns and some surprises. I really enjoyed the small town setting and the characters. The writing was very good and it was a quick exciting read. I look for word to reading more by the author. Enjoy

Interesting characters and several twists along the way. A very good read!

Thank you to Anki Edvinsson, NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for the arc of this book

This is a fantastic slice of Scandi noir crime fiction. I loved it!
There are a lot of characters and it took a while to work out who they all were, but well worth it.
Set in the ice cold town of Umea, with crimes surrounding narcotics supply to teenagers, I couldn't put it down.

Umea in Northern Sweden is a cold place in winter, a place where the temperature drops and daylight is limited. Stockholm police officer Charlotte von Klint has moved to Umea but her past is following in the shape of a psychopathic gangster who is out to find the person undercutting him in this area. Meanwhile local teenagers are high on a mixture of drink and drugs and the two worlds are about to collide
This is a decent enough Scandi-crime novel (there are few bad ones!) but I did find it a little over the top in parts of the plot. I really loved the focus on bored youth and the way that they are exploited. This is a first novel and I suspect subsequent ones are more assured but it's still gripping for a few hours.

I’ll be honest, this was not an enjoyable read for me. I discovered that I do not enjoy Nordic noir fiction; it’s just not my cup of tea. However, I know many people do, and if you are one of them, I highly recommend this book. The writing style reminded me of Jo Nesbø’s Harry Hole series.

This book focuses mainly on the dissemination of drugs to teenagers and its subsequent consequences. While it tackles an important issue, to me, it just seemed a bit anticlimactic.

Again, if you enjoy the Nordic noir sub-genre, definitely check this one out! (Please check trigger warnings before reading.)

The Snow Angel by Anki Edvinsson was a wonderful and suspenseful story.
This book kept me engaged from beginning to end, the plot was well thought out and the characters were very well written, full of intrigue and a wild plot twist. Her characters are so well fleshed out, you feel as if you can see and feel them.
I found the book was full of great descriptions and it really helps you feel like you are there.
The suspense was absolutely gripping and intriguing.
I’ll definitely pick this authors work up in the future.

Thank You NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

💊Teens, drugs & crime in the North: great plot🌬❄

This excellent and easily read Scandinavian murder mystery had plenty of interlocking pieces that kept me guessing. With a good detective team and a fast pace to it, the murder/missing person investigation had me hooked.

There was just the right balance of investigation versus character development in the plot. And I found the desperation of most of the teenagers featured in the story both poignant and tragic. Battling with mental issues or battered by the expectations of their parents or need to fit in with their peers, the author did an excellent job describing their challenges and how traffickers exploited them.

I liked all of the action, the Northern Sweden setting, the twists and the suspense. This is definitely an author whose subject matter and writing style suited me to a "t.". Can't wait for the series to continue. This is the first book in the series published for the English-speaking market. I wish the actual first book in the series had been available in English.

Thanks to Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley for sharing a complimentary advance copy of the book; this is my voluntary and honest opinion.

Normally, I find Scandinavian crime to be too slow and with too many unnecessary details, but this one is not so. Very well written, great pace, interesting characters and setting, and an intricate plot. Excellent entertainment!

My thanks to Thomas & Mercer for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘The Snow Angel’ by Anki Edvinsson.

This is the first in a series of police procedurals, featuring Detectives Charlotte von Klint and Per Berg. It was translated from the Swedish by Paul Norlen.

The novel opens with a teenage boy leaping to his death from a bridge in the northern town of Umeå, Sweden. The police discover drugs scattered in the snow around his body. Recently the town has seen a dramatic rise in drug use among its youth, though the source of the pills is unknown.

Detective Charlotte von Klint has relocated from Stockholm and expected that Umeå would be a quiet backwater, a change of pace from fighting the criminal underworld of the capital.

Charlotte quickly realises that the town is not as benign as she thought following a spate of other crimes, including the murder of a pharmacist and the disappearance of two teenagers after a party.

Complicating the situation is the news that syndicate boss, Tony Israelsson, has recently been released from prison and is reportedly headed for Umeå. This is a concern for Charlotte as early in her career she had gone undercover in his household posing as a nanny. As a result Charlotte is concerned he might prove a danger to both her and her teenage daughter, Anja.

As the snow deepens and the body count rises, Charlotte and her boss, local cop Per Berg, find themselves in the middle of an increasingly complex investigation with time rapidly running out.

Anki Edvinsson is a former journalist with a number of family members working in the police. She is currently studying criminology and clearly intends to bring a greater sense of authenticity to her writing.

‘The Snow Angel’ was a gritty example of Nordic Noir and like many in this sub-genre it was quite a slow burn. It also follows the tradition of Scandinavian crime fiction of incorporating social issues into its narrative.

Overall, I found ‘The Snow Angel’ an engaging police procedural. I am a huge fan of Nordic Noir and I always enjoy discovering a new author in translation. Book 2 in the series, ‘The Mermaid’, is listed for publication next spring. I certainly plan to read it.

Refreshing Scandinavian thriller where we really get to know the characters. For instance being friends but still slightly irritated with each other, such as Linn and Frida. Linn doesn't understand how Frida can be so upset for grieving Anton whom she apparently wasn't that close with, while Frida is annoyed with Linn being friends with the upper-class Anja.

Quite a captivating story making you wonder where all those loose ends will lead to. Well, to several twists and turns (but thankfully nothing over the top) and some surprising suspects.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of the book.

The Snow Angel features Swedish Detective Charlotte von Klint, affluent and sophisticated,who ruffles feathers when she moves from her elegant home in Stockholm to the more down to earth environs of the isolated Northern town of Umea ..........with a view to buying a property in the most expensive and exclusive area.
She soon discovers that the area has a massive drug problem amongst its young people and a suicide closely followed by a brutal murder shows her that while Umea might be smaller than the capital city it still has its share of serious crime. With events escalating Charlotte finds herself in personal peril as her past life catches up with her.

This is well-written book with a clever plot and a cast list that promises an involving series.
Author Anki Edvinsson is a student of criminology and that shows in this book as there's a deeper insight into the psyche and background of the characters than in the average crime thriller.

Often quite dark ,some of Sweden's societal problems play a big part in the story,the attitudes of young male Swedes towards young women is quite disturbing.

A great read,and more than "just another Scandi-crime" novel.