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Helene Tursten

Biography

Helene Tursten

Helene Tursten was a nurse and a dentist before she turned to writing. She is the author of the Detective Inspector Irene Huss novels, which includes THE TORSO, THE GLASS DEVIL, NIGHT ROUNDS and THE GOLDEN CALF. She was born in Göteborg, Sweden, where she now lives with her husband and daughter. The highly praised Irene Huss mysteries have been translated into 20 languages and adapted into a popular film and television series.

Helene Tursten

Books by Helene Tursten

written by Helene Tursten, translated by Marlaine Delargy - Fiction, Humor, Short Stories

Just when things have finally cooled down for 88-year-old Maud after the disturbing discovery of a dead body in her apartment in Gothenburg, a couple of detectives return to her doorstep. Though Maud dodges their questions with the skill of an Olympic gymnast a fifth of her age, she wonders if suspicion has fallen on her. The truth is, ever since Maud was a girl, death has seemed to follow her. In these six interlocking stories, memories of unfortunate incidents from Maud’s past keep bubbling to the surface. Meanwhile, certain Problems in the present require immediate attention. Luckily, Maud is no stranger to taking matters into her own hands, even if it means she has to get a little blood on them in the process.

written by Helene Tursten, translated by Marlaine Delargy - Fiction, Mystery

It’s been 14 years since Detective Inspector Embla Nyström’s best friend disappeared from a nightclub in Gothenburg. So she is stunned when she recognizes her voice on the phone before the call abruptly disconnects. Then she learns that a man has been found shot dead in one of the guest houses that he and his wife manage in rural Sweden. When Embla arrives on the scene, she receives another shock. The dead man is Milo Stavic, a well-known gang member and one of the last people seen with Lollo. The same night that Milo was shot in the guest house, his brother Luca was also killed. Why, after all these years, is someone targeting the Stavic brothers, and where is the third brother?

written by Helene Tursten, translated by Marlaine Delargy - Fiction, Mystery

When a little girl disappears a few weeks before Christmas, suspicion falls on the last person she was seen with: the mentally disabled teenage boy who gave her a ride home after school. Complicating the matter is the fact that detectives can hardly get a word out of him. When a second child disappears and a police officer is found dead, tensions in the small town of Strömstad reach an all-time high. As Detective Inspector Embla Nyström hunts for the missing children, she can’t help but think of the case that has been haunting her for years: the disappearance of her childhood best friend. Could the incidents be linked?

written by Helene Tursten, translated by Paul Norlen - Fiction, Mystery

Embla Nyström has been plagued by chronic nightmares and racing thoughts ever since she can remember. She has learned to channel most of her anxious energy into her position as Detective Inspector in the mobile unit in Gothenburg, Sweden, and into sports. A talented hunter and prize-winning Nordic welterweight, she is glad to be taking a vacation from her high-stress job to attend the annual moose hunt with her family and friends. But a string of unsettling incidents culminate in the disappearance of two hunters. Embla takes charge of the search, and they soon find one of the missing men floating face down in the nearby lake. With the help of local reinforcements, Embla delves into the dark pasts of her fellow hunters in search of a killer.

written by Helene Tursten, translated by Marlaine Delargy - Fiction, Humor, Short Stories

Ever since her father's untimely death, Maud has lived in the family's spacious apartment in downtown Gothenburg rent-free, thanks to a minor clause in a hastily negotiated contract. That was how Maud learned that good things can come from tragedy. Now in her late 80s, Maud contents herself with traveling the world and surfing the net from the comfort of her father's ancient armchair. Over the course of her adventures --- or misadventures --- she will handle a crisis with a local celebrity who has her eyes on Maud's apartment, foil the engagement of her long-ago lover, and dispose of some pesky neighbors. But when the local authorities are called to investigate a dead body found in Maud's apartment, will Maud finally become a suspect?

written by Helene Tursten, translated by Marlaine Delargy - Fiction, Mystery

In this final installment of the Irene Huss investigations, the gang warfare that has been brewing in Göteborg is about to explode. A member of a notorious biker gang has been set on fire --- alive. Even in a culture where ritual killings are common, this brutal assault attracts the attention of both Irene’s unit and the Organized Crimes Unit. Anticipating a counterattack, the two units team up to patrol the lavish party of a rival gang, but that doesn’t stop another murder from occurring just outside the event hall. Furthermore, someone has planted a bomb under Irene’s husband’s car. Somehow, the gangs are always one step ahead of the police. Someone is leaking information. But who? Irene’s life depends on discovering the answer.

written by Helene Tursten, translated by Marlaine Delargy - Fiction, Mystery

A woman is found dead in a cemetery. Just a few days before her death, the victim had received a flower, an unintelligible note, and a photograph of herself. Detective Inspector Irene Huss and her colleagues on the Violent Crimes Unit have neither clue nor motive to pursue, and when similar murders follow, their search for the killer becomes increasingly desperate. Meanwhile, strange things have been going on at home for Irene: first the rose bush in her garden is mangled, then she receives a threatening package with no return address. Is Irene being paranoid, or is she next on the killer’s list?

written by Helene Tursten, translated by Marlaine Delargy - Fiction, Mystery

The body of a teenage girl is found in the woods, followed by a mummified body bricked up in a chimney on a demolition site. Then a second young girl is found, wearing what appears to be the other half of the sexy lingerie set recovered near the first body. Fearing the two cases are linked and that the killer may strike again, Detective Inspector Irene Huss and her colleagues embark on a desperate hunt that takes them deep into a shadowy world of anonymous online predators and insecure teenage girls on a deadly quest for affirmation.

by Helene Tursten - Fiction, Mystery

The high-speed chase of a stolen BMW takes a chilling turn when the two police officers involved witness a gruesome hit-and-run. But what they uncover is an entirely different horror: the half-naked corpse of a young girl in a nearby root cellar. As Detective Inspector Irene Huss and her colleagues struggle to put the pieces together, they discover that the man whose car was stolen --- a retired police officer --- is none other than the victim in the hit-and-run. Could it be a strange coincidence? Or is something larger at play?

by Helene Tursten - Fiction, Mystery

Detective Inspector Irene Huss hasn’t seen Sophie Malmborg for over 15 years, but she’s still haunted by the strange young ballerina’s role in the fire that killed her stepfather. All her questions resurface when Sophie disappears, and the charred remains of a dancer are found in an abandoned warehouse. Irene has a startling realization that could shed light on the case that has been lingering in the back of her mind since the beginning of her career.

by Helene Tursten - Fiction, Mystery

Three men have been shot in one of Göteborg's most fashionable neighborhoods, sending Detective Inspector Irene Huss and her colleagues on a goose chase through a tony world of expensive cars and fancy homes. All three victims seem to be tied to one person, the glamorous dot-com darling Sanna Kaegler-Ceder. But Sanna is not speaking, even when her own life seems to be at stake.

by Helene Tursten - Fiction, Mystery

One nurse lies dead and another vanishes after their hospital is hit by a blackout. The only witness claims to have seen Nurse Tekla doing her rounds, but Nurse Tekla died 60 years ago. Detective Inspector Irene Huss has the challenge of disentangling wandering ghosts and complex human relationships to get to the bottom of this intriguing case.

by Helene Tursten - Fiction, Mystery

One of the most prominent citizens of Göteborg, Sweden, plunges to his death off an apartment balcony, but what appears to be a “Society Suicide” soon reveals itself to be a carefully plotted murder.