Editorial Content for Dark Music

David Lagercrantz, who so gloriously continued the late Stieg Larsson’s Millennium Trilogy with three additional releases, now brings us DARK MUSIC, which is inspired by the great Sherlock Holmes.

Set in 2003, the book centers on Swedish police officer Micaela Vargas and her investigation into the brutal death of Jamal Kabir, a soccer referee and a refugee from Taliban-controlled Afghanistan. He was beaten with a stone following a junior league soccer game, and Micaela is set to speak with one of the initial suspects, Giuseppe Costa, a player who allegedly was seen picking up a rock after the game. It was a case that her assistant commissioner, Martin Falkegren, did not want to pass up for the headline opportunity alone.

"DARK MUSIC is a tough book to put down once you start it --- and for lovers of Sherlock Holmes, the non-stop Easter eggs are a pure delight just waiting to be discovered throughout these pages."

When the team has a meeting back at the squad room, they discuss their various leads and plans of attack, which are slim. Micaela suggests that they involve an expert she had heard speak recently and feels could help them immensely. Professor Hans Rekke is a world authority on interrogation techniques and possessed of one of the most brilliant and sharp analytical minds in the world. Falkegren wholeheartedly agrees and sends Micaela and Chief Inspector Fransson out to his house to discuss the Kabir case and get his thoughts.

Rekke immediately begins his Holmesian games and proceeds to analyze the two officers once he meets them in impressive fashion. He then goes on to ramble about the case, oftentimes blowing past a startled Fransson, and sums up by telling them that the murderer is probably shorter than Kabir, not taller. He also refers to the culprit as an alcoholic and an extrovert, not a psychopath, and suggests they take another look at the tape of Kabir after the game’s final whistle.

Some months later, with the case still unsolved, Micaela faces a shock when she witnesses Rekke apparently trying to kill himself on the train. She rescues him and takes him home. He confesses to being broken and shares all the meds he is on that has contributed to his darkness as they attempt to blot out his manic depression. It is always tough to see your heroes at their lowest point. Micaela is determined to save Rekke and still believes he can help her crack the case.

One night, Micaela is awoken by a loud rumbling sound that makes her think they are under attack, only to find Rekke at the piano playing an extremely noisy and disturbing tune. The dark music is from Sergei Prokofiev, and Micaela remarks that it sounds like the end of the world. As the two continue to work the case, they learn some new and startling information. It quickly becomes evident that if they anger the wrong people, they might be putting a target on their own backs.

DARK MUSIC is a tough book to put down once you start it --- and for lovers of Sherlock Holmes, the non-stop Easter eggs are a pure delight just waiting to be discovered throughout these pages.