Swedish author Tove Alsterdal makes her American debut with WE KNOW YOU REMEMBER, a riveting mystery that is a worthy addition to the series of novels by terrific Swedish authors that have captured the attention and praise of mystery lovers all over the world. The plot structure of this memorable work is brilliantly conceived and executed, and the development of an array of fascinating characters is impressive. As a matter of fact, it is as much a profound psychological study as it is a clever police procedural.

"The plot structure of this memorable work is brilliantly conceived and executed, and the development of an array of fascinating characters is impressive."

The first character we meet is Olof Hagström. He is on his way to his place of birth, where he will see his father for the first time in many years. But he won't talk to him because he finds him lying in the bathtub, brutally murdered. And so the plot begins to unfold. The crime is thoroughly investigated by the local police, including the novel's protagonist, Detective Eira Sjödin. The investigation will become a near-obsessive, haunting, plodding, confusing struggle for her.

At first, the reader might wonder, as I did, why detectives like Eira and her colleagues would be so consumed by one murder, the murder of an old, crabby hermit who has rarely spoken to anyone in years. But we soon learn why solving this particular crime is such a significant challenge. Many of the small town's residents are forced to dredge up sad and tragically violent memories of long-ago crimes, hatreds and relationships. The mysteries deepen as the important characters appear and soon reveal themselves.

Olof, for example, had confessed to the rape and murder of a teenaged girl when he was 14 years old. But he was not imprisoned or kept in any sort of custody; he was simply told to leave town and never come back, and the body of the victim was never found. There also had been a gang rape of another young woman by a group of wayward teenagers. Years later, after Olof had discovered his father's body and was living in the house, it was set on fire and destroyed. Olof had been inside, but he escaped into a nearby forest, where he was attacked by mysterious forces and almost killed.

Then, as the story progresses, the dead body of another young man is discovered in the area where Olof's victim had allegedly disappeared. The crimes, old and new, multiply, the characters are stripped of their emotional armor, and the suspense mounts right along with the accumulation of fear and horror.

The plot is structured so carefully, so adroitly, that we find ourselves inextricably drawn in as each mystery is gradually, sometimes shockingly, solved. Or almost solved. The entire novel is chillingly challenging and expertly rendered. WE KNOW YOU REMEMBER is a superb procedural and an acutely revelatory reading experience.