The Gallows Bird

Patrik (police officer) and Erica (writer) have reconnected, had a child and are moving headlong into matrimony.[2] Problems sidelined when a chaotic alcohol-fueled party ends with the death of an unpopular contestant on a reality TV show.[3] A local woman is found dead, apparently the victim of a car crash: the first in a spate of seemingly inexplicable accidents in Tanumshede.[4] The car reeks of alcohol and the initial assumption is that it is a drunk driver accident.[5]

Soon it becomes clear there's a serial assassin in the vicinity.[6] As TV cameras shadow the reality show stars' every move, relations with the locals are strained to the breaking point. A piece of evidence reveals that a pair of seemingly disparate homicides are linked, and a pattern emerges of similar homicides spread over many years—in different regions of Sweden; slowly Patrick realizes that these cases are more closely linked than he had thought.[7] Patrick also has his own set of problems to contend with: a wedding to arrange, and Erica's sister Anna living with them—he's experiencing stress.[8]