Mari Jungstedt - The Dead Of Summer

This was the secret Karin had kept to herself her entire adult life. Eventually, she moved to Stockholm and stayed with relatives while she attended college.

Then she was admitted to the Police Academy. When she received her first job offer on Gotland, she hesitated at first, but in the end she accepted. She thought she needed to move on, that she’d come through the worst of it. Ten years had passed, after all. The riding teacher who had raped her was long since dead, so at least there was no chance of running into him again. Her parents, now old, still lived in Tingstäde, and she visited them now and then, out of politeness.

They never discussed the matter.

Was it disastrous that she’d allowed Vera Norrström to go free? This shattered person who was capable of shooting to death two people? What sort of mother was she going to be to her newborn daughter? But now she had finished exacting her revenge. Karin hoped that Vera would be able to put everything behind her and be happy in spite of it all, with her husband and child.

She had toyed with the idea of telling Knutas, but she realized that would be impossible. If she did, her police career would be over. Would she even be able to continue as a police officer, carrying this baggage? At the moment, she couldn’t answer that question. It was just one more secret she had to hide.

She lay down on the sand and closed her eyes, listening to the waves lapping against the shore. Thunder rumbled over the sea. The rain fell slowly, one drop after another striking her face.

This story is entirely fictional. Any similarities between the characters in the novel and actual individuals are coincidental. Occasionally, I have taken artistic liberties to change things for the benefit of the book. This includes Swedish TV’s coverage of Gotland, which in the book has been moved to Stockholm. I have the utmost respect for SVT’s regional news programme Östnytt , which covers Gotland with a permanent team stationed in Visby.

The settings used in the books are usually described as they actually exist in reality, although there are a few exceptions.

Any errors that may have slipped into the story are mine alone.

First and foremost, I would like to thank my husband, journalist Cenneth Niklasson, who is always ready to be my sounding board and offer me the greatest support.

Special thanks to:

Gösta Svensson, former detective superintendent with the Visby police

Ulf Åsgård, psychiatrist

Magnus Frank, detective superintendent with the Visby police

Martin Csatlos, of the Forensic Medicine Laboratory in Solna

Johan Gardelius, crime technician, Visby police

Sonny Björk, detective superintendent, technical division, county criminal police, Stockholm

Staffan Lindblom, harbour master, Cementa in Slite

Torsten Lindqvist, captain of the M/S Gotska Sandön

Gotska Sandön Folklore Society

The head ranger, Gotska Sandön

I would also like to thank my dear author colleagues – thanks for being there!

Thanks also to my readers for their valuable opinions:

Lena Allerstam, journalist, Swedish TV

Lilian Andersson, editor at Bonnier Educational Books

Kerstin Jungstedt, consultant, Provins fem

Bosse Jungstedt, Surrea Design

My thanks to Albert Bonniers Förlag, and especially to my publisher Jonas Axelsson and editor Ulrika Åkerlund for all their support, encouragement and work on my books. Thanks to my agents Bengt Nordin and Maria Enberg at Nordin Agency, and to my designer, John Eyre, for the great cover on the Swedish edition.

Last, but not least, I want to thank my wonderful children, Rebecka and Sebastian, for their understanding and many encouraging comments.

Älta, May 2007

Mari Jungstedt

www.jungstedtsgotland.se

www.marijungstedt.se

Mari Jungstedtlives in Stockholm with her husband and two children. This is her fifth novel set on the island of Gotland. The previous four, Unseen , Unspoken , Unknown and The Killer’s Art , are all available in Corgi paperback.