Swedish is the new black

In mystery that is, Swedish writers are being taken up like catnip.  In Red Wolf, Liza Marklund's protagonist, journalist Annika may not be altogether likeable but you can't help sticking with her throughout her investigation.  For me the glimpses of Sweden that you get - even the everyday details - are a bonus.  The story gets woven around messy lives, Annika and the others aren't perfect, they have affairs, they lie their way into people's lives, they put their career ahead of everything else, they drink, they identify and attack their rivals and squabble about who's picking the kids up from school.  They make mistakes - lots of them.  Red Wolf comes out in February 2011.  Full review then.