Rites of Spring: Sunday Times Crime Book of the Month(Seasons Quartet)

Southern Sweden: Beautiful countryside, endless forests, coastal walks, dark days - and even darker nights. But beneath the beauty lies a dark heart . . . Skane, 1986: On the night of Walpurgis, the eve of May Day, where bonfires are lit to ward off evil spirits and preparations are made to celebrate the renewal of spring, a sixteen-year-old girl is ritualistically murdered in the woods beside a castle. Her stepbrother is convicted of the terrible deed and shortly after, the entire family vanishes without a trace. Spring, 2019: Dr Thea Lind moves into the castle. After making a strange discovery in an ancient oak tree on the grounds, her fascination with the old tragedy deepens. As she uncovers more and more similarities between her own troubled past and the murdered girl, she begins to believe that the real truth of the killing was never uncovered. What if the spring of 1986 claimed more than one victim? Rites of Spring was a number one bestseller in its native Swedish on publication in March 2020.

About the Author :
ANDERS DE LA MOTTE is the bestselling author of the 'Seasons Quartet'; the first three books of which - End of Summer, Deeds of Autumn and Dead of Winter - have all been number one bestsellers in Sweden and have been shortlisted for the Swedish Academy of Crime Writers' Award for Best Crime Novel of the Year. Anders, a former police officer, has already won a Swedish Academy Crime Award for his debut, Game, in 2010 and his second standalone, The Silenced, in 2015. To date, the first three books in the 'Seasons Quartet' have published over half a million copies, with the fourth, Rites of Spring, publishing in Sweden in 2020. Set in southern Sweden, all four books can be read as standalones.

Review :
Enthralling...De la Motte juxtaposes the horrors of war with age-old superstitions to superb effect Rites of Spring is an evocative exploration of an old mystery. Dr Thea Lind moves to the small community of Tornaby in southern Sweden and is drawn into the investigation of a murder long considered solved. Anders de la Motte crafts a powerful and enthralling tale that's capped by a twist that makes it all the more satisfying Rites of Spring is a classy slice of classic Scandi Noir with all the right ingredients - a rural community in which everyone harbours secrets, a murdered girl, a possible miscarriage of justice, and a creepy belief in ancient folklore - I literally couldn't read it fast enough! A mesmerising amalgam of creepy folklore, festering secrets, dark truths and a damp and mouldering Scandinavian landscape rendered so dark and brooding that it becomes a principal player in this slow-burn, addictive tale