Book Review: Evil Water by Inger Wolf

Two women disappear without a trace, and the same autumn a farmer on the outskirts of Arhus finds them murdered in suitcases under a heap of stones.
The skin of one woman is filled with the letter 'Y' and the other has a rare flower in her hair. Inspector Daniel Trokic is leading the case which goes in several different directions: to a tribal population in Africa, religious insanity and a horrifying meeting with leeches. When a third woman disappears, Trokic is under pressure to find out what the killer wants to say with his macabre scenery and rituals. 

I really didn't know what to expect when I was sent this book to review. However, I was pleasantly surprised as this story completely gripped me.
Evil Water is set in Sweden; two bodies turn up in suitcases, they are the bodies of two women who have been missing for some time. Inspector Daniel Trokic is called in to investigate, all he knows is that these women suffered a terrible ordeal; they were bled to death in a bath full of leeches.
The search for the killer intensifies when another woman goes missing, Daniel knows he only has limited time to save another innocent woman's life.
Inger Wolf creates a terrifying atmosphere. The deaths of the women are described in detail, you get a real sense of their desperation to escape. The leeches were a particularly sinister element of the book; they literally suck the life out of their victim. The victim is aware of what is happening but they quickly become powerless to stop it.
As Daniel leads the team, many different avenues are explored. They have to get into the mind of the killer, they need to understand why the leeches are used; why women with a particular hair colour and what would make him stop?
It was very interesting to see how Daniel's team worked, they don't have much to go on so every possible lead has to be explored.
I had a couple of problems with Evil Water, I didn't feel as though I got to know Daniel Trokic very well which is a shame as I think he has the potential to be a very interesting character. My only other issue is that Inger Wolf makes several references to what song is playing in the background and who is singing it. I know it sounds petty but I found it a little annoying and I felt that it had no relevance.
Criticisms aside, I would very much recommend this book. Inger Wolf has written a gripping thriller, the plot has just the right pace and I would definitely read more by this author.

Dot Scribbles Rating: 4/5

Many thanks to Melanie from Black Cat for sending me a copy of the book to review, Evil Water is out now.