The Savage Altar

'A breath of fresh cold air . . . a dangerous edge to gladden fans of Lisbeth Salander' Boyd Tonkin

The first in the Rebecka Martinsson series from the million-book bestselling author, for fans of Stieg Larsson, The Bridge and The Killing TV series.

A church in the glittering frozen wastes of northern Sweden. Inside, a sacrifice- the body of a man - slashed to pieces, hands severed, eyes gouged out. The victim's sister is first to discover the body and she soon finds herself the police's only suspect. Terrified and confused, she calls on an old friend- hot-shot city lawyer Rebecka Martinsson. Can Rebecka dig beneath the surface of the community that she once fled, and find the truth? 'A chilling plot knee-deep in blood-spattered snow' Jim Kelly 'A labyrinthine conspiracy, superlative storytelling' Independent A nail biting, suspense-filled mystery' Sunday Telegraph

Asa Larsson has sold over a million and a half books worldwide. Her first novel, The Savage Altar, won the award for Sweden's best first crime novel. Her second novel, The Blood Spilt, is also available from Penguin now. %%%Before Stieg Larsson, there was Asa Larsson . . . The Savage Altar is a truly absorbing, atmospheric and fast-paced thriller featuring lawyer Rebecka Martinsson, a fantastic character in the mould of The Silence of the Lambs' Clarice Starling. A church in the glittering frozen wastes of northern Sweden. Inside, a sacrifice- the body of a man - slashed to pieces, hands severed, eyes gouged out. The victim's sister, Sanna, is first to discover the body and immediately finds herself the police's only suspect. Terrified and confused, she calls on a friend- got-shot city lawyer Rebecka Martinsson. Rebecka hardly wants to return to Kiruna - the small town she fled in disgrace years ago. But Sanna is frightened and she needs a loyal friend to clear her name. Someone not scared to dig deep and find the true killer. Yet Rebecka is not especially welcomed into the closed-lipped community. She might know the town, the people and how suspicious they can be of strangers but she has still to find out how dark the town's secrets have become in her absence. 'A chilling plot knee-deep in blood-spattered snow' Jim Kelly 'A labyrinthine conspiracy, superlative storytelling' Independent

A nail biting, suspense-filled mystery' Sunday Telegraph

Asa Larsson was born in 1966 and lives in Sweden. Her second novel, The Blood Spilt, is available from Penguin now and she is the winner of Sweden's best first crime novel award.