From the early pages of his first novel starring deaf Swedish journalist Tuva Moodyson, Will Dean showed a great touch for atmospheric, absorbing storytelling. He is known as ‘the Forest Author’ since he swapped London city life for a cabin in a Swedish forest. Dean’s tales are filled with a host of unusual and kooky characters befitting rural Nordic life.

Tuva Moodyson is a fascinating heroine – relentless yet prone to stumbles. In Black River she has escaped small-town Gavrik for clean living and a lonely life among the bright lights of Malmo, only to be drawn back home when her best friend Tammy, proprietor of a Thai food truck, vanishes. It’s the height of Midsommar; locals and visitors sweat under the sun and few seem concerned by Tammy’s absence until another, whiter, woman goes missing. As searchers head into the Utgard Forest, Tuva starts investigating the creepy residents of Snake River, but where does the real danger lie?

Dean has crafted another tense tale that blends the intrigue and social commentary of crime fiction with the deliciously scary soul of folk tales: menacing forests offering both danger and adventure; stories full of characters heroic and grotesque. Dean does a fine job bringing Tuva’s deafness into the story in an authentic way rather than creating a caricature. Overall, a very good read in a very good series.

Reviewed by Craig Sisterson