When she opened her eyes, the darkness embraced her. Her head was foggy, and she couldn’t quite place where she was. Did she really get that drunk last night? She tried to remember, but all she could recall was the sound of pencils against paper, the stuffy smell of hundreds of sweaty students and the feeling afterwards – a relief when the exams were finally over. She concentrated, but couldn’t call to mind what happened after that, at the party. Suddenly, she saw movement by the door. A dark figure emerged from the shadows, and she felt a cold hand on her leg. The panic grew inside her. Where the hell was she, and why was she tied up in a bed?
During a sweltering night at the end of May, a young student at Lund University vanishes without a trace and the case swiftly lands on the desks of police investigators Fredrika Storm and Henry Calment. They soon discover that the missing woman, Isabelle Karlsson, had attended a party organized by the infamous tech company BubbleBuy the night of her disappearance. However, both the company and the CEO Martin Zenberg deny any connection to Isabelle. As Fredrika and Henry’s investigation deepens they find Isabelle’s missing phone at one of the company’s apartments where the young CEO spends much of his time. Does Martin have anything to do with Isabelle’s disappearance?
The investigation takes a drastic turn when Fredrika and Henry stumble upon an old incident that took place seven years earlier when a female student was found murdered on the university grounds. One of her classmates was convicted for the murder, but Fredrika has her doubts after reading the report. In her search for more information, she learns about a secret society within the walls of the Faculty of Engineering called Romulus. Old tall tales about assaults and murder involving the secret society simmer to the surface and since Martin Zenberg is a known member, Fredrika becomes convinced that this new lead is crucial to solving their case.
As the investigation proceeds and Martin is detained by the police, people are gathering around the city to demonstrate for and against the young tech genius. Tensions in Lund begin to arise, and Fredrika and Henry race against time to get to the bottom of the case before the situation spirals out of control. What links the old murder case to the disappearance of Isabelle? And why is Martin refusing to tell the truth about his whereabouts that fatal night?
In the Shadows is the highly anticipated third installment in Frida Skybäck’s bestselling crime series revolving around police investigator Fredrika Storm and her colleague Henry Calment. Skybäck skillfully leads the reader through a suspenseful narrative of secrets, sudden death and revenge. With a precise and poignant language, Skybäck asks the question of how far someone is willing to go to keep the past buried.
