Unwanted starts strong with a good foundation for the plot and introduction of the principle characters. Yet because they bring a different set of skills to the table, they can leverage each other's knowledge and experience to advance the investigation. Their interpersonal dynamic is a strong one and it's easy to see why they have been paired, agreeing to disagree on almost every important step of the investigation … and even the unimportant ones. Of these, analyst Fredrika Bergman is nominally the lead recurring character in the series, though almost as much attention is paid to police inspector Alex Recht. The crimes committed against the children in Unwanted are horrific, but fortunately the storyline doesn't dwell too much on them but rather on the team investigating them.

It takes a separate murder to convince him that this is the work of a deranged person … and a potential serial killer. Even after Lilian's body is found with the word 'unwanted' carved into her forehead, Alex believes Grant is guilty. In the first interviews after Lilian goes missing, Fredrika begins to suspect almost immediately that something is not right, that this might be more than simply a child caught in the middle of a bitter divorce … though Alex and his team are convinced Grant, the father, has kidnapped his daughter and spirited her off somewhere. The police investigation is headed up by Alex Recht, but analyst Fredrika Bergman is assigned to assist him.

(The book was first published in the author's native Sweden in 2009 as Askungar). But that all changes when she is later found murdered in Unwanted, the first mystery in this series by Kristina Ohlsson.

Review: When a young girl vanishes from a commuter train after having accidentally been left on board when her mother leaves to make a phone call during a station stop, the police think it is a relatively routine custody battle between the girl's parents.

Unwanted by kristina ohlsson