The Bucket List: An Agent John Adderley Novel

4.5★s The Bucket List is the first book in the Agent John Adderley series by Swedish authors, Peter Mohlin and Peter Nystrom. It has been translated from Swedish by Ian Giles. After a dangerous mission to put away a Nigerian drug cartel in Baltimore, FBI agent John Adderley is forced into witness protection. Much to the Bureau’s chagrin, he insists on being placed in Sweden, as part of a new cold case team in Karlstad. Their first case is the disappearance, ten years earlier, of clothing chain heiress, Emelie Bjurwall. On August 14th, 2009, she left a party near her home on the Tynas promontory after midnight to meet an unnamed person. Except for a Facebook post of the tattoo on her left forearm a short time later, she has not been seen since. Trace evidence nearby pointed to a young man from Skogall, Billy Nerman, who denied any involvement and was eventually released without charge. Heading the cold case team is Bernt Primer, who was also part of the initial investigation. John wonders if the case can be solved when the team seems fixated of Nerman as the perpetrator, but is determined to learn the truth. While he does, though, he needs to keep a low profile: there is one very good reason he should not be investigating this case; and the drug cartel will be out for revenge. John manages to get a quick result that turns the case upside down, is likely to get him thrown off the team, and makes several people very uneasy. His deductive logic is impressive and, along with his partner, the case progresses quickly. But is he guilty of fixating on a new suspect and ignoring wider possibilities? Adderley is an interesting protagonist: a mixed-race FBI agent with experience as a cop in NYC, and a formative history in Sweden. He’s intelligent and determined, doggedly following his own path, although there will be times the reader will be yelling at him to make a connection. His decidedly loose interpretation of acceptable behaviour under witness protection does nicely ramp up the tension by introducing the potential of danger from abroad. The authors throw in plenty of twists, turns and red herrings to keep the reader guessing, and even when the murderer’s identity becomes apparent, the exact how and why still keep the pages turning. There’s plenty of scope for further installments, and readers will be hoping that #2, The Other Sister is translated into English soon. Excellent Swedish crime fiction. This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Harry N. Abrams.