Sot
(Soot)
By Sara Strömberg
reviewed by James Walker
As in Sara Strömberg’s three previous novels, the title of this thriller, Soot consists of a single word, the significance of which unfolds along with the narrative.
The novel’s prologue takes place in a war-torn country in all that is left of a family’s home - a cycle workshop in the basement - and where a man suffering terrible wounds dies. Racked with grief and guilt, a woman reluctantly leaves his dead body in the rubble as she has something she has to take care of now, both for him and for herself. The narrative switches to Vera Bergström, by now known to readers of Sara Strömberg’s previous three books in this series as her antihero. Vera is a a sixty-something journalist on the newspaper Jämtlands Posten, who is tipped off by her editor that something worth a look may have occurred in Åre at an exclusive resort hotel.
A famous Swedish clothes designer, Ewa Åkerman, has been found dead at the hotel, apparently as a result of a fall from a high, open walkway. Was she pushed or did she fall? Vera starts by talking to one of the hotel staff who found the body. Vera is determined to find out if foul play was involved and to be the first to publish the details in a scoop for her paper.
As she starts to investigate this tragedy, another incident occurs. This time, the victim is Niklas Jung, a well-liked local social worker. He is apparently killed when his boat blew up while he was out fishing.
While Vera starts snooping into these two deaths, aided by the new-fangled technology that is AI, Strömberg introduces another character in the form of Mikael Nyman, a leading psychologist, recently divorced, burned out due to work and stress and about to start his summer vacation but at a loss to know where to go. India beckons as a place of positive memories from his youth. However, this has to wait as he gets a call from the police to tell him that there has been a break-in - or at least a window has been broken - at his summer house, a few hours’ drive from home and where he has not been for far too long. This develops the story further.
Strömberg then ingeniously weaves together these contrasting narrative threads into what can only be described as a rivetingly good read!
Soot (Soot) is Sara Strömberg’s fourth detective novel featuring her annoying yet likeable antihero Vera Bergström. In 2025 it was awarded Best Crime Novel of the Year in Sweden.
By using a journalist rather than a conventional detective as the hero of the novels, Strömberg is able to bring a different and interesting perspective to the ‘investigation’. There are police involved, of course, but they remain mostly in the background.
The novel too is rich in local detail and local knowledge. as the Jämtland of the novels is the Jämtland where the author grew up and still lives. The descriptions of the nature, forests, mountains and lakes of this clearly much-loved part of Sweden are wonderfully described by her in almost painterly fashion and merely add to the reader’s enjoyment. Readers can look forward to novel five which will surely, as per the previous four novels, receive much deserved acclaim and awards.
Sot
Modernista, 2026. 427 pp. ISBN: 978-91-8108-983-7
Rights: First Edition MGMT
Sara Strömberg has been awarded Best Debut Crime Novel (in 2021), Crime Novel of the Year(in 2022) and nominated for the Glass Key and Storytel Awards (in 2023). Sot is her fourth book.