Micaela Vargas is a police officer in Stockholm. She struggles to gain respect from her mostly white, male colleagues. First because she's a woman, second because she's a Chilean immigrant whose family came to Sweden as political refugees, and third because she grew up in the projects and has a brother who is operating on the other side of the law. None of that stops her from trying. She's determined to move up in the ranks and thus is happy to be assigned to the team investigating the death of an Afghani asylum-seeker who had become a popular youth soccer coach. The police think they have the culprit, but can't get him to confess. Enter, Professor Hans Rekke. Hans is somewhat of an expert in interrogation techniques and he's agreed to look at their case. Though he has good suggestions, the team goes in another direction, one that sees Micaela booted off the team. But Micaela is tenacious and sees Hans Rekke as her ticket to success. Thus the two form a weird and uneasy bond.
It's been a while since I've read any Scandinavian noir so I wasn't sure if Dark Music would spark a new interest or show me why I gave up on the subgenre. I'm happy to say it lit the spark and made me immediately go on the hunt for more. Author Lagercrantz was the writer picked to continue The Millennium (The Girl Who...) series after Stieg Larsson's death and I can see shades of Lisbeth Salander in Micaela. But not so much this doesn't feel fresh and original. Micaela and Hans are intriguing characters, each with their own demons, and I look forward to watching the partnership between them develop.