#1 INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER • A terrifying new thriller in the the internationally bestselling Killer Instinct series: Detective Joona Linna finds himself on a collision course with a terrifying killer whose past is more troubling than anyone could imagine. “One of those rare books that is truly difficult to put down.” — New York Journal of Books A brutal killing spree at a home for wayward teens. One girl is dead, another is missing. Joona Linna scrambles to track her down before the death toll mounts. Praise for The Fire Witness and Lars Kepler's Joona Linna Series: “One of those rare books that is truly difficult to put down.” — New York Journal of Books “Rattles along at a terrific pace.... Scandinavian noir at its best.” — The Evening Standard (UK) “Haunting.... Refuses to let go.” — Publishers Weekly   “A rich, nuanced tale.” — Kirkus Reviews LARS KEPLER is the pseudonym of the critically acclaimed husband and wife team Alexandra Coelho Ahndoril and Alexander Ahndoril. Their internationally bestselling Joona Linna series has sold more than ten million copies in forty languages. The Ahndorils were both established writers before they adopted the pen name Lars Kepler, and have each published several acclaimed novels. They live in Stockholm, Sweden. Translated by Neil Smith. 1   Elisabet Grim is fifty--one years old and her hair is peppered with gray. She has cheerful eyes, and when she smiles you can see that one of her front teeth sticks out a little farther than the other.   Elisabet works as a nurse at the Birgitta Home, a children’s home north of Sundsvall. It’s privately run and takes girls between twelve and seventeen years of age.   Many of the girls have problems with drugs when they arrive, almost all have a history of self--harm and eating disorders, and several of them are very violent. For them, there aren’t really any alternatives to group homes with alarmed doors, barred windows, and airlocks. The next step is usually adult prison and compulsory psychiatric care, but the Birgitta Home is one of the few exceptions, offering girls a path back to society.   Elisabet likes to say that the Birgitta Home is where the good girls end up.   She picks up the last piece of dark chocolate, puts it in her mouth, and feels its blend of sweetness and bitterness tingle under her tongue.   Slowly, her shoulders start to relax. It’s been a difficult evening, even though the day started so well: lessons in the morning and swimming in the lake after lunch.   After dinner, the housekeeper went home, leaving Elisabet on her own.   The number of night staff was cut four months after the Blancheford Holding Company bought the place.   The residents had been allowed to watch television until ten. She had spent the evening in the nurses’ office, and was trying to catch up with her logs when she heard angry shouting. She hurried to the TV room, where she found Miranda attacking little Tuula, yelling that Tuula was a cunt and a whore, dragging her off the sofa, then kicking her in the back.   Elisabet is starting to get used to Miranda’s violent outbursts. She rushed in and pulled her away from Tuula, earning herself a blow to the face, and she had to shout at Miranda that this was clearly unacceptable behavior. Without any discussion, she led Miranda away along the corridor, to the isolation room.   Elisabet said good night, but Miranda didn’t answer. She just sat on the bed staring at the floor, and smiled to herself when Elisabet closed and locked the door.   The newest girl, Vicky Bennet, was booked for an evening conversation, but there was no time because of the trouble with Miranda and Tuula. Vicky tentatively pointed out that it was her turn and got upset when she was told it would have to be postponed. She smashed a cup, then slashed her stomach and wrists with one of the fragments.   When Elisabet came in, Vicky was sitting with her hands in front of her face, blood running down her arms. Elisabet cleaned the cuts, which turned out to be superficial, put gauze on her stomach, and bandaged her wrists, then sat and comforted her until she saw a little smile. For the third night in a row, she gave the girl ten milligrams of Sonata so that she’d get some sleep.   2   All the residents are asleep now, and the place is quiet. There’s a light on in the office window; the world outside seems impenetrable and black.   Elisabet is sitting in front of the computer, a deep frown on her face, writing up the evening’s events in the log.   It’s almost midnight, and she realizes that she hasn’t even found time to take her evening pill. Her little habit, she likes to joke. The combination of nights on call and exhausting day--shifts have ruined her sleep. She usually takes ten milligrams of Stilnoct at ten o’clock so that she can be asleep by eleven and get a few solid hours of rest.   The September darkness has settled on the forest, but the smooth surface of Himmel Lake is still visible, shining like mo