Before the frost : / Henning Mankell; translated by Ebba Segerberg

How does a mystery author refresh a best-selling series that has gone stale? Swedish crime writer Mankell (The Dogs of Riga) tackles the problem by introducing a new detective who happens to be the daughter of popular series character Kurt Wallander. Newly minted police recruit Linda is eager to take up her job at the Ystaad police station where her father is chief inspector. But she can't start until September, and for the summer she is stuck living at home with her melancholic dad. Linda's investigative instincts, however, are stimulated by the sudden disappearance of childhood friend Anna, who had just reported seeing her long-lost father. At the same time, the brutal incineration of a flock of swans and the decapitation murder of a hiker attract Kurt's attention. A minor character in the other Wallander books, Linda comes into her own here; she's smart and tough but also vulnerable, and her tense relationship with her father is beautifully detailed. Too bad the rambling plot, revolving around a religious cult's apocalyptic conspiracy, is so contrived, tedious, and unbelievable. For example, Linda constantly breaks into her missing friend's apartment and borrows her car; don't the neighbors notice anything?