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by Elizabeth Hand
. 9780312585945. Fiction
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Hand's latest novel picks up right where Generation Loss leaves off: hungover and with a fresh scar beside her eye, washed-up punk photographer Cassandra Neary runs from a possible manslaughter charge to Finland, where a sleazy collector of disturbing photographs wants her to authenticate a pending purchase. After Cass confirms that the stunningly beautiful but macabre photos are legit, the photographer is murdered, and Cass takes off again. Fueled by crystal meth and Focalin, she looks for Quinn, her first love, in Reykjavík, where he survives by selling classic vinyl LPs and disposing of bodies for Russian mobsters. Quinn is also mixed up with a group of Odinists who are heavily into black metal music and Norse mythology, and Cass is soon caught up in a dark, twisted tale.
VERDICT The millions who devoured Stieg Larsson's "Millennium" trilogy will not flinch at Hand's dark subject matter. Like Lisbeth Salander, Cass Neary evokes sympathy and admiration despite her tough exterior. Given the public's current fascination with gritty Nordic crime fiction, expect this novel to break out onto best sellers lists. [See Prepub Alert, 8/21/11.]
Reviewed by Christine Perkins, Bellingham P.L., WA , Jan 01, 2012
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