Grendel’s Game

Chief Walther Ekman of Weltenborg, Sweden, the clever, overweight hero of this well-constructed and multilayered debut, receives a bizarre letter from someone signing himself Grendel, who boasts of his taste for human flesh. Soon a series of missing-person make it clear that he’s a threat and Ekman is one of his targets. An excellent cast of characters, especially Ekman, will leave readers hoping to see more of them in a sequel. —Publishers Weekly