John Schwarz is offended by the drunk and by his behavior with some of the women; John is a singer on the ferry and he's seen this kind of thing before. Still, he kicks the man in the face and almost kills him. John goes home to his wife and small son, waiting for the police he knows will be arriving soon. His wife doesn't understand why he has done this and why he is behaving so oddly.
When the Swedish police arrest him, they find out that he is not really John Schwarz. He is John Meyer, and he is dead. He died on death row in Ohio six years ago, died before the state could kill him for raping and murdering his girlfriend. Immediately, questions and problems arise.
Sweden has signed an extradition treaty with the US that covers sending people back who face the death sentence, even though Sweden does not execute people. The US wants this guy back, and Ohio really wants him back. The governor was elected on his strong death penalty stance and this one got away. How did that happen? The father of the murdered girl really, really wants John Meyer back so he can watch John die. An eye for an eye, and all that.
The police in Sweden, in particular Detective Superintendent Ewert Grens, are charged with investigating the case and dealing with all the political ramifications. There are plenty, most of which are in conflict with Grens's personal ethical code. In Ohio, Vernon Eriksen was the guard when Meyer died. He is now in a position of greater authority in the prison; like Grens, he has ethical issues with his job and what has happened, both in the past and now.
CELL 8 is well written. The characters are believable. The situation could happen, although it seems unlikely in today's world. Still, 16 years ago, technology was not what it is today, and international security was much laxer. The authors, for reasons which ultimately make sense, choose not to address the obvious question any reader will ask more than once. Their total avoidance of this question is very frustrating, even when the reason becomes known. Still, CELL 8 is very readable and not as dark as some of the fiction currently coming out of Scandinavia.
§ P.J. Coldren lives in northern lower Michigan where she reads and reviews widely across the mystery genre when she isn't working in her local hospital pharmacy.
