Blood on the Snow is a melodramatic title, but the story of the 1980s murder of a Scandinavian politician so stretches skepticism and credulity that any sober, dry-as-dust academic treatment would have jarred. Jan Bondeson's involved, committed approach is the best way to do full justice to the complexity of an astounding case.... I doubt if the massively tangled web round Olof Palme's killing will inspire a more engrossing or a better-researched book.(Times Literary Supplement) Bondeson explores a variety of assassination theories that have arisen amid a botched police investigation, conflicting witness testimonies, and Palme's celebrity status.... Bondeson delves into the nature of the investigation and the uncertain guilt of the convicted killer—issues that have captivated Swedes and others for almost 20 years.(Library Journal) On February 28, 1986, at 11:21 p.m., Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme was fatally shot while walking toward a Stockholm subway station. Jan Bondeson, a doctor, scientist, and investigator of unsolved mysteries, has written an extraordinarily penetrating book on the case, complete with a vivid minute-by-minute account of the crime as well as a detailed description of the failed police investigation and, best of all, a keen analysis of the byzantine political and financial intrigues in which Palme had been involved.(Wall Street Journal) Palme was a fascinating politician; an aristocrat and deeply committed socialist. He supported Castro's Cuba, thus guaranteeing he fell out with the US. He was hated by the opposition who accused him of everything from homosexuality to being a KGB spy so, not surprisingly, when he was murdered the rumour mills began grinding and a cycle of fantastic explanations and bizarre conspiracy theories emerged. In this well-written book Jan Bondeson attempts to explain why Palme was killed. The result is a non-fiction work that reads like a Tom Clancy political thriller.(Sydney Morning Herald)
