The novel is a "gripping portrayal of sorrow and longing that combines suspense and linguistic beauty", writes the Detective Academy in a press release.
The book is about a police officer in unresolved grief who solves a murder case. It was written simultaneously as the author's wife was seriously ill.
A hidden existential narrative about sorrow, grief, and coming home lies behind the suspense plot, Vallgren said to TT last spring.
This year's best translated crime novel was David Baldacci's "The Trial", and this year's best debut novel was "The Sanctuary" by Lena Sundström and Jens Mikkelsen.
The Children's and Young Adult Prize, Spårhunden, went to "The Mysterious Man" by Johan Anderblad and Henrik Jonsson, and the Grand Master award went to author Inger Frimansson.
