Lucia Morning in Sweden

Not sure if this is the right fit?

Consider Beartown by Fredrik Backman. Recommended by 2 sources.

“Reading Beartown feels intimate and steady: it settles you into a forest-bound town where an amateur hockey team becomes the lens for messy loyalties and a public scandal. The novel's useful part is its populated ensemble and knack for turning small gestures—locker-room tensions, town meetings, whispered allegiances—into escalating stakes that feel lived-in. Its main limitation is a tendency toward sentimental passages and prolonged communal debate that some readers will find repetitive. Best approached as a character-driven, morally uneasy read rather than a fast-moving plot.”