In recent times, Scandinavian crime fiction has become huge news so I was keen to see what I'd make of Kristina Ohlsson's Silenced. Well, it's certainly a complex plot that will keep you guessing right up until the last minute !
The story begins with a teenaged girl being attacked and raped in a meadow near her home. Fast forward fifteen years and the police have two seemingly-unrelated new cases to deal with - an unidentified victim of a hit-and-run accident and a double homicide involving a priest and his wife. They were both shot in the head but were they both victims or did the priest, who was battling depression, shoot his wife before turning the gun on himself ? Next up is another young woman who suddenly finds herself framed for drugs-related crimes in Thailand and seems to have ceased existing in her real identity - her email account has disappeared, her flight home has been cancelled (or, worse, seems never to have been recorded) and the hotel where she is staying denies all knowledge of her ever having made a booking, let alone having her possessions in the room she left just this morning. Curioser and curioser, as Alice said down the rabbit hole !
As the novel progresses, all of these random elements are tied together in a complex and, at times rather confusing, web of lies, deceit and underhand goings-on. I did find it rather hard to keep track of but this could be due to the fact that I've got a stinking rotten cold and am finding it hard to concentrate on anything more taxing than an EastEnders plotline at the moment !
It's an interesting read that touches on some complex issues, notably the aftermath of a rape within a family's structure and the ethics of helping illegal immigrants. The author is a Security Policy Analyst for the Swedish Police Board and has worked at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs so she certainly knows and understands her subject matter. If you like conspiracy theories, corruption and finely-honed crime fiction, it'll be right up your street.
star rating : 4.5/5
RRP : £12.99
- Paperback: 480 pages
- Publisher: Simon & Schuster UK (30 Aug 2012)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1847379613
- ISBN-13: 978-1847379610
- Product Dimensions: 23.4 x 15 x 3 cm
Disclosure : I received a review copy of the book.
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I've not read any Stieg Larssen or similar - this review has encouraged me to give it a whirl.
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