The Gingerbread House

Carin Gerhardsen

Penguin Books Australia

Penguin

ISBN: 9781405917179

Description:

Ingrid Olsson returns home from a Stockholm hospital to discover a man in her kitchen. She’s never seen the intruder before. But he’s no threat – he’s dead.

Criminal Investigator Conny Sjöberg takes the call, abandoning his wife Åsa and their five children for the night. His team identify the body as that of a middle-aged family man. But why was he there? And who bludgeoned him to death?

Lacking suspect and motive, Sjoberg’s team struggle until they link the case to another – apparently random – killing. And discover they face a serial killer on a terrible vendetta . . .

My View:

Simply stunning – I am impressed with the clever way this multiple view point narrative weaves multiple murders and a sub plot together so deftly and intriguingly; it is a classic example of Scandinavian noir.  Gerhardsen tackles many contemporary social issues in this page turning, easy to read  crime novel; bullying, racism, sexual assault, date rape, war…so much to consider yet the writer does not assault you with the issues, with her moral code, the issues are deftly and intricately woven into the thread of the story and become integral to the story, the reader is left to quietly ponder as their conscience is pricked by the authors words.

This is a remarkable crime read; it has powerful yet quiet voice. I can’t wait for more of Carin Gerhardsen’s books to be translated.