Psychological suspense in a single setting

Yikes, I just realized it's been a month since I last posted. I've been ripping through books so quickly (I'm sure some of you can relate) there has never seemed to be enough time to sit down and post a review. But I'm here today to do just that!

Longtime readers of the blog will know that I'm a huge fan of Swedish authors. In fact, some of my favorite books from the last couple of years come from that beautiful country. So when I saw Camilla Sten's The Lost Village on LibraryReads it was a no-brainer. This is a psychological suspense thriller where our main character is trying to uncover what happened in the past while simultaneously trying to unravel the very real danger of what is happening to them in the present. Alice has grown up hearing stories from her grandmother about her hometown where the inhabitants (all 900 of them including Alice's great grandparents and great aunt) vanished without a trace in the 1950s. Well, almost all of the inhabitants vanished. A murdered woman (tied to a pole and stoned to death) and a crying baby were all that was found when the police arrived on the scene. Alice has always been interested (read: obsessed) in her grandmother's story and now that she's got a film degree she's determined to make a documentary to uncover the truth of what happened there. So the reader is bounced between Now where Alice and her small crew are scouting the location and Then with Elsa (Alice's great grandmother) as the tale of what really happened slowly unfolds. 

The beginning did drag a bit but around the halfway point it picked up significantly and by the last third of the novel the action is basically nonstop. [A/N: I preferred the Then sections somewhat more than the Now as the characters were more likable. 😬] She has another psychological suspense thriller slated for 2022 (this is the English translation if I'm not mistaken) and is also working on a YA series (labeled as dark and atmospheric). If you're in the mood for a suspenseful book that takes place in a single setting then I think this is a great option. 7/10

Source: Amazon

What I'm currently reading: A Fatal Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum: Murder in Ancient Rome by Emma Southon

**If you're interested in buying any of these books or any books really, you can click here. This will re-direct you to AbeBooks which is a site I use all of the time to find used books at an excellent price. A lot of the time I don't even pay for shipping! Full disclosure: I will receive a commission on all sales made through this link. You will not be charged anything additional for my commission. I wouldn't recommend a site that I didn't use and you are under no obligation to purchase anything. :-) **

Yes, this is ridiculous

Doctor Proctor’s Fart Powder by Jo Nesbo (you might have seen his books for adults) is the tale of a little girl and her new neighbor (a tiny boy with a big personality). They befriend a failed scientist (suitably eccentric) with many (unsuccessful and useless) inventions to his name (all more ridiculous than the last). However, his latest invention seems to be a real winner: a powder that when ingested causes the person to fart most spectacularly and explosively. In fact, the powder is so successful that it launches the person into the sky! Can you think of anything better for a group of children? An utterly ridiculous little book this would appeal to a middle grade reader who enjoyed the Captain Underpants or Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. [A/N: This book was originally written in Swedish before being translated into English.] 5/10

Trigger warning: pretty intense bullying and a corrupt, abusive father. 

Source: Amazon.com

What's Up Next: The Right Word: Roget and His Thesaurus by Jen Bryant with pictures by Melissa Sweet

What I'm Currently Reading: So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo

**If you're interested in buying this book or any books really, you can click here or here. The first will re-direct you to AbeBooks and the second will re-direct you to The Book Depository. These are great websites for purchasing books (AbeBooks carries inexpensive used and out-of-print books and The Book Depository ships free everywhere in the world). Full disclosure: I will receive a commission on all sales made by following either of these links. I wouldn't recommend a site that I didn't use and you are under no obligation to purchase anything. :-) **

What's that joke about a gorilla and a typewriter?

I love a good Swedish to English translation (except for that one time I attempted Wallander) so I thought that The Murderer's Ape by Jakob Wegelius would be no exception. However, I cannot unequivocally state that I loved this book...or that I loathed it. The book is told from the standpoint of a gorilla who has been christened Sally Jones. She's been around humans her entire life and therefore not only understands what they are saying but can read as well. She's a gifted engineer who the reader discovers has the ability to figure out most mechanical devices be they accordions or airplanes. (This is integral to the storyline.) Her best friend is a (human) man she refers to as Chief and who took her on as a partner when he got his own ship. But all of this was before they ran into some trouble. Without giving too much away, the two are separated and Sally is forced to adapt in order to survive. At its heart, this is an adventure story with a lot of drama. What I enjoyed were the illustrations which were done by the author and accompanied the heading of each chapter as well as a gallery of character portraits at the very beginning. Some of the issues I had with this novel were in its dealings with race, religion, and ethnicity. It was hard for me to pinpoint if the problems I had could be explained by viewing it through the lens of the time in which the novel took place but I found them unsettling nonetheless. Overall, I wasn't totally blown away but I wouldn't throw it out of an airplane door either. 4/10

Source: American Library Association

Examples of the illustrations. [Source: Playing by the book]

What's Up Next: Golda Meir: A Strong, Determined Leader by David A. Adler

What I'm Currently Reading: The House With a Clock in Its Walls by John Bellairs

**If you're interested in buying this book or any books really, you can click here or here. The first will re-direct you to AbeBooks and the second will re-direct you to The Book Depository. These are great websites for purchasing books (AbeBooks carries inexpensive used and out-of-print books and The Book Depository ships free everywhere in the world). Full disclosure: I will receive a commission on all sales made by following either of these links. I wouldn't recommend a site that I didn't use and you are under no obligation to purchase anything. :-) **

Take a minute and hug the cranky folks in your life

I had to wait what felt like a decade but I finally got to see what all the hype was about when I read A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman. This is a Swedish to English translation so I went into this one fairly confident I was going to love it based on my track record. (For example, I read The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared last year.) And I was right! The story centers on Ove who everyone sees as a cranky old man completely set in his own ways aka a total curmudgeon. However, the reader gets to see what goes on behind closed doors and so from the very start we know that all Ove wants is to kill himself. (This is a very funny book, trust me.) Yes, he wants to commit suicide except that every time he turns around someone in the neighborhood is approaching him with a problem. He's Mr. Fix-It in a pair of clogs. A man born of routines and logic is soon forced into a group of people who use those dreaded things called feelings to inform all of their decisions. We get to discover who Ove really is through flashbacks as well as his reactions to those around him. For a man that doesn't seem to hold much stock in that feeling malarkey it's soon readily apparent that he's not some automaton obsessed with Saab automobiles. (Although he really is obsessed with Saab vehicles.) It's a reminder that surface impressions are generally completely erroneous and that still waters truly run deep. This is such a beautifully wrought story bursting at the seams with heart and humor. If you're looking for a great character study with a lot of biting wit then I think this one is for you. 10/10

**If you're interested in buying this book or any books really, you can click here or here. The first will re-direct you to AbeBooks and the second will re-direct you to The Book Depository. These are great websites for purchasing books (AbeBooks carries inexpensive used and out-of-print books and The Book Depository ships free everywhere in the world). Full disclosure: I will receive a commission on all sales made by following either of these links. I wouldn't recommend a site that I didn't use and you are under no obligation to purchase anything. :-) **

Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy?

Honestly, I spent the entirety of this book fully convinced I was reading a nonfiction book about Alan Turing from the point of view of the policeman who found his body. Good job, David Lagercrantz! You totally fooled me! The book in question is Fall of Man in Wilmslow and it's the fictionalized story of Alan Turing's suicide and his contribution to the war effort and to numerous academic disciplines. Over the last year or more, I've been pretty much obsessed with all things A.I. and as a result I've learned a great deal about Alan Turing (and I've talked about him a few times here if you remember) who is considered the father of the modern computer AND Artificial Intelligence. What a guy! As a result, I'm pretty familiar with the biographical points of his life and his death. That's partially why I thought this was a work of nonfiction because all of those facts were laid out...which is the perfect way to build a fantastic piece of historical fiction. Lagercrantz used just enough of the truth to weave a convincing story about what might have happened had the policeman who found him been somewhat like Turing himself. Detective Constable Leonard Corell is the first officer on the scene and at first he is disgusted by not only the act of suicide itself but the man who committed it. This disgust turns into a kind of rage when he discovers that Turing was convicted of homosexuality. Even his initial aversion doesn't tamp down his horror at the punishment meted out by the government however. (He was chemically castrated which many believe was the main reason he chose to end his life as it led to severe depression.) Corell is an odd character. He flip flops between being overconfident in his abilities to allowing himself to be railroaded by his peers and bosses. He's also constantly daydreaming which I found tiring by the end of the novel. Speaking of the end of the novel, I didn't like it. It felt like the book was building and building and then the end was such a letdown. I can't say more about it without giving away huge spoilers but let's just say it was closely tied into Corell's daydreams. If you're completely unfamiliar with Turing and his work then this is an interesting way to get clued in because as I said much of the story is completely factual. Excepting the end, I really did enjoy this book. Lagercrantz is an excellent storyteller and he fooled me into thinking this was entirely plausible. 8/10 because that ending bummed me out.

Source: abebooks.com

**If you're interested in buying this book or any books really, you can click here or here. The first will re-direct you to AbeBooks and the second will re-direct you to The Book Depository. These are great websites for purchasing books (AbeBooks carries inexpensive used and out-of-print books and The Book Depository ships free everywhere in the world). Full disclosure: I will receive a commission on all sales made by following either of these links. I wouldn't recommend a site that I didn't use and you are under no obligation to purchase anything. :-) **

Atomic bombs + vodka + an old codger = comedic gold

Jonas Jonasson has created a fan for life. That sounds super dramatic and I suppose it is but it's true nonetheless. Irreverent humor abounds in this story about a centenarian who has truly grabbed life by the horns or in his case by the neck of the vodka bottle. Allan Karlsson, the Swede, traveled the world and made his mark in the political sphere despite having no interest in the topic whatsoever. Along the way, he managed to meet a variety of people which unless the reader has lived under a rock will be immediately recognized (and lampooned). The story begins with his escape through a window on his 100th birthday (yes, the title is literal) and follows Allan on a fantastic journey in which he makes new friends while simultaneously giving the reader a glimpse into his extraordinary past. Jonasson seamlessly works in the past with the present and I, for one, never found it jarring. A blending of true historical events with a humorously outlandish twist, The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared, is a must-read. (PS I just found out it was the most sold book in Sweden for 2010. Hooray!)




THEY'VE MADE IT INTO A MOVIE. THIS IS AMAZINGLY EPIC. (http://worldmovies.com.au)

I'm almost afraid that no book could ever be as epic as that movie poster right there but just in case there is something out there on the same level I'm going to keep reading. ;-) My next read is The Martian by Andy Weir and it is his debut novel. The story follows the plight of an astronaut named Mark Watney who is stranded on Mars and his struggle to survive there. Considering my interest in the Mars Rover I just had to give this book a try (and all of the bookish newsletters that I follow kept recommending it to me). Soooo here we go!!

Also, I want to give a shoutout to The Bloggess (aka Jenny Lawson) who has announced she will be going on a book tour later this year to promote her newest book, Furiously Happy. You may recall that I reviewed her previous book Let's Pretend This Never Happened a few years ago and LOVED it. I am 100% going to be checking out her newest book (about her struggles and triumphs against depression) and if at all possible visiting her on tour. You guys should look into doing the same! XD