Echoes from the Dead

September 29, 2008
Set predominantly on the Baltic island of Öland, Theorin's deeply disturbing debut will remind many of Henning Mankell both in its thematic intensity and dark tone. Two decades after the unsolved disappearance of a young boy, Jens Davidsson, who vanished one foggy autumn afternoon in 1972 and was presumed to have drowned, Jens's grandfather, Gerlof, a retired sea captain, receives one of Jens's sandals in the mail. Gerlof enlists his alcoholic daughter, Julia, who's still struggling to come to grips with the loss of her only child, to help solve the mystery. All leads point to infamous thug Nils Kant, who was rumored to have killed numerous people. But Kant allegedly died years before the fateful day that Jens disappeared, so who could've killed the boy? And why? Further investigation leads the unlikely sleuths to some startling revelations about their isolated island community and its much-storied history.

Starred review from November 1, 2008
Decades after her five-year-old son, Jens, disappeared from his grandparents' seaside cottage on the Swedish island of Öland, Julia Davidsson still is unable to move on. The family is permeated with guilt; when Jens slipped away in the morning, Julia had gone to reconcile with his father, her ailing mother slept, and her father, Gerlof, was out tending his fishing nets. After receiving an anonymous package containing a child's shoe, Gerlof and two cronies play detective, their suspicions centering on Nils Kant, a violent local man who escaped capture and emigrated after killing a police official. They are undeterred by Kant's presumed death years before Jens vanished. Theorin skillfully shifts between past and present in detailing Kant's history, Gerlof's suppositions and discoveries, and Julia's gradual ascent from depression. A final twist reveals motives of greed and revenge and leads, at last, to closure. Theorin, who won the Swedish Best First Crime Novel Award for this book, is a mystery author to watch. Highly recommended. [See Prepub Mystery, "LJ" 8/08.]Michele Leber, Arlington, VA

Copyright 2008 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from October 1, 2008
Another winner of Swedens Best First Crime Novel Award, and another excellent crime novel. In the 1970s, on the island of Oland, a small boy disappears in the fog. For 20 years, his mother puts her life on hold until her father calls and says he has a clue. Returning to the island is hard for Julia, and she packs two bottles of red wine for assistance. Arriving at her childhood village, she is quickly drawn into her fathers circle of elderly friends, all interested in helping solve her sons disappearance, but the solitary (and somewhat endearing) pensioners are not always willing to share clues. Julias modern-day search alternates with historical scenes from the life of Nils Kant, the village scapegoat and a suspect in the disappearance. Thisnarrative strategy for drawing in the reader and advancing the story is reminiscent of Jo Nesbos outstanding Redbreast (2007), and it works equally well here. Julia finally faces her grief and begins to heal even as she begins to understand the many mysteries buried in the islands history, giving the novel a hopeful and uplifting ending. The island, though vividly rendered, will not seem particularly foreign to American readers, and the fully fleshed characters and excellent plot should appeal to all crime and thriller readers. Essential for all crime collections.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2008, American Library Association.)