Not the usual Swedish crime thriller which I normally find enthralling, however (if true) an interesting look at the life, superstitions, wildlife,fauna of the Swedish bog and wetlands areas. Aside from this I found the story very slow going. Not one of the best Swedish thrillers.

I easily got through this. I felt the writing flowed pretty easily. But it wasn't as suspenseful or dark as I had hoped or expected.
The reveal was a surprise. I suspected someone else, I didn't once suspect the truth. Although the ending was a little disappointing because I felt it just wrapped up too quickly.

* Bit of a slow burner for me.... but when the plot picked up so did the pace,and it was all a tad tense.
Some good central characters,good location,and an outcome I hadn't particularly guessed.
All good on that front.
Definitely be reading any more in the serie

A very haunting and captivating novel. A slow burner which creeps up on you like a man in a black coat lurking on those very marshes.

The story creeps up on your and totally immerses you in the essence of the marshes themselves. It’s a place important to Natalie for reasons to be discovered and the finding of the man with gold coins in his pockets, swiftly followed by another strange case is eerily drawn. Throughout the novel, there’s a sense that there is something out there, something you, the reader, isn’t quite seeing through the fog that emanates from the marshes and indeed the book. I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand up on more than one occasion.

Oh and there’s plenty of legends and superstitions – the rather sweet sounding Lingonberry girl is anything but. As the police investigate the escalating case and strange goings on, there’s a lot to allow you to sink into the narrative as you would the marsh itself.

I did like the way the historical legends, the taking of samples, the landscape of the bog and the sacrificial killings built a major part of the story and atmosphere. At barely 300 pages, this was a quick visit but I’ll be back for more.

Mossmarken is the perfect landscape for this Swedish tale of legends, scientific research, and a tale which draws you in like a body falling deep down into the bog itself.

A dark and gripping tale set in Sweden.

The landscape is really the most important feature in this book. It is set in Mossmarken, a village on the edge of the mire, a dangerous wetland, where legend has it people came to bury their offerings for the Gods. An ancient body was dug up, with a pole placed to keep the corpse from rising. More recently people have disappeared without a trace. When a new ritual killing is discovered and then there is an attempted murder, detectives are called in and the mire starts to yield up its dark secrets.

Biologist Nathalie returns to the place that was once her home, ostensibly to study the peat bogs, but she also desperately needs to confront a terrible trauma from her childhood and find out what actually happened. As more bodies start to emerge she begins to be convinced that these murders are the key to the events that originally drove her from Mossmarken.

This is a spine-chilling tale and the suspense is kept going right to the end. The premise of the story seems a little far-fetched, perhaps easier to accept if you are a Swedish reader. There is a great deal of detail, which at times can be baffling, but this is definitely a page-turner and the excellent dialogue keeps the storyline moving.

I would recommend this book as a gripping read.

Jane

Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review.