How far will they go to protect their child? And what if their child really is guilty?

Now I do love a new Scandinavian crime novel, they usually grab you, drag you in and refuse to let go of you until the end.

We learn that eighteen-year-old Stella Sandell stands accused of the brutal murder of a man who is almost fifteen years her senior. Stella is an ordinary teenager who comes from an upstanding local family. Her father is a pastor, her mother a criminal defence attorney, so how will they deal which such a horrific characterisation if they daughter? Why would Stella want to kill a businessman? How did she even know him? How and why is she a suspect?

Oddly, this didn’t feel like my usual thriller killer type of crime book. The author allows you to learn bits here and there about each of the three lead characters through everyday mundane tasks and the whole time the entire story is being laid out for you to dig into, take a view and on the way give one or two plot twists.

Not the kind of book if you like fast paced thriller killer stories.

I thought this book was really clever. I have to admit I wasn’t sure if I was going to enjoy it but couldn’t ever seem to stop reading it!
The story is told from three different perspectives, Adam, the father, Stella, the daughter and Ulrika, the mum.
With each section, I changed my mind as to what had happened and who really had killed Christopher Olsen.
It was intriguing to see how each of the characters were thinking and I was shocked by Ulrika’s risky actions. The lengths you may go to to protect your child.
The end sort of surprised me, I’d feared it might be the case, but it was great twist none the less.

This is a tense and powerful story about the Sandell family in Sweden. Father, Adam is a pastor in the church, Ulrika the mother is an attorney, and their daughter Stella is a teenager with a huge chip on her shoulder.
The story revolves around a murder which has taken place in their neighbourhood, and he daughter is in custody for this murder. She has a great friend called Amina, who she hangs around with, going to bars and clubs with, and generally sharing secrets.
However, everything turns bad when Stella starts a relationship with an older man, and Amina is clearly jealous. Stella is convinced if her mother could have chosen her daughter, she would have chosen AMina, who is clever, smart and usually well-behaved.
The back story to this is very powerful, the characters are well drawn, and the plot is well thought out, with a twist at the end.
Many thanks to the publisher, and Net Galley for allowing me to read this.

This is the first Swedish novelist I have read since Stieg Larsson. I enjoyed the book almost as much as the Millenium series. The writing was fast paced and difficult to stop reading. The story is told from the various perspectives of the family members. The young person arrested for murder, her father (a pastor) and her mother (a solicitor). You find out what happened in a variety of synopses that last until the end of the book. The parents’ actions show how far they are willing to go to keep their family together. Individuals sacrifice their own moral codes and professional standings to ensure their child is supported. The book makes you question how far would you go, as you battle with your own moral compass as you continue to read.

What an amazing book. I loved the style being told from 3 aspects. Father, Daughter and Mother. This was a really gripping read and I could not put this down and read this in just 2 days. I highly recommend this book.

Oh my word! I swear I forgot to breathe during parts of this exceptional thriller! Full of dark Scandinavian introspection ,we watch helplessly as a family implodes ,culminating in their daughter being imprisoned , on trial for murder. We are led on so many twisting paths , we don't actually learn the identity of the murderer until the very last page. This book encapsulates the very best of the genre . It is an excellent translation , well written , brilliantly crafted and totally absorbing. This would make a great Walter Presents or BBC4 series. Highly recommend and a worthy 5*

A Nearly Normal family explores how far family and friends go to protect someone they love. Eighteen year old Stella is arrested for murdering her boyfriend; did she do it, or was it his jealous ex? What about her best friend or her parents?

This is written in three parts, from the perspectives of Stella's father, then Stella herself and finally her mother. All of them seem to be unreliable narrators. I enjoyed Stella's section the best.

I found it hard to put this thriller down, although I found the translation from the Swedish strange and choppy in parts, so I couldn't fully connect. The ending was a bit of a let down for me unfortunately. However, I can see why this gets great reviews!

Thanks very much to NetGalley for the ebook version.

This is a gripping, psychological thriller which relies heavily on its complex characters. Don’t go into this expecting an action-packed, fast paced thriller. This is a study of an average family, whose lives are changed dramatically when the daughter is accused of murder.

The story is told in 3 parts. First the father, a pastor, as he tries to find out what happened that night and battles with his need to do the right thing, and need to protect his family. Part two is told by the daughter as she awaits trial in her cell. Part 3 is by the mother, an attorney who is not used to sitting back and watching the trial helplessly.

My favourite parts were in the courtroom, as this was told in such great detail, it really felt like we were there.

I really loved the way this was written, and hearing from all 3 members of the family helped to build the story and add further details with each new perspective.

I really enjoy Scani Noir crime novels and this is no exception. This is a complex story with many threads running through it. The family in question are Adam, a pastor in the Church of Sweden, and Ulrika, his wife, who is a successful criminal lawyer. Their lives are ripped apart when their daughter Stella is accused of murder. The story goes back and forth as we get a deeper understanding of this family over time and the events which have brought them to where they are now.
The story is told from three different perspectives, the father, the mother and the daughter and as we reach the end of a section form their view it changes our opinion of events we previously thought we understood. A gripping psychological thriller and one which I really enjoyed, Many thanks to Net Galley and the publishers for the opportunity to read this novel in return for an honest review.

This is the story of three members of a family, Adam, a pastor, Ulrika, a defence Attorney and their daughter Stella. All quiet and normal until Stella is arrested on suspicion of murder.

Told from the perspectives of each of them, it builds the story of a dysfunctional family. Who decide to keep the rape of Stella quiet to protect the family life….

There is also Stella’s court case, with its surprising revelations and marvellously twisty ending this is a gripping ScandiNoir thriller.

Thank you to the publishers, the author and NetGalley for a free copy of the ebook. This is my honest and unbiased review.

This book kept me interested, even though I was sure I had worked it all out.
How far would you go to save your family?
A nearly normal family tackles family dynamics and makes you question what is right and wrong when it comes to protecting your children.

They were a fairly normal family; Adam was a pastor, his wife & lawyer & Stella, their teenage daughter has the whole of her life before her. How then has this happened? Stella has been arrested for murder. Held in police custody with no communication her parents refuse to believe it. Adam is a pillar of the community, a man of God- surely what he says will have some weight. But how far will a man of conscience go to save his family?

This story is told staarting from Adam's point of view & then from Stella's perspective. It was a bit tricky going to start with but it gripped me in the end & I wanted to know how it would end up.

Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for letting me read & review this book.

Absolutely fantastic book. Well written with a brilliant plot. Definitely worth a read.
Stella is a fiesty 18 year old growing up in Sweden with her parents. Dad is a Pastor and mum a defence lawyer. There lives are turned upside down when Stella is arrested for the murder of a wealthy older businessman..
if you like courtroom dramas and crime mysteries then this is for you.

Adam and Ulrika are parents to Stella, a fairly typical teenager. Until she is arrested for murder, the victim being a man fifteen years alder than Stella.. and so the family is exposed . Written from all three points of view, you will begin to question if you ever really know somebody in your own life never mind in this books.
It is gripping, intense, dark and shocking. A definite must read!

Thanks to Netgalley And Pan Macmillan for a copy of “A nearly normal family” for an honest review.

From the description of the book this should be just the sort of story that I would enjoy.Sorry to say I just couldn’t connect with it.
I’m not sure if it was how it was translated but ,for me, I didn’t feel the storyline flowed that well, and I didn’t care for any of the characters.I wasn’t gripped from the start but hoped it would be “ a slow burner” .,unfortunately things didn’t improve for me and I wasn’t surprised by the ending..
Sorry I cannot recommend

This book was well translated but I could tell it wasn’t originally written in English and at times it felt a little stilted. An intriguing character study story, told in three parts from the perspectives of Father, Daughter and Mother. The story revolves around a murder where the daughter is the main suspect, I enjoyed her chapters the most and was a bit disappointed when we moved on to the mother. It’s what I’d call a ‘slow read’ so it didn’t make my heart race or stop me falling asleep whilst reading in bed but it kept me interested enough to keep going. If you enjoy multi-layered Scandinavian noir this will be right up your street. My thanks to Pan Macmillan and NetGalley for an ARC in return for an honest review

Described as a “page-turning thriller with a shocking twist” I read the sample and was interested enough to put this on my Wish List, then along came a free download from NetGalley. Great, thought I, as I dived in, taking it right from the beginning...

Adam and Ulrika the well-respected upstanding citizens of a small Swedish town are distraught when teenage daughter Stella is accused of murder. The victim, a man several years her senior, was a prominent businessman with somewhat shady dealings. So why on earth would Stella have any contact with such a man, and what evidence is there to make her the prime suspect?

The book is split into three parts with Adam, Ulrika and Stella each telling it like it is from their point of view. This in itself makes for a heck of a lot of repetition, which is tedious to say the least.

Adam is a pastor at his local church, and is one of the most irritating characters I've come across in decades of reading. He's also quite creepy, often referring to Stella as his “little girl”; his refusal to see her as anything but an innocent child is actually quite suffocating. His behaviour is often impulsive and irrational... and the constant harping on about his faith was like being hit over the head with a sledgehammer. Enough with the God thing – please!

Ulrika, a lawyer, makes it obvious that she had a difficult time being a mother to Stella, focussed as she is with her own career. It seems she doesn't actually like her own daughter very much, and that maybe the scandal this murder charge is what worries her more than her child's welfare and future.

Stella – well what can I say except she's a spoilt brat. Bored with every aspect of er life, and taking her first steps of rebellion.

None of these characters is likeable or sympathetic, and I couldn't have cared less if they were all locked up for being stupid.

This book's focus is on family dynamics and very little else. Nothing happens. It's simply a tale of three points of view of the one incident, and is as interesting and thrilling as boiling an egg, and not nearly as challenging. Maybe it loses something in the translation, but it just didn't do a thing for me, except make me sigh – a lot – with exasperation and boredom.

There is nothing new here, no surprises, no “shocking twist”, no “thrilling page turning”, just dull, dull, dull.

What a clever writer! Read this book in one sitting as I couldn't put it down. Told from three different point of views throughout the book. Thought I had worked it out but was wrong. Fast paced and a great read.

Makes you think about what would you do to protect your child

It takes a lot for me to rate a thriller five stars but this was one I really enjoyed! More of a courtroom drama/thriller I literally couldn't stop reading!
Told from three perspectives the Mum, Dad and daughter, the plot is based on Stella being accused and incarcerated for murder.
I love that this book is based on a family and the underlying question how far would you go to protect your child?
My favourite version was definitely Stella's as I felt that this is when the book really became gripping in fact I wanted more from her!
The ending I found completely unpredictable and although I questioned the parents logic at times I felt there utter desperation and found myself questioning myself as a parent and how I would react in the same situation .
Overall if you're looking for a unique thriller/courtroom drama then I definitely recommend this one!

Thank you to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

It took me longer to read this book than usual, but it's only just occurred to me the reason for this.
It wasn't that I didn't enjoy it, but I don't think I was gripped, it was more a morbid fascination. I would describe this book as Scandi Noir Drama, rather than a psychological thriller, and that's possibly the reason why it seemed to drag a little.
I thought the story was refreshingly different and interesting, and that did keep me reading until the end.
I didn't find it particularly exciting though, and as you would expect from a Scandi Noir novel, it was a bit gloomy.

In a nutshell, I thought it was very cleverly written with a well thought out storyline, but due to the above reasons, I didn't altogether gel with it.