New year noir ★★★☆☆

When provocative and challenging teenage Jennifer Wiksell disappears on New Year’s Eve, her family and close family friends are thrown into turmoil. Did anybody really know Jennifer? Did anybody like her? And whose guilt is strongest?

None of the characters are particularly likeable and the old friendships seem hollow, making it hard to find someone to root for. One of the characters is completely falling apart with guilt, but we don’t yet know the extent of their sins, on the night and leading up to it. There are several clever but disturbing twists which expose Jennifer’s confused but cruel nature.

A twisted scandi noir which asks how well we really know our “friends” and how far we would go to protect those we love.

Dark but not deep. A young girl goes missing on New Year's Eve in Sweden whilst the main two families are partying. The suspect seems obvious & we are led to believe that a particular character is involved.
Unfortunately I found this character self-pitying and very draining and the other characters very shallow.
I did finish this book although I had to kep putting it down as I got bored but that may just be that something has been lost in the translation. I enjoyed it in the end but guessed the twist.

Confusion... Is best to describe how i feel after reading this.
I'm someone who enjoys a good book and can sometimes see the story takening place. However this story I had no clue what was happening and what was going on.
Some parts the story was good, other it tended to die down.
The one thing I liked about this book was that it spoke about how teens today get couped up in doing drugs and involved in sex. I could see those two topics being the very idea around this book.
Overall, I'm quite sad to have not enjoyed the book as much.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Michael Joseph, Penguin Random House for an advance copy of Happy New Year, a stand-alone thriller set in Malmö.

On New Years Eve 2018 Fredrik and Nina go to a party at their friends Max and Lollo’s house, leaving Smilla and Jennifer, their respective 17 year old daughters to host a party. Jennifer never makes it home and the police are called.

Happy New Year is not for me. I thought from the description that it would be about a police investigation, but obviously I didn’t get the hint in the synopsis. Instead it is all about the reactions of the four adults to Jennifer’s disappearance. I can’t begin to tell you how uninterested I am in four middle aged, middle class people with a host of first world problems.

To be fair to the author the characters are well drawn and fairly recognisable. Max is a racist blow hard who loves showing off his wealth. His wife Lollo is an interior designer with an Instagram fetish. Fredrik tends to be more liberal, is keeping secrets and is a general misery guts. His wife Nina is a dogooder with anxiety and control issues. There is the odd flashback to Jennifer’s childhood to illustrate her personality, which seems to be create a scene to get her own way.
The story is slow and fairly repetitive, enlivened by a couple of bombshells in the second half. I found it tedious rather than gripping or absorbing, not helped by the constant switching between points of view, so by the time the secrets come tumbling out I couldn’t work up the enthusiasm to react.

I think Happy New Year will appeal to readers who like domestic noir or a character driven read.

Two couples get together to celebrate at a New Year’s Eve gathering, allowing their teenage daughters to have their own New Year’s Eve party across town. One of the daughters leaves to go home, but never arrives home. The story alternates between the points of view of the various adults, and it becomes clear that they are hiding various secrets. This is intelligently written with gripping twists that are not outlandish.

It’s New Years Eve, and, albeit reluctantly, Nina and Fredrik are allowing their daughter Smilla to host a party at their home whilst they visit old friends. The events that unfurl later that evening have disastrous consequences for all concerned, and life is never the same for any of them again.

This story started off well and the plot line was good. At times it was a little slow and repetitive, but still enjoyable. I did feel that some of the narrative was a little naive, as though we needed reminding of various events, but apart from that I liked the premise and on the whole it was executed well, with a couple of nice twists.

Thank you NetGalley.

As old friends the Wiksells and the Anderssons raise their glasses, their teenage children host their own party across town, finally free to let loose.

But the next morning, seventeen-year-old Jennifer Wiksell is missing.

The hours tick by. The police get involved. And no one knows who to trust.

It's that most engaging of treats, a big, fat, intelligent thriller. It is a first-rate crime novelist's ability to lead his readers up the garden path….

Fredrik and Nina take their son’s to their friend’s Lollo and Max’s for New Years, they leave their daughter Smilla to host a teen party as she is 17 and believed to be responsible enough.

The next day Lollo and Max’s daughter who attended the teen party is missing. This book chronicles the investigation. It’s written well, the pace is a little slow but there are good twists and the suspense is there.

Good lord. What a pulse racing thriller! I couldn't put this down. Reading during the heatwave, it was a pleasure to be chilled by Malin Stehn's cool, pacy writing - people will be talking about this one

A great story with so many twists and turns, I didn't see the outcome at all so really great ending!

A first for me from this author but I couldn’t resist requesting it after seeing so many authors talking about this book on socials!

Nina and Fredrik have 3 children and are allowing the eldest, Smilla, to host a New Year’s Eve party with her best friend Jennifer. Meanwhile the rest of the family will spend the evening with Lollo and Max, parents of Jennifer, and other friends.

It all seems like a plan until Jennifer disappears without a trace…..:

I enjoyed this book as it kept me guessing and I certainly didn’t predict the ending! Well worth a read.

Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read and review.

Thank you

A New Years Eve party for the parents at one side of the city, Two teenage girls at the other side. What could possibly go wrong? One teenager vanishes but why ?
A Swedish whodunnit.
Thank you Netgalley and Malin Stehn for an advanced copy of this book.

After reading the synopsis for this title it felt like it would be my kind of book so requested an advanced readers copy via NetGalley and was excited to be approved.

'Happy New Year' introduces us to old friends who spend the major holidays, including New Year together and this year, their eldest children have just turned 18 and are holding their own New Year's party, given the trust of their parents to finally run free - albeit in one of their own homes. However when Jennifer, one of the daughters, decides to leave their party early to head home, devastation soon follows when she doesn't return home by the next morning and no-one has seen her. Or have they?...

Secrets and lies are soon uncovered as the story progresses and we find out just what did happen to Jennifer that night. Along the way there are a few false clues left to lead you in one direction whilst seeds are silently planted for the true outcome, I must admit I missed all of these until the reveal at the end so you are definitely kept in suspense the whole way through. Kept me flicking through the chapters, would recommend!

This book is one of the best thriller/mysteries I've read recently - and thriller is my favourite genre. No spoilers, but there are twists you truly would not predict, the mix of POVs really helps with this alongside letting you develop a relationship with each character. I wholeheartedly believe that this deserves all and any praise it will get, as I was gripped from start to finish.

This is one New Year’s celebration some will never forget and which will always haunt them altering lives forever. In 2018 Fredrik, his wife Nina and their two sons go to their good friends Lollo and Max’s New Year’s Eve party. They anxiously leave behind their 17-year-old daughter Smilla to host a teen party which Jennifer, Lolo and Max’s daughter attends. The following day Lollo realises Jennifer is missing. The story is told from the point of view of each adult which works really well as the author gets inside their heads.

I really enjoyed this character driven novel which is vivid, colourful and atmospheric. The characterisation is strong although they aren’t all necessarily likeable. Jennifer seems enigmatic as you try to catch her personality but it seems contradictory and a bit elusive which I like. Her presence one way or another pervades the whole novel.

The family dynamics are fascinating both between the spouses and the interactions with their children. You see cracks appearing but perhaps they’re already in existence but have been papered over but the events of New Year’s Eve onwards force reflection which leads to a more truthful appraisal.

Some adults actions are puzzling which adds to the escalating situation. The tension increases and there are plenty of suspenseful moments which combine with guilt, blame and fear which are palpable. Add in a few unexpected twists and you have an immersive and compelling read. The author leads you to make certain suppositions and then surprises you.

Overall, this a well written and enjoyable psychological thriller.

With thanks to NetGalley and especially to Michael Joseph for that much appreciated arc in return for an honest review.

This is such a good domestic noir type. It has a few good twists and turns that aren't too predictable and the tension ramps up nicely as the story progresses. The characters were well written and it gave an interesting insight into the aftermath and damage caused by a missing loved one. A really decent read

A really enjoyable read that focuses on two families and their children having two seperate new years parties when catastrophe occurs. Well written with twists and unpredictability aplenty.

Secrets Will Out..
A New Years Eve party is the catalyst for a catalogue of traumatic events in this high tension fuelled domestic noir. Whilst the adults have one party across town, the teenagers host their own but one of them doesn’t return home. In the aftermath of the party everyone begins to unravel and secrets will out. With a cast of extremely well crafted characters and a narrative heavy with tension and suspense this is a compelling and wholly immersive read. Impossible to part with until that final page.

#HappyNewYear #NetGalley
Loved it. 5 🌟
It's New Year's Eve. The best night of the year.
As old friends the Wiksells and the Anderssons raise their glasses, their teenage children host their own party across town, finally free to let loose. But the next morning, seventeen-year-old Jennifer Wiksell is missing. The hours tick by. The police get involved. And no one knows who to trust. These two families have a lot to hide. Could the answer to Jennifer's disappearance lie close to home?
I really enjoyed reading this book. It has a lot of twists and turns which I didn't see coming.
Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Michael Joseph UK for giving me an advance copy.

Not a very happy new year for anyone it seemed.
I quite liked the story of a long held friendship, that has fallen apart, and these people see each other out of routine rather than actual friendship anymore.
A look into the fall out of a missing teenager rather than an actual who dunnit for me, where everything becomes a suspicion.
It ramps up nicely, and throws a surprise or two in.
Overall, a decent read.