The Silver Road

Ever since his 17 year old daughter Lina disappeared, Lelle Gustaffson has spent his summer nights driving. He travels Route 95 in his Volvo car, traversing the isolated landscape until he reaches the Norwegian border. He visits petrol stations, truck stops, empty houses and even searches roadside rubbish bins. Three years ago, Lina went missing while waiting at a bus shelter after Lelle dropped her off. He was the last person to see her and as a result, he feels guilty, while his wife Annette blames him for not waiting with their daughter until the bus arrived. Their marriage suffered and Anette left him for another man. At first, police suspicion fell on Lelle, known to have a fiery temper, but interest moved on to various males in the area, including Lina's boyfriend, Mikael, who Lelle regularly confronts claiming he must know what happened to her.

In contrast to the bright summer nights, Lelle experiences the darkness of the forests which flank the Silver Road. As he ventures into them, he encounters people almost completely isolated from society - those who feel safer in the dark woods than they do in towns and cities. Living off the grid seems to be popular in this part of Sweden. Although he has a friend in one of the local policemen, Hassan, Lelle believes the police have not done enough to find his daughter and scours the Internet's social media sites which provide theories about what happened to Lina. He is dismissive of an anniversary vigil telling the people involved that, like him, they should be out searching for his missing daughter.

Meanwhile, we read of the arrival of Meja and her mother Silje. The latter is a mentally disturbed woman who clings to men who she thinks can save her from a life of poverty. The latest is Tjorborn, whose main attraction for Silje is that he owns his own house. Meja discovers a stash of porn magazines in his garage, but thankfully, he doesn't seem sexually interested in her as were some of her mother's previous boyfriends. Meja makes friends with a local teenage boy, Carl-Johan, whose home is part Amish settlement/part survivalist camp. Meja is the same age as Lina was at the time of her disappearance. Then another 17-year-old girl, Hanna, goes missing. Her description seems identical to Lina's and, somewhat reluctantly, Lelle joins in the search for her. In doing so, he believes he's discovered a vital clue to his own daughter's fate. Meja leaves her mother with Tjorborn and is taken in by her boyfriend's parents, Anita and Birger. With school summer holidays over, Lelle returns to his teaching post where he encounters Meja. With the approach of Autumn and long, dark nights Lelle’s and Meja’s stories intersect.
Then, about two thirds of the way through the story, there is a shocking twist. As the dark nights return, the mystery slowly begins to clear and the suspense heightens while the action speeds up, leading to a stunning finale.

Overall, the writing is very beautiful and the characters very well drawn. The book perfectly captures the atmosphere of uninterrupted Nordic daylight and the joys of summer, (In the far north of Sweden the sun does not set at all in June.) offset by haunting descriptions of the darkness of the forest and the need for isolation from society. Above all, it perfectly captures the grief of parents such as Lelle whose search tips over into blind obsession and near madness. Stina Jackson’s debut novel - which has already won the Swedish Academy of Crime Writers’ Award for Best Swedish Crime Novel of 2018 - combines a heady mix of mystery and suspense as Lelle continues his relentless search for his daughter. Ultimately this is the story of the emotional damage done to families when a loved one disappears and the determination of some people never to give up hope.

This may not be the most original of storylines but it is very well developed. It starts by seeming to be two separate stories which are,in due course,brought together very cleverly. Swedish books do tend to be dark and this is no exception. The desperation of a father whose daughter has gone missing is sensitively portrayed and the dynamics of the family with the alternative views and lifestyle is very convincing. All in all, a well written (and well translated) book which will hold a reader's attention throughout.