Hello! Welcome to JuliaPalooza for my stop on the Blog Tour for Son by Johana Gustawsson & Thomas Enger, which was published in hardback by Orenda Books on 13 March 2025.
About the book
Expert on body language and memory, and consultant to the Oslo Police, psychologist Kari Voss sleepwalks through her days, and, by night, continues the devastating search for her young son, who disappeared on his birthday, seven years earlier. Still grieving for her dead husband, and trying to pull together the pieces of her life, she is thrust into a shocking local investigation, when two teenage girls are violently murdered in a family summer home in the nearby village of Son.
When a friend of the victims is charged with the barbaric killings, it seems the case is closed, but Kari is not convinced. Using her skills and working on instinct, she conducts her own enquiries, leading her to multiple suspects, including people who knew the dead girls well…
With the help of Chief Constable Ramona Norum, she discovers that no one – including the victims – are what they seem. And that there is a dark secret at the heart of Son village that could have implications not just for her own son’s disappearance, but Kari’s own life, too…
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Having previously enjoyed books by both Johana Gustawsson and Thomas Enger, I was intrigued and excited to see they were writing a book together. I was not disappointed. Son is smoothly and elegantly written and so gripping I finished it in only a couple of sessions. The opening chapters are very intense and, really, the tension barely eases up throughout the rest of the book. There are some parts that are quite moving and some that are very unsettling and it is skilled writing that makes the reader feel all these emotions.
It’s an interesting angle having the main character, Kari, be a body language expert and it gives another viewpoint to a police investigation. Her insights are fascinating. The books also features chapters from other characters’ points of view so as the story moves forwards, there are lots of different strands that are cleverly drawn together. Kari is brave and determined and her kind, caring dad is a lovely character alongside her. The rest of the characters are well written but everyone is subdued and muted and affected by the events in the book.
Son is a clever thriller and I am pleased to note it is the first in a new series. The book doesn’t flinch from the more gruesome aspects of the story or the more harrowing acts that people can commit and it’s a disquieting journey. It sounds wrong to say I enjoyed such a unsettling story but I was impressed by the storytelling. There is a shocking solution to the crime but there’s an extra little twist at the end which leaves the door open for future books featuring Kari.
With huge thanks to the publisher for my copy of Son and to Random Things Tours for my spot on the blog tour.
If you enjoyed my review, please consider liking and/or sharing and, of course, buying the book:
Shelve on Goodreads | Buy from Amazon | Buy from Waterstones
About the author
Known as the Queen of French Noir, Johana Gustawsson is one of France’s most highly regarded, award-winning crime writers, recipient of the prestigious Cultura Ligue de l`Imaginaire Award for her gothic mystery Yule Island. Number-one bestselling books include Block 46, Keeper, Blood Song and her historical thriller, The Bleeding. Johana lives in Sweden with her family. A former journalist, Thomas Enger is the number-one bestselling author of the Henning Juul series and, with co-author Jørn Lier Horst, the international bestselling Blix & Ramm series, and one of the biggest proponents of the Nordic Noir genre. He lives in Oslo. Rights to Johana and Thomas’ books have been sold to a combined fifty countries and, for the first time, two crime writers, from two different countries, writing in two different languages, have joined forces to create an original series together.
About the Blog Tour
Please check out the rest of the great posts on the tour for Son:
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