Clever book that blurs supernatural with natural life. Didn’t expect the ending but well written and I doubted nearly every character in being the murderer(s) and even the spirits.

I'm unsure what to make of this book. There are some elements that work well for instance the use of the mythology of the past weaving with the narrative of the present, however the pace of the book is quite slow an there is no empathy with the characters for me. The stilted feel can at times get in the way and having enjoyed a wide range of Scandi-fiction before this was a slight disappointment. It is worth trying if you enjoy a real slow burner but it takes so long to get going you do really wonder if its worth it. I'm giving it 3 stars as there are features that work well but.....

#TheForbiddenPlace #NetGalley

I loved this fantastic piece of Scandi-Noir far more than I expected to, I have grown to be a little weary of the over top blood fests that often characterise this genre and this novel made a welcome change. This is a deeply atmospheric mystery set in the village of Mossmarken, in the ancient desolate, remote wetlands of Sweden, subject to constant dripping drizzles, storms, mists and veils of fogs. It is an area rich in superstitions, legends and mythology, where people disappear, never to be seen again, where the bogs demand their sacrifices for locals to stay safe. An Iron Age girl, Lingonberry Girl, found in the bogs in now displayed in a museum. Biologist Nathalie Strom arrives from Gothenburg, renting a cabin in the grounds of Quagmire Manor, looking to finish her doctoral dissertation on 'How the Greenhouse Effect Influences the Process of Decomposition in the Wetlands' with her final experiments.

Nathalie is no stranger to the area, she grew up there until she was 12 years old when a tragic set of events blew her world apart. Those events have made denial and repression her drugs of choice, determining her career choices where science and experiments, processes and sequences, induce a strong sense of calm in her, all under her rigorous control, as opposed to the incomprehensibilities of what happened to her when she was a child. Against her better judgement, she lets Johannes, an art student, help with her experiments, letting her barriers down as she gets personally involved with him. One day, she finds him in the hostile bogs after being seriously attacked, with his life hanging by a thread, his pockets weighed down by coins and in a coma. Nathalie finds a dug out peat grave near to where she found Johannes. Detective Leif Berggen, and Maya, artist and police photographer, look for the grave but it has disappeared into thin air. But then the ancient boglands begin to give up their bodies of the recent dead and Nathalie's painful and haunting memories begin to return.

Jannson has written a beautifully compelling and gripping mystery, with a location that serves as a central character in its own right, exerting its own sense of all encompassing chilling menace, a terrifying boglands and a local community with their buried secrets. The photographer, Maya, adds philosophical undertones to the story, and both she and Nathalie have the remarkable ability of becoming at one with the landscape and communing with it. The issues of mental health in the face of heartbreaking tragedies faced by the local community are central to this novel. I found myself completely immersed in the story, finding it intensely gripping and the fascinating wetlands location just drew me in as if I was there, so vibrant were the descriptions. A brilliant read that I recommend highly, especially for those who love their Scandi-Noir. Many thanks to Hodder and Stoughton for an ARC.

Darkly atmospheric murder mystery spanning fourteen years that grabs your interest from the very start and then you're hooked.

This thriller is set in the Swedish wetlands, where Nathalie comes to study the peat bogs. However, this is Nathalie's home and the horrid incidents that had happened here. She has come home to find peace maybe. An answer to her questions and fears.

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this book

where to start....marshlands and dead bodies turning up after several decades missing...it all should be a good read...but i found it very hard to maintain interest...so much detail on the mundane things that i lost the plot several times....

but the marshlands and the weather all made for a visionary delight...even if there was to much detail within the rest of the story, sorry i just couldnt maintain the interest

Unfortunately I did not feel that The Forbidden Place lived up to its blurb and promise with the story being very slow and exceptionally difficult to engage with.

Not for me

This was very slow to get going and the scientific descriptions and spooky folklore were boring as well as being irrelevent, for this in the end was just a murder mystery. It had disconcerting changes in scene, sometines without changing paragraph or even in the middle of a line - maybe this was just in the proof copy. The characters were not memorable and the setting sounded very dreary. Would you want to stay at Quagmire Manor?!

The descriptions of the bog and life in the woodlands were good. But this book failed to live up to expectations: it was slow to get going and was, at times, bogged down in philosophical discussions about the meaning of life. This did not impress me. Natalie was not a character I could empathise with. The other worldly aspect ultimately came to nothing. I would not recommend any of my friends to read this book.

In this ethereal crime mystery with a brooding sense of unease, ‘The Forbidden Place’ is where past practices keep unsettling pace with the present.

Moderately eerie passages capture the devouring nature of the peat bog and the sinister ancient rites that accompany it. And although the narration can feel a little disjointed in places, this mirrors the main character’s thoughts as she processes the tragedy she has encountered.

Once I’d settled in to the flow I could appreciate the effectiveness of this simplistic method of telling. It delicately fed the bog’s foreboding presence to influence those living within a stone’s throw of its watery edge.

I enjoyed the progression within the plot and the rate this developed. It was a relatively quick and painless read with an interesting stage.

I AM usually a great fan of Swedish crime thrillers but not this one. It is a very slow burner that never really gets started until halfway through the book. It did not live up the blurb trying to sell the book to me.
Not one for me.

Authors from Nordic countries are very good at writing dark, atmospheric books. Susanne Jansson also write nightmares. I can attest to that. Reading this book in bed is not advisable.

Why do creepy huts never have curtains? Why do people always go exploring scary forests and marshlands an hour before dark? How dis Ms Jansson come up with such a multi-faceted, twisting storyline?

I enjoyed reading this book but, even though it is not gory or horrific, it stepped one foot over my too scary line.

I really struggled with this book and I don't know whether this is because of the author's style of writing, or, that it's been translated. Either way, it was hard to read and engage with in anyway.

The premise is a good one, that of the Swedish wetlands and a body found in mysterious circumstances. However, I couldn't connect with the story or the characters and found the ending a disappointment.

2*

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to preview.

A good read. This is a dark story about superstition and beliefs. This is an easy read. There is atmosphere and well described characters. It is definitely worth reading.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

A lovely thrilling read!

I was very eager to get started on this book and it did not disappoint! The story flowed well in my opinions and it was full off tense moments. Can recommend!

A moody, atmospheric novel that's enough to give you the chills. A descriptive writing style which makes the book flow beautifully from tha beginning. The story weaves historical traditions and superstition with modern crimes and science, seamlessly and with great flair. The characters are interesting, engaging and well thought out. There is plenty of mystery and enough twists to keep you guessing almost to the end. A gripping read with a satisfying conclusion. A wonderful book that I could happily read again and again

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.