Welcome to small-town Sweden, one of the safest prospects of bringing up a daughter. Right? Wrong. Sometimes the biggest evil hides exactly where you not only never look, but where your common sense dictates there's no way it could be hiding.

This book is not only a fantastic reminder of a common crime that people like to only appoint to some third world countries (sadly, including the US) but also a brilliantly atmospheric journey through family life in Sweden.

Ever sat down on one of the chairs inside IKEA and wonder what it would be like if you did it in its home country? Well, this book might be a good guide.

It's hard to imagine anything wrong with anyone if you live surrounded by such high standards and safety. But people are people everywhere. And teenagers are teenagers and the actions they take when protecting someone they love will always be more or less similar no matter what their hometowns look like, or what their parents teach them.

I loved Edvardsson's language and poignant pieces of food for thought amidst his quite action-packed plot. Makes you philosophical whilst you're being hugely entertained by the unraveling story as well.

It takes a long time to build a life, but only an instant for it to crumble. It takes many years - decades, maybe a lifetime - to become the person you truly are. The path is almost always circuitous, and I think there's a reason for that, for life to be built around trial and error. We are shaped and created by our trials.

I highly recommend this book to those thriller seekers who also enjoy a bit of an upmarket feel to their reading, and wish to travel abroad for an imaginary summer.

Thank you Macmillan for the copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This unusual crime novel features 3 possibly unreliable narrators - a father and mother and their 18 year old daughter Stella. The story is written from the point of view of all three. Father Adam is a pastor of The Church of Sweden and his wife Ulrika is a lawyer. Stella is a real wild child who shocks family and friends alike when she is arrested for murder.
Adam is a seemingly well respected man who we soon learn is a self-righteous so-and-so with a very unhealthy interest in his daughter's private life. Sure, parents should know what their children are doing, but Adam takes it to disturbing extremes. Initially, his wife seems cold and distant, preferring to talk with her daughter's best friend Amina who plays a major part as the plot unfolds.
We learn that Adam and Ulrika never reported the rape of their daughter by a church camp counselor when she was 15, believing Stella's life would be ruined if she was cross examined about the circumstances leading up to the sexual assault. At 18, Stella is romantically involved with the murder victim, Chris - a businessman in his early 30's who may have been involved in some shady deals. Swedish law means Stella is remanded in custody and not allowed to see her parents. Details are given of her interrogation and treatment in jail, where her interviews with a prison psychologist form a large part of her story.
Meanwhile her father is rushing around the small Swedish city of Lund, somehow managing to track down and interview potential witnesses to the murder and convincing himself that he has discovered the real killer. I found Adam to be a thoroughly dislikeable person, more concerned about his standing in the community than he was about his daughter's guilt or innocence.
Stella was also difficult to like, seeming to blame everything that happens to her on other people, never taking responsibility for any of her bad decisions.
There are more complications to the plot in the form of the family's lawyer, Michael Blomberg and the murder victim's ex girlfriend, Linda Lokin.. Adam hasn't helped his daughter's case by harassing the prosecuting lawyer in the street as he becomes almost deranged.
I liked the idea of a crime novel written from the point of view of the alleged murderer and her parents, but the writing was very stilted in places as was a good deal of the dialogue.
At times I felt like giving up as the story moved so slowly, but it's worth the effort for the finale featuring Stella's trial which we see through the eyes of her increasingly overwrought mother Ulrika. Both she and her husband are willing to do anything - even lie - to protect their reputations as well as proving their daughter's innocence. This is a complicated legal thriller, with an unusual set up in having 3 major characters slowly altering the reader's attitude to them.

I thoroughly enjoyed this thriller. It's fast-paced, with the details being told first from the point of view of the father, then from th he daughter (the accused), and finally the mother.

My only criticism would be that, at diary, the text is rather awkward -I'm not sure if this would be the case with the original, or just this translation.

How far would you go to protect your family?
Adam is a pastor, married to Ulrika, a lawyer. Their daughter Stella has been arrested for murder. Unable to believe his daughter capable of such a crime he tries to establish what really happened the night of the murder. He knows Stella’s bestfriend is lying, he knows the victims ex girlfriend has the same footwear as Stella. He also knows he would do anything to save his daughter. His wife’s ex-colleague is employed to defend Stella. Stella is hiding a secret from her family, her lawyer and the prison psychiatrist.
The story is told from three very different intertwining points of view, which come together and wrap up a great story.
Well worth a read

More like a dysfunctional family. Father a Pastor of the Church of Sweden. Mother a workaholic lawyer. Daughter a foul-mouthed competitive teenager with the shortest of short fuses. All three lie, two very well and one not well at all. Add the daughter's best friend from pre-school right up to senior school - a sweet (or is she) non practising Moslem girl. The young girls get involved with a 32 year old rich and suave business man who is not as he seems, but, who is in the story? He is stabbed to death ... by whom? The book is written in three sections:- The Father, The Daughter and The Mother, all written in the first person, all giving their viewpoint of what has been happening over the last ten or so years. None of the sections is written chronologically and there are a lot of flashbacks and duplication of events. I found it was sometimes a bit of a tedious read especially in the Father's section where there was too much, what I call psychobabble. I had to skim through some pages to keep my interest going. The court case in the last section is where it really grabbed my interest. Be prepared for a twist near the end and do not be tempted to read the last page!

A man has been found murdered in a park and Ulrika (a respected lawyer) and Adam (a Pastor) teenage daughter has been arrested on suspicion of his murder.

The story is told from the point of view of the mother, the father and the daughter. We get to know about Ulrika and Adam’s life from when they met, when Stella was growing up as a teenager, the lead up to the night the man was murdered and thereafter.

I found the section narrated by the father quite slow and then it picked up when Stella is the narrator but slowed down again when the mother narrates. All in all it was an okay read with a slow release.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced read copy of this book in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.

I was very much looking forward to this book but found it quite slow moving. The story picked up a little in the middle when it was Stella’s narrative but seemed to ebb when it got to the mothers take on what happened. It was an ok read but when you get half way through you can almost guess what has happened.

I heard about this book last year when it was snapped up after a bidding war. Swedish thrillers are very popular now and I've no doubt this will sell well.

The book is written in three different viewpoints, the father, the mother and the daughter. Daughter has allegedly been hoarding secrets galore, father thought their lives were smooth and sorted, mother is more suspicious of her daughter. And so the story develops from each person's perspective.

It isn't a difficult or complicated read, chapters are snappy and have a feeling of emptiness about them. I expect a heavier and more complex tale from a Swedish thriller, but this is different. It sucks you in, the chill and uncertainty ready to be devoured.

Very, very clever book. I understand the hype now!

Adam and Ulrika seem like a normal family, trying to bring up their teenage daughter Stella to know right from wrong. When Stella is arrested on suspicion of killing Chris Olsen,it comes as a shock to Adam a pastor, who is respected by the community and his hard working Lawyer wife Ulrika.
Quote “It takes a long time to build a life, but only an instant for it to crumble.”

This story is told from the points of view both the parents and Stella. As each one recollects what happened before and after the killing, we really get to know them and discover what they have done to protect their family.

This is a gripping read. I was totally engrossed from start to finish. What would you do to protect you’re daughter? If you’re morale is tested would you pass the test or would you go against all you believe in for family?

A must read book that that will keep you guessing with all the twists. loved the fact that my opinion of Stella changed when it came to her turn to tell her side of the story.

This is an author to look out for!!

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy in exchange for a review.

This book takes up the adage that there is always two sides to any story, The author introduces us to three members of a family and splits the story into each individuals perception of the chain of events which led to a gruesome murder. Focusing on a perceived regular family we quickly realise that this is no average family and the mother, father and teenage daughter have secrets and lies tied to the facade that forms their life. Events told by the participants in flashback lead us through the events prior to the fatality although at no time divulging who was the perpetrator of the crime. The slow introduction of each family member and the backstory of their life draws the reader into the many pitfalls and mistakes made by this family in their efforts to sustain the outward image of a happy family whilst behind closed doors struggling with the magnitude of problems occurring in their lives. The author drew me in, kept me hooked and did not divulge any conclusions until the very last pages. I could not put this book down. I cared about the protagonists, felt their pain, understood their bewilderment that despite strenuous efforts a happy family life was evading them, and understood the depths parents will go too in order to protect their children. A totally satisfying read on all levels. Many thanks to the author and NetGalley for allowing me to review this book.

This was an absorbing courtroom drama told from the alternate viewpoints of the father, mother and teenage daughter. It reveals how our preconceptions and prejudices can colour our opinion of guilt and innocence.
It was well written and engaging. I would recommend this book.

A family is thrown into turmoil when the teenage daughter is arrested for murdering a 33-year-old man in a local playground. The family question whether their daughter is guilty and how they will get through this predicament.

The story is told from three points of view, the father who is a pastor, the mother who is a lawyer and the daughter who has been accused of the crime.

The whodunnit aspect of the story builds through the three-pronged tale to with twists and turns along the way.

The story had me gripped enough to want to know how it turned out but it seemed to progress a little slowly from time to time. Aside from this, I enjoyed the story, the characters and the Scandinavian setting and would recommend the book to others.

I really enjoyed the first half of this book, written from the father's viewpoint, and the Scandinavian setting made it even more fascinating. You could really feel the experience of suddenly finding your teenage daughter in prison for murder and the conflicts in finding out about her less than chaste and honest life against that of a devout clerical father. Unfortunately, as soon as the book switched to Stella, the daughter as narrator/ something was lost and although you learned a lot about what really happened at the camp and her relationship with Christopher, the victim, it wasn't quite so engaging. Her closest friend Amina seemed to be a background figure with a less compelling personality whowas just a sounding board for Stella's continual bad decisions although Amina's parents were a very interesting couple. Sadly I didn't finish the book, I found quite a lot of it repetitive particularly when Stella seemed to constantly be in a bad mood with her parents, her best friend, the police, the lawyer, with just about everybody. So even though she went through a bad experience at camp in a way she brought a lot of it on herself but didn't want to face up to this fact. Nothing was her fault and her parents became the enemy just by existing in her life.

A nearly normal family, this book is told from the view points of a father, who is a pastor, a Lawyer mother, and their 18 year old daughter who is accused of murdering a man 15 years older than her. The book is set in Scandinavia, i found it engaging and it kept me guessing right up to the end. Would recommend.
Thank you to the author, publisher and Netgalley for allowing me to read in return for an honest review.

This was one of the most absorbing and addictive books I have read, right from page one I found myself pulled into a parents nightmare where their daughter is accused of a terrible crime but the way it’s told in three distinct and different points of view is mind boggling brilliant. From the outside this is a “normal” family but are they and what exactly is normal that’s the dilemma because this family has secrets and lots of them keeping you glued to the book and trying to guess what may have happened. It’s a typical Scandi crime, dark, disturbing, clever with one hell of a conclusion and as as I just love Scandi noir this added to just how much I loved this terrific read. I don’t want to say too much about the book so all I would say is don’t miss this one it’s too good to miss !!!!
My thanks to NetGalley, the wonderful M. T. Edvardsson and Pan Macmillan for giving me the chance to read the Arc in exchange for my honest opinion.

This is my first book by this author and it will not be my last.

This story is told from 3 POV The Father, the daughter (Stella) and The Mother.

This story is full of twists and turns I didn't see coming. Stella is accused and arrested for the murder of an older man. the mother and father are having a hard time trying to understand why? With each POV you get more of the story and it will have you on the edge of your seat. It will have you wondering if she really did it or was it someone else.

I enjoyed this author writing and this book is well written.

The rather wayward 18 year-old only daughter of loving parents is accused of murder. Is she capable of doing such a thing? Her parents will both go to considerable lengths to protect her.

A Swedish novel translated into American English. The story is told in turn by pastor father, daughter and lawyer mother.

An interesting premise but I found it slow moving, and the daughter's character unsympathetic. I bailed out soon into the daughter's narrative.

I really enjoyed this book being set in Sweden and found if really interesting and well written. A good pacy plot kept the pages turning fast!

Firstly many many thanks for a copy of this book. This book covers the same story but from 3 different view points. Dad, Mum and daughter and revolves around a court case in Sweden for murder. I had no knowledge of how Swedish courts work before reading this book but the information relating to the legislation does not detract from the story but actually adds to what is happening and why.
The story is exceptionally clever and I did feel connected to all of the characters with the main question being what would you do or say to protect your child. I found myself questioning what I would do it it was one of my children in the same position.
I will look for future books by this author and that is saying something as I normally stay away from Swedish fiction.
All in all a very clever and fantastic read and would recommend to all.

Wow, this story is a harrowing tale realistically told. The characters are believable in their desperation and the description of Stella and her thoughts while on remand transport you there right into the cell with her.. I enjoyed this book, it will keep you guessing right to the last paragraph.