This one was not what I expected. That's not a bad thing, of course, but it did affect my enjoyment because if I had known going in that this was more about a young man's experiences with depression than a more straight-forward horror mystery, I would have not requested it. There's absolutely nothing wrong here, it's just not what I was looking for or expecting. It's a thought-provoking story and there are elements that I enjoyed, but on the whole I feel like the blurb didn't entirely match the story, which is something I find frustrating (and a disservice to writers and readers alike).

3.5 stars

Translated from the Swedish by Judith Kiros.

Kasper Nordin is eighteen and headed into his final year of high school. He’s at loose ends and coming out of a depression when he gets a job at his local amusement park’s haunted house, the House of Demons and meets some kindred spirits.

Kasper’s dad, Hakan Nordin (I don’t have the proper umlats on my keyboard) was the founding member of death metal band Dark Cruelty which had some underground success in Sweden. The band came to an early end when its lead singer, Hakan’s best friend, Grim (Kasper’s namesake) was found dead from unknown causes at age nineteen. Kasper’s new friend Iris is a big fan of Dark Cruelty and the remaining members are planning a reunion tour. Kasper becomes obsessed with what happened to Grim.

This was a decent book and it is perfect for a certain group - disaffected youth, fans of death metal, nineteen year old boys who feel like no one gets them. The depression shown here is very serious and very real.

This book was intriguing. Kasper goes on quite the wild journey to find out what happened to his dad's friend and former band mate and ends up stumbling into a messy creepy occult situation that definitely gave me the creeps while I read it. I enjoyed Kasper's friendship with Iris. Some of the dynamics with the people in the book just felt a little disjoined a bit hard to read for me at times and overall the book just wasn't my favorite read but the author did a great job of writing a horror this book just was not for me.

I did not realize this book was #2 in a series, but I do not think one needs to read the first to know what is going on in this one. It is a standalone with regards to the story, but it seems as though it also takes place as the first book called Norra Latin.

The book does appear to have been written in Swedish and translated, however, I do believe the translation is very well done and there are only a few words which did not translate which may be proper places, names, and words which don't have direct translation.

Kasper is the son of a musician and his dad's band was well known before he was born. The lead singer, Grim, died unexpectedly and unexplained and the band ends. No Kasper is getting a job at the local amusement park and it starts to stir some things in him which make him curious about what happened to Grim and why the man seems to haunt his dreams.

This was such a good story, dark and spooky and coming of age. I loved the atmosphere the author was able to weave and the way it translated. I also enjoyed how the author took the death metal vibe and incorporated a haunted house in a captivating way. There were a few slow points but honestly, the overall pacing was good and mysterious. I may need to look for more books by this author.

For a Swedish book by a Swedish author set in Sweden but translated to English, this was pretty easy to read. It’s not really an advanced reading copy, as it’s been out for a while. It is also the second in the series, and while I haven’t read the first, I was able to get on just fine.

This book was dark but not really twisty, which is my usual preferred genre. I loved the setting, as I grew up a fan of haunted amusement park books from RL Stine and I was able to imagine the world built by the description. I had a hard time connecting to the narrator but enjoyed many of the other characters.

Thank you Sara B Elfgren, Arctis Books and NetGalley for this ARC. All opinions here are my own.