By: Johanna Mo
“So many people who just can’t handle the truth, tying themselves in knots to deny the obvious. ”
The Night Singer
*This post contains spoilers for The Night Singer
Overview:
Police detective Hannah Duncker didn’t expect to return to her native land. She fled after her father’s murder conviction and returns to make peace with her shame. She has a new job with the local police and a nosy new partner. A fifteen-year-old’s death catapults her into a murder investigation that resurrects ghosts from her previous life. As she hunts for the truth, she must confront the people she abandoned. Not all are pleased to see her back home, and she soon learns that digging through the past comes with consequences.
The Night Singer
The Night Singer is 434 pages but flows so quickly. I was able to read it on a late Sunday afternoon. The chapters are quick and the writing is easy to breeze through. I will say that the Swedish names make it a little bit more difficult but it is mostly just town names that trip you up.
This book’s setting is very reminiscent of British procedural cop shows. I’ve never seen a Swedish procedural cop show so I don’t know if it is similar to that as well. It is not flashy forensics and fast paced chases. The story slowly burns as Hannah and Erik work out what happened to Joel.
Of course there are characters that you want it to be. Joel’s abusive father or the school bully Fanny. However, the death ends up being an accident that could have been prevented had Gabriel brought Joel to the hospital instead of leaving him to die. What happens to Joel is truly sad and while there is technically someone to blame, his mother, Rebecka will always think that she could have prevented it.
The resolution is not satisfying and Gabriel being arrested helps but not fully. Having it be an unpremeditated accident prevents the characters from having closure. Heartbreaking for his family and friends.
Hanna’s Father
Hannah’s father was convicted of murdering a woman in the town Hanna starts working as a police officer. This of course causes conflict as some members of the community do not trust her by association or use it against her. Someone is even sending her threatening messages telling her that she should have never returned.
The author did a good job of solidifying her father’s guilt until the last second where Hanna starts to question everything. It was never in the back of my mind that there was more to the story. I wish we would have learned more but the book would have been 700 pages had they explored this. I guess I will have to read the sequel to find out who actually killed Ester.
Overall,
If you like a slow paced procedural then this is the book for you. It was refreshing to read something in this style after binging so many thrillers lately. It felt realistic and not fantastical. So many thrillers nowadays rely on a crazy out of left field twist. It is nice to get back to basics and not be disappointed by a twist that is there just to be shocking.
Rating: 4/5 stars
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