Liza Marklund

Well-written, initially slow burning, thriller about a violent kidnapping in Kenya/Somalia and how that is experienced by the journalist partner of the kidnapped man. I read this to learn about the trade-craft, not because I was so much interested in the story, though I like the plot. Marklund is another crime writer from Scandinavia who has hit the bestseller’s charts (this is one out of eight crime novels she wrote, featuring her usual heroine Annika, who is a crime journalist at a show more popular newspaper in Stockholm). Marklund also wrote a joint thriller with James Patterson.

Annika’s cheating partner Thomas is on a Frontex mission in Kenya, trying to seal the border with Somalia, hoping to stem the flow of refugees into the EU (how very topical!). He and some seven other delegates get kidnapped at gun point close to the border with Somalia by a flipped Rwandan Tutsi cum sadistic terrorist with a cause (the cause is dubious – he fights for open borders and free trade with the EU – bit unlikely). The man is supposedly extremely traumatised, hence cruel and sadistic (again, pretty flat character, exactly the way the popular press likes to paint them). Meanwhile Annika is chasing a story around a recently killed young mom who has been found dead in the snow (stabbed) behind a kindergarten. As soon as the news about her husband trickles through, Annika’s bedroom becomes Hostage Control, when Jimmy, Thomas’ boss at the Ministry (under-secretary), takes over as the chief negotiator. The story then unfolds following Annika and her boss the newspaper editor, Anders Schymann, in one narrative in the third person, and Thomas in the first person in a parallel narrative (in short bursts). The latter narrative stops when the horror really starts, creating another source of suspense (making us guess whether Thomas actually participated in the forced gang rape of the British Embassy hostage who was the original reason for Thomas to fly out to Kenya; and also making us guess initially whether the severed hand with wedding ring belonged to him at all).

The main narrative skilfully describes how Annika feels as the crisis deepens (it also reveals to what extent you are on your own, with governments like that of Sweden, officially refusing to negotiate for a ransom and you having to rally the money). And of course the ‘reverse of the Stockholm syndrome’ occurs – the chief negotiator and Annika slowly gel and ultimately consume their mutual attraction. Or is it desperation? Meanwhile Anders the editor in chief strikes and mines two important news veins that help his newspaper become top of the charts in Sweden – (1) a completely fabricated supposition of a serial killer responsible for killing five young moms in wider Stockholm grows on the Police investigation and one confessing suspect, becoming real (despite Annika’s misgivings about this stupid, sensational rumour); (2) Annika signs an exclusive deal for her story in exchange for part of the ransom she has to pay for Thomas. Towards the end the reader is drawn in, irrevocably. The trip to Kenya once more displays Marklund’s rather superficial understanding of the Aid scene and urban Africa, projecting popular perceptions onto the Nairobi cityscape (but perhaps that is firmly in line with what Western readers expect and hence quite effective). Another key character is introduced – Frida, a posh Nigerian tough cookie who works for the UNHCR, and drives the two around Nairobi following the haphazard instructions of the kidnappers on where to drop the ransom money. They spend the night in a former residence of Karen Blixen (another thing putting me off – the supreme romantic projection of the West on Africa – AARGHHH will it never stop?). Yet one wants to know how it will all end, and that’s where Marklund’s skills lie, as a writer. show less

Journalist Annika Bengtzon’s husband, Thomas, is an EU delegate to Kenya to advise on strengthening the borders but also, Annika suspects, to continue an affair with one of the female delegates. Annika was in the process of investigating a recent murder of a young woman when her world is turned upside down by the news that the delegation has been kidnapped near the Somali border. While Thomas’ boss, Jimmy Halenius, assists with the ransom negotiations, Annika struggles to put together show more the money while explaining what has happened to her children. Unfortunately, neither her family nor her best friend are willing to help and she must seek aid from other unlikely sources.

Along with a realistic depiction of the ransom negotiations, the narrative switches between Thomas in Kenya giving a raw and brutal description of the treatment of the captors and Stockholm where it looks like that first murder may just be one of several which has led the police and the media to suspect a serial killer although Annika is convinced they are all the result of domestic violence.

Borderline by Liza Markland and translated by Neil Smith is an intense and, at times, terrifying thriller perhaps because so much especially about the treatment of the captors is so believable. Markland’s strong descriptions make the reader feel viscerally Thomas’ sense of fear and Annika’ sense of helplessness giving the narrative a real sense of immediacy and tension. More, she makes the reader feel invested in the outcome for the captors as well as for Annika. Borderline is a truly addicting tale and keeps the reader on the edge of their seat from beginning to end. show less

I borrowed this book from my RL Book Club colleague and was not disappointed. I am already looking forward to the next books by this author.
In a small town in northern Sweden, a dilapidated bridge pier reveals a gruesome secret: the headless corpse of a young woman. It quickly becomes clear that this must be Sofia, who disappeared without a trace forty years earlier. Back then, five teenage girls used to meet regularly in a book club they called the Arctic Circle. What happened that fateful show more summer? Shortly after the terrible discovery, the four remaining women from the book club meet again for the first time to answer this question. It quickly becomes clear that something in the girls' relationship must have triggered the crime.
Marklund now recounts how their different lives also form a kind of social panorama of different social classes. During the investigation, it emerges that Sofia prostituted herself to the Americans who were testing rockets in the vast Swedish countryside, just like her friend Carina. However, the investigation progresses slowly because the witnesses' memories of that time have faded – which is quite appealing because the narrative takes a lot of time to shed light on the fates of the characters, but also on Sweden's past. show less

Newspaper journalist Annika Bengtzon has turned down a senior editor’s job so that she can continue investigative journalism. Having prepared a series of articles on terrorism she plans another on the anniversary of an attack during which a man died which happened in 1969 at an air force base in the far north of the country. No one has ever been convicted over the attack but local journalist Benny Ekland seems to have some new information so Annika flies to Luleå to meet with him. When show more she arrives she discovers he has died and she learns from speaking to an eye witness the police have not found that his death was the result of a deliberate hit and run. Through her connections at the highest levels of the police she also learns that their suspect for the ’69 attack was a local left-wing activist known as Ragnwald who, they believe, went on to become a ‘terrorist for hire’ in Spain and France. When Ekland is killed and other deaths follow everyone wonders if Ragnwald has returned and if so, why? It is Annika who joins the dots in this fast-paced story.

I have to admit that this book isn’t really the best work of crime fiction you’ll read, in that the crime does not always take centre stage. Marklund is at least equally, if not more, concerned with using the crime and its investigation as a backdrop for the exploration of a range of social and political issues. Fortunately for me I found these utterly fascinating and so did not mind terribly that the crime was dealt with in a more perfunctory way than I might normally look for.

One of Marklund’s ongoing themes, modern journalism and what’s happening to it, is explored in great depth here. As a news junkie who feels like her drug of choice has been almost eradicated these days I found myself nodding along with Annika when she lamented to her boss

Anne Nicole Smith on the front page three days in a row last week…A boy who masturbated on a reality show on Saturday. The Crown Princess kissing her boyfriend on Sunday…Can’t you see what you’ve done to this paper?”

And when he responds that there is investigative work still going on she continues

That doesn’t stop me from regretting the way journalism is going. Along with the other tabloids we’re writing about reality television as if it was the most important thing going on right now. Now that can’t be right, can it?

If it hurts me as a reader to see the drivel that a significant percentage of news media content has turned into, I can only imagine how deeply it must affect a journalist like Annika (and Marklund who is herself a journalist).

The other aspect of this novel that had me gripped was its insight into Swedish political history, a subject about which I am woefully ignorant (now maybe slightly less so). I had always known vaguely that Sweden’s political environment was a more left-leaning one than I am familiar with, but I had no idea just how this had played out over time. The use of an attack in the 60′s gives Marklund the chance to explore her country’s political environment at that time, something done deftly via the character of Berit who is Annika’s mentor at the newspaper. She has been involved with left-wing politics for much of her life so able to provide interesting background. Australia’s political scene is largely tame and centrist so I am always intrigued by societies that have a different kind of political history.

As always Annika Bengtzon is a troubled character and, as always, I spent a good portion of the book not liking her actions. I have never found her dull or unbelievable though, even when I’ve been disappointed in her behaviour. She is still dealing with the mental fallout from the events in the previous book in the series* which manifests itself in a variety of ways including anxiety attacks and the voices of kind angels in her head. Now there are rumblings from her boss that she may not be able to continue working on the kinds of stories she wants to do. On top of that she encounters yet more marital problems and it was her handling of this aspect of her life that I found objectionable, though I repeat it was entirely credible. The author’s note at the end of the copy of the book I read made particular mention of this in that Marklund was widely exploring the theme of people abusing their power and she wondered if Annika would also do so in the right circumstances. Would we all?

For me the best crime fiction does what Marklund has done here: combine a compelling plot with insight into some aspect of politics, history or society in general. While finding out ‘whodunnit’ is interesting, it is never as satisfying as finding out why. When this is played out against a backdrop of general social commentary it is the most satisfying of all.

My rating 4.5 stars show less