Emelie Schepp

In her high heels & tailored suits, public prosecutor Jana Berzelius is the epitome of cool efficiency but trust me. Under the designer duds lurks a kick-ass.

In the first book of this trilogy, we learned of Jana’s horrific childhood & how she ended up where she is today. Jana works closely with police to investigate serious crimes & it’s clear from the beginning some of the low lifes they encountered in a previous case have regrouped. What the cops don’t know is one of them has a show more special tie to Jana. And if she wants to keep her job, they can never find out what she’s done.

In alternate chapters, we follow 2 young Thai girls who are forced to become drug mules. With their bellies full of heroin capsules, they travel to Norrköping to deliver the goods but things don’t go as planned. Their story soon becomes entwined with the police investigation into local traffickers & Jana’s private search for the man who can ruin her life.

This is an intricately plotted book with several story lines carried over from the first instalment. There’s a large cast of returning characters & their personal lives are developed as the investigation progresses. But what really kept me reading was the story of Jana’s double life. She’s kind of a cross between (Kathleen) Mallory & Lisbeth Salander. By day, her character maintains a professional facade. But when the sun goes down, she becomes the soldier she was raised to be as she seeks revenge on the men responsible for the marks on her body. Information about her past has been slowly doled out & there are some startling truths revealed as she pieces it all together. This adds to the strain of trying to stay one step ahead of her colleagues & you get the sense she’s beginning to unravel.

The cold, Swedish setting adds to the goose bumps you get when meeting some of the characters. These are not nice people & you may be surprised when all the “bad guys” are revealed. There are some convenient coincidences but the mystery surrounding Jana was so compelling I was willing to suspend disbelief & be carried along on this wild ride. The author does a good job of mixing the drudgery of real police work with tense action that is not for the squeamish.

By the end Jana has a clearer picture of what she’s up against but some major questions remain. I truly have no idea what the author has in store & can’t wait to see how it all plays out in the final book. Highly recommend reading this series in order. show less

I have the second book of this trilogy (Marked for Revenge) on my TBR pile & thought I’d better get my mitts on the first one instead of jumping into the middle of a series. Glad I did.

The publicity blurb gives a good synopsis of the story line so I won’t re-blab too much of the plot. This is an excellent example of compelling Scandi-noir with a strong female protagonist. Jana Berzelius is a public prosecutor & ends up working with police on a complex case with shocking ties to her show more personal past. As the book progresses, we learn what is lurking behind her cool, uber-eficient facade.

The author hooks us (and Jana) up to a slow drip of background info that has major ramifications for how the case will play out. She also tackles tough subjects such as child trafficking & abuse of immigrants seeking asylum, topics that have chilling relevance in current affairs.

It’s a dark, fast paced read with a wide range of characters. Some will invoke your sympathy, others you’ll abhor. What kept me reading was trying to figure out how the MC would get herself out of the whole snarly mess. By the end, police close the case but we know there is much more to the story & it sets the stage for an inevitable showdown between Jana & one of the characters.

My only complaint has to do with the translation. I’m not sure if Ms. Schepp or someone else produced the english version. Regrettably, there are many instances of odd word choices & awkward phrasing that cause your eyes to stumble & take note. It pulls you out of the moment which is unfortunate as there’s a great story here that would be even better with improved flow. However, as a first novel it’s still an impressive debut.

If you’re a fan of “cozies”, step away! The obvious comparisons as far as the MC is concerned would be those created by Carol O’Connell, Taylor Stevens & (to a lesser extent) Stieg Larsson. I’d recommend starting here as there is a tremendous amount of back story that will no doubt inform the rest of the series. On to book #2! show less

Det blev bättre och bättre, denna var en värdig avslutning på kvartetten av böcker. Jag har svårt att släppa att det följer ett standardformat, men det kanske är oundvikligt med deckare? Några nya stilistiska grepp infann sig som jag uppskattade.

This is the third book in the Jana Berzelius series. She is still haunted by Danilo Pena which is an ongoing thread in the first three books. I would like to put this story line to rest. After three books with it, that's enough.

The main plot consists of someone killing and surgically dismembering bodies. Henrik Levin and his partner Mia Bolander must determine what the connections are and who could possibly be doing this dastardly deed. Of course there are clues but they are leading show more nowhere.

Slowly We Die nicely blends a police procedural with Jana's hunt to uncover her past and deal with it. Readers need to start at the beginning, though, with Marked for Death and then Marked for Revenge in order to truly appreciate Jana and Danilo.

These books are excellent examples of Scandinavian Noir.

I understand that there are two more books in the series that have not been translated into English. I eagerly await them. show less