Lone Theils

SWEDISH REVIEW

Cold Cases är något jag alltid finner spännande att läsa och jag tyckte om idén om att en journalist som finner ett foto på två flickor som försvann på en färja till England 1985. Nora Sand börjar undersöka saken och det dröjer inte länge fören hon finner att spåren leder till en seriemördare som sitter inspärrad på Wolf Hall. Kan det vara så att han ligger bakom flickornas försvinnande?

Flickorna på Englandsbåten var en intressant deckare, jag kom att tycka om Nora Sands, en rutinerad journalist som av en händelse snubblar över ett foto som kommer att påverka hennes liv rejält. Jag har alltid gillar läsa böcker där en person börjar nysta i ett försvinnande flera år innan och denna bok var inget undantag. Dock så fann jag att även om boken var intressant att läsa så var det inte direkt spännande. Det kändes som om den saknade något för att verkligen fånga mitt intresse.

Och jag tror att en orsak till att jag hade lite svårt med boken var Noras "relationsproblem" med hennes ungdomsvän Andreas. Deras "dans" genom boken störde mig, och jag mentalt rullade ögonen varenda gång Nora trånande tänkte på Andreas, eller som när han råkade se henne komma hem med en killkompis som hade druckit lite för mycket och blev svartsjuk och gick. Scenen när de var tvungen att dela säng pga av att en katt fick kattungar i hennes säng blev nästan för mycket för mig. Jag har absolut inget emot lite romantik i deckare. Men just ner det gällde Andreas och Nora så funkade det inte alls för mig.

När det gäller fallet, så även om jag kanske inte föll totalt för boken så räknade jag inte ut slutet förrän Nora låg riktigt risigt till och själv började inse att något var fel med en viss person. Jag hade inte alls förväntat mig det slutet måste jag erkänna.

Jag tyckte om poliserna på Scotland Yard och jag hoppas att uppföljande böcker kommer inkludera Nora involvera med dem i fler fall!

Tack till Norstedts för recensionexemplaret!

ENGLISH REVIEW

Two Danish girls disappeared without a trace on a ferry to England in 1985. Then, many years later a photo of them is found in an old suitcase in a second-hand shop in the small English seaside town Brine.

Journalist Nora Sand working in London for the Danish newspaper Global begins to unravel the story. She travels to Denmark to examine the girls' variegated background on a juvenile institution. Soon she is drawn into a case with a gruesome serial killer who is serving a life sentence at the notorious prison, Wolf Hall. At the same time, her boyfriend from when she was young shows up unexpectedly in London as Nora delves so deeply into the old case that she will have reason to fear for his life.

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Cold Case's is something I always find interesting to read, and I liked the idea of a journalist finding a photo of two girls who disappeared on a ferry to England in 1985. Nora Sand begins to investigate the matter and it will not be long before she finds that the tracks lead to a serial killer who is incarcerated at Wolf Hall. Could it be that he is behind the disappearance of the two danish girls?

"The girls on the England" boat was an interesting detective story, I came to like Nora Sands, an experienced journalist who accidentally stumble across a photo that will affect her life considerably. I always like to read books in which a person begins to unravel the disappearance of several years before and this book was no exception. However, I found that although the book interesting was it not exactly exciting to read. I felt like it was missing something to really catch my interest.

And I think one reason that I had a little difficulty with the book was Nora's "relationship" with her childhood friend Andreas. Their "dance" through the book bore me, and I mentally rolled my eyes every time Nora wistfully thought about Andreas, or when he happened to see her come home with a male friend who had drunk a little too much and became jealous and went away angry. The scene where they had to share a bed because a cat had given birth to kittens in her bed was almost too much for me. I have absolutely nothing against a little romance in the novel. But, Andreas and Nora just didn't work out for me.

About the case, although I may not have totally fallen for the book did I not realize how it all fitted together before Nora was really in trouble and she herself started to realize that something was wrong with a particular person. I was not expecting that kind of ending, I must admit.

I liked the police at Scotland Yard, and I hope that the follow-up books will include Nora involved with them in more cases!

Thanks to Norstedts for the review copy!… (more)

This is the first book from the Nora Sand series. A great introduction to a new series. In addition to the fact that you get to know many protagonists, which will certainly also appear in the later books, it is a captivating thriller from the first to the last page.
Nora Sand is a Danish journalist living in London writing articles for a Danish weekly paper. In an antique shop, she buys an old suitcase containing photos related to an old case in Denmark, where more than twenty years ago, two young girls from a youth home disappeared without a trace on their way to England. Sand travels to Copenhagen and tries to find a trail. She encounters many inconsistencies. She can convince her editor that behind these photos is certainly an exciting story for their newspaper.
Back in England, she meets her old Danish love, who is currently training at Scotland Yard. Not only her love life gets out of control. Soon she has to fear for her own life, because she realizes that she is a serial killer on the trail. Luckily there are a few guardian angels watching over them.… (more)

Nora Sand is a tough-going journalist based in London who collects vintage suitcases when she's not interviewing war criminals and covering international conflicts. When she purchases a second-hand suitcase and finds a bunch of hidden photos of young girls, Nora unwittingly stumbles onto the cold case of two missing girls. Lulu and Lisbeth disappeared on a ferry ride to London in 1985 and were never seen again, and as Nora begins to use her journalistic skills to investigate the cold case, she begins to unearth new evidence.

Fatal Crossing is a good slow burn mystery and was inspired by the true story of an American serial killer who stalked and photographed his victims before killing them.

Nora is a strong female protagonist with plenty of great qualities and has a lot in common with the author. But the romance thread irritated me and I rolled my eyes every time Nora tried to clear her head of Andreas. The continual references to her dirty washing riled me up until I wanted to reach into the book and do her damn laundry for her. On the flip side, the relationship Nora has with her boss (and her nickname for him) was amusing and very 'real world' and her working relationship with Pete was warm and genuine.

Fatal Crossing has been translated from Danish, and while the translation was smooth enough, I did bristle at the overuse of the word chubby to describe several female characters in the book.

Fatal Crossing is already a bestseller and will be popular amongst readers who enjoy Brit crime and Scandinavian and Nordic noir.

* Copy courtesy of Bonnier Publishing *… (more)