Unspoken

By Mari Jungstedt

Book Overview

It is winter on Gotland, and fourteen-year-old Fanny is missing. She had no friends to speak of other than the horses she took care of at the local racing stable, and seems to have been an unhappy and isolated teenager, the daughter of an absent Jamaican musician and an instable Swedish mother. Is her disappearance somehow connected to the recent brutal murder of alcoholic photographer Henry Dahlstrom, who had won a large sum of money at the racetrack right before his death? Inspector Anders Knutas and his team investigate under pressure from the media. Fanny is finally found, strangled to death and left on a lonely heath, covered by moss and branches. At the same time, grainy but explicit photographs of the girl with a stranger are discovered, hidden in Dahlstrom's darkroom. Intrepid TV journalist Johan Berg, sent from Stockholm to cover the two deaths, pushes the investigation one decisive step ahead while still trying to resolve his relationship with Emma, which has been simmering since they first met during the investigation into a series of murders on Gotland this past summer. All evidence points to one of Fanny's coworkers at the stable, an American who has left the country for a short vacation. As Knutas and his team wait for his return to make the arrest, the inspector takes a well-deserved weekend off with an old friend, and at the lonely cottage in the woods, the pieces finally fit together. But this time, Knutas has gotten too close. . . .

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 031236377X
• ISBN13: 9780312363772
• Release Date: September 2007
• Publisher: Minotaur Books
• Length: 246 Pages
• Weight: 0.87 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.8" x 8.6"

Customer Reviews

Something special

First novels have an especially difficult task...needing to establish a principal chacter, endow him or her with charcter, background and skill. It is unlikely lthat any sucessful mystery writer can succeed without such attributes. No problem forMari Jungstedt. She meets these tests and many more woth "Unseen" It is certainly a "swedish" nove...but with a transposiition pf names, places and plots, it should succeed anywhere. I've never before given a five-star rating to a new novelist. Well done, Mari

Excellent Pacing, Wonderful Characters

I hadn't read the first book in this series, but I really loved this mystery novel and will be looking for more by author Mari Jungstedt. I can only imagine how powerful this book must be in Swedish; needless to say, this intertwined story of the death of former newspaper photographer turned alcoholic Henry Dahlstrom and the missing 14-year-old Fanny is a page turner. Set in Gotland, off the coast of Sweden, the book's greatest strength is the character development. As a reader, I came to care about both victims and empathize with inspector Anders Knutas (around whom the series is developed). The only detraction for me was the side story of TV reporter Johan Berg. However, this would not stop me from recommending this book wholeheartedly. A joy to read!

strong Swedish police procedural

On wintry Gotland Island, Sweden Police Detective Superintendent Anders Knutas leads the investigation into the homicide of alcoholic former news photographer Henry Dahlström. They uncover a tenuous link between Henry and missing fourteen year old Fanny Jansson. Before his murder Henry won a lot of money at the racetrack while Fanny cared for the horses at a local stable. The police find Fanny's strangled corpse on a remote heath. They also discover poorly shot pictures of Fanny in explicit poses with a male stranger in Dahlström's darkroom. Knutas believes an American working at the stables committed the double murders, but the suspect is away on vacation. Stockholm based TV journalist Johan Berg is assigned to report on the two cases, which enables him to see his married lover Emma Winarve, whom he first met last summer (see UNSEEN). The official investigation is cleverly designed to keep the audience attention on this strong Swedish police procedural. The cast is fully developed especially the contrasts between the superintendent who does not want to be there and the reporter who does (but not for the story). However, with a terrific whodunit filled with strong characterizations, the island in winter steals the show as readers will feel the bitter cold while the story line twists and turns in the wind. Harriet Klausner