#BlogTour-‘Inborn’ by Thomas Enger

About The Book…

When teenagers Mari Lindgren and Johannes Eklund are brutally murdered at their high school in the small Norwegian village of Fredheim, the finger is soon pointed at seventeen-year-old Even, Mari’s ex-boyfriend.

As the investigation closes in, social media
is ablaze with accusations, rumours and even threats, and Even finds himself in the dock – both online. and in reality.

As Even pores over his memories of the months leading up to the crime, it becomes clear that more than one villager was acting suspiciously … and secrets are simmering beneath the calmsurface of this close-knit community. Events from the past play tag with the present, and Even is forced to question everything he thought he knew.

Was the death of his father in a car crash a decade earlier really accidental? Did his relationship with Mari stir up something that someone was prepared to kill to protect? There seems to be no one that Even can trust. And can we even trust him?

My grateful thanks to Anne Cater of Random Things for inviting me on the blogtour for this delicious slice of Norwegian Noir.

Translated by Kari Dickson,.‘Inborn’ by Thomas Enger is published by Orenda Books and is out now in paperback,audiobook and ebook formats.

This Y.A read is a cross between a court room drama and a small town expose in the light of a social media crossfire. Old secrets resurface and blame is cast on a not always reliable narrator as the village of Fredheim reels in the aftermath of 2 teens being murdered.

The shocking opener, followed by contrasting narratives between Even, the priniciple narrator and Yngve Mork, the investigating officer provide neat parrallels to the events of that night.

Normally with a whodunnit, you want to skip through the chapters, racing towards the end, however, in ‘Inborn’, you want to find out more about these characters and read more slowly, even though the fast paced, short chapters rattle you through the story.

Yngve is struggling in the aftermath of his wife dying, his guilt is such a hard weight to bear, but he has to put his feelings aside as the villagers look to him to solve the most shocking event to occur in their midst. Their need to feel safe is superceded by the right for justice to be seen to be done so as soon as Even is named . by an unknown source, as the killer on social media, and Even responds, he is automatically in the firing line of families literally baying for blood.

And even Even himself isn’t sure what has happened or why his girlfriend, Mari, was looking into the supposed accidental death of Even’s father.Are killers created , is it their destiny to become one and how society deals with this are all examined as Even is himelf-the reader is constantly on the edge of their seat waiting for the killer to be revealed, hoping it isn’t Even because of the insight you have into his mind, but at the same time, if it wasn’t him, then who was it?

In ‘Inborn’, Thomas Enger has created an intelligent, suspense driven narrative that delves deep into the effect of careless words typed hastily in response to a horrific tragedy, presents unreliable characters and drives home a sharply defined thriller.

Anyone who might disregard a book simply because of its Y.A classifiction does both themselves and the book a disservice. Because in my humble opinion, a great story told is purely that and people could try not to limit themselves by being reductive in this manner. It is an intelligent, well written book that I would have absolutely loved to have read as a teen!

‘Inborn’ is a magnifying glass to the behaviour of those in small towns or villages illuminated by the magnifying glass of social media wherein old values and new collide in the court of both law and public opinion. A truly first class read!

About The Author..

Thomas Enger is a former journalist. He made his debut with the crime novel ‘Burned’ in 2010, which became an international sensation before publication, and marked the first in the bestselling Henning Juul series.

Rights to the series have been sold to 28 countries to date. In 2013, Thomas published his first book for young adults, a dark fantasy thriller called ‘The Evil Legacy’, for which
he won the UPRISEN (the prize for best YA novel). His next YA thriller ‘Killer Instinct’, upon which Inborn is based, was published in Norway in 2017 and won the same prestigious prize.

Most recently, Thomas has co-written a thriller
with Jørn Lier Horst. He also composes music, and he lives in Oslo.

Twitter @EngerThomas

@annecater

@OrendaBooks

http://orendabooks.co.uk/kari-dickson/