#BlogTour-‘For The Missing’ by Lina Bengtsdotter

This blog tour for ‘For The Missing’ by Lina Bengtsdotter (translated by Agnes Broome) is run by Orion books -check out the #ForTheMissing hashtag on Twitter for some brilliant blog posts!

Here is the official blurb for ‘For The Missing’ (previously published as ‘Annabelle’)-

FOR THE MISSING is the award-winning, globally bestselling Swedish crime debut from Lina Bengtstdotter about a missing girl, and the detective who must return home and confront her darkest secrets in order to find her.

THE MISSING
Nora’s daughter Annabelle has disappeared, last seen on her way home from a party.

THE LOST
Gullspång’s inexperienced police are wilting under the national media spotlight – and its residents desperate for answers.

THE CLOCK IS TICKING . . .
Stockholm DI Charlie Lager must return home to find Annabelle, and then get out of town as soon as she can. Before everyone discovers the truth about her . . .

Intrigued?

Let me tell you more….

This is a perfectly wintery slice of Scandi noir, set in a town so dark and miserable it is no surprise that Annabelle has gone missing-but did she run or was she killed?

There are 3 main storylines- Annabelle before she left, Charlie investigating her disappearance and 2 girls named Alice and Rosa ,and  it’s not immediately clear how the 3 storylines will match up.

One thing is for sure, the town of Gullspang in Sweden has dark secrets and ‘For the missing’ not only looks at how Annabelle went missing, but why. What is it that keeps a small town so secretive and why is Charlie so keen to leave? The use of song lyrics and poems such a ‘Hotel California’ by The Eagles, ‘The River’ by Bruce Springsteen and ‘Annabel Lee’ by Edgar Allan Poe resonate strongly to myself, as a small town dweller who finds it claustrophobic, grey and miserable.

The mystery is fascinating, why would a well educated, beautiful 17 year old vanish? People are not really taking it seriously as they know she has run away before, and many blame her mother with her mental health issues, but when a film surfaces of Annabelle, everything changes. Suddenly, Gullspang is under a national spotlight and all eyes are on Charlie…

Some readers may be annoyed by the seemingly slow pacing of the story but there is a lot of plot and multiple story lines that richly weave to a satisfying conclusion. I would thoroughly recommend this book and would definitely want to read her next book in the series.

‘For The Missing’ is available in paperback, ebook and audiobook formats.

About the author…