Drowned
Most
thrillers conclude by exposing a killer. Drowned,
on the other hand, ends with a larger, more upsetting truth: how we expose
ourselves. Young, lost Marina has left her student life in Stockholm to visit
her exquisitely beautiful sister, Stella, who just happens to live a life of
pastoral bliss with her brilliant artistic older boyfriend. Each day of summer
slides by, languorous walks through the gardens and greenhouses filled with
orchids and evenings in the living room "like a jewelry box.” But when
Stella's boyfriend begins to look at Marina—in that way that's just
not kosher—a disquieting atmosphere takes over the house. Author
Therese Bohman could be lumped in with the other Scandinavian authors who have
taken over the mystery world since The
Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, but her story is more quiet and nuanced,
her writing lush enough to create a landscape painting with every scene. No
shoot-outs, showdowns or explosions end this story, but be prepared to gasp all
the same, not with fear, but with understanding.
— Leigh Newman
