The Darkest Room - Oland Quartet

Zusatztext “A fantastic first novel . . . haunting and lyrical.”— Guardian ! London “Theorin’s deeply disturbing debut will remind many of Henning Mankell both in its thematic intensity and dark tone.”— Publishers Weekly “Vividly rendered . . . The fully fleshed characters and excellent plot should appeal to all crime and thriller readers.”— Booklist ! starred review Informationen zum Autor Johan Theorin was born in 1963 in Gothenburg, Sweden, and has spent every summer of his life on northern Oland. He is a journalist and scriptwriter. His second novel, Night Blizzard, will be published by Delacorte in 2009. Klappentext WINNER OF SWEDEN'S BEST CRIME NOVEL AWARD On the idyllic island of Öland, off the coast of northern Sweden, a young couple from Stockholm tries to start life afresh. For Joakim and Katrine Westin, reclaiming a long-neglected family manor will be a labor of love, as they slowly bring the sprawling home back to life and introduce their two children to the island's woodlands, glens, and beaches. But in the Westins' new home, there are things that cannot be repaired, lives that have gone wrong, and secrets that have followed them. When the family is struck by tragedy, it's up to grief-stricken Joakim to put together a puzzle of inexplicable loss, unbearable suspicion, and tangled lives. In this powerhouse of suspense-at once a crime novel and a searing family drama-a home built as a shelter from the sea becomes a human storm of murder. Leseprobe Chapter One A high voice called through the dark rooms. "Mom-my?" The cry made him jump. Sleep was like a cave filled with strange echoes, warm and dark, and waking up quickly was painful. For a second his consciousness could not come up with a name or a place, just confused memories and thoughts. Ethel? No, not Ethel, but . . . Katrine, Katrine. And a pair of eyes blinking in bewilderment, seeking light in the blackness. A second later his own name suddenly floated up from his memory: Joakim Westin. And he was lying in the double bed in Eel Point manor house on northern Oland. Joakim was at home. He had been living here for one day. His wife, Katrine, and their two children had been living on the estate for two months, while he himself had only just arrived. 1:23. The red digits on the clock radio provided the only light in the windowless room. The sounds that had woken Joakim could no longer be heard, but he knew they were real. He had heard muffled complaints or whimpers from someone sleeping uneasily in another part of the house. A motionless body lay beside him in the double bed. It was Katrine; she was sleeping deeply and had crept toward the edge of the bed, taking her coverlet with her. She was lying with her back to him, but he could see the gentle contours of her body and he could feel her warmth. She had been sleeping alone in here for almost two months-Joakim had been living and working in Stockholm, coming to visit every other weekend. Neither of them had found it easy. He stretched a hand out toward Katrine's back, but then he heard the cry once again. "Mom-my?" This time he recognized Livia's high voice. It made him throw aside the cover and get out of bed. The tiled stove in one corner of the bedroom was still radiating heat, but the wooden floor was freezing cold as he put his feet on it. They needed to change things around and insulate the bedroom floor as they had done in the kitchen and the children's rooms, but that would have to be a project for the new year. They could get more rugs to see them through the winter. And wood. They needed to find a supply of cheap wood for the stoves, because there was no forest on the estate where they could go and cut their own. He and Katrine needed to buy a whole lot of things for the house before the real cold we...

Product details

• Authors: Johan Theorin
• Assisted by: Marlaine Delargy (Translation)
• Publisher: Random House USA
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback
• Released: 29.09.2009
• EAN: 9780385342223
• ISBN: 978-0-385-34222-3
• No. of pages: 448
• Dimensions: 130 mm x 203 mm x 25 mm
• Series: Oland Quartet; The Oland Quartet
• Subject: Fiction > Science fiction, fantasy