SWEDISH REVIEW

Slutet på Sommaren är en alldeles fantastisk bok! Jag måste erkänna att jag föll totalt för omslaget första gången jag såg boken och handlingsbeskrivningen gjorde mig verkligen sugen att läsa boken. I boken får vi får följa båda polisarbetet 1983 när Billy försvinner samt Billy's storasyster Veronicas egna sökande över svar tjugo år senare när hon under ett gruppterapisamtal träffar på en ung man som skulle kunna vara en kopia av Billy som stor. Veronica har aldrig riktigt kommit över sin brors försvinnande och händelsen kom att splittra hennes familj och att återvända hem för att söka efter svar blir tufft för henne. Speciellt då det känns som om det finns de som inte vill att hon ska finna ut sanningen.

Boken är atmosfärisk, fängslande och hjärtskärande att läsa. Från första kapitlet var jag fast och jag kunde knappt sluta läsa boken. Det som känns så motsägande med boken är att allting utmålas så ljust, det känns som en idyllisk tillvaro för Veronica och hennes syskon på 80-talet, men det finns ett mörker som hotar i bakgrunden, men som barnen är ovissa om. Först, nu tjugo år senare så börjar Veronica inse en tragiska sanningen...

För mig är Slutet på Sommaren en av de bästa böcker jag har läst i år. Den är oerhört gripande och spännande att läsa.

Tack till Forum bokförlag för recensionsexemplaret!

ENGLISH REVIEW

A five-year-old boy from a remote farm on the plains of Skåne disappear late one summer evening in 1983. The only trail after him is a shoe in the tall corn fields.

Although the whole neighborhood gets involved in the search do they not find him, and rumors and suspicions spread quickly. And, the clumsy criminal investigation is, in the end, closed down when they can't find the boy, and the grief and uncertainty get the boy's family to slowly fall apart.

Twenty years later, is his sister Veronica leading group psychotherapy talks in Stockholm. Suddenly a young man joins the group, and he talks about his childhood, about the inexplicable memories of a boy's disappearance.

His story is frighteningly familiar and it shakes Veronica. Reluctantly, she is forced to risk the fragile life she built up. She must return to Skåne and her broken family to seek the answer to the question no longer want to ask. What really happened that summer so long ago? The summer that never ended.

**********

The End of the Summer is a fantastic book. I have to admit that I completely fell for the gorgeous cover the first time I saw the book and the description made me really eager to read the book. In the book, we get to follow both the police work back in 1983 when Billy disappeared and we also get to follow Veronica 20 years later as she starts her own search for the truth when during a psychotherapy meeting she meets a young man that could be a copy of Billy as an adult. Veronica has never really gotten over her brother's disappearing and the event leads to the breakup of her family. To return home and to search for the truth is hard for her. Especially since it seems that there are those that don't want her to find out the truth.

The book is atmospheric, engrossing and heartbreaking to read. I was hooked from the very first chapter and could hardly put down the book. It felt so contradictory everything is portrayed so brightly and idyllic for Veronica and her siblings as they were growing up, but there is a darkness in the background. The children just don't notice it. First, twenty years later is Veronica finally starting to realize the truth...

The End of the Summer is one of the best books I have read this year. It's gripping and very thrilling to read!

Thanks to Forum bokförlag for the review copy! ( )

SWEDISH REVIEW

Slutet på Sommaren är en alldeles fantastisk bok! Jag måste erkänna att jag föll totalt för omslaget första gången jag såg boken och handlingsbeskrivningen gjorde mig verkligen sugen att läsa boken. I boken får vi får följa båda polisarbetet 1983 när Billy försvinner samt Billy's storasyster Veronicas egna sökande över svar tjugo år senare när hon under ett gruppterapisamtal träffar på en ung man som skulle kunna vara en kopia av Billy som stor. Veronica har aldrig riktigt kommit över sin brors försvinnande och händelsen kom att splittra hennes familj och att återvända hem för att söka efter svar blir tufft för henne. Speciellt då det känns som om det finns de som inte vill att hon ska finna ut sanningen.

Boken är atmosfärisk, fängslande och hjärtskärande att läsa. Från första kapitlet var jag fast och jag kunde knappt sluta läsa boken. Det som känns så motsägande med boken är att allting utmålas så ljust, det känns som en idyllisk tillvaro för Veronica och hennes syskon på 80-talet, men det finns ett mörker som hotar i bakgrunden, men som barnen är ovissa om. Först, nu tjugo år senare så börjar Veronica inse en tragiska sanningen...

För mig är Slutet på Sommaren en av de bästa böcker jag har läst i år. Den är oerhört gripande och spännande att läsa.

Tack till Forum bokförlag för recensionsexemplaret!

ENGLISH REVIEW

A five-year-old boy from a remote farm on the plains of Skåne disappear late one summer evening in 1983. The only trail after him is a shoe in the tall corn fields.

Although the whole neighborhood gets involved in the search do they not find him, and rumors and suspicions spread quickly. And, the clumsy criminal investigation is, in the end, closed down when they can't find the boy, and the grief and uncertainty get the boy's family to slowly fall apart.

Twenty years later, is his sister Veronica leading group psychotherapy talks in Stockholm. Suddenly a young man joins the group, and he talks about his childhood, about the inexplicable memories of a boy's disappearance.

His story is frighteningly familiar and it shakes Veronica. Reluctantly, she is forced to risk the fragile life she built up. She must return to Skåne and her broken family to seek the answer to the question no longer want to ask. What really happened that summer so long ago? The summer that never ended.

**********

The End of the Summer is a fantastic book. I have to admit that I completely fell for the gorgeous cover the first time I saw the book and the description made me really eager to read the book. In the book, we get to follow both the police work back in 1983 when Billy disappeared and we also get to follow Veronica 20 years later as she starts her own search for the truth when during a psychotherapy meeting she meets a young man that could be a copy of Billy as an adult. Veronica has never really gotten over her brother's disappearing and the event leads to the breakup of her family. To return home and to search for the truth is hard for her. Especially since it seems that there are those that don't want her to find out the truth.

The book is atmospheric, engrossing and heartbreaking to read. I was hooked from the very first chapter and could hardly put down the book. It felt so contradictory everything is portrayed so brightly and idyllic for Veronica and her siblings as they were growing up, but there is a darkness in the background. The children just don't notice it. First, twenty years later is Veronica finally starting to realize the truth...

The End of the Summer is one of the best books I have read this year. It's gripping and very thrilling to read!

Thanks to Forum bokförlag for the review copy! ( )

Bland de bästa deckare jag läst på mycket länge. En härligt underliggande krypande stämning genom hela boken. ( )

This is one of those books that may end up being something very different from what you expected. I’ve read & enjoyed another series by this author & freely admit my own preconceptions got in the way.

What we have is a story of domestic drama told in dual timelines by 2 MC’s. In the summer of 1983, a little boy named Billy went for a walk & was never seen again. Through the eyes of police chief Månsson, we follow the ensuing search & investigation that envelops the small town of Reftinge.

In alternate chapters set in present day, we meet grief counsellor Veronica Lindh. She’s a fragile woman who is clearly dealing with her own baggage as she attempts to help others deal with theirs. When she was 14 years old, her little brother disappeared & no one in her estranged family ever really recovered. Now she lives in another city & spends her days leading therapy sessions. Then a newcomer joins the group, a young man who speaks of losing his best friend in 1983.

Veronica becomes obsessed, not just with his story but his very identity & realizes if she is to find any peace she will have to return to her childhood home & figure out what happened that summer.

I’ve seen this labelled as a thriller & I’d have to humbly disagree. There is plenty of mystery to unravel in terms of Billy’s disappearance. But this is a story about secrets & grief & how the lingering presence of both can quietly destroy a family.

Long before Veronica & Månsson connect in the present, we witness how their lives & sense of self were impacted by that summer. The disappearance of a little boy continued to shape these characters for years & there’s a palpable sense of relief when they meet. There is an intuitive recognition & understanding between them.

Neither character is very chatty & dialogue takes a backseat to their internal thoughts & emotions for the bulk of the book. Because of this, the story is a slow burner until the final chapters when Billy’s fate is revealed.

I found the slow pace challenging & I think this was mostly due to the preconceptions mentioned earlier. I read this author’s “MemoRandom” series & enjoyed it immensely. Both books are intricately plotted & full of suspense, guaranteed to keep your butt in a chair. I would never have guessed de la Motte wrote this which showcases his impressive range.

So, just a matter of taste. I would recommend this for lovers of general fiction & family drama. Through the use of imagery & well defined characters, it’s the tale of how we all deal differently with loss. Or not ( )

Mycket spännande och väl skriven. Man anar inte kriminalgåtans lösning förrän framemot slutet. ( )