Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.

The characters were well-developed, and I found myself invested in their lives. The plot was well thought out and had enough twists and turns to keep me on the edge of my seat. I appreciated the attention to detail, and the author did a great job of creating a vivid world that was easy to picture in my mind.
The themes explored in the book were thought-provoking. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good story with well-developed characters.
Overall, I was thoroughly impressed with this book and would definitely read it again. It was a great addition to my reading collection, and I can't wait to see what else this author has in store.

This is the tenth book in a wonderful series that is set in Sweden on Sandhamm, one of the islands in the Stockholm archipelago. The characters also visit other nearby islands and some characters work and/or have homes in Stockholm. The books are translated from Swedish.

Nora is the main character. She is an attorney who works first for a bank and later for The Economic Crimes Authority, a government agency. In the beginning of the series she is unhappily married to the father of her two sons. Later in the series she gets divorced and eventually remarries. Nora is one of the few year-round inhabitants of Sandhamm, which is primarily a summer destination.

Nora’s childhood friend, Thomas, lives on a nearby island and is a Stockholm police detective. He is married to Pernilla, although their relationship is very on-again off-again. Nora & Thomas are close, which is a good thing in light of her tendency to involve herself in murder investigations. Thomas is a good guy and I think he’s really the hero of the series.

A lot of murders seem to happen on or near Sandhamm, and Nora “helps” Thomas investigate. In this installment, he has not asked for help nor is he aware that she is investigating. As always, she finds herself in danger and Thomas has to come to her rescue more than once.

In this book, land on an island near Sandhamm is being cleared for development when human bones are uncovered. The bones are difficult to identify because they were nearly destroyed in the explosion set by the land-clearing crew. It takes a long time to determine even if the bones came from a male or a female. When Thomas and his colleagues in the police department are assigned to the case, they must begin by trying to narrow down the many missing persons files to a manageable few.

Meanwhile, on Sandhamm, Nora is off work on sick leave after a particularly traumatic case has wrapped up (see book nine of this series, “In Bad Company”). She has huge regrets and a lot of guilt about the way she handled that case.

Nora also suffers terrifying nightmares in which someone from that previous case breaks into her home and attacks both her and her daughter.

So now Nora is a mess. She doesn’t sleep, she drinks too much, she picks fights with her husband, she forgets to pick up her daughter. We witness way too many examples of Nora’s mind spinning out of control and dwelling on her increasingly irrational fears.

What she needs is counseling and sleep. So naturally she decides instead to independently investigate the case of the unidentified bones. She is convinced that the bones are those of a teenage girl who lived on Sandhamm and disappeared a decade ago.

Thomas is not well pleased when he finds out what she has been doing. And of course her questions lead to danger.

This is not my favorite of the series. Nora’s racing thoughts and her self-destructive behavior grow tiresome very early in the book.

However, I am a big fan of the series, so I am already eagerly awaiting the next book. If you are interested in reading this series, I recommend going back to the first book and catching up from there.

Thanks to Viveca Sten, to Amazon Crossing, and to NetGalley for providing me a copy of this book in return for an honest review.

#sandhammmurders #buriedinsecret #amazoncrossing #netgalley

Thank you AmazonCrossing, Amazon Crossing and Netgalley for this arc. I was really a big fan of Nora and Thomas but I was really diasapointed how their lives go on..i really hope they get stability, in my eyes are the wonderful people with no drinking problem.. I liked strong Nora so much more. I had difficulties to go on. I love always the past connected to the present.. here there were to interesting once. I would love to get a great conclusion for these characters

Viveca Sten continues her Midsummer Scandi series with a familiar setting, offset with a cold trails which may solve one crime or uncover another

In this era of “whatever-book-is-popular-will-be-streaming-next-week” (okay, probably next year, but close enough), we’ve come to expect differences between what’s on the page and that moment when the filmed version almost inevitably hies off on its own. (Game of Thrones. The Walking Dead. True Blood. All started off using the origin stories as roadmaps, but eventually opted to take divergent forks along their respective byways.)

Such variances matter little if you only read the print version, or watch just the televised one, but, when you read the book(s) first, you have certain expectations about what characters look or sound like, how they act, and where the story goes. The same holds true when you see the filmed version first, then follow up with the book; you think you know what to expect, but often, what you find isn’t really the same.

My experience with Swedish author Viveca Sten started out the latter way: I found—then happily plowed through a few seasons of—the TV series based on her books, The Sandhamn Murders, prior to ever sitting down to read her… and then, when I finally did, it was her latest, Buried in Secret (which is actually the tenth book in the series).

So, two things. I have a lot of viewing to draw from, in what I expect/think I know about Stockholm-based financial lawyer, Nora Linde, and her family and friends on the island of Sandhamn, where she has a summer house… but I realize that a lot of things have been happening differently on all those pages I’ve missed, coming into the printed side of things so late.
__________

After the remains of a woman’s body are uncovered during an excavation project on a tiny, uninhabited island in Sandhamn’s archipelago, police detective Thomas Andreasson and his team set to sifting through the region’s missing persons reports from the last dozen or so years.

Soon, they narrow down their list seemingly fitting the approximate age and state of decomposition of the skeleton to only two: a troubled young woman, reported missing by her workmates, and another in her 30’s, whose disappearance was reported by her husband.

When Nora—who’s on a short leave from work—hears about the body from her good friend, Thomas, she decides to do a little digging on her own. There's a reason, at least: one of the possibilities—the younger woman—used to babysit for Nora’s children, years ago, so Nora feels a connection. [Thomas and team, coincidentally, focus a bit more on the other possible victim.]

There’s also another reason behind Nora’s secret interest, though; it seems the tragic “something” [from the book right before this one, I’m guessing] she’s trying to move past—and which she’s currently on leave for—affected her so deeply that she’s now suffering from depression, having daily nightmares, and finding herself turning to sleeping pills and massive amounts of wine in an attempt to cope with feelings of guilt and sadness. The new case serves as a distraction… and any help she can offer might also provide her a chance to find some sort of redemption.

The problem with her plan is obvious. Someone experiencing the sort of anguish and confusion which Nora is, is hardly the best person to go hieing off on her own on a completely unsanctioned investigation [remember the even-more-obvious fact that she’s a financial lawyer, not a police officer!]… particularly since doing so has a reasonable chance, if successful, of ending up with her facing off with a murderer… a killer who would have zero desire to help Nora (or the police) capture them.
__________

Is the plot a little formulaic? Well, sure… although it's not really fair to knock most police procedurals/detective stories for that, since the majority of such stories—kinda like life, if we’re being honest—have been done at one time (or a hundred), before.

A better question is, “Are the characters engaging, the situations interesting, and does the ending hold up?”, and I’d have to say yes, to all of the above. And, even though I really wished Nora would pull herself together a bit more [the poor woman is a full-blown alcoholic—depressed, paranoid, and majorly unhappy in Buried in Secret—which I’m betting majorly cheeses off a segment of readers of the series], the fact is, that’s how some people try to deal with stuff, and as painful as her journey here is, it’s a realistic one.

Granted, it isn’t ideal, coming into a book series at the tenth one, without the benefit of everything that came before, but at least I had the advantage of watching the show, first, so I had plenty of general knowledge of the main players.

Ah, and finally, about that. There are definitely some notable differences between the two. Nora is still with her second husband, in the books (whereas they’ve divorced, in the show), and—at least in this book—her first husband is nowhere to be seen. (He’s a constant—and often comedic—thorn in her side, in the TV series.) As for Thomas, well… he’s still around, working on cases in the islands. (In the latest season of the show, he’s moved away for a fresh start with his wife and daughter, and Nora [conveniently] makes a new detective friend, a handsome Norwegian transplant to the force.)

While starting at the beginning of a series—whether book or TV show—is always a better way to go, I had no trouble following any of Buried in Secret, and enjoyed the story and the character’s struggles. It’s a solid story, and well worth a read, whether you're coming in fresh, are already a fan, or are coming from the TV show.
~GlamKitty

Buried in Secret is the first book that I read by Viveca Sten and what pleasure has it been! The story is beautifully written, it has a very good plot and an unexpected ending. There are so many leads that seem only to reach dead ends but they reach a point that everything converges and they all make sense and the truth is much worse than one could think. The author also explores difficult themes such as rape, drugs, drinking, family abuse but they all fit in the context she uses and gave me food for thought. There are lovely descriptions of places and people that make the reader get a real feeling for what Viveca is trying to portray. This book caught my attention from the beginning and I just wanted to reach the end to understand all the nuances of the story. Very entertaining.

I have read the first three books in this series but not more recent books so I was familiar with the main characters but not with recent events. It seems something very bad happened in the previous book which led Nora to experience PTSD type symptoms and she was abusing alcohol which led to all kinds of bad decisions and got her into a lot of trouble.
In fact, all the main characters did some very poorly thought out acts which made me a bit irritated with the story.
The outcome was good and I only figured out half of the mystery. I think I will go back and begin again where I left off originally and give Nora another chance. However, this was definitely not my favorite of the books I’ve read by this author. In fact, if it had been my first book in this series I never would have read any others.

Another good addition to my favorite Scandinavian mystery series. It's not the best in the series but it's a compelling and entertaining read even if a bit slow at the beginning.
The Sandham islands are always a pleasant place to visit and I was glad to catch up with the characters.
The mystery kept me guessing and I liked the solution.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Translated from the Swedish by Marlaine Delargy, Buried in Secret by Viveca Sten is the tenth book in the Sandhamn Murders series. Skeletal remains are dug up by builders on a small island in the Stockholm Archipelago. It begins with an investigation which reopens two cold case disappearances from ten years earlier. The flashbacks to the two women’s lives were not dated as such and initially somewhat off-kilter. The narrative recounts Detective Thomas Andreasson and his team’s investigation, as well as separate enquiries by Prosecutor Nora Linde. She is on sick leave owing to a previous case (last book) gone wrong and is friends with Thomas. Whilst the beginning has a confusing impression, it then settles into a standard police procedural rhythm. Each of the various characters has history which is alluded to and some are even keeping deadly secrets. Whilst enjoying Nordic noir, this first encounter of the series was enjoyable, if above average and a three-and-a-half-star read. Interestingly, there is a 2010 TV series of the first five books titled The Sandhamn Murders. With thanks to Amazon Crossing and the author, for an uncorrected advanced review copy for review purposes. As always, the opinions herein are totally my own and are made without fear or favour.

This is the tenth book in the Sandhamn Murder series. This is an excellent mystery/suspense series that takes place in Sweden. I really enjoy the main characters of DI Thomas Andreasson and prosecutor Nora Linde as well as the complex plots.

Thomas and Nora have a close, platonic friendship and are always there for each other. Each is involved in an investigation in which bones are discovered that seem to be related to one of two missing person's cases from ten years ago. Thomas is working on the case officially, but Nora is working on her own when she's supposed to be on leave from her job. Nora is not at her best in this book as she is dealing with the fallout from a prior case, and it will take all of Thomas's patience to help her. Nora's unauthorized involvement causes complications and danger for both Nora and Thomas. If you are a fan of Camilla Lackberg, you will also love this series by Viveca Sten.

I received this ebook from NetGalley through the courtesy of AmazonCrossing. An advance copy was provided to me at no cost, but my review is voluntary and unbiased.

The tenth story in the now 10-book Sandham Murders series is kicked off with a human skeleton of indeterminate age exposed during construction on the uninhabited island of Telegrafholmen, located across from the town of Sandham. The police and coroner are naturally called, with Thomas Andreasson and his partner Aram Gorgis heading the investigation. They’re under a time crunch to solve the mystery, as the construction project is meant to create exclusive homes on Telegrafholmen.
Meanwhile, Nora Linde, a prosecutor barely recovering from her last extremely stressful case, drinks too much and can’t sleep, and is terrified that a man who threatened her (on the last case) will come to her home.
The police reopen cold cases of missing persons from ten years earlier, based on the potential age of the skeleton, and begin investigating. Knowing some of the people a little, Nora gets involved, asking questions though she’s not even on the case. She's got to be quiet about her not being assigned to the case, as she could get into trouble professionally for inserting herself, unasked, into the investigation.

This was a pretty addictive story; the author switches between Thomas and Nora investigating, while dealing with their messed-up personal lives, and shows us the last several weeks in the known activities of two of the missing people from ten years ago.
I’ve never read any of the previous books, it I can see myself tracking them down as I liked both Nora and Thomas, and their conscientiousness and concern for the victims and their families.
I liked how the author even surprised me a little, even with the relatively small suspect pool.

Thank you to Netgalley and to Amazon Crossing for this ARC in exchange for my review.

Buried in Secret the tenth book of the Sandhamn Murders series and my first read. It can be a standalone, but there are references to the past that aren't clear. The book has dual timelines for several of the characters, but that isn't immediately clear until reading several chapters.

A body has been discovered, although the sex and who, is not known at the beginning. Nora, one of the main characters is on sick leave. due to something that has happened in a prior book. She is struggling and falling apart. She is drinking and arguing with everyone that cares about her. Nora hears about the body found and starts investigating several cases she believes are connected. Two women who have been missing are the focus of her investigation as being the possible victim. Her questions will cause a lot of people to become upset as this brings up pain for those connected to the missing women.

This book has wonderfully flawed characters. Nora struggling with her fears as they escalate because of her drinking was hard to read. You go back and forth between rooting for them. This is a real page turner with several possible suspects as they try to keep the past from being exposed.

This is the tenth in the Sandhamm Murders series; it is the first I have read. Although it was OK as a standalone, there was constant reference to something that occurred in the past (I assume in a prior book). It was not fully explained, and I would have liked to know more about it, especially since it had such an impact on one of the main characters.

The remains of a skeleton are found when excavating on a small island. As the police look into missing persons cases, there are two possibilities. I liked how the story focused on the personal lives of not only the two possible victims, but also the professional personnel involved in the case. I also liked how the details leading to the disappearance of both missing persons was interwoven through the book, slowly unfolding. I did not like the character, Nora, at all…self destructive people always annoy me.

This was an engrossing read. Once it got going, after about 60%, I couldn’t put it down. Although this takes place in Sweden, I didn’t see it as classic “Nordic noir”. It didn’t have that cold, dark, bleak, foreboding quality. It was much lighter, set in the summer by the sea. There was some social criticism as relates to police cutbacks, but that is certainly not unique to the Nordic countries and I have read that a lot recently both in American and British books.

I do look forward to reading the next in the series; I hope that Nora will have recovered from her recent troubles and will be presented as a stronger, healthier individual. If I ever find the time, I may go back and read some of the prior books in the series.

Best read, I think by those who have read at least a few in the series, including, preferably the last installment but still one I'd recommend even for newcomers. It's a complex mystery/procedural filled with all the best elements of Scandi-noir. Two cold cases, two tortured detectives (although Nora is an economics crime prosecutor) who find that there are links. No spoilers from me but know that this one will demand your attention. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A good read.

Buried in Secret by Viveca Sten is Scandinavian noir at its best. This is the tenth instalment in The Sandhamn Murders series but reads fairly well as a stand-alone. The story begins with the discovery of human bones buried on an uninhabited island in the Sandhamn Archipelago. Two detectives are tasked with the murder investigation. Two unrelated women went missing around the same time ten years ago and the detectives need to identify whose bones were found, considering that the bones were too old to provide DNA information. The novel moves between two time periods: ten years ago and in the present. It also switches from one missing woman’s story to the other, keeping the reader interested and guessing. What really works here are the short paragraphs with a cliffhanger at the end of each one. Viveca Sten has written a smart, fresh mystery that never lags. I look forward to reading more books by this author. Highly recommended. Thank you to Amazon Crossing, NetGalley and the author for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Plot: When skeletal remains are found on an uninhabited island by a construction company that’s just bombed the crime scene in an excavation effort, detective Thomas Andreasson knows he is in for a challenging case. Nora Linde, still on sick leave as a prosecutor due to the trauma of her last case, can’t help but get involved despite her messy state of being. Both Thomas and Nora try to focus on solving the case while their relationships and children fight for their attention as well. Without knowing who their victim is, they must work to solve old mysteries that come to light throughout their investigation and piece the puzzle together.

Characters: Nora is not the strong, driven character we love and know (at least that I knew in book 4). She is traumatized, unable to sleep without nightmares, and in denial of her alcohol abuse. Her emotions often cloud her judgment until she hits rock bottom. Thomas Andreasson is conflicted about his feelings towards his partner with whom he has had a rocky relationship in the past. Witnesses throughout the case raise some of his emotions, as does his continued co-parenting. Both characters learn and grow throughout this book. Our side characters are all shady, delusional, and hateable, but in a really fun and compelling way. They all have blinders on and seem very one-track-minded.

Setting: Set across many different islands near Stockholm, it was hard to keep track of which characters and actions were on which island. But everything seemed very realistic and each scene was very descriptive.

Conflict/Resolution: There were many enticing red herrings throughout this book, especially given that we work backward from suspects to potential victims. There are so many twists and turns, aided by the flashbacks from our two key potential victims, which help set the resolution up as one of the most satisfying. Absolutely not how I would have guessed the ending, but almost all loose threads are tied into a nice bow.

Writing: Viveca’s writing is always the perfect amount of descriptive. I felt these chapters were particularly short and choppy, which was great at the end when it was incredibly fast-paced, but it took me some time to get into the rhythm of this particular book.

Overall/Other notes: There are incredibly dark scenes of domestic abuse, affairs, r*pe, and more in this book, I would advise a trigger warning. My second time reading a Viveca Sten novel, she is shaping up to be one of my favorite authors. I received a copy via NetGalley.

💀Bones drag up old tragedy AND Nora's gone gaga!

4-4.5🌟 stars
The murder mystery part of this story was great and I really liked the way the author alternated between the present and slices of the past to build up to the story of what really happened to the hapless individual whose bones are discovered on an uninhabited island near Sandhamn by a construction crew. Plenty of doubt and suspects plus the damaged skeletal remains keep the mystery of who, how and why on the boil right through to the climax.

This is the third book in the Sandhamn series that I've read and I am a devotee now because Viveca Sten really knows how to weave together a good, suspenseful crime investigation with the personal stories of her two main characters: Thomas, the police detective, and Nora, an Economic Crimes prosecutor.

Though the main plot is, in my opinion, worthy of five stars I could not bring myself to give it full marks because I just found Nora's disintegration uncomfortable and over the top.
Thomas's attempts at rapprochement with his estranged partner Pernilla were good, but not enough to balance with Nora's unraveling. Nora and the people who should have your back, you are better than this!

Thanks to Amazon Crossing and NetGalley for sharing a complimentary advance copy of the book; this is my voluntary and honest opinion.

3,5 ⭐️

My favorite Swedes are back! Thomas Andreasson and Nora Linde come back in the tenth installment of the Sandhamn Murders Series with a case with ties to the past.

Construction work in an uninhabited island uncovers some human remains. Without an ID, police must delve into some cold cases that could be linked to the discovery. Despite being on leave after her last case, Nora can’t help but get involved, especially as she knew one of the missing girls from the cold cases. As the cases converge she will get targeted, but not by whom she expected.

I love this series so much! If you’re in the mood for some light nordic mystery, this series is the perfect choice. The whole series spans several years so it’s been fantastic to see Thomas and Nora’s lives keep evolving. With that said, I’m not sure I’m enjoying that much the direction Nora’s life is taking (hopefully it will be just a temporary thing). Her last case left took a toll on her but, instead of seeking help she’s finding solace in alcohol and treating quite unfairly all those around her. Thomas is also going through some changes in his personal live and I really hope both of them find some stability in the future.

The mystery was well done and it was nice to see both lines converging at the end. The fact that there were two parallel investigations made of this a pretty entertaining read, and the short chapters also helped to keep turning the pages quite fast.

I love the atmosphere of life on the islands the author always manages to convey and a visit there in real life is one of the things on my bucket list travel wise.

Looking forward to meeting back Thomas and Nora again for book 11!

Thanks to NetGalley and Amazon Crossing for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Whose Bones Were Found and How Did They Get There

Right across from Sandhamn, Sweden, is the island, Telegrafholmen.It was just opened for the first homes to be built. While blasting to clear the land for construction, a skeleton was uncovered or, more accurately, many small pieces of a skeleton. The investigation into the identity of the person and the circumstances behind how and why that person was buried there starts.

There are two major main storyline threads, the police investigation lead by Thomas Andreasson, and another by his longtime friend Nora Linde, a prosecutor for the Economic Crimes Authority, who had a personal relationship with one of the possible victims and an overwhelming emotional need to ensure that her fears from her last prosecution are not repeated again. There are two minor threads based upon each of the possible victims that provide what really happened ten years earlier leading up to the disappearances. Thomas’s efforts to trying to determine which two possible victims’ investigations would be the best allocation of his resources. While Thomas focused on one, Nora with pure emotion ran her own investigation of the other. The competing investigation quickly captured my intention.

The B-storyline has several threads. One is centered on Thomas and his estranged wife, Pernilla, trying to salvage their crumbling marriage. At the same time, Nora and her husband, Jonas, marriage also is in danger. On this layer cake of B-storyline threads, the icing is another thread delving into the effects of her last case and how it is affecting her current behavior. These threads make these character more real and enhanced my reading enjoyment. How these four characters change over the time of this story also provides a C-Storyline to this novel.

For the aspects of a novel that may discourage some readers. There is a low level of vulgar and rude language. There are very few instances of impious language. There is one crime against a woman, but it was described from the woman’s feelings. There is some other violence. Lastly, I did not have any problems with the translation. I have read the previous novel that caused Nora much concern in this novel. I believe that you can read this novel without first reading the previous novel as adequate information is provided in this novel to explain how that case is affecting her now.

I do recommend reading this novel on an e-reader with Internet access. The reason that many locations were mentioned that were not identified on the maps provided with the novel. I like to know the geographical relationship when a new location is mentioned. I used the Internet quite often.

I had only one issue that I bothered me, and it occurred early in the novel and was unresolved by the end of the novel. Having an issue that won’t be resolved until the next novel is something that does not sit well with me. Its nature and the timeline scope of the novel ameliorates some its impact upon me. I could not stop reading this novel. I finished it in 75% of the time that I usually take to finish a novel of this length. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this novel as I have enjoyed four other novels in this series. I have purchased the other five novels to read. This author has reaffirmed her position as a Must-Read author for me. If the publisher’s teaser looks interesting, I strongly recommend reading this novel. I want to rate it with four and a half stars but will round up to five stars.

I received a free e-book version of this novel through NetGalley from Amazon Crossing. My review is based only by my own reading experience of this book. I wish to thank Amazon Crossing for the opportunity to read and review this novel early.