Overall, this was a very interesting and engaging read. There were little things that annoyed me throughout, but not enough to severely dampen my enjoyment. Bill had issues. Lots of issues. And I wish he hadn't or that his story ended differently. I think I just didn't like his character. I also felt like the story dragged on a little bit. I recognize that it was to make sure the plot was fully laid out and everything tied together, but a little editing wouldn't have been bad. That all said, I did really enjoy how the story was set up, the different POVs, and the interesting way it was all resolved. Definitely a unique story and a book worth reading!

The woman inside is a wild tale. The story is told in multiple points of view even though there’s multiple characters they all flow together. Everything you think you know about the characters could be right…. We start out with a murder and everyone in the story has their own craziness. A twisty suspense that keeps you guessing even after you’re done reading.

I really enjoyed A Nearly Normal Family when I read it a couple of years ago. This book was no different. The multiple POVs worked so well and I found myself sucked in merely by the connections between the characters. It was also interesting to see the different ages and watch how these characters navigated Lund. I was also invested in finding out who dunnit. I love books that include excerpts from interviews and interrogations. The mystery is fun when you know the end and are trying to piece together what exactly happened. I did struggle at times to relate to the characters and they were not my favorite but the mystery redeemed the story. Sally was my favorite character and I primarily wanted to know what happened with her. She was the brightest spot in the story and of course, the most innocent. The final reveal was what I expected and I like how there is still a mystery as to whether Bill and Karla spill their guts. Overall, I enjoyed this one and look forward to more from M.T. Edvardsson!

It took me awhile to figure out the cast of characters: the young house cleaner who studies law, raised by a drug-addicted mother, renting a room in the accused killer’s house; the accused killer, a down and out single father, still grieving his wife’s death; the spoiled and lazy woman carrying on with the married man; and the murdered couple themselves, a doctor and his chronically ill wife.

The plot skips around time-wise quite a bit, mixing in interviews with the main characters that occur after the crime, as well as plot points told in chronological order. That choice just seemed a bit puzzling to me; I never quite found the rhythm.

And the characters? They came across as flat, a bit one-dimensional, and not all that likable or hateable, if that makes sense. Just a feeling of…meh.

I WAS curious enough about whodunnit to keep reading, and it was an appropriate length of book (at least it wasn’t 500 pages to find out the killer!) but sadly, it will end up being rather forgettable for me. I suspect others will enjoy this Scandinavian mystery however.

A wealthy murdered couple, the mistress, the housecleaner, the widowed father all come together with six degrees of separation for this domestic suspense thriller. Cleverly constructed relationships between the characters enhanced my engagement with this book.
Bill Ollson is a widow with a young daughter and is on the brink financially. However sad his predicament is, you find he's made some bad choices. Karla, the housekeeper, also in a bid to correct wrongs, makes some dubious choices when she connects with Ollson as his lodger.
Then there is the Woman Inside. Is she an innocent or a Machiavellian orchestrator of the eventual demise of the rich couple? I found myself drawn into each character's development which guaranteed a collision course and the eventual melt-down of one person.
The Woman Inside is a good foray into Nordic Noir and a recommended read.
4.25 stars

Thank you to Celadon Books for an early e-copy. All opinions are my own.

Alternating between the viewpoints of Bill, a jobless widower; Karla, an aspiring law student working as a housekeeper and lodger at Bill’s apartment; and Jennica, a fake psychic advisor with no life aspirations except dating wealthy pediatrician Steven Rytter, who turns up dead in his home. Interspersed with their viewpoints are interrogations into the Rytter murder and news articles reporting the story.

I liked the different viewpoints of the characters and watching them slowly come together and connect. The interrogations provided greater insight, cliffhangers, and curiosity so that you just had to keep reading to find out what came next.

This was okay but did not deliver on the reveal. The story felt very long and left me feeling underwhelmed. I feel like it could’ve been a tad bit shorter and would’ve been higher than a 3.

This one started off super promising. There are a lot of characters to keep up with and that made me nervous at first, but I was so hooked by the plot that it really didn't bother me. This one is an easy binge-read. I couldn't put it down because I had to know what happened. I formed so many different theories while reading because there were so many ways it could have gone. Which brings us to the ending. This is where it kind of lost me. The ending was very underwhelming compared to the rest of the story. It may have been intentional to leave things kind of open in regards to Steven and Regina (in order for the reader to form their own opinions about them), but I think further character development of both (especially Regina) would have sold the ending more. Overall, it was still a solid read, but it didn't really blow me away.

I really enjoyed the way the story was told. It was by 3 different points of view of the weeks/days leading up to the crime. Plus, police interviews conducted after the crime. It was an easy read. No big twists, but I still really enjoyed it!

I liked a lot of parts of this author’s last book. This one started off promising. I was instantly intrigued. But then, it just started dragging and I started drifting. The ending had a big reveal kind of feel. I realized that I felt like I was reading a formula. The book was OK but it followed too much in the style and rhythm of the last.

Thank you to @netgalley and Celadon Books for this ARC. A couple is found dead and everyone is guilty. Steven and are found dead in their home - was it the house cleaner Karla, Steven's mistress Jennica, Karla's male roommate Bill or someone else all together? I like how the author made you believe someone couldn't possibly hurt anyone and then quickly made them look guilty. I felt the ending was a little rushed but good read! #TheWomanInside #MTEdvardsson #CeladonBooks #June2023

The Woman Inside was a quick read. It had many colorful characters and I was curious from the start how they would interact. I feel like this story of a wife who is unwell and married to a rich husband has been done over and over again. There were added characters and pieces to the story but it wasn’t necessarily a new plot. The writing was engaging and easy to read and I got mildly invested in the characters. I felt like the whole story was predictable so it wasn’t much of a thriller for me. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. I would certainly read another book by this author.

M.T. Edvardsson delivers another compelling, compulsively readable Scandi thriller with The Woman Inside. Steven and Regina Rytter, a wealthy pediatrician and his chronically ill wife, are found dead in their upscale home, one done in by a head wound and the other by an overdose. It’s being called a family tragedy by some in the press, but perhaps something more sinister has happened.

The story centers around three POVs: Bill, a recently widowed dad; Karla, a student and the Rytters’ housecleaner; and Jennica, a telephone psychic and Steven Rytter’s girlfriend. Bill is under police suspicion for the deaths, but he’s not the only one who might have had a motive. Excerpts from the police interrogation are interspersed with the three perspectives and help round out the narrative. The story is twisty and entertaining, with a cast of unlikeable but interesting characters and no shortage of potential culprits. It kept me guessing about whodunit and how the three character arcs would come together.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Celadon Books for providing me an advance copy of this book.

This started off as a quick and engaging read but as you get to about the 2/3 or 3/4 mark, it started to slow down for me. I felt I became less engaged and just wanted to “get on with it”. The ending was a little bleh for me and I didn’t love some of the unanswered stuff

Edvardsson has written an other great Swedish thriller/police investigation full of well developed characters including ones to root for and against. An interrogation of people possibly involved in the murder of a rich couple, a doctor and his ailing wife, We meet all the related ‘suspects’ as the details are slowly revealed. You keep reading one more chapter, then one more!

A solid domestic thriller - I didn’t love it but I enjoyed it.

The theme of the ‘nosy maid with the wife upstairs’ is a tad familiar these days but this story was still interesting enough. I liked how it alternates between POVs and excerpts from newspaper articles, the interrogations, etc. The group of characters are perfectly unlikeable and I enjoyed unraveling the way they were all connected. The ending was unexpected but also wasn’t exactly satisfying either.

Thank you to NetGalley and Celadon Books for this eARC!

What I loved
-Each of the POV characters had a well defined voice and motives making it easy to switch between them while keeping track of what was going on.
-Excellent Pacing and use of twists throughout the plot
-interviews regarding the central crime and nestled neatly into the book
What didn't work as well for me
-Some over description was present during the first third of the story.
Who I would recommend this title for
Fans of the Author's previous work A Nearly Normal family will find Edvardsson is still able to deliver.

The Woman Inside
by M. T. Edvardsson
Pub Date: 13 Jun 2023

A great story told in 4 alternative main character prospectives that leave you utterly perplexed until the shocking ending. Definitely a gripping and captivating read! I highly recommend it.

Synopsis:

Bill Olsson, recently widowed, is desperate to provide for his daughter, Sally. Struggling to pay rent, he welcomes a lodger into their home: Karla, a law student and aspiring judge, who works as a housekeeper to make ends meet. Her clients are the Rytters, an incredibly wealthy couple who hide behind closed doors. The wife is ill and hasn’t left the house in months. The husband is controlling and obsessive. Is he just a worried husband, concerned for his wife’s health? Or is there something more sinister at play?

As Bill’s situation becomes more dire, Karla is forced to make a difficult choice. And when the Rytters wind up dead, and Karla is pulled in for questioning, she’s made to defend some parts of her past she’d rather not revisit.

Every person in The Woman Inside is hiding something, but could any of them really have been driven to kill?

Thank you #TheWomanInside #NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy of this wonderful book that goes on sale 6/13/2023. All opinions are strictly my own.

This book was a nice quick read that I couldn’t put down. I don’t always read this genre of books but I really enjoyed it. This book is released June, 13, 2023. Thank you to Celadon Books, M.T. Edvardsson and Netgalley for an opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.

Book: The Woman Inside
Author: M.T. Edvardsson
Publisher: Celadon Books
Pub Date: June 13, 2023

A Nearly Normal Family by this author is one of my all time favorite books so I couldn’t wait to read this! The book starts with the murder of a wealthy husband and wife. It’s definitely giving Verity vibes but with a lot more players. The author did a fantastic job of weaving all these characters lives together in ways you couldn’t imagine. It’s very character driven and I thought there was good character development. It’s twisty, manipulating, surprising, captivating and I very much appreciated the short chapters. The story is told from Bill, Karla and Jennica’s point of view as well as the police interrogations. You are going to find that you will not know who or what to believe. I actually wrote in my notes near the end, “I have no clue what’s going on!” The ending was perfect! It’s a great book and a quick read. This book will be in my top 10 easy for 2023.

Thank you Celadon Books and NetGalley for this sneak peak! Publication date is June 13, 2023.