Thank you Hogarth and Netgalley for providing this ARC. This is the second book I’ve read by this author and it was almost as good as the first. Carlsson really does a great job getting into the characters’ minds, making these more than just the typical Swedish murder mystery driven only by plot. I will read more by the author in the future. Recommend this for Jo Nesbo, Stieg Larsson readers.

This is a murder mystery but also so much more than that. It's told in two POVs over two decades or so. The first POV is Isak who is 8 when the book starts; the other is Vidar, a local cop investigating a murder/arson.

The story twists and turns throughout the years, niggling doubt that arises from a guilty verdict and how you can sometimes simply become who people think you are. This book is sad in a lot of ways but also has hope tucked away. It's a very well done character driven story.

Under the Storm by Christoffer Carlsson is a superb read and well worth the time spent! Great plot and characters.

Under the Storm by Christoffer Carlsson is an intriguing Scandinavian crime fiction novel.
This crime story was exciting, perfectly paced and utterly gripping.
The characters they are consistently exciting and unpredictable.
This shocking read is a page-turner that you won’t be able to put down.
From the very start, the reader is taken down a dark journey I didn’t want to end so soon.

"I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."

Thank You NetGalley and Random House & Hogarth for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

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When intrigued me to this ARC from NetGalley was the blurb by another author that Christoffer Carlsson is to Sweden what Cormac McCarthy is to the West. Wow not faint praise. But I was nowhere as impressed. A woman is found dead in a house fire. It is determined to be a murder. The police hone in one one suspect and one suspect only. The book goes on way too, long eventually leading to the present when all is revealed. WHAT?????

A young woman is found murdered in a farmhouse that has burned down. To the people of the community the fire becomes a reference as a before and after. The most likely suspect is the boyfriend of the murdered woman. After a quick investigation he’s found guilty and sentenced to life in prison. The rookie cop that responded to the fire and helped put the boyfriend behind bars prides himself on solving the murder. But little does he know, it’s a defining act in his career and personal life.

slow burns are normally my thing but this one, not so much. I was expecting it to be fast paced but that’s not how I experienced the book. As what really happened started to be unveiled the outcome for everyone was quite sad. Maybe I wasn’t in the right mind set for this one but it felt a little too long for my liking. Although it was a miss for me, it might be a hit for you.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for the ARC, and giving me the chance to read and review it honestly.

This mystery had so much going for it - multiple perspectives (in time and narrators), captivating characters and relationships, a very dramatic storm, fire, and other events, as well as two protagonists who felt very differently about the events/mystery in question. I felt like I had a strong sense that something would work out, but I had no idea how. Which is what you want in a mystery/police procedural!

The story unfolds on multiple levels - the actual crime and solving of it (or not), how it affects the community, and how it affects the two protagonists, especially Isak. Isak is a child when his uncle is convicted of murder and arson and his coming of age is juxtaposed with the developments of the criminal investigation. Vidar, the other protagonist, is also deeply affected, and his concerns and disillusionment felt very personal and realistic.

This book is over 400 pages, but I flew through it as I always wanted to know what was next.

I absolutely loved Blaze Me a Sun,, but am less enamored with Under the Storm. A well-liked local girl is brutally murdered and her boyfriend is the most likely suspect. He is quickly convicted and sentenced to life in prison. The repercussions resonate across decades and generations, most critically with his beloved nephew and the young policeman who first sees him at the murder scene. Unwinding what actually happened that night is painful for everyone involved, leaving broken families, marriages, and individuals in its wake. It is a slow burn of a novel and there are no happy endings. It left me unsettled.

This excellent mystery is set in a small town in western Sweden. A house burns, and the body of a well-liked young woman is found inside., murdered, not burned. The story is rolled out over several decades as families grapple with the arrest and sentencing of a local man, the loss of the victim and questions about the crime. Christoffer Carlsson has created many compelling characters in "Under the Storm: but the one who stands out is Isak, who is eleven when his beloved uncle is sentenced to life in prison. We watch him grow up and have to take on the mantle of violence the town has laid on his family.

This is a skilled and gripping novel, brilliantly realized and artfully translated (by Rachel Willson-Broyles.) Carlsson is a professor of criminology and certainly has the gift for digging into his characters' brains and hearts. I'm so impressed by this book that I've already started "Blaze Me a Sun." Don't miss this outstanding thriller.

This was quite the story. It follows a child, Isak, his uncle whom he adores who is found guilty of murder and Vidar, the police officer who helped send Edvard to prison.

Living in a small community, the actions of Edvard bear a great weight upon Isak and his parents. Isak struggles with believing that whatever was wrong with Edvard will also manifest itself in him.

Vidar struggles at one point in wondering if Edvard was the right man. His looking into it does not bode well for him, professionally or personally.

This book put forth some personalities in great detail, their thoughts, their joys, their sorrows. I will be taking some time to digest what took place and especially in how it ended.

Thank you NetGalley and Hogarth Publishing for this early read.

Book : Under The Storm
Author : Christoffer Carlsson
Pub Date : 27, Feb 2024

Thank you NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group—Random House, Hogarth, & the author for the opportunity to read and review this book.

The book is one heck of a fast paced crime novel that literally with twist and bend your brain. This book will absolutely have you thinking. I love a crime book and I love a book that speaks about all the important things that many are too worried about talking about in society. The story/plot was well done and the characters and their dialogue was very well done as well.

We follow a murder that takes place in a small little town, a young boy and his uncle is convicted and found guilty of this crime but is the case actually closed and that’s where the twists and turns take you—they leave you questioning what truly happened and why is everybody so quick to point fingers in this small town. We follow Vidal, a new officer who was first on the scene as he tries to help solve this crime and bring true justice. This book had me on the edge of my seat the entire time flipping the pages and trying to solve this the entire time up until the end. I didn’t see the ending coming either.

I will absolutely recommend this to my crime loving bookish friends and I cannot wait for its release in February. I can’t wait to see what else this author comes out with in the future. This is going to be such a great on to have on your TBR or pre-order list right away!

This novel is translated as stated… I am not an expert but for me that was one of the problems. The language is stilted at times and not expressed as I would expect. Translation is an art form also and this book needs editing. The plot is obvious but the characters are poorly described and it is difficult to relate to their stories. The author seems to have tackled too many themes.. racism… prejudice… small town idiosyncratic behavior.. alcoholism.. etc. As a murder mystery, it lacked pace and the ending was melodramatic.

Christoffer Carlsson is a well known author and criminologist professor in Sweden and becoming a name here in the US. His ability to articulate the motivations and illnesses of humans as well as the explaining the trauma of crime is unmatched.

In Under the Storm, a young woman is found murdered in a farmhouse that is burnt to the ground. Isak is a 10 year old bystander
and while his beloved uncle is found guilty, it's unclear if the case was truly solved. Carlsson addresses societal issues regarding who pays for a crime and for how long as he takes on a trip through Marbäck, a town attempting to bounce back after a violent crime.
#UnderThestorm #ChristofferCarlsson #randomhouse

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this eARC.

Christopher Carlsson's Under the Storm delivers a disturbingly delicious crime novel that provides you with a tantalizing buffet of food for thought...

Are we doomed to develop into that criminal who society is all too certain we will become?

Or, convicted by a court, regardless of the details (such as: was the verdict correct) and, as time passes, does anyone care if justice was done, as long as someone is paying the price demanded by society? Do issues such as guilt and innocence continue to matter when your future is forever restricted to residing in a bleak tiny cell, attempting to continue surviving only to wake daily to the realization that you are trapped in a "ground hog's day" from hell, the incarcerated edition...

As this atmospheric moody contemplation of a crime unfolded,
I was reminded that people are not as unique as we would like to believe, the small-minded neighbors in this Swedish crime novel instantly brought memories of my youth (raised as a Quaker in rural Iowa, nonetheless) immediately to the forefront of my mind.

Until next time, I hope you take the opportunity to read this literary masterpiece of a crime novel...