A memorably creepy newcomer to the crowded field of Nordic noir that’s worth a miniseries itself.
An aspiring TV producer and her skeletal crew of four head deep into the Swedish hinterland to make an underfunded documentary series about a village that vanished overnight 60 years ago. What could possibly go wrong?
One day in 1959, Silvertjärn was a mining village of 887 inhabitants. The next day, its population was down to two: Birgitta Lidman, bound to a post and stoned to death in the town square, and a baby girl left in a schoolroom. Alice Lindstedt has been haunted all her life by the mystery of the vanished citizens, whose numbers included her grandmother, retired nurse Margareta, and most of her relatives. In the years since, there have been remarkably few clues. The infant, adopted long ago by a couple who raised her as Hélène Grimelund, knew nothing about the fate of her birthplace, but now Alice, who’s fought through poverty, temp jobs, and clinical depression, is resolved that “The Lost Village is my ticket out of all that.” Things go badly from the beginning. Co-producer Tone Grimelund sprains her ankle while she’s exploring one of the deserted houses and then disappears herself. Someone sets the crew’s vans on fire, and Alice’s college friend Emmy Abrahamsson, cameraman Robert, and financial backer Max eye each other warily even as they agree that the culprit must have been someone else. All the while, debut novelist Sten is counterpointing their adventures with a series of flashbacks to 1959, bringing Silvertjärn closer and closer to the brink of annihilation.
A memorably creepy newcomer to the crowded field of Nordic noir that’s worth a miniseries itself.Pub Date: March 23, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-2502-4925-8
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Minotaur
Review Posted Online: Nov. 26, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A standout in the series.
The sixth adventure of Harvard symbology professor Robert Langdon explores the mysteries of human consciousness, the demonic projects of the CIA, and the city of Prague.
“Ladies and gentlemen...we are about to experience a sea change in our understanding of how the brain works, the nature of consciousness, and in fact…the very nature of reality itself.” But first—Langdon’s in love! Brown’s devoted readers first met brilliant noetic scientist Katherine Solomon in The Lost Symbol (2009); she’s back as a serious girlfriend, engaging the committed bachelor in a way not seen before. The book opens with the pair in a luxurious suite at the Four Seasons in Prague. It’s the night after Katherine has delivered the lecture quoted above, setting the theme for the novel, which features a plethora of real-life cases and anomalies that seem to support the notion that human consciousness is not localized inside the human skull. Brown’s talent for assembling research is also evident in this novel’s alter ego as a guidebook to Prague, whose history and attractions are described in great and glowing detail. Whether you appreciate or skim past the innumerable info dumps on these and other topics (Jewish folklore fans—the Golem is in the house!), it goes without saying that concision is not a goal in the Dan Brown editing process. Speaking of editing, the nearly 700-page book is dedicated to Brown’s editor, who seems to appear as a character—to put it in the italicized form used for Brownian insight, Jason Kaufman must be Jonas Faukman! A major subplot involves the theft of Katherine’s manuscript from the secure servers of Penguin Random House; the delightful Faukman continues to spout witty wisecracks even when blindfolded and hogtied. There’s no shortage of action, derring-do, explosions, high-tech torture machines, attempted and successful murders, and opportunities for split-second, last-minute escapes; good thing Langdon, this aging symbology wonk, never misses swimming his morning laps. Readers who are not already dyed-in-the-wool Langdonites may find themselves echoing the prof’s own conclusion regarding the credibility of all this paranormal hoo-ha: At some point, skepticism itself becomes irrational.
A standout in the series.Pub Date: Sept. 9, 2025
ISBN: 9780385546898
Page Count: 688
Publisher: Doubleday
Review Posted Online: Sept. 9, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2025
Despite the stakes, the heroine’s second adventure is a generally lighthearted anti-caper.
Gabriela Rose, the recovery agent famed for being able to find almost anything, goes looking for the Rosetta Stone. And that’s only the beginning.
You didn’t know the Rosetta Stone was missing? That’s because the British Museum, wanting to keep its theft hush-hush, has been displaying a copy in its place. And Gabriela’s involvement is equally secretive. Her ex-husband, Rafer Jones, has pressed her to find it because his idiot cousin, Harley Patch, who improbably became president of the Searl and Junkett bank, has taken it upon himself to insure a slew of priceless artifacts—many of which have now gone missing. The stone, as it turns out, is surprisingly easy to find. Following the trail of Leon Blake, a new operations officer at the museum who quit two days after the theft, and John Mackey, a museum security guard who was shot to death that same day, Gabriela successfully beats out rival recovery agent Ahmed Ed Ghaly, who’s been tasked with bringing the stone back to Egypt, in the hunt. An altogether more elusive prize is the golden inner coffin of Tutankhamen’s half brother, unofficially dubbed “Brendan.” This search is more dangerous, too, because Ahmed kidnaps Harley to make sure that Gabriela turns the coffin over to him. Jim, the Cairo cabbie Gabriela hires to drive her around, takes to calling himself Jim Bond once he sees her in action; and he’s on to something—not because the fate of the free world hangs in the balance, but because “the heist to end all heists” gradually dissolves into an amusing, episodic travelogue whose climax feels like just one more picturesque tableau.
Despite the stakes, the heroine’s second adventure is a generally lighthearted anti-caper.Pub Date: Nov. 11, 2025
ISBN: 9781668027479
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Atria
Review Posted Online: Sept. 27, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2025
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