Marked for Life: A Nordic Crime Novel (Jana Berzelius, 1)

Swedish author Steig Larrson’s best-selling Millennium Trilogy with its story of Lisbeth Salander was an international smash and created a whole new market for Scandinavian mystery writers. Readers, hoping to find another Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, bought mystery books out of Sweden, Norway, and Denmark the second they hit the shelves. Some were hits, many, unfortunately, were not.

Emelie Schepp’s debut novel, Marked for Life, a story of human trafficking, murder, secret lives and child assassins, sounded like an intriguing novel with a solid storyline. A woman discovers her husband shot to death in their living room. An unassuming man, he has no enemies or police record. A child’s fingerprints are found at the scene and the police are puzzled. The story shifts to a scene with refugees hiding on a ship and a little girl is eager to arrive at their “new home.” The idea for the novel is strong.

Unfortunately I spent the first quarter of the book mentally correcting the unbelievable amount of grammatical errors, overuse of exclamation points and crude sentence structure. Quite possibly due to poor translation from Swedish to English, it made for an agonizing start. Once the police find another body, one with the name of the Greek god of death crudely carved onto his neck, the story begins to pick up and I could overlook some of the errors.

We know it took a character exactly fifteen minutes to eat her breakfast. We know the full name of every character, even what they are wearing, major or minor, doesn't matter. One scene starts out with every single character leaning against something; the word is used three times in the very short paragraph. A door is “shut under her nose.” A character’s eyes are “peeled all the time.” Painful.

Once I was able to overlook the inferior writing, I realized I did not like any of the characters. Detective Mia Bolander (first introduced as Maria, probably another error) is rude, crass, spiteful and unable to hide her jealous dislike of prosecutor Jana Berzelius. Every scene with Mia leaves the reader cringing at her behaviour. Jana, the main character of the trilogy, is cold and distant but becomes more interesting when it is revealed she is hiding something from her past. The male detectives are interchangeable and I kept getting them mixed up with one another.

The story of the refugee girl is the most compelling and also the most violent. But the logic behind her storyline is a huge stretch for the reader. If compared to the existence of child soldiers in Uganda it makes some sense. In Sweden, however, it is far-fetched. And, without getting too spoilerish, the explanation for what happens to her is too convenient and, again, far-fetched.

Marked for Life is the first in a trilogy but I cannot bring myself to continue the story of Jana Berzelius.

Who translated this book? Whoever it is shouldn't be allowed to translate another book. Ever. I am 14% into the book and I just can't get over the literal translation from Swedish to English, even where the Swedish and English words don't have the same meaning. Isn't there an editor? It may well be a superb book and it may well have a great plot, but the translation is killing the story for me.

The perplexing murder of the head of a Migration Unit forces a female prosecutor to explore her own dark past. Jana, the prosecutor is cold and emotionally stunted. While she excels at her job, she has no friends and a strained relationship with her equally unemotional parents. Placed in charge of the investigation, Jana triggers the hostilities of the female investigator Mia. Mia suffers from class envy in general and Jana envy specifically. Her behave is unacceptably unprofessional. The male officers are bland, The tale alternates from the murder mystery with a surprisingly young suspect with the saga of illegal immigrants in a shipping container. Naturally the stories merge, exposing the ugly truth.

This book makes me rethink my taste for Nordic crime novels. It was not engaging. I really didn't care about any of the characters Most were interchangeable and the ones that weren't were just plain unlikable. Damaged heroines are nothing new but there must be some fire underneath the ice. Jana is no LIsbeth Salander or Kathy Mallory. She is emotionally flat with no fury. The police work is plodding and the big reveal unconvincing. It is okay but ultimately flat and forgettable.

A special thank you to Mira and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Swedish author, Emelie Schepp delivers her US debut, MARKED FOR LIFE, the first in the crime trilogy, (Jana Berzelius #1).

A prosecutor leading a high-profile investigation- for a dark chilling multi-layered twisty plot leading into a human-trafficking operation, and the protagonist’s own intriguing mysterious personal past.

Both subtle and grisly, a delicious Nordic noir. The author delivers complexity and inner turmoil, exemplified by Jana’s character and the bone-chilling Scandinavian setting.

Public prosecutor Jana Berzelius grew up in a household where emotions were kept at a distance. With a retired prosecutor father, who would never congratulate his daughter on a successful court case. Jana was accustomed to his taciturnity. Even her mother Margaretha, who was warm and loving during her childhood, seemed to prefer to clean the house rather than play games with her. At age thirty she treated her parents with the same unemotional respect with which they had raised her.

Jana is called by her superior to assist on an investigation. A woman had been detailed after she called the police to report finding her husband Hans Juhlén dead. The official in charge of migration asylum issues in Norrkoping. Shot. Murdered. Age fifty-nine. They had been married since age eighteen. The wife says she did not killer her husband, only found him. Forensic experts say the murder took place in the home.

Mia Bolander (rivals) was not thrilled to be working with Jana (the one with no personality, stiff, formal, arrogant diva upperclass girl. Jana was old money, while Mia with her working-class background was mortgaged. Now working on the case Henrick Levin, Mia, and Jana.

From clues of threatening letters, messages, cash, and fingerprints belonging to a child whose body turns up a few days later. The couple did not have children. His work had made him vulnerable. The decision process for asylum was difficult and he did not like turning seekers away. People were desperate and not everyone qualified. Threats, revenge, blackmail? Had he gotten to close?

During the case, we receive flashbacks from Jana's childhood. Strange dreams she had been experiencing- like nightmares. Was the case bringing back repressed memories? Her scar. Adopted. Four letters. Six numbers. Shipping containers. Innocent children.

A girl, a boy, and a woman. A mission. A boy is found. A scar. Child trafficking. A Mirror. Who is looking for the lost children? Her own dark past? Carving by a child’s hand. Letters carved in the skin. A stolen childhood, murdered parents. Refugees, drugs, money, smugglers? First Hans Juhlen, then the boy and last Thomas Rydberg. Mass graves at sea.

To protect her own hidden past, Jana must find the suspect behind these murders, before the police does. She had been told she had fallen down onto a rail track in the underground and hit her head so hard she lost her memory. Jana Berzelius has not told anyone that she woke up at a hospital without any memories when she was nine years old. Memories or fantasies? Images and fragments through dreams. She has to know who she really is, while searching for the truth of the boy.

“From a crushed child you can carve out a deadly weapon. A soldier without any feelings, without anything to lose, is the most dangerous there is.”

The Scandinavian crime fiction or Nordic noir, is compelling --from dark secrets and hidden hatreds. Comprising crime fiction with common characteristics, of cop procedures, an engrossing mystery, suspense and forensics, the author explores the dark, morally complex mood, of Jana. Her identity- delving into her own childhood, making the intensity high and personal. Fascinating, and unique. Staying one step ahead of the police.

Marked For Life is an intriguing beginning to the dark, enigmatic and absorbing Jana Berzelius trilogy. Looking forward to the next! Also listened to the Audiobook (Harlequin Audio), narrated by Christine Lakin for an engaging performance!

The translation into English is horrendous. This may have a great plot but the writing presented me with a hurdle I couldn’t get over. I didn’t see a translator credit on my copy — did they know they did a terrible job and remove their name? Was the translation done by a machine? I hope the latter!

The plot is unbelievable, the characters unlikable and uninteresting, and the translation horrible. I can't believe the good reviews.

No problems

Very good book

Like many others, I found the translation to get in the way of the story, which would have been good enough to carry my interest had it not been so difficult to wade through the awkward writing.

Anyhow, I'm a sucker for Scandi-lit so I liked this in spite of the difficulties. I would read the next installment, hoping the translation problems might get sorted out.

I thought the story was like many others (deranged killer with strange propensities, damaged protagonist, et cet) but with enough that was unique to make the story interesting to read.

I was sent a copy of this book by the publicist for an honest review! I cannot thank them enough for this book because I really liked this book! But being sent this book did not influence my rating and review of it.

Marked for Life is a crime novel that starts off with a high-ranking member of the migration board who is found shot to death in his home. The detectives and public prosecutor have to work to solve the crime which goes into the child trafficking spectrum.

This book just kept me hooked! I loved the writing, the characters, the plot, and the dark moments in it. I really felt that the characters were so well developed! They were interesting, and Jana was my favorite in this novel! She has such an interesting back story, and she takes such an interesting turn during the novel. I really loved reading about her and everything going on with her. There were moments with her that I really didn’t expect!

I really liked how this book went into dark topics like child trafficking that you don’t normally hear much about. I liked how it really was linked up to the main character. It made you wonder how they were related to each other and the whole back story! And when you find out you just...it just really blows your mind!

The writing was amazing as well. I really loved how this author wrote, and it really kept you interested in what was happening. Her writing made me want to check her out again! I cannot wait for the second book in this series, I really want to see what happens in the series! I highly highly recommend this book to crime/mystery lovers everywhere! You’ll love this book, and won’t be able to put it down!