The Night Singer: A Novel (The Island Murders Book 1)
The Night Singer: A Novel (The Island Murders Book 1) book cover

The Night Singer: A Novel (The Island Murders Book 1)

Kindle Edition

Price
$11.99
Publisher
Penguin Books
Publication Date

Description

“…readers will readily engage with Hanna, a no-nonsense, dogged, and thoughtful investigator. Mo is off to a strong start.”— Publishers Weekly "Author Johanna Mo crafts a breakneck island noir where secrets linger, guilt stains, and collective memory is long and unforgiving. Propulsive and poignant,xa0The Night Singerxa0explores the fallout of when good people do bad things." -- Author Stories Podcast “The start of Mo’s series makes you want to read more.” -xa0Börsenblatt (Frankfurt) “Highly suspenseful until the tragic case is solved.” -xa0Westfalen-Blatt (Germany) “This book sucks you right in.” -xa0Delmenhorster Kreisblatt (Germany) “Immensely thrilling psychological suspense.” -xa0Fränkische Nachrichten (Germany) “Johanna Mo has established herself as one of Sweden’s most reliable crime writers. Quality is guaranteed when you get one of her books in your hands. […] The characters are brimming with life and are of flesh and blood, it feels like they come straight out of real life. […] Johanna Mo really delivers. She’s written good books before, but The Night Singer is her best one so far.” - Dast Magazine (Sweden) “Johanna Mo wants more than to write a crime novel, she wants to examine atonement andxa0forgiveness. She asks questions about what it’s like to live with guilt and the crimes committed by someone else. […] This is a captivating journey into the minds and psyches of both victims and perpetrators, and it’s so much more than just a clever crime mystery.” - SVT Sommaröppet (Sweden) “Mo explores themes of bullying, infidelity, familial violence, discrimination based on sexuality and gender—in short, many of the bugbears that plague 21st-century Western culture. The Night Singer is just excellent and the perfect setup for a sequel, which I hope is in the offing imminently.”— BookPage “I’m extremely taken by how intimate this book is. Never before have I read a fictional novel that feels so real. […] It's also a page turner and I was urged to devour it in one sitting - just the right book to get me in holiday mood.” - Kalmarposten (Sweden) “ The Night Singer centers around a trauma that is charged with anxiety. [...] The intensity is gruesome and consistent throughout the novel. From the beginning to the very last page, Hanna’s thoughts are continuously centered on the crimes of her father. After sixteen years it’s still ever present, with both her and the reader. It’s distressing and thought-provoking. […] Hanna Duncker is a sombre police protagonist who will be interesting to follow.” - Kristianstadsbladet (Sweden) “ The Night Singer is the first part in The Island Murders series. It centers on prejudices and relationships, and follows both the victim and the perpetrator closely. The characters are complex, and the setting is gorgeous. […] A crime novel about not being able to cut the ties to your hometown and past.” - Sveriges Radio (Sweden)“Instead of indulging in gory action, [Mo]creates suspense through the portrayal of people, relationships, and emotions.” - Stavanger Aftenblad , 5/6 Stars (Norway) xa0 “Intrigues and complicated relationships that go back through generations come to light with a richxa0and credible cast of characters...xa0This one will getxa0you hooked!” - Adresseavisen , 6/6 stars (Norway) “Incredibly well-written.” - Solbryggen (Norway) xa0 “... a smashing new bookxa0with an authentic plot and a believable cast of characters that captures the reader... The Night Singer is a crime novel that you just can’t put down, and it deservesxa0a big and loyal audience.” - POV International (Denmark) “A very realisticxa0crime story packed with engaging psychological aspects such as the relationship between spouses,xa0infidelity, parents and children, the relationship between siblings, teenage life, he/she/they, the pastxa0versus the present” - Findals Krimiside, 5/5 (Denmark) xa0 “The plot is solid and extremely well thought-out. It is one those crime novelsxa0where the pages nearly turn themselves, that are impossible to put down.” - Litteratursiden (Denmark) Johanna Mo was born in Kalmar, Sweden, and now lives with her family in Stockholm. She has spent the last twenty years working as a literary critic, translator, and freelance editor. The Night Singer is her English-language debut. --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

Features & Highlights

  • The #1 international crime series from Sweden!An island never forgets -- especially if you're the daughter of a murderer
  • Police detective Hannah Duncker didn’t expect to return to her native Öland. She fled after her father’s murder conviction and returns to make peace with her shame. She has a new job with the local police and a nosy new partner. A fifteen-year-old’s death catapults her into a murder investigation that resurrects ghosts from her previous life. As she hunts for the truth, she must confront the people she abandoned. Not all are pleased to see her back home, and she soon learns that digging through the past comes with consequences.Author Johanna Mo crafts a breakneck island noir where secrets linger, guilt stains, and collective memory is long and unforgiving. Propulsive and poignant,
  • The Night Singer
  • explores the fallout of when good people do bad things.

Customer Reviews

Rating Breakdown

★★★★★
30%
(120)
★★★★
25%
(100)
★★★
15%
(60)
★★
7%
(28)
23%
(91)

Most Helpful Reviews

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Really good

Never expected the ending. I enjoyed this book and look forward to more in the series. Good mystery.
6 people found this helpful
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Great first novel

Set in a small town in southeast Sweden, the protagonist, detective Hanna Duncker, has an interesting backstory and the mystery is well written. I've trouble finding new mysteries (police procedurals) that I like in the past year, and I would put this in my top 5. Looking forward to the second book!

1 star off for the relationship between Hannah and her partner, Eric. No chemistry Their conversations were a bit boring, not like the rest of the book. Hope that improves in the 2nd book.
5 people found this helpful
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riveting!

One of the best books I have read so far this year. Well written and suspenseful. This author has you glued to the book with so many twists I loved her characters. Well developed and gritty
3 people found this helpful
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Surprisingly good.

I am always on the lookout for new Scandinavian writers and book settings. Something about that north country always makes me try a new addition. I was mildly surprised that I enjoyed this one so much.

A police detective with a murky past moves back to her hometown and immediately finds herself immersed in the death of a young man, the son of her best friend growing up. As Hanna investigates she finds herself reliving the past with family memories that will not stay buried and an itch to learn more about her father’s tragic past.

All in all a good read with a guessing game up into the very end, and emotional introspection on gender identity and its affect on our youth. I look forward to the next one since this ending has left it wide open for another.

Enjoy!
3 people found this helpful
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Excellent Read!!

Excellent characterizations and descriptions. I read this quickly as it held my interest. I look forward to more of her books.
3 people found this helpful
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Welcome New Detective

Hanna is a strong & appealing new detective; her focus - those details she attends to - feel reasonable, making her a believable character. The range of supporting characters is not “overheated” which allows them to be interesting while muted. I appreciate the enduring background mystery of Hanna’s father’s guilt, as well as her return to her hometown and the fraught relationships she left as a teen. Fertile ground. This is a quiet, tragic mystery.
2 people found this helpful
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Must read!

Great read! There was a lot of twists I never saw coming and I couldn’t put it down. I’ve also read the 2nd one in the series and it is equally good. Great mystery/thriller that keeps you thinking long after you have finished reading it.
2 people found this helpful
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Suspenseful

Enjoyed it very much. Enjoyed it enjoyed it enjoyed enjoyed go over Google good six more words and I'm out of herr
1 people found this helpful
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Very good book

A good read. I don’t struggle with the pronunciation of the different areas so maybe that helps but I’ve always enjoyed books about Norway, Sweden and other Nordic countries. This story kept me going, especially toward the end as events moved a little quicker.