This week's offering:
Title: The Boy In the Suitcase
Author: Lene Kaaberbol and Agnete Friss
Narrator: Katherine Kellgren
Format: Audiobook
Length: 8hrs 41min.
Publishers: AudioGo
Rating 5 Stars
Nina Borg, a Red Cross nurse, wife, and mother of two, is a compulsive do-gooder who can't say no when someone asks for help—even when she knows better. When her estranged friend Karin leaves her a key to a public locker in the Copenhagen train station, Nina gets suckered into her most dangerous project yet. Inside the locker is a suitcase, and inside the suitcase is a three-year-old boy: naked and drugged, but alive.
Is the boy a victim of child trafficking? Can he be turned over to authorities, or will they only return him to whoever sold him? When Karin is discovered brutally murdered, Nina realizes that her life and the boy's are in jeopardy, too. In an increasingly desperate trek across Denmark, Nina tries to figure out who the boy is, where he belongs, and who exactly is trying to hunt him down. -Goodreads
This
is one of the few books which defies conventional categorization; while
still managing to present a flawless work. It may appear to be a
thriller at first glance, but the further one reads into the story the
more elements such as mystery and even contemporary drama become
apparent.
This
story is very dark and gritty, but the things that make this a fact are
not as straight forward as one would think. Though the foremost
story-line concern the questions which surround the boy in the suitcase
and the reasoning behind his being there; it is only when the reader is
introduced to the lives of the adult characters and allowed to open the
closets that contains their hopes, dreams, regrets, and transgressions
that the truly monstrous moments of the tale are experienced.
Nina, Jan, and Karin all seem to suffer from the biggest case of "good intentions paving the road to hell" ever.
Jan
can't save himself for trying to save his family, Nina can't save her
family for trying to save the world, and poor Karin should "just say no
tho the entire affair."
Sigita
provides the story's heart. Her fight to against all obstacles in the
search for her son provides the light at the end of the tunnel for a
story which would otherwise prove too heart wrenching to read
Jucas and Barbara, linking these two together seems unfair to Barbara because she is "standing by her man," but when you man is as moronic violent, and opportunistic as Jucas; the term "guilt by association" more than applies
Jucas and Barbara, linking these two together seems unfair to Barbara because she is "standing by her man," but when you man is as moronic violent, and opportunistic as Jucas; the term "guilt by association" more than applies
Anne
who spends the majority of the story being patronized and lied to by
her husband stands as proof that "it's the quiet ones that you gotta
watch."
Audiobook Review
Katherine Kellgren's performance made this book a true joy to experience. The ease with which she transitioned from accent to accent, male to female, narrator to character made the story flow beautifully and brought everyone to life.
Oh my god!.. The title of the book itself is quite chilling. Very nice review!.. I think I should give it a try..
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