Buried in Silence takes place in the very north of Sweden, on the banks of Torne River which is the border to Finland. It’s ice cold midwinter, when a former cross country skier, the loner Lapp-Erik, is beaten to death in an old farm, isolated from the rest of the village.
In the meantime, further south, Katrine returns from London, where she has lost her job as a correspondent for Swedish Radio. She discovers that her mother has gone into dementia, and when going through her belongings she reveals secrets about their past that has been kept in silence for decades. It all leads to the northern village Kivikangas and further east, into the fallen empire of the Soviet Union.
Buried in Silence is a page-turning crime novel that develops into a dark family chronicle, with strings back through the entire twenties century. It describes the human longing for a life worth living.
”I think I have to resort to big words, in my world she stands side by side with authors like Dennis Lehane and Ross McDonald. With Buried in Silence Tove Alsterdal confirms that she belongs among the elite crime writers or Sweden.”
Norrbottenskuriren
”Tove Alsterdal is a new star on the Swedish crime sky who really found her own style, a harsh criticism of society and a Swedish noir.”
Borås Tidning
”It may be a fact that the best detective novel of 2012 has already been published. This is the best I’ve read in a very, very long time.”
DAST Magazine
”Tove Alsterdal’s new crime novel is more than a gripping thriller – it’s a great psychological drama, a contemporary historical novel and a small melancholy love song.”
Västerbottens-Kuriren
”Tove Alsterdal has written a brilliant detective intrigue, where the old north Sweden meet the new, the old and new Russia collide and where a woman tries to find her family’s history in a tangle of lies and helpless idealism.”
Dagens Nyheter
”In her second novel, Buried in silence, she keeps the international grip, while confirming that she owns a very special and impressively strong author’s voice. Tomb of silence keeps me in a stranglehold from the opening scene at the ruined homestead where everything comes back until the surprising and bold ending.”
Göteborgsposten
”This is a novel about dreams and aspirations for a better life. The wandering in and out of a black family history makes Buried in Silence so much better than the regular Swedish action detective story.”
Sundsvalls tidning
”Anyone who writes a book should have something to say, he or she should have a good story. Tove Alsterdal has not only a good story, she has several, and she also highlights the history of northern Sweden. This is so much more than a detective story.”
Norrländska socialdemokraten
”Alsterdal offers more than just a crime novel in the northern environment. This is also a pretty sad family chronicle throught the twenties century, ranging from the very north of Sweden to the darkest parts of the Soviet Union history. Alsterdal carries the reader all through the story without ever loosing momentum. This is a very worthy sequel to her first novel.”
Kristianstadsbladet
”Without anticipating my upcoming review of the second Alsterdal novel too much, I can still say that it will probably take a position on 2012’s list of best crime novels.”
Skanskan.se
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