Echoes from the Dead

I read The Darkest Room: A Novel by Johan Theorin and it was a remarkable mystery novel - great characterizations, a gripping plot, and seamless storytelling. "Echoes from the Dead" is also engaging, though I have to admit that it is a bit slow to take off in terms of the plot (which wasn't the case with The Darkest Room - that book grabbed me from the first and the suspense never let up). However, "Echoes From the dead" is still a strong effort by Theorin - the story's central focus is the disappearance of a young boy Jens, from the island of Oland (which also features in The Darkest Room) more than two decades ago. His body was never found and so his fate remains a mystery. In the present, his still grieving mother, Julia Davidsson, lives on the Swedish mainland, numbing her pain with alcohol, and living on disability. When she receives a call from her estranged father Gerlof (who is living in a nursing home on Oland) that he has received a package with a child's shoes (believed to be Jens'), Julia reluctantly decides that it is time to go back to Oland and see if she can put the past to rest/unearth the truth. A sinister character named Nils Kant, a man believed to be dead since the second World War is a key suspect, and the story weaves between the past and present, from 1936, through WW II, and all the way back to the present. Although the plot takes some time to gather momentum, the reader's interest is piqued by the narrative technique - especially the details in the past - which paints of portrait of evil, yet also of love, loss, and grief. The pain experienced by Julia is palpable and very credibly drawn, and Theorin has shown his flair for writing character-driven novels, both in "Echoes from the Dead", and "The Darkest Room". The Scandinavian crime authors have shown true talent for writing engaging, suspense-driven novels, and Theorin is fast becoming one of my personal favorites.

I agree with the other reviewers--this is a very well written and enjoyable mystery with a couple of surprising twists. As one of the other reviewers said, character development, relationships, and plot all flow naturally, without being forced. I would like to add that I thought the translation was very good-- that is--there aren't any awkward passages or poor choice of words, which one often finds in translations. Finally, like Henning Mankell, this author's writing transcends the mystery genre and becomes literature. I cant wait for his next book.

After reading "Echoes From the Dead", one feels he has lived his life on the once-remote island of Oland, off the east coast of Sweden. Through the eyes of the mostly elderly residents of the foggy, rainy (at least in winter) island, a riveting tale emerges. It starts off simply -- the death of a boy -- but the plot soon twists and turns and becomes more and more complex by the page. In like fashion, the suspense increases exponentially and by the end of the book, the surprises come rolling in like waves off the Baltic Sea. As others have pointed out, this book succeeds on several levels: a whodunit, a travelogue of a mysterious, almost mystical place; and a compelling novel about a community, its people and their blood-deep relationships with each other. The characters are well-drawn and memorable. The plot is (mostly) believeable and not too reliant on coincidence. All in all, a very good book by a promising author.

In this beautifully written book everything unfolds so naturally and quietly, you hardly feel you're reading a novel. You are there, on a remote Swedish island where the landscape has a moody beauty unlike anything you know, with so few inhabitants that rarely is another human being visible. Almost everyone in this small world seems to have secrets, or theories about other people's secrets. What really happened twenty years ago when a little boy disappeared in the fog? What was the fate of the young man who terrorized the island with his violent impulses? And is there any connection between these two mysteries? The old people on the island are immensely appealing, even though they don't talk much. For our heroine we are given a lackluster middle-aged woman who, though short on romantic qualities, totally engages our sympathy. The ending? A surprise that only a few brooding old men could possibly have foreseen.

I can't add much to Librarian's insightful review, except "Ditto". What I liked best about the book was the realism of the relationships. Nothing was forced. I also appreciated that the somewhat convoluted mystery actually made sense. That doesn't always happen with a twisty plot.