The Disappeared by Kristina Ohlsson

I always love when I find a book that's so good, I don't want to stop reading. Kristina Ohlsson has written such a book in The Disappeared.  A college student named Rebecca goes missing on her way to a party and now, two years later, her body's been found buried and dismembered in the woods. The police keep digging and discover that Rebecca isn't the only body in the grave.

There's a quite a few suspects in the murder of Rebecca that the police need to narrow down. And what about that second body in the grave? Forensics date this body's death at least thirty years ago. Is this the work of a serial killer? Are there more bodies buried here? As the police work on the suspect list, several of the characters' lives become intertwined with each other in unsuspecting ways.

Our heroine is Fredrika Bergman, an investigative analyst, who's just returned from maternity leave early because her live-in boyfriend's been suspended from his job as a college professor. As Fredrika delves into Rebecca's past, she discovers that at the time of her disappearance, Rebecca had been doing research for her thesis paper on a children's writer named Thea Aldrin. Aldrin had spent time in prison for murder and was suspected in the disappearance of her own son. Now out of prison and residing in an assisted-living complex, the police can't question her as she's chosen to be mute and refuses to speak.

There are two male protagonists. The first is Fredrika's boss, Alex Recht; recently widowed and still mourning the loss of his wife. Alex originally worked Rebecca's missing person case and still keeps in touch with the young woman's mother. Then there's Peder Rydh, a colleague of Fredrika's and on the investigative team searching for Rebecca's murderer.

Ohlsson has skillfully woven together a complex tale of suspense. There are so many layers created by the author that the reader finds herself swept up into the lives of all the characters; each layer providing more detail to the story.

I really enjoyed reading The Disappeared. It's one of the best murder mysteries I've read in awhile. Not only that, but it's part of a series. So far, this is the only one I've read (and it works out fine as a stand-alone book), but I'm excited to go back and read the other ones by Ohlsson.


Thanks for stopping by today,
Michelle