I'm on the fence when it comes to this book, I don't deny it's a good book, it's just that I was not completely taken with the story. But, I will get to that later on. Let's start with the good things first. I found myself really loving the Swedish angel of the story. I'm Swedish, which my blog name clearly state and JohanaGustawsson has really captured the Swedish mentality (and our love for strange food Smörgåstårta is fantastic) and I found myself really like having two characters experience the life in Sweden and the contrast to England/Canada. For them, it's quite exotic, which for me was fun because it's so natural.

The case was interesting with its connection to WW2 and Buchenwald Concentration Camp. Reflecting on the end can I only say that not everything as it seems and even though I was not really surprised to learn who the killer was did Gustawsson add a final twist to the story. One that when I learned thought "of course, why did I not think about that?".

But, and here comes my big dilemma, I was never completely taken with the story. It never really sucked me in, I felt like I have kept aloof all the time, just on the edge of being taken it, but not being able to. It happens sometimes, on the paper, it's a book that seems to be written for me, but there is just something holding me back, and I do think it's because I never really felt like I got to know Alexis and Emily. They never came to life for me, and even towards the end when one of them was in real danger did I not worry because she had not fleshed out enough for me to worry about her. But, this is just me, the book is good, no doubt at all, and the right reader will love it!

I want to thank the publisher for providing me with a free copy for an honest review! ( )

Alexis Castells is a true-crime writer living in London. The body of her close friend, Linnea, has been found mutilated and dumped in a snowy marina in Sweden. The markings and wounds on the body closely resemble those of a child who was found dead in London. As the body of another boy is found, the police begin to wonder if they have a serial killer on their hands. Clues and evidence linking a killer to either crime are sparse and police are struggling to understand a motive and connection. Emily Roy, a profiler from the Scotland Yard, has been called in to assist with the cases and try to determine if they are related and who might be behind the deaths.

Erich Ebner was sentenced to a life in the Buchenwald Concentration Camp in 1944. He was a German man fighting against the Nazis. His story is woven throughout the search for Linnea and the boy’s killer, as the past plays a vital part in learning the answers to this case. Emily and Alexis find themselves looking in the face of a terrifying connection between the horrors that happened at this concentration camp and the bodies being found in London and Sweden. Can Emily and Alexis find the connection before it is too late?

Johana Gustawsson has created an intense, mesmerizing, and addictive read with BLOCK 46! Within the first few pages I knew I was in for something special. There are so many important details to this case that must be revealed while reading, that I’m going keep my review as vague as possible.

The narrative of BLOCK 46 alternates seamlessly between the current case, Erich Ebner’s life, and the mind of the killer. As Emily and Alexis progress in the case, so too does the story of Ebner, until the two timelines meet in present day for the ultimate revelation of how they are connected. Gustawsson keeps tensions and suspicions high throughout the narrative of the present case, as the reader works alongside Emily and Alexis to find the truth. Equally tense is the emotional and horrifying trip to Buchenwald Nazi Concentration Camp where we are exposed Ebner’s journey and the meaning behind the title of this book. In addition to these two brilliant narratives, Gustawsson slips in glimpses of the killer’s mind. These storylines are expertly woven together in a methodical way to keep the reader guessing at the true connection between them.

Don’t be fooled into thinking that BLOCK 46 is your run of the mill serial killer thriller because Gustawsson has brilliance hidden in her sleeve. Throughout most of the novel I was confident my detective skills were impeccable and I knew where things were headed. Wrong. There’s this moment where Gustawsson just flips the script in an epic twist that left my jaw on the floor! In addition to that there were so many more layers to the characters of this novel that I didn’t see coming and each revelation hit me hard. I’m over the moon that this is a series and that book #2, KEEPER, is already sitting on my shelf waiting for me. Johana Gustawsson is an author you need to know! Don’t do what I did and sit around forever waiting to read this one. Go pick it up now! ( )

Block 46 – Utterly Dark but Utterly Brilliant

Block 46 is the debut thriller from French author Johana Gustawsson which has been translated by Maxim Jakubowski and it will leave you breathless. Block 46, is utterly while being utterly brilliant at the same time, this is a story that will leave you breathless at the end, delivered with a twist. Just when you think you know what is happening, there is something else that makes you stop and think. What makes this outstanding, is the use of Buchenwald which looms a very dark shadow over the book throughout.

A body is found on Hampstead Heath in London, and it is not the first to be found in the previous weeks, a mutilated body not quite cast aside but as if the killer is showing off. Emily Roy a Canadian profiler, on secondment to the Met, is assisting the investigation.

Linnea Blix is showing off her new jewellery collection, her first and her friend Alexis Castells is wearing one of her pieces. The problem is nobody has seen Linnea, and her partner Peter looks quite concerned, but when her body turns up in a marina in Sweden, Roy flies out to assist in their investigation. Alexis flies out to identify the body and stays to assist the police investigation and she learns more than she will ever need to know.

What they discover in the course of the investigation is disturbing especially as the reader is given flashbacks to Buchenwald and into the murderer’s mind. At times, it is very dark but at the same time quite moving as you are left guessing to what will happen. This book really does plumb the depths and darkness of the human soul and gives us evidence of the nature of how evil humans can be towards each other.

This book will leave a mark on whoever reads it, as it is chilling, creepy and quite amazing, another winner from Orenda Books. ( )