Everyone here is lying…
Expert on body language and memory, and consultant to the Oslo Police, psychologist Kari Voss sleepwalks through her days, and, by night, continues the devastating search for her young son, who disappeared on his birthday, seven years earlier.
Still grieving for her dead husband, and trying to pull together the pieces of her life, she is thrust into a shocking local investigation, when two teenage girls are violently murdered in a family summer home in the nearby village of Son.
When a friend of the victims is charged with the barbaric killings, it seems the case is closed, but Kari is not convinced. Using her skills and working on instinct, she conducts her own enquiries, leading her to multiple suspects, including people who knew the dead girls well…
With the help of Chief Constable Ramona Norum, she discovers that no one – including the victims – are what they seem. And that there is a dark secret at the heart of Son village that could have implications not just for her own son’s disappearance, but Kari’s own life, too…
I am thrilled to be hosting the blog tour for Son today. I absolutely loved this book but due to family illness, I haven't had time to write my review. I am looking forward to sharing my love for this exceptional thriller soon but in the meantime, I'm delighted to share an extract with you. Many thanks to Orenda Books for the advance copy of the novel and Anne Cater from Random Things Tours for inviting me to take part in the tour.
‘Kari?’
My father’s voice.
I blink.
I’m still standing in front of the dirty dishes, snatches of the day coming back to me, video clips running through my mind. But with each replay, they become more distorted, so that soon, the only memories I’ll have of today will be these deconstructed and arbitrarily reorganised images, recoloured and twisted out of shape.
‘Come.’
As I follow him down the corridor, my father turns around, glances at me briefly, before striding on authoritatively. The fact that I’m well into my forties hasn’t changed a thing – I’m still his only daughter and he is still my rock. After Vetle’s father died, my dad became my lifeline and the safety net that ensured I didn’t have to choose between my son and my career. History had repeated itself: I grew up without a mother, and my son was making his way through life without a father. But for Vetle, the absence of his father was just some abstract fact, and ‘dad’ was just a concept to him. His ‘Grandpa Police Chief ’ had fixed everything.
Police Superintendent Ramona Norum is busy talking to a uniformed police officer when she spots me. The officer responds to her instructions with quick, attentive nods, then Ramona walks over to us.
I first met her eight years ago. I had contacted her after watching a TV interview in which a defence attorney, when asked about his client’s innocence, clearly lied through his teeth. The fact that I turned out to be right was the beginning of a fruitful collaboration, which later developed into a warm friendship that also extended to Ramona’s family – Linnea and their two sets of twins.
Ramona wraps her arms around me in a maternal hug. I don’t have to imagine her pain – the pain of a mother contemplating this nightmare, and surely preferring it to be mine than hers, as any parent would – I can feel it in her body.
I break away from her, knowing full well that I will collapse completely if I let myself get caught up in the warmth of her embrace.
After Hedda and Eva had left with William, Vetle asked me if he could go over to Jesper’s place.
‘Now?’ I looked at my watch. It was almost 7:30.
‘Pleeease?’ He jumped up and down in front of me, tugging at my cardigan, anticipation glistening in his eyes.
I knew what was going on: Jesper had invited my son to play Fortnite or God knows what video game I would never allow in my house. Jesper’s parents were different. I looked at my son and ran a finger across his sweaty forehead, removing the debris of grass stuck to his harmonious features.
‘One hour,’ I said, instantly regretting it.
‘Hour and a half,’ Vetle replied. ‘It takes a bit of time to get there and back, Mama, even if I take my bike. I’ll be home by nine. Promise.’
I smiled and leaned down to kiss him, my son smelling of chlorine and the summer scent of sunscreen.
‘Okay. Not a second later.’
‘Yay!’
And with that, Vetle and Jesper had set off, as they’d done so many times before. After Vetle had called from Jesper’s house, telling me they’d arrived safely, I sent my father home and worked for a bit, putting off tidying the kitchen and garden.
I was looking forward to Vetle’s return.
Even though it would be late, I wanted to indulge him with another episode of the latest series we were watching together. After all, it would still be his birthday for another couple of hours.
It wasn’t unusual for my son to be a few minutes late, but when he hadn’t return by 9:15, I called Anita Bach-Hansen, Jesper’s mother. She told me that Jesper had taken Vetle half the way back, as he normally did, but that he had been home for a good twenty minutes. A ball of anxiety formed in my chest, paralysing me in an instant.
If you'd like to read more (and I highly recommend you do!) Son will be published by Orenda Books on 27th March 2025. You can order it from their website or find more purchasing links here.
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About the Authors
Known as the Queen of French Noir, Johana Gustawsson is one of France’s most highly regarded, award-winning authors, recipient of the prestigious Cultura Ligue de l`Imaginaire Award for her historical thriller Yule Island. Number-one bestselling books include Block 46, Keeper, Blood Song and The Bleeding. Johana lives in Sweden with her family.
Thomas Enger
A former journalist, Thomas Enger is the number-one bestselling author of the Henning Juul series and, with co-author Jørn Lier Horst, the international bestselling Blix & Ramm series. One of the biggest proponents of the Nordic Noir genre, his books have been translated into twenty-eight languages. He lives in Oslo.
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