Borderline
An Annika Bengtzon Thriller
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Publisher Description
The inspiration for the hit film series, Annika Bengtzon: Crime Reporter, now available on Netflix.
In the newest thriller from #1 internationally bestselling author Liza Marklund, dubbed the “Queen of Scandinavian Crime Fiction,” Annika Bengtzon tracks an unknown adversary through a web of lies and violence—bringing her face-to-face with a terrifying enemy.
Annika Bengtzon is back at Kvällspressen’s Stockholm offices after three years as the newspaper’s Washington, DC correspondent. One afternoon, a young woman is found dead behind a nursery school in a Stockholm suburb. She is the fourth victim with the same characteristics: a young mother, stabbed from behind. In the editorial offices of Kvällspressen they sense a serial killer, but Annika dismisses it as a wild fantasy. Meanwhile, her husband Thomas is attending an international conference in Nairobi, Kenya. During a reconnaissance trip to the Somali border the entire delegation of seven European envoys is kidnapped. As the murder spree in Stockholm continues, Annika is dragged into a violent hostage situation that shakes both Europe and East Africa. When their unreasonable demands are rejected, the kidnappers begin to execute the hostages, one by one.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In Marklund's meandering ninth Annika Bengtzon thriller (after 2014's The Long Shadow), the Swedish reporter pursues a story for the Stockholm newspaper Evening Post, trying to determine whether a serial killer is responsible for the death of a young mother whose body is found near a nursery school. Meanwhile, Annika's newly reconciled husband, Thomas Samuelsson, has volunteered to attend an EU conference in Kenya. But during a trip to the Somali border, all seven delegates are kidnapped by rebel soldiers, who threaten to execute the delegates unless their exorbitant ransom for each hostage is met. The uneven action awkwardly moves from the overly graphic torture of the hostages to Annika's efforts to deal with home, work, the kidnappers, and the political ramifications. While Annika remains a strong, intriguing character, the grueling scenes in Kenya overwhelm the exhausting plot.
Customer Reviews
Borderline
Annika is a reporter whose husband has been kidnapped while on a diplomatic mission in Africa. Borderline is the story of what happens during Annika's and her husband's, Thomas, lives while Thomas is held captive.
The story is complex. While Annika is facing the death of her husband, she is also chasing down a serial killer plaguing Stockholm.
Thomas is a serial cheater. He is constantly searching for new women to conquer; taking assignments from the UN that give him more opportunities to find new conquests. For this reason, Annika doesn't realize Thomas was kidnapped until she is contacted by Thomas's boss Jimmy Halenius (Under Secretary).
Annika and Jimmy are working together to free Thomas, while Thomas is battling to survive as a prisoner in the wilds of Africa.
I enjoyed how Marklund gives us both Annika's and Thomas's viewpoints. The kidnapping and desperation to raise the ransom was the primary plot with the serial killer being secondary. I personally found the serial killer aspect somewhat of a distraction that stunted the stories flow.
Overall, the story was quite intense. You where given more of the plot, then the characters, by Marklund's choice to give us both viewpoints; while she still manages to make us feel the stress of each of the character's journey. This is a dark, suspense filled mystery, Borderline leaves us wondering with the the question of what is to come next and making us want more.
I received this ARC copy of Borderline From Atria/Emily Bestler Books in exchange for a honest review.