We are with Annika Bengtzon again, Swedish journalist, whose civil service husband Thomas is among international delegates kidnapped in Kenya. Annika has reunited with this selfish, unfaithful man since the prior novel in the series. Anguish arises as ransom demands are made and one victim’s dead body is found in Mogadishu; they’ve been taken to lawless Somalia. It’s not exactly a travelogue although you will feel as if you’ve been in both countries. Once again, Annika’s alleged friend Anne fails her in crisis time; once again, newspaper colleague Berit proves to be the real friend. Stunned and shaky, Annika’s grip on reality wanders. But she slowly bonds with Jimmy Halenius, Thomas’s boss, who literally moves in with her to be the ransom negotiator.
Meanwhile, the discovery of a dead woman, stabbed in a Stockholm suburb, reminds Annika of some similar cases; others on the newspaper then pursue the angle of a serial killer while Annika’s boss Schyman muses cynically about journalistic ethics. Schyman contemplates resigning on a high note—exclusive rights to the year’s biggest story: following Annika’s ordeal as ransom negotiations progress for Thomas’s return. In exchange for the newspaper providing ransom money, Annika regretfully agrees to Schyman’s deal. Saving Thomas is all she can think of. But impossible deadlines have been set, she must go to Nairobi in person for impossible instructions. While Annika’s part is told in third person, Thomas’s story is related in first person. Emotions are very intense, the scenes of kidnap victims are beyond gruesome—not for delicate eyes/imaginations. What will Marklund come up with next for Annika? .. go easy on the torture stuff, eh?
Annika
▪ But she had always known there were other women. No one in particular, just women he could get into bed without too much effort. (92)
▪ All the media in Sweden would be calling her today, trying to get an interview and preferably exclusive rights to her story in their particular sphere. (139)
▪ The landline rang, and Annika stiffened from her toes to the roots of her hair. (171)
▪ “How could you?” she said in a thin voice, and felt the dam burst. Tears fell and she tried to push him away. He held her tight. (334)
▪ He would never have been the same as he was: the man she had married was long gone, even before the ransom money had disappeared. (511)
Thomas
▪ Among other things, he told us that we were faithless dogs who deserved to die a slow and painful death, and that the Great Leader, or the Great General, would decide our fate. (59-60)
▪ I screamed and screamed until the tin door was removed and the light fell in on the body, like an explosion, and I saw all the ants. (216)
Jimmy
▪ “They must never think we are lying to them.” (209)
▪ “It’s rain on the roof,” Halenius whispered in the darkness. “Isn’t it wonderful?” (485)
▪ Halenius let out a shout and the plane was hit by the pressure-wave. A huge pillar of smoke was arising from where the bus had been standing. (506)
Others
▪ “The delegation consisted of representatives of seven EU member states who were going to find out more about border security between Kenya and Somalia, then report back to the conference. The problem is that the delegation has disappeared.” (39)
▪ “And poor Kalle ‒ imagine him having to grow up without a father. Has Thomas got life insurance?” (56)
▪ “The media are part of an experience industry. Their role is not to reflect reality but to dramatize it.” (291)
▪ “If I hadn’t been so busy helping you I’d be in a far better position myself. I held back to support you, and this is the thanks I get?” (346-7)
▪ “Prices have more than doubled since the pirates started their kidnapping racket.” (433)
Bolton does it again, an edge-of-the-seat thriller about missing or dead children. This time, the setting is the Falkland Islands in 1994 when the brief but bloody war with Argentina is still fairly fresh. A small boy has gone missing and the islanders are greatly alarmed because this is the third one; the first two were never found. Furthermore, even before the missing boys, a tragic event involving children took place. In sequence, we get sections devoted to three of the principals close to that event: grief-stricken Catrin, mother of two little boys who died in a careless car accident; ex-soldier Callum, in love with married Catrin; guilt-laden Rachel, who had caused the lethal accident. As Bolton pulls us into their orbit one by one, each has reason to seem unbalanced enough to have snatched a now-newly missing child.
Catrin and Rachel were best friends all their lives – until Catrin’s boys died in Rachel’s car. Callum’s affair with Catrin came to an abrupt end then too, but he lives in hope. Both women had two boys of the same ages, but Rachel has an unnatural aversion to her third child until he too goes missing. The relationships are complicated, the plot constantly shifting, the action fast-moving. Evoking Coleridge’s The Rime of the Ancient Mariner several times is utterly in keeping. There’s an episode of mass whale-beaching to arouse the most dispassionate reader. And night scuba diving. Night travel through old minefields. It does become a travelogue for a little-known geographic point in the world. Bolton is a marvel at blending the sights, sounds, and smells of the sea, the terrain, the wildlife, the weather – into such an intricate story. Total captivation in thrills and adept psychological underpinnings from a master of her craft.
Catrin
▪ For a little while longer the human shell around me has to hold. (26)
▪ Dad was deeply ashamed of the havoc wreaked by his ancestors on the seas. He spent his life trying to redress the balance. (52)
▪ I’ve had three years to perfect the art of appearing okay. (65)
▪ The sound of the wind and the ocean. The sound of loneliness. Then something else. Something musical, beautiful, heartbreakingly sad. Whale song. (120)
▪ But the woman Ben had married wasn’t there any more and neither he nor I knew where to find her. (162)
▪ “I hate her more than I’d ever have believed it possible to hate anyone.” (291)
Callum
▪ When you’re hundreds of miles away from the rest of the world, when news from outside is too little, too late, then the world you inhabit, however small and sparsely populated, assumes a terrific importance. (201)
▪ Below me, surrounded by rocks that look like teeth, among clouds that swirl and a sea that strikes hard, is Catrin’s boat. (273)
▪ The tone of my voice says don’t mess with me. Privately, I’m shitting myself, but if I let them know that, it’s all over. (323)
▪ I wanted everyone to know. I wanted to shout to the world that she was mine. (351)
Rachel
▪ I killed two kids. And for that I will pay, over and over again, every hour of every day. (452)
▪ The boys are with my mother and, for all that she drives me nuts, she is a great grandma. (466)
▪ I’m not human in anyone’s eyes. What is it she called me? An event, a living disaster, a void. (467)
▪ I gave birth to a child. I didn’t love him. (481)
▪ Never having to look my father in the eyes again, never see myself falling short of whatever standard he’s chosen to hold myself up against this time, could be the silver lining I’m looking for. (503)
It’s definitely one of Barclay’s scariest; instead of small-town skullduggery, he’s giving us a criminal enterprise that brings New York City to its knees. In a city of skyscrapers, what could be worse than fear of killer elevators? When several freak accidents happen and people die, Mayor Richard Headley is besieged by the media and the public. Headley has to order a stop on all elevators in the city, making untold hardships for thousands, if not millions, of high-rise dwellers and businesses while inspections are carried out. Chief among Headley’s detractors has been journalist Barbara Matheson from day one. Her daughter Arla, unbeknownst to Barbara, applied for and won a job in the mayor’s data analytics department. From her first day, Arla hits it off well with Headley’s son Glover, one of the mayor’s assistants. Mother and daughter relationship has always been strained. Their frustrations are mirrored in similar Headley father-son issues.
But who would have the knowledge, the skills, the access, for causing elevators to go berserk, seemingly at random? Possibly the dead man found in High Line park, mutilated to obscure his identity. Detectives Bourque and Delgado are no slouches when it comes to investigation. Maybe there is or was a specific target after all. They also have to consider the extremist group called Flyovers, who have been demonstrating against the “one per cent” and committing the odd bombing in other cities. The climax reaches the opening celebration of a 98-storey building. Author Barclay always has a fine touch with characterization. While a few plot “reveals” seem a bit too convenient, he’s found irresistible subject matter. Your lungs might be burning from hypothetically climbing all those stairs.
[Love that High Line park concept; who knew?!]
Barbara
▪ “You think you can keep poking the bear and never get a scratch,” he said. “You’re not untouchable.” (51)
▪ The woman’s face was mottled with blue and purple bruises, and her body had been immobilized. Barbara assumed she’d have suffered multiple fractures. (80)
▪ But every time Barbara went home and saw her mother and father so fully engaged with Arla, the guilt bubbled back to the surface. (145)
▪ Your phone gave you coverage in almost any circumstance, especially if it appeared you were dealing with an email or a text. That said you were working. You were dealing with something. (488)
Headley
▪ “Oh, please,” the mayor said. “Hypocrisy is the fuel that keeps the world running.” (52)
▪ “I’ve been an asshole for much of my life, Chris, but I hope I’m doing what I can to make up for that now.” (95)
Detectives
▪ Bourke said, “It’s an alt-right group that says the real Americans are the ones the elite fly over when they go coast to coast.” (171)
▪ “But Otto was murdered, and clearly he was trying to warn you.” (329)
▪ “They’re just architectural penises,” Delgado said. “Whose concrete-and-glass dick is bigger?” (594)
Other
▪ “First rule at engineering school. Whenever something bad happens, you blame it on the dead guy.” (206)
▪ “Anyone can get one of these off eBay for five hundred bucks.” (322)
▪ The elevators were plastered with two signs written in Sharpie that read: Closed by Order of Mayor Richard Shithead. (471)
▪ “The building feels like it’s thumbing its nose at the laws of nature. It’s too incredible, too death defying.” (598)
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