Dear friends. Thanks for the terrific response to last week's post, my frank thoughts about growing old (with some tips on how to deal with them!).
Today I'm back in gamine style. Women with a gamine style personality are typically petite and like neat, fitted clothes. We don't gravitate towards print, except in small scarves. We don't do frills, flouncy or oversized.
Dear friends. Today I have for you an intriguing new Nordic Noir set in Sweden. I'm on the blog tour for I Will Find the Key, the new book from international best selling Swedish crime writer Alex Ahndoril.
A man walks into a private detective's office, holds up a photo of a dead body and says: "I need you to find out if I killed this man."
The man in Julia Stark's office is one of the owners of a successful family business. The day before, he was present at a board meeting and dinner at his estate in the north western part of Sweden. The following morning, he finds a photograph on his phone of a man covered in blood, tied up with a bag over his head.
Due to alcohol-related amnesia, the man has no idea where the picture comes from, and he wants to hire Stark Detective Agency to clear his name, before the police get involved. Julia asks her ex-husband Sidney Mendelson to take time off from the City Police and assist her in the investigation. Julia still has a glimmer of hope that this might be her chance to win him back.
Welcomed as guests at the opulent estate, Julia and Sidney begin to search for the truth while dining and socialising with each of the family members that could theoretically be involved in the murder.
I Will Find the Key is a classic whodunnit with a modern twist – brilliantly clever, and set in a country house deep in a Swedish forest.
Crime thrillers set in the present day tend to rely heavily on DNA, CCTV and occasionally AI to solve crimes. It’s quite refreshing to be reacquainted with the old fashioned perception and intuition that detectives used to employ. Sherlock Holmes could famously tell a person’s occupation by their hands or tell tale signs on their clothes.
In I Will Find the Key, detective agency owner Julia Stark and her ex husband, a serving police officer, combine forces to solve the mystery. Julia is convinced it will take her just a few days Staying at the mansion involves dressing for dinner for lavish dinners and cocktails. All very Agatha Christie and reminiscent of the 1930s.
The family are not very forthcoming and it’s clear they don’t get on very well with each other. For a long time I was held in suspense as to whether Julia actually had the ability to solve the mystery. She admitted to being too impulsive with her opinions. I was frustrated by her obsession with her ex husband. The pair have several interviews with family members, but we are left in the dark about Julia's thought processes.
By the time the body is found, and Sidney calls the police, I’m convinced Julia's investigation will now be over, because surely her husband will need to brief the police and they will take over? Surprisingly this doesn’t seem to happen. Julia summons the family together and reveals her insights on family dynamics and history, and ultimately, who committed the crime. Her insight is jaw dropping.
An unusual thriller in the modern take of a classic whodunnit that keeps us guessing. This is the first instalment in the Key series. Rights have been sold in 24 territories, and a feature film is in the making from a major international streamer.
Alex Ahndoril is the pseudonym of Lars Kepler, the 17 million copy best selling Swedish crime writer.
My thanks to Anne Cater from Random Things Tours and Zaffre Books for the advance copy in return for a book review.
Dear friends. I'm almost 64, a memorable age thanks to "Vera, Chuck and Dave" (courtesy of The Beatles)*
We see a lot of clickbait telling us what women over 50 shouldn't wear. We see a lot of famous older women camouflaging their age, as if it's something to be ashamed of, thanks to cosmetic surgery and tweakments.
But one of the things that rarely gets discussed is how we feel about ageing.
I'm doing precisely that today.
