Friday 13 September 2019

Keeper by Johana Gustawsson (translated by Maxim Jakubowski)


Next up in my wee Johana Gustawsson fest is the second book in the Roy and Castells series, Keeper. You can see my review of Block 46 (Book 1) here



The Blurb:

Whitechapel 1888: London is bowed under Jack the Ripper’s reign of terror.

London 2015: actress Julianne Bell is abducted in a case similar to the terrible Tower Hamlets murders of some ten years earlier, and harking back to the Ripper killings of a century before.

Falkenberg, Sweden 2015: a woman’s body is found mutilated in a forest, her wounds identical to those of the Tower Hamlets victims.

With the man arrested for the Tower Hamlets crimes already locked up, do the new killings mean he has a dangerous accomplice, or is a copy-cat serial killer on the loose?

Profiler Emily Roy and true-crime writer Alexis Castells again find themselves drawn into an intriguing case, with personal links that turn their world upside down.

Following the highly acclaimed Block 46 and guaranteed to disturb and enthral, Keeper is a breathless thriller from the new queen of French Noir.

Keeper was published by Orenda Books on 28th February 2018 and you can purchase it from Orenda, Waterstones, Amazon and other good bookshops.


My Review:

The action takes place eighteen months after the events of the first book. A woman is abducted from outside her house in London early one morning and it carries the hallmarks of a series of abductions and murders in the Tower Hamlets area of London ten years earlier. Then in Falkenberg, a body is found with gruesome injuries also reminiscent of the Tower Hamlets murders. Emily Roy is brought in to help build a profile and the London and Falkenberg police work together. The problem is the man accused of the Tower Hamlets murders is safely locked up in jail. Those particular murders mark a very painful time in Alexis' life, and as the investigation is reopened, she can't help but get involved.

Meanwhile, in Whitechapel in 1888, we meet Freda, a young woman recently arrived in London, desperately trying to survive doing menial jobs. It is a terrifying time to live in Whitechapel, as prostitutes, some of whom Freda knew, are murdered and mutilated by a perpetrator nicknamed Jack the Ripper.

Kommissionär Bergström in Falkenberg has some new members on his team for this investigation - Detective Karla Hansen and  Aliénor Lindbergh, a criminal law and legal psychology student. Aliénor is a fascinating character and, for me at least, a great addition to the team. She has Asperger's Syndrome, is very bright and hardworking, likes to work to a routine, doesn't show much emotion and can take things literally. As she is researching the Falkenberg and Tower Hamlets murders she notices the similarities between them and the Jack the Ripper murders...

This is another horrific and disturbing story and we watch  Alexis as she battles with painful memories and moving on. And Emily's brilliance shines through, and we learn more about how she deals with the awful things she sees. The story is complex and the two time line strands need to be followed carefully. Again, the characterisation is just exquisite, as are the descriptions of the settings. I've never particularly wanted to visit 19th century Whitechapel, but I  certainly don't want to now! The author has clearly researched this time period in depth and it shows.

Yesterday, I failed to mention the translation by Maxim Jakubowski. I am hugely grateful for the work he has carried out, which has generally been to a very high standard, as it enables me to read these wonderful books.

In Keeper, Johana Gustawsson has given us another wonderful, complex, disturbing story. Some of the action will make you catch your breath, and there are moments that will shock you right until the end. It didn't move me emotionally in the same way as Block 46 did, but it is a beautifully written book and a strong follow up.


The Author:


Born in Marseille, France, and with a degree in Political Science, Johana Gustawsson has worked as a journalist for the French and Spanish press and television. Her critically acclaimed Roy & Castells series has won the Plume d’Argent, Balai de la découverte, Balai d’Or and Prix Marseillais du Polar awards, and is now published in nineteen countries. A TV adaptation is currently underway in a French, Swedish and UK co-production. Johana lives in London with her Swedish husband and their three sons.





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