Block 46 by Johana Gustawsson (translated by Maxim Jakubowski)

In advance of my forthcoming blog tour stop for Blood Song by Johana Gustawsson, the third Roy and Castells book, I decided to read the first two books in the series. And I am so glad I did, because they are wonderful books.

So today I'm looking at the first of the three, Block 46, and my copy had been languishing on a shelf for a while. Too long.

The Blurb:

Falkenberg, Sweden. The mutilated body of talented young jewellery designer, Linnea Blix, is found in a snow-swept marina.

Hampstead Heath, London. The body of a young boy is discovered with similar wounds to Linnea's.

Buchenwald Concentration Camp, 1944. In the midst of the hell of the Holocaust, Erich Ebner will do anything to see himself as a human again.

Are the two murders the work of a serial killer, and how are they connected to shocking events at Buchenwald?

Emily Roy, a profiler on loan to Scotland Yard from the Canadian Royal Mounted Police, joins up with Linnea's friend, French true-crime writer Alexis Castells, to investigate the puzzling case. They travel between Sweden and London, and then deep into the past, as a startling and terrifying connection comes to light.

Plumbing the darkness and the horrific evidence of the nature of evil, Block 46 is a multi-layered, sweeping and evocative thriller that heralds a stunning new voice in French Noir.

Block 46 was published by Orenda Books on 5th February 2017 and is available to purchase from Orenda, Waterstones, Amazon and other good bookshops.

My Review:

Well, this is a truly international book! From a French author, married to a Swede and living in London, the present day action moves between London and Falkenburg in Sweden, the historical pieces take us back to the Buchenwald Concentration Camp in Nazi Germany, one of our two heroines is French and the other Canadian, although both are based in London. Phew!

Before starting this book, I wasn't sure it would be for me. I don't really tend to read historical fiction, crime or otherwise. Not for any particular reason - it just hasn't appealed to me. So I wasn't sure if I would enjoy this. I needn't have worried - not only did I enjoy it, I was moved by it. The crimes described are brutal and stark, but there is a real beauty to the writing - it's hard to describe - you need to read the book!

Alexis Castells and Emily Roy are an interesting pairing. French true crime writer Alexis is open, polite, welcoming, obviously caring and shows her emotions in her face. Canadian profiler Emily Roy is almost the complete opposite. She shows very little emotion, has no time for social niceties and often seems to ignore her colleagues. I did wonder if she was maybe on the autistic spectrum but concluded that she is just laser focussed on her job, and able to compartmentalise the awful parts of it. As the book progresses we learn more about that, and also a difficult time in her past is hinted at. Alexis too is damaged by memories, and they are the reason she chooses to write about serial killers.

The story begins when a London based friend of Alexis is found dead in Falkenburg in Sweden, where Linnea has a second home. Alexis travels over to Sweden with another friend and Linnea's partner, Peter, to help the police with their enquiries. Whilst there, Alexis meets up with Emily, who she had first come across a few years earlier. Alexis knows Emily's involvement means solving Linnea's murder won't be simple, as she's only brought in for serial killers.

Meanwhile, in 1944 Nazi Germany, young medical student Erich Ebner is terrified for his life every single day in the Buchenwald Concentration Camp. He doesn't ever know if he will make it through. The conditions are horrific and the treatment brutal. And then one day he is dragged by soldiers to Block 46, a place of which he has only ever heard terrible rumours.

Gustawsson's characterisation is second to none. Sometimes I felt like I was stood at the back of the police briefing room with the team, they were so real to me. Or next to Erich Ebner, which was a much harder place to be. The descriptions of the concentration camp and what went on there are detailed and horrific. Of course this is fiction but the author has clearly carried out an awful lot of research. And in her note at the back of the book she explained her personal reasons for choosing to write about that time.

As I mentioned at the beginning of my review, much about this book is dark, twisted and troubling, but it is written in a beautiful, exquisite way. I don't have the words to explain it any better than that, but it will pull at and twist your emotions.

So, wonderful characters - Olofsson gets a shout out here because he made me smile - and detailed settings. The crimes are heart breaking and will stay with you. Gustawsson blends the two story lines together and I read with a sense of mounting horror. The ending blew me away, it really did. Twice, in fact.

This book made a deep impression and will be with me for a long time. I finished it in two days and couldn't wait to move on to the next book. More about that tomorrow. In the meantime, someone find me a smörgåstårta - it sounds delicious!

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.