Scars of Silence by Johana Gustawsson (translated by David Warriner)

In the first of two blog tour stops today, I'm looking at Scars of Silence by Johana  Gustawsson and translated into English by David Warriner. Johana is one of my favourite writers, one of my favourite people, really, and I've been super excited for the release of this book. If you search her name on the blog you'll be able to find reviews of several of her books, including of the first of the Lidingō mysteries, Yule Island. Huge thanks to Anne Cater for inviting me and to the publisher for my review copy. I just need to get myself a hardback copy with spredges (see picture below)! 

The Blurb

Twenty-three years ago, a young woman was murdered on the Swedish island of Lidingö.
The island has kept its silence.
Until now…

As autumn deepens into darkness in Lidingö, on the Stockholm archipelago, the island is plunged into chaos: in the space of a week, two teenaged boys are murdered. Their bodies are left deep in the forest, dressed in white tunics with crowns of candles on their heads, like offerings to Saint Lucia.

Maïa Rehn has fled Paris for Lidingö after a family tragedy. But when the murders shake the island community, the former police commissioner is drawn into the heart of the investigation, joining Commissioner Aleksander Storm to unravel a mystery as chilling as the Nordic winter.

As they dig deeper, it becomes clear that a wind of vengeance is blowing through the archipelago, unearthing secrets that are as scandalous as they are inhuman.

But what if the victims weren’t who they seemed? What if those long silenced have finally found a way to strike back?

How far would they go to make their tormentors pay?

And you – how far would you go?

My Review

As I mentioned in my intro, I've been looking forward to this book as I loved everything I've read by Johana Gustawsson. She writes about dark stuff but always with emotion, and very real characters. 

Scars of Silence opens with a bang. It's a shocking scene, and one for which we have no immediate context, but it's a scene that immediately drew me in. French former police commissioner Maïa is on a leave of absence following a tragedy, and staying in her husband's family home in Lidingö. She is drawn in to the investigation after the murder of a young man, who is found dressed as St Lucia, who is celebrated with a festival in mid December. The murder is very similar to one that happened more than two decades earlier, except the victim then was a young woman. When a second young man is murdered the investigation ratchets up a notch, and Maïa works alongside local commissioner Aleksander. What they discover is chilling and sad, as long held secrets break free. 

Johana Gustawsson always presents us with such whole, three dimensional characters. Maïa is instantly likeable and relatable, as she struggles with getting on with life following a personal tragedy. She's reluctant to mix and socialise any more than she needs to but is encouraged by good friend Christian. The young man's murder, and the request of local resident Sophia, actually give Maïa a focus. She is lucky that Commissioner Storm is willing to be so open with her, and the two develop a good working relationship and a tentative friendship. Perhaps aided by the fact that Aleksander is also dealing with some personal stuff for a large part of the book. Again, a reflection of real life. 

The investigation is detailed, and whilst it is not full of peril, it is no less tense as Maïa and Aleks search for the truth. They uncover secrets and lies aplenty, and the truth they discover is sad and shocking and grubby. And the ramifications of historical events are wide ranging, horrifying and painful. 

Before I conclude I want to give a shout out to David Warriner, the translator. For me, translators are unsung heroes. Because of them, I have been able to enjoy so many fabulous foreign language novels, of which this is the latest, that I wouldn't have been able to read otherwise. So thank you, translators! And particularly to David for his brilliant work on this. 

As well as giving us a cracking thriller, Scars of Silence touches on family, love, death, grief, consent and entitlement. The author has never shied away from dealing with difficult issues and she does so very well. I loved the central characters, how real they were and the emotional depth they had. And the storyline delivers a punch. Highly recommend it! Now, I'm off to find some spredges...

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 including Block 46, Keeper and Blood Song won the Plume d’Argent, Balai de la découverte, Balai d'Or and Prix Marseillais du Polar awards, and is now published in 23 countries. A TV adaptation is currently under way in a French, Swedish and UK co-production. The Bleeding was a number-one bestseller in France receiving critical acclaim across the globe, and Yule Island won multiple awards including Book of the Year with France’s biggest retailer Cultura and has been optioned for the screen. In 2025 Johana teamed up with Norwegian crime writer Thomas Enger to write the international bestselling mystery SON to immense critical acclaim. Johana is regarded as France’s most prestigious, successful female crime writer and she lives in Sweden with her Swedish husband and their three sons.