Marked for Life

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

WINNER OF THE SPECSAVERS READERS CHOICE AWARD 2016

In Lindö, on the Swedish coast, a man has been found brutally murdered in his own home.

Public prosecutor Jana Berzelius steps in to lead the investigation. Young and brilliant but emotionally cold, Berzelius, like her famous prosecutor father, won't be swayed by the hysterical widow or intimidated by the threatening letters the victim had tried to hide. Jana is steely, aloof, impenetrable. That is, until the next body is found...

A few days later on a nearby deserted shoreline, the body of a preteen boy is discovered, and with him, the murder weapon that killed him and the original victim. Berzelius is drawn more deeply into the case for as she attends his autopsy, she recognizes something strangely familiar in his small, scarred, heroin-riddled body. Cut deep into his flesh are initials that scream child trafficking and trigger in her a flash of memory of her own dark, fear-ridden past. Her connection to this boy has been carved with deliberation and malice that penetrate to her very core.

Now, to protect her own hidden past, she must find the suspect behind these murders, before the police do.

International bestselling author Emelie Schepp introduces us to the enigmatic, unforgettable Jana Berzelius in this first novel of a chilling trilogy

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Publishers Weekly Review

Swedish author Schepp makes her U.S. debut with this stellar first in a crime trilogy. Prosecutor Jana Berzelius heads the investigation into the shooting murder of Hans Juhlén, the person in charge of asylum issues at the Swedish migration board, whose wife found his body at their home in Norrköping. Clues include a stash of threatening letters, large amounts of cash withdrawn monthly, and fingerprints belonging to a child whose body turns up a few days later. As the case evolves, it dredges up Jana's long-repressed memories. She remembers nothing of her childhood before she was nine years old and woke up in a hospital room; soon a wealthy couple adopted her. Jana and her team get on the trail of a human-trafficking operation, which unleashes even more of her memories. Schepp couples an insightful look at the personal and professional lives of her characters with an unflinching multilayered plot loaded with surprises. Agent: Lena Stjernström, Grand Agency (Sweden). (June) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Booklist Review

Originally self-published in the author's native Sweden, this first book in a trilogy introduces public prosecutor Jana Berzelius. Investigating the murder of Hans Juhlen, an accountant at the Migration Board, Jana and her Norrköping colleagues are perplexed by a child's handprint at the crime scene. Juhlen and his wife had no children. As Jana and her team dig deeper, it's Jana's own background that emerges as the possible key to the case. Ever since she can remember, Jana has been plagued by images and dreams of a violent childhood. The only link she has to who she was before she was adopted is a name carved into the back of her neck. When a corpse with a similar carving is discovered, Jana realizes that her nightmares are based in a sick reality. Schepp's fast-paced thriller, with a good blend of police procedure and the draw of a ninja-strong female lead, has enough adrenaline to make a good night's sleep a near impossibility.--Keefe, Karen Copyright 2016 Booklist