Cursed

LoveReading Says

This fourth fiercely gripping novel featuring crime reporter Henning Juul sees Henning’s ex-wife Nora (also a journalist) investigating the disappearance of her college friend, Hedda. Following the death of her wealthy father, Hedda announced to her husband that she was heading to an Italian retreat for three weeks. That was over a month ago, and she’s still not home. In fact, she never even went to the retreat, or boarded the plane to Italy.

As Nora’s research connects Hedda to an elderly man who was shot dead in his own forest, it also reconnects Nora and Henning as their joint investigation entwines them in a web of increasingly intense discoveries: family secrets, dark days of history, and truths about the tragic death of their son. And, at the same time, someone wants Henning dead. From the gritty tension of the plot, to its underpinning emotional depths, this is a powerfully compulsive page-turner. ~ Joanne Owen

A 'Piece of Passion' from the publisher...

'I had been a fan of Thomas Enger’s Henning Juul series for many years, and when his agent mentioned that he had parted company with his English publisher, I made a two-book offer on the spot and insisted that she ring him from the Frankfurt Book Fair to get an instant response. Within three minutes, we had a deal, and I am truly honoured to be published Cursed and (next year) Killed.

It was almost painful waiting for brilliant translator Kari Dickson to deliver the manuscript, which I read in one breathless sitting. Thomas is not only one of the best crime writers in the world (his books have been published in 24 countries), but one of the best writers I have ever come across. Cursed is Nordic Noir at its very finest, with a gripping, taut storyline, some unforgettable characters, and a plot that continually throws up twists and teasing clues, before the final stunning final reviews turns everything on its head again.

Perhaps more importantly, this is a moving, emotive book – a father’s quest to find out who started the fire that killed his young son – and the characterisation is simply sublime. Every book in this series stands alone, but I can guarantee that once you’ve had a taste of Henning Juul, you are unlikely to stop here.' ~ Karen Sullivan, Orenda Books

Click here to read a Q&A with Thomas Enger.

Reviewed by Joanne Owen
Joanne Owen’s lifelong love of reading and writing began when she was growing up in Pembrokeshire, and very much wished that witches (and Mrs Pepperpot) were real.
More reviews by Joanne Owen

About Cursed

When Hedda Hellberg fails to return from a retreat in Italy, where she has been grieving for her recently dead father, her husband discovers that his wife's life is tangled in mystery. Hedda never left Oslo, the retreat has no record of her and, what's more, she appears to be connected to the death of an old man, gunned down on the first day of the hunting season in the depths of the Swedish forests. Henning Juul becomes involved in the case when his ex-wife joins in the search for the missing woman, and the estranged pair find themselves enmeshed both in the murky secrets of one of Sweden's wealthiest families, and in the painful truths surrounding the death of their own son.

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