Books and ME.

My Experience with The Gingerbread House

There is a beauty behind reading books in different genres, languages (dubbed because of language constraints), and countries. When you pick a book to read, which is written by someone from a different country, you get to live the writer's vision. You get to know the living style, cultures, and many things in that country.

In continuation with it, this week I would write about, 'The Gingerbread House' written by the Swedish Mathematician turned writer Carin Gerhardsen. It is translated into American English by Paul Norlen. This is the first book in the Hammarby series. Just like the first chapter in a book sets the tone for the entire book, the first book in the series does the same and 'The Gingerbread House' does not fail to do so.

This story takes place in Central Stockholm, where a series of murders takes place and Criminal Investigator, Conny Sjöberg is asked to investigate the case. Initially, the case would seem like a normal murder, but as he gets involved in the case unrevealing many things related to the case, he realises the murders are not that simple.

The evocative novel explores things like bullying in school and its adverse effects. The story begins with a flashback of a guy being bullied in school and how it has affected him after so many years. He is still scarred because of those events. He identifies the primary culprit of his bullying days and follows him. That guy is found murdered in a house which was abandoned as the owner of the house was in the hospital. With it, begins a chase to find out the killer where Conny Sjöberg unfolds many mysteries.

The story has many suspenseful twists and turns with a plot which does not give out the mystery till the end. It is an enthralling police investigative thriller with a dark past attached to the murders. The best part of a crime thriller is the climax, and the writer has left no efforts to give you the most dramatic and unexpected climax.

The story runs in a parallel direction as one story talks about the description of the diary of the person who was being bullied. Both the stories would confuse you and would not let you think about the actual end and the motive. The story may trigger emotions for some people, as descriptions can be violent. But those incidents were instrumental in taking the story ahead. The description is very smooth, and as you keep on turning the pages; the story becomes more interesting. They solve new riddles, bringing into the picture recent information. The detective and his team are confused, but they do reach till the end.

The beautiful part of the book is the setting of the story. The realistic urban-settings and well described, introduced central characters along with the other characters, ensured that the book would stay in the reader's mind for long. This is a murder mystery, but the way she describes the settings, the story looks like a painting on a canvas. Just like the Lars Kepler series, this book series also promises to be a perfect murder mystery with many twisted tales of the past.

The detective and his team stumble upon many tales, but in every turn, they faced failures until they realise the killer with a personal vendetta. The unexpected climax makes it an unputdownable read. I wanted to write more about this book, but I would like the readers to read the book and enjoy it just like I did.

At 385 pages, this is a complete page-turner. The twists and the spins would definitely swirl your head and would force you to use your grey cells along with the detective to solve the case. All the details related to the murder are well described so you can visualise the entire scene. The book is an excellent start to the Hammarby series, and with it, one can really fathom about the forthcoming books.

Until I upload my experience with another book, till then take care, be safe and keep on reading. Cheers.