The Boy in the Suitcase

A Nina Borg Mystery

By: Lene Kaaberbøl - author/translator, Agnete Friis

Narrated by: Katherine Kellgren

Length: 8 hrs and 40 mins

Publisher's summary

Audie Award Nominee, Solo Narration - Female, 2013

Audie Award Nominee, Best Thriller/Suspense Category, 2013

Nina Borg, a Red Cross nurse, wife, and mother of two, is trying to live a quiet life. The last thing her husband wants is for her to go running off on another dangerous mission to help illegal refugees. But when Nina's estranged friend, Karin, leaves her a key to a public locker in the Copenhagen train station, and begs her to take care of its contents, Nina gets suckered into her most dangerous case yet.

Because inside the suitcase is a three-year-old boy: naked and drugged, but alive. Nina's natural instinct is to rescue the boy, but she knows the situation is risky. Is the boy a victim of child trafficking? Can he be turned over to authorities, or will they only return him to whoever sold him? In an increasingly desperate trek across Denmark, Nina tries to figure out who the boy is, where he belongs, and who exactly is hunting him down. When Karin is discovered brutally murdered, Nina realizes that her life and the boy's are in jeopardy, too.

©2011 Lene Kaaberbol and Agnete Friis (P)2011 AudioGO

Critic reviews

"This past-paced, suspenseful thriller intertwines several stories, gradually revealing the motivations of multiple characters and building tremendous suspense." ( Booklist)

"Warning! If you open this book, your life will be on stand-by." ( Elle, Denmark)

"The surprise ending is perfect. You won’t be able to put this down." ( Romantic Times)

Intrigue

Very interesting storyline. Not one that was common or usual. I wasn't sure about this book but I really enjoyed the intrigue and suspense. I'm sure I will read more Nina stories.

Nice story set in Denmark

STORY (mystery) - This books starts off quickly. A young boy has been kidnapped, drugged and put in a suitcase which has been stuffed in a locker in a train station. Nina, the main character, tries to find who he is so that he can be returned safely home. The boy's mother is desperately trying to find who's taken him and why. The story rocks along as Nina and the mother (working separately) travel around the Copenhagen area following clues, until the final scenes where everything finally all comes together.

Some reviewers have commented that Nina is stupid, but I don't feel that common sense is thrown out the window in this story any more than most fiction. While this wasn't the most exciting mystery I've ever read or listened to, I was never bored and was entertained throughout.

PERFORMANCE - Katherine Kellgren is my favorite female narrator. Her performances are usually so awesome that I save my five-star ratings almost exclusively for her. This time, however, she just gets a four. I don't have any complaints about her performance. It just wasn't one of her more stellar ones.

OVERALL - This is Book 1 of the series, but it stands alone. There's no sex, but there's violence and some foul language. Recommended for mature adults.

Great listening, surprising story, well presented.

Would you consider the audio edition of The Boy in the Suitcase to be better than the print version?

NA

Have you listened to any of Katherine Kellgren’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Several moments over the course of the book, the kidnappers and their characters.

Any additional comments?

Well written, or at least very well presented. Very easy to stay engaged.

Interesting story, lousy narration

The narration of this book is done by a woman who reads way to fast & at a high pitch that is very annoying. After 30 minutes, I had to turn it off & take a break as the voice was too shrill & way to fast

Keep turning the pages

Any additional comments?

Suspense until the end - many twists and turns keep you listening until the last word.

Intruiging and unexpected

I found the book hard to follow at first; the Scandinavian names were a bit foreign and didn't stick in my head, and there was not much distinction between one chapter (or one character's storyline) to the next, which switched quite frequently at the start... I probably would have benefitted from a little sound effect to signify the change.

Once past the beginning and getting the characters straight the story was intriguing and the characters cross paths and come together masterfully.

Intricate story weaving holding your attention

A kid napping, a murder and many unanswered questions..... the Eastern European case is well written and your heart tugs at every twist....the final chapter puts the puzzle pieces all together....then you see.

All over the place, but still pretty good!

I suggest reading this if you're into getting in the heads of people that are flawed and know it.

Discovered a New Author!

Any additional comments?

I found myself drawn into the story from the beginning and all I wanted was to hear more!

Realistic Heroes

What would you do if you had to keep a child safe from a threat you didn't know? What if you had no superpowers or friends in high places to help? This was a good story.