The Boy in the Suitcase: A Nina Borg Mystery

Don't expect great literature but a wonderful story, well narrated and compelling. Since I exercise when I listen, my books need to capture my attention and this one did. I enjoyed it thoroughly.

The plot devices in this thriller stretch credulity far too much to merit a good recommendation. A woman finds a drugged 3-year-old boy inside a suitcase that a friend asked her to retrieve from a locker in a railroad station. Instead of calling: the police, her friend, her husband, another friend, or anyone else who could possibly help her, she decides to drive around with the boy in her Fiat. She stumbles on a murder scene, at which she: handles the body, puts her hand in the victim's bloody head wound, pukes at the scene, and drops her cell phone, then dashes away in her Fiat again. Still she doesn't call the police, her husband, etc. having now heavily implicated herself in the murder thanks to her puke DNA, fingerprints, fibers etc that she has left all over the scene. I just couldn't get past this idiotic set-up to enjoy the book. I like Nordic noir, but these authors need to get their act together before they collaborate on another attempt to join this trendy genre. Also I found the female narrator irritating beyond belief. She frequently uses a shrill, sarcastic tone that is extremely off-putting. She needs to modulate her voice and just speak neutrally unless there is actually some exciting event happening.

This tops my list of best thrillers of the year! I read a ton of mysteries, and am pretty good at guessing the ending - but this one, I could not, and that's always fun! The characters are realistic, the mystery complex, and the plot unravels a clue at a time. Definitely worth a credit (or more)! And Katy Kellgren is one of my all-time favorite narrators and she does not disappoint. BTW, I didn't like the Jo Nesbo books (too violent), so don't let the "scandanavian" category put you off this one.

The Boy in the Suitcase is an unsatisfactory mystery. The plot had a lot of potential, but the authors rushed it along seemingly without much conviction. Our characters are not very deep or written in a way to make them terribly interesting. The story’s locations were not developed and the halter-skelter organization of the first dozen or so chapters, made little sense to this listener.

I get the impression they intended this book to ride the popularity of Scandinavian exports. With a plot like this, it could have been worthy of being included in the category of Larsson, Nesbo and others. Unfortunately, this book does not live up to the promise or its own potential.

Also, this is the fastest paced narrator I have heard on Audible. The result of the entire experience was like expecting a five-course meal and ending up with a McRib from the drive thru. Like the McRib, I cannot recommend The Boy in the Suitcase.

If you’re looking for a story about rescuing a little boy and finding his family, try Learning to Swim by Sara Henry. Learning to Swim is a much better listening experience than The Boy in the Suitcase.

Exceptionally rendered story in which exactly the right amount of information is given at each stage to build incredible suspense. I have been a passionate reader for 50 years, so that often I can guess plot development and resolutions. This novel kept me guessing!

This is clearly part of a series - I'd definitely listen to more Nina Borg books.

Plot-wise, I didn't think it was a huge mystery, but there were plenty of little details to be surprised by and there was no way to guess what would happen when all of the players get together in one room. Very much worth a credit.

This is one of the better audiobooks I've listened to.

I liked her slight accent and her sympathy for the characters. She helped bring them to life.

I liked that the characters were fairly conflicted, neither all good or all bad (at least most of them). This added to the interest and tension of the story.

I think this book would make a great movie because the characters all have depth and are believable, the premise is realistic and frightening (child abduction), and there's an little twist at the end.

I would recommend this audiobook to a friend, especially to those friends who (like me) like Scandinavian thrillers.

Katherine Kellgren's performance was GREAT.

I was a little hesitant about buying this, but let me tell you, once I started, I was hooked and wanted to listen every minute that I could. The narrator was fabulous! I will look for more books as these authors write them and will hope that the same narrator is chosen. The book wasn't what I expected - it was better - plot, characters, etc.