Unwanted

By: Kristina Ohlsson

Narrated by: Justine Eyre

In the middle of a rainy Swedish summer, a little girl is abducted from a crowded train. Her distraught mother was left behind at the previous station in what seemed to be a coincidence. The train crew was alerted and kept a watchful eye on the sleeping child. But when the train pulled into Stockholm Central Station, the little girl had vanished.

Inspector Alex Recht, assisted by the investigative analyst Fredrika Bergman, are assigned to what at first appears to be a classic custody fight. But when the child is found dead in the far north of Sweden with the word "unwanted" scribbled on her forehead, the case soon turns into the investigation team's worst nightmare - the pursuit of a brilliant and ruthless killer.

©2009 Kristina Ohlsson (P)2013 Dreamscape Media, LLC

Critic reviews

"Superior prose, plotting, and characterization.... readers will look forward to spending more time in the company of the intriguing Bergman." Publishers Weekly)

"Expect Ohlsson to join Nesbo on most readers' can't-miss lists." ( Booklist)

Good story, poor reader

I was not a fan of the forced accents put on by the reader which I think detracted from the story.

Really Enjoyed

I read (and listened to) this book for my Mystery book club and was pleasantly surprised! I am not always a fan of Scandinavian fiction but I found this one very good. I think I will look into the rest of the series.

Spoiled by the narration

Ohlsson has created an interesting cast of characters in this book - with an interesting, if depressing, storyline. However, the narrator spoiled this for me - she is wonderful with the Swedish accents when reading dialogue, but why she used an affected and pompous (and at times incorrect) English accent to narrate the body of the book is beyond me - maybe it's because I am English myself and am more sensitive to this, but it may have been better if she had stuck to her native Canadian.

Narrator spoils the whole thing

What didn’t you like about Justine Eyre’s performance?

I read the first chapter in hard copy and loved the character development and detail, so I was looking forward to the audio version. However, I am only 32 minutes in, and I am not sure I can continue. The narrator, Justine Eyre, has a low raspy voice that goes in and out of a rather peculiar English accent. It sounds somewhat supercilious, which does not match the story line at all. I actually prefer the fake Swedish accents, although sometimes Eyre slips out of them at the end of a dialogue. It is just awful.

Did Unwanted inspire you to do anything?

Ask for my money back, and order the hard copy version.

Don't Judge by Previous Reviews

Any additional comments?

I almost did not get this book because of the narration reviews. I am so glad I listened to the sample first before I took their word. I loved the different voices the narrator used. I have Swedish relatives and have been to Sweden, so I am not totally off base. The story was a good one and I am listening to the next two books. I liked this one and chose it not based on the reviews.