I was so happy when I found out, that I was among those ones who could read this book upfront its publishing day. And according to its cover, I expected a great and very well written thriller with answers. Many answers. Well, see for yourself. This book is not at all what I´ve expected it to be. Sure, it is well written, but there is not really a new content in it. And during some pages, I couldn´t get rid of the feeling that the author had to stretch the story with things her readers already knew from the first book.
Bruderlüge*
by
Kristina Ohlsson
Martin Benner Series #2
Original Title Mios Blues
Publisher Limes on June 13, 2017
Genre Thriller
Pages 445
Format Softcover
Source Publisher
✶✶✶
What happened the day, the four-year-old Mio disappeared? Against his will, the attorney Martin Benner has taken the child's trail - after all, he is in the hands of an unscrupulous underworld boss. But then Martin finds himself in the focus of the investigation: Someone tries to attach to him two murders, and he has no idea who has it on him. The search for the truth finally confronts Benner with a terrible decision: Should he save the small Mio – or himself? (personal translated by the reviewer)
Story
Martin´s life has changed. Not for the better, that´s for sure. He lives in constant danger now all of his moves are closely watched and his relationship with Lucy is as complicated as ever. And he is angry. Someone wants him behind bars for a crime he hasn´t committed and his work as a lawyer is out of reach for the moment. Who is the faceless man who threatens him with his niece´s life and seems to play with him? And then there is this feeling that he is missing something? Something that is the key to everything and very important?
Style
No doubt, Kristina Ohlsson has kept her style. Her tone, her language, the way she is writing – it all stays the same. And yet she uses a lot of the things she wrote about in the first book. During some pages, it feels as if she needed stretching the material to make this thriller as long as the other one.
To a certain extent, I liked reading it, yes, and I never had a moment where I got bored or annoyed. But it wasn´t as exciting and thrilling as the first book of this duology. Sad, but the truth.
Kristina Ohlsson presents with Mio´s Blues answers to almost all the open questions that remained from Buried Lies. And her solution to Martins question who the unknown man called Lucifer is is somehow a surprise.
Good, you can guess that this Lucifer hates Martin for some reason, and the moment you get that confirmed is one you can almost read over. That information is mentioned in a sub-clause and not really clear to the reader at first. But when the author starts to describe why Lucifer hates Martin so much, you start really wondering. Two different views come together, and it turns out, that one of them was told a big lie all his life and that lie turned into huge hate and the death of many innocent people.
Yes, this thriller is in some ways entertaining. It is brutal, it shows a lot of new things and lets you guess that there has to be something big behind all of it. The end is not really a surprise. Martin hasn´t really changed. And all that really matters to him is his niece. There is no space left for another woman in his life. And he doesn´t want one there.
Characters
Martin Benner is still the man who wants his personal freedom. Living a normal life with a woman by his side and in his bed, is not his thing. Not in the long run. During a reading, I started to pity Lucy. Living with Martin in his apartment, sleeping in the same bed with him and taking care of the little girl while he is running around and collecting information, doesn´t mean the same for him as for her.
He doesn´t want a family, doesn´t want to commit to only one woman. He needs to be able to have sex with another woman when he feels for it, great feelings are something else. He loves Lucy, in his own way. But being honest isn´t something he can do in his private life. In court yes, with the law behind him, no problem. But in his private life he is the boss, he says when where and how.
Conclusion
After my excitement for the first book, this one was – compared to it – a disappointment. Sure, I kind of had a good time reading it, but the thrill and the joy I experienced with Buried Lies wasn´t there. It felt more like I was reading all the things I had read in the first book again, only in different words. And the solution to everything wasn´t as haunting and thrilling as I had hoped. So, sad, but this is average. Nothing less, nothing more. Not sure if I can recommend it with a good conscience.
Happy reading
*This book was kindly provided to me by Limes in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. Therefore, the cover of the German edition is shown in this review. At the time this review was published, this title was not available in the English language.
*I wrote not only an English review but a guest review in the German language as well. So, if you want to see what my German guest review looks like, go over to FiktiveWelten.
Kristina Ohlsson, born 1979, is one of Sweden´s most successful authors of crime fiction and children´s books. Before becoming a full-time writer, she worked for the OSCE (the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe), the Swedish Security Service, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Her crime fiction novels about Fredrika Bergman have repeatedly been shortlisted for the Swedish Academy of Crime Writer´s Award for ´Best Crime Novel of the Year´ and featured prominently on bestseller lists all over the world. She won the 2010 Stabilo Prize for ´Best Crime Writer of Southern Sweden´ and established herself as highly popular author with a broad fan base of adults as well as children. The author lives in Stockholm.
