SON by Thomas Enger & Johana Gustawsson: Book Review

SON is the first book in a series by Thomas Enger and Johana Gustawsson. With an anticipated release date of August 26, 2025, it takes readers to Norway. Two teenagers are found brutally murdered, and all evidence points to one person as the killer. He admits to being on the scene, but he doesn’t remember committing the crime. Did he kill his childhood friends? Or were his memories altered by someone?

I want to thank Trafalgar Square Publishing, Orenda Books, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of SON. All opinions presented here are my own.

Synopsis from Goodreads

Expert on body language and memory, and consultant to the Oslo Police, psychologist Kari Voss sleepwalks through her days, and, by night, continues the devastating search for her young son, who disappeared on his birthday, seven years earlier.

Still grieving for her dead husband, and trying to pull together the pieces of her life, she is thrust into a shocking local investigation when two teenage girls are violently murdered in a family summer home in the nearby village of Son.

When a friend of the victims is charged with the barbaric killings, it seems the case is closed, but Kari is not convinced. Using her skills and working on instinct, she conducts her own enquiries, leading her to multiple suspects, including people who knew the dead girls well…

With the help of Chief Constable Ramona Norum, she discovers that no one – including the victims – are what they seem. And that there is a dark secret at the heart of Son village that could have implications not just for her own son’s disappearance, but Kari’s own life, too…

My Opinions

I wanted to read SON because I’ve been drawn to books set in Scandinavia for a while. Little did I know this book was going to shake my world! I was hooked from the first page. There were times I had to set the book aside to process what I had just read, because some of the descriptions were a bit darker than I had anticipated.

The book starts with Kari and the disappearance of her son on his birthday seven years prior. Then we are brought to the present day, with the girls at the summer home setting up for a Halloween party and the events after that. The action in the story ebbs and flows, but it never truly relaxes all the way just enough to let you catch your breath.

One of the main discussions throughout the book is about memories. Are our memories of the events as they happened, or have they been corrupted over time?

My biggest pet peeve with the book is the frequent switches in point of view. When readers are with Kari, the story is told in first person. The chapters often begin with a description of what Kari is seeing or doing, and “I” is usually one of the first words in the sentence. When we are with any of the other characters, the story is told in third person. While I appreciate the changes, there are very few chapter headers to indicate who we are seeing the story with. Thankfully, much like the chapters with Kari, the character’s name is mentioned early in the chapter. But this can still be confusing when there are multiple characters at the start of the chapter.

While I had my suspicions about who the murderer was, I was still surprised when I found out. The list of suspects may not be long, but it seems many characters had a motive for murder.

Overall, I enjoyed reading SON and look forward to reading more by this duo. Who do I think would enjoy this book? Maybe people who enjoy reading books set in Scandinavia, or reading atmospheric books. Definitely, people who enjoy reading thrillers.

Are you looking for some more books to read? Check out my bookish lists, book reviews, and monthly reading wrap-ups.