Content Warning: Rape, Graphic Violence,

I received a free copy to review on Netgalley.

Premise is interesting and that's all I knew going into Marked for Life.

The Good:
+Solid on paper, I’m sure better in the original Swedish.


The Bad & The Other:
-Do not like how the rapist thread was just dropped. It served its purpose, shocking and disgusting, and the victims received no treatment, justice, or follow up. They were used as tools by both the story and the rapist.

-The cliffhanger ending. Didn't see any mention of sequel until I googled it afterward. Don't think I'll continue.

-I believe translation played a major role in every other issue: stilted characters that sounded the same with repetition.

It started off...okay. It felt a different than other novels in this genre due to translation.

It's stilted and unnatural with repetition. Some of it I think is using proper English instead of the relaxed mish-mash of everyday speech. One example that stood out was Henrik’s “The Boss! Oh yeah!” in the car, which left me wondering who talked/acted like that. They read like robots with better human programming than Jana. Out of context it doesn't sound so bad, but while reading it was cringe worthy.

Location 575: (when water gets into his sock) "Oh great! Really great!"

Location 820: "'My spontaneous reaction...'"

Location 1189: "'That's not the only thing she has lied about. I must get a hold of Henrik right away!'" [Why not lose the last sentence and have him actually rush off?]

Location 1642: "He was becoming increasingly irritated. They were still getting nowhere with the investigation and that was extremely frustrating."

Location 2630: "He was hanging his head as if he had done something wrong and was ashamed."

Location 3474: "...she clenched her teeth and put all her force behind the blow. The muscles in her back tensed, in her shoulders too, and she hit as hard as she could."

**mutters stupid no-page Kindle...**

Also, the conversations were hard to follow for most of the book as characters sounded alike. If Mia wasn't being crude and broke, if Hendrik wasn't a stereotypical whining husband, if The Boss wasn't using exclamation point order, and if Jana wasn’t a being a robot, there’s no difference in their speech. Everyday talk, especially about the case, didn’t warm up (or maybe I adapted to it) until much later in the book.

The split perspectives of the girl and the investigates was done well and I really enjoyed it. The girl’s POV brought the needed emotion and exhilaration. The case has it all but once Jana’s first realization, some parts become predictable.

Marked for Life didn’t start making solid improvements until the last 80% for me. It was hard to feel anything most of the time. Once Jana’s façade started cracking and villain POV’s starting showing up, the story became interesting. Yet every time I put it down, it was easy to leave it there.

Then it ended and I was left wondering, WTF? Turned to Google and found it was a trilogy and originally published in Swedish in 2013.

Bottomline: In dire need of editing. It’s hard to judge because on paper it all sounds good, but the execution with its current version leaves a lot to be desired.

Recommendable: If you can accept/look past the issues with translation. Reading the original Swedish would be the best option though. If it's updated, I'd be willing to read it again and am sure it'd be recommendable for general fans of the genre then.

Note: Around 42-45%, there's a passage about Janna. But afterwards, it immediately repeats that previous passage’s first half. Then it flips to Mia, then it repeats the second half of Jana’s passage.

3.5 stars.

Marked for Life by Emelie Schepp is the first installment in the Jana Berzelius trilogy. Set in Sweden, this intriguing mystery is rather dark with a chilling storyline.

Following the puzzling murder of the head of the asylum board Hans Juhlén, Public Prosecutor Jana Berzelius is assigned to the case. With little evidence at the scene of the crime, the investigation is not making much progress until security footage yields the first tangible clue. A series of threatening letters found in the victim's home and unexplained cash withdrawals are also of interest to the investigators and this discovery is the first hint that Hans might have been involved in some unsavory activities. However, the first real breakthrough in the case occurs when the remains of a young boy are discovered on the beach along with a gun that matches the weapon used in Juhlén's murder. During the autopsy, a strange mark on the boy's neck that is eerily similar to one on Jana's neck leads the prosecutor to begin a covert investigation of her own.

Jana is a hardworking, highly successful prosecutor who is quite dedicated to her job. She is a little cold and distant with no close personal friends. Her relationship with her parents is somewhat strained but she dutifully joins them for social engagements. Jana's father is a highly respected prosecutor who is now retired and although they do not discuss her cases, he is interested in their final outcome. She has been plagued with a series of nightmares that date back to her childhood and in an effort to try to understand their meaning, Jana keeps extensive notes about her dreams. After seeing the mark on the deceased boy's neck, she is determined to uncover the truth about her past.

Since Jana is not overly concerned about legalities, her investigation moves a little faster than the official one. She is one step ahead of the police for much of novel but they are, of course, uncovering the same evidence she is. Trying to maintain her composure is sometimes rather tricky, but she manages to keep her emotions and expressions under control at their progress meetings. Jana is slowly but surely putting the pieces of the puzzle together and she turns to someone from her past to aid her during the investigation. Although they have not been in contact since childhood, Jana trusts him implicitly and he provides her with information that could crack the case and give her the answers she needs to understand what happened to her when she was a child.

An overall solid debut by Emelie Schepp, Marked for Life is an engrossing mystery that delves into some very difficult subject matter such as human trafficking, the drug trade and the exploitation of children. The official investigation is initially a bit of a slow burner but once it gains momentum, a very disturbing picture begins to emerge. While the characters are fairly well developed and likable, they are the stereotypical cops found in police procedurals. Jana is a unique, multi-layered protagonist with a fascinating back story and it will be interesting to see the evolution of her character in the next books in the trilogy. While the novel does not conclude on a cliffhanger, not all of the storylines are wrapped up so readers will be impatiently awaiting the next installment in the Jana Berzelius trilogy.

Jana Berzelius has been marked for life. She has no memory of when it happened or more importantly why it happened. She only has dreams. Dreams of things that don't make sense. That is until she is assigned the role of prosecutor in a murder case. Than her world slowly changes and her past comes back to in a disturbing and violent manner. Her life will be changed forever. She has to work with the police who are investigating the murder however her style is not a welcome addition to the case. There is animosity and frustrations that go both ways.

This is an English translation of a Swedish novel and once you get past the different way in which crimes are investigated, it's an enjoyable read. Perhaps because of the different setting to the usual English, American or Australian setting.

I do however feel that it kind of lost it's way towards the end and went on a slightly different path. Things came to are rather abrupt conclusion after a slow investigation. Still, it was enjoyable.

3.8

Accents in the audio version are bananas. All over the shop.

I find Scandinavian thrillers to be kind of a sub-genre and I've read a lot of them. And most of them give me the same kind of vibe: a stand-offish, cool, IKEAn vibe, the opposite of Italian thrillers. I don't know if it's the translation or my own stereotype or the way it really is. This one is the same. I don't know if it's the translation because it doesn't say in/on the book if it's translated or written in English.

Things I liked about the book. I liked the detectives/officials and wished the author did more with them. I wished she involved them more, threaded them more deeply into the story.

Things I didn't like: I didn't like the jumping back and forth between stories. Whenever the main story would get interesting, it would jump to the other story and you didn't know if the other story was past or present and pretty much you didn't know anything about the people there, it was a waste of reading. The plot was jumpy as a result of that and I never got really into it. Despite the fact that the author is international and best selling, I wasn't very impressed.

I got this book free as a review copy.