#BookReview The Boy in the Suitcase–Stunningly Suspenseful

When I started reading The Boy in the Suitcase by Lene Kaaberbol and Agnete Friis I worried about the child. Did I really want to read a book where a child had been stuffed in a suitcase? But with over 1500 reviews and still with 4 stars, I decided to give it a go. And, I wasn’t disappointed.

. By the cold mysteries, I mean those set in the cold countries, like Sweden, Norway, Iceland and such. This story was set in Copenhagen.

The main character Nina Borg is dedicated to helping people. She has trouble being a good mom, but she is a great nurse. Her dedication to others is clear. It is this reason that her friend, Karin, contacts her for help. Karin knows that if someone can protract the boy in the suitcase, Nina can and will. Nina, however, has no idea what she will find when she opens the locker in the station and finds a small suitcase. Shocked but ready to rescue the child who is still alive, she takes action. The story gets more complicated when Nina’s friend Karin is brutally murdered. Nina can’t go home. She can’t go to friends. She has three-year-old boy on her hands with no where to turn. Her desperation is clear and the tension rises as the story moves forward.

The authors moves from the point-of-view of Nina to that of the boy’s mother. The desperation Nina feels is nothing compared to the mother who lost her child. Rather than sit back and let the authorities take charge, she takes matters into her own hands and begins to piece the story together. It’s through her point of view that things start to become clear. The author also put us in the points of view of those responsible for the child’s abduction. The chapters are short, quick but full. The pages turn faster and faster as the reader wonders how everything will work out. Soon the motives unfold as the villain moves in for the kill.

I’m thrilled that this is the first in the Nina Borg series and I will order the second one right away. My only negative to this book is that the ending dragged a bit. My sense is the authors wanted to set up the second book. Even though the ending needed not go on for several pages, it was satisfying.