WINNER OF SWEDEN’S BEST CRIME NOVEL AWARD
On the idyllic island of Öland, off the coast of northern Sweden, a young couple from S... read full description
On the idyllic island of Öland, off the coast of northern Sweden, a young couple from S... read full description
reviews
Jan 31, 2011
Peter
rated it: 
I liked this book and would give it 4 stars. Personally I think the blurb on the cover is an exaggeration and does not do the story justice. It is not a frightening horror/crime story. It is an eerie believable ghost story about a house that was built from wood salvaged from a vessel wrecked of the Island in 1846. However this is no Hollywood type of sinister monster house.
It is the story of how Joakim and his children cope with the death of his sister and wife. Intertwined with More...
It is the story of how Joakim and his children cope with the death of his sister and wife. Intertwined with More...
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Jul 09, 2010
Nancy
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Joakim and Katrine Westin, along with their two small children, have decided to leave Stockholm to buy and renovate an old manor house at Eel Point on the island of Öland. Along with its two lighthouses, this area has a long history of shipwrecks and drownings, and it is said that the voices of the dead can still be heard. But for Joakim and Katrine, Eel Point offers a new beginning. For their children there are meadows and forests to play in, a definite change from urban life in Stockholm. But
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Jul 02, 2010
David
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The manor house at Eel Point, on the Swedish island of Öland, has had a dark reputation ever since it was built using salvage from a shipwreck. There have been a number of deaths associated with the place over the years, and the latest happens shortly after Joakim Westin moves in there with his family – his wife Katrine drowns, apparently accidentally. A young police officer named Tilda Davidsson looks into events, and starts to wonder if Katrine’s death really was all that accidental – whilst J
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Oct 14, 2009
Jo
rated it:
I haven't read a ghost story as good as this one in a very long time and maybe ever.
This book is set in Sweden in a manor house on the shore of the Baltic Sea. Two lighthouses are also on the shore not too far from the house.
Joakim and Katrine Westin and their young son and daughter have just moved into a big old long-neglected house with the intentions of remodeling it. However, "there are things that cannot be repaired, lives that have gone wrong, and secrets that have followe More...
This book is set in Sweden in a manor house on the shore of the Baltic Sea. Two lighthouses are also on the shore not too far from the house.
Joakim and Katrine Westin and their young son and daughter have just moved into a big old long-neglected house with the intentions of remodeling it. However, "there are things that cannot be repaired, lives that have gone wrong, and secrets that have followe More...
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Jan 30, 2012
Kandice
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I have read Theorin's first book which had a depth of character and history that I really enjoyed. I have also recently read Chris Bohjalian's "The Night Strangers" which I hated. This book is what Bohjalian was trying to accomplish and didn't. This was an extremely well-written mystery that was also a ghost story. An old manor by the sea, inhabited for many years by those who kept up the lighthouses on the coast, is the setting for an accident that is eventually deemed a murder.
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Jan 08, 2012
Marco
rated it:
Mijn tweede boek van Johan Theorin al in dit jaar. Dat zegt wel iets natuurlijk. Na Echoes from the Dead, volgde al snel The Darkest Room; het tweede deel in een kwartet verhalen die zich afspelen op het Zweedse eiland Öland en die afzonderlijk van elkaar prima te lezen zijn. Het eerste deel was duidelijk een thriller die zich richtte op een zoektocht naar de waarheid achter een verdwenen kind. Dit tweede deel is meer een mix van een crime thriller met wat bovennatuurlijke invloeden. Dat uit zi
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Feb 25, 2011
harryknuckles
rated it:
The Darkest Room – Johan Theorin
After having become a little obsessed with Scandanavian crime fiction this didn't disappoint.
The novel starts with a Swedish folk tale; it tells of how the dead gather every year to celebrate Christmas. In the winter of 1846 two lighthouses are being built off Eel Point on the island of Öland. During a blizzard a ship is wrecked, the workers hear the cries of the dying. Brommesson, the lighthouse builder uses timbers from the ship to extend the manor More...
After having become a little obsessed with Scandanavian crime fiction this didn't disappoint.
The novel starts with a Swedish folk tale; it tells of how the dead gather every year to celebrate Christmas. In the winter of 1846 two lighthouses are being built off Eel Point on the island of Öland. During a blizzard a ship is wrecked, the workers hear the cries of the dying. Brommesson, the lighthouse builder uses timbers from the ship to extend the manor More...
Mar 26, 2011
Ms.pegasus
rated it:
THE DARKEST ROOM by Johan Theorin (translated by Marlaine Delargy) is a dark, bone-chilling, suspense novel. It reminded me of the 1963 movie, The Haunting. Theorin begins by keeping the reader in a constant state of imbalance. Characters are introduced without preamble, so we are left to puzzle out their connection, and even their place in time. Hints of premature death, premonition, and the half-truths of folklore and memory set the mood – the location is remote Eel Point on Öland, an is
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Jul 15, 2010
Steve
rated it:
In “The Darkest Room”, Johan Theorin follows up his very successful and engaging “Echoes From The Dead” with another mystery set on the desolate Swedish island of Öland. The back of the book promotion suggested that this was another crime novel, perhaps even a sequel.
In a way, “The Darkest Room” is both and neither. Whereas I’d qualify “Echoes From the Dead” as a crime mystery, this book is actually more of a ghost story with a crime-novel subplot. In it, a young family buys an ol More...
In a way, “The Darkest Room” is both and neither. Whereas I’d qualify “Echoes From the Dead” as a crime mystery, this book is actually more of a ghost story with a crime-novel subplot. In it, a young family buys an ol More...
Sep 25, 2011
Bartek
rated it:
Lubię powieści Theorina (obydwie! obydwie!) za niejednoznaczność.
Oczywiście i "Zmierzch" i "Nocna zamieć" mają akcję opartą o zagadkę kryminalna - i jej rozwiązywanie, prowadzące do wyjaśnienia.
Ale wszystkiemu towarzyszy niejasne poczucie tajemnicy - a nawet Tajemnicy. W "Nocnej zamieci" mamy więc dziwny, kojarzący się z horrorem, kontakt z "drugą stroną". Jest miejsce, chata latarników: rodzaj subtelnej bramy między rzeczywistościami: duchy zmar More...
Oczywiście i "Zmierzch" i "Nocna zamieć" mają akcję opartą o zagadkę kryminalna - i jej rozwiązywanie, prowadzące do wyjaśnienia.
Ale wszystkiemu towarzyszy niejasne poczucie tajemnicy - a nawet Tajemnicy. W "Nocnej zamieci" mamy więc dziwny, kojarzący się z horrorem, kontakt z "drugą stroną". Jest miejsce, chata latarników: rodzaj subtelnej bramy między rzeczywistościami: duchy zmar More...
Dec 15, 2011
Ellen
rated it:
I'm a huge fan of Johan Theorin! I knew I'd found something special when I read his first book, Echoes From the Dead. But this book sealed it. It's haunting on so many levels: literally, atmospherically, psychologically. The main character, Joakim Westin, goes through a terrible ordeal and even though I haven't experienced what he does, I could identify strongly with his reactions. I liked the other main characters, too: the amateur detective, Gerlof (who is also in the first book), the police o
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May 31, 2010
Sharonm
rated it:
As good as the first. This novel set on Oland, an island off of Sweden, in the dead of winter was so real that as I was reading it I was afraid to go outside because of the blizzard (it was 50 degrees here). For a while it felt like a lot of stories not really going anywhere, but about midway things started to come together and then it was brilliant. At the end, questions remained regarding some of the motives and the truthfulness of some of the characters' stories, but the main mystery was reso
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May 08, 2010
Karen
rated it:
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
To view it, click here
Nov 26, 2010
Mrs N
rated it:
Someone recommended this to me as a better version of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - specifically better at evoking a sense of place (Sweden) without the sexual content.
This book is scary, but not so scary I had nightmares. The mystery was engaging right up to the end (unlike Girl, where I never cared about the mystery).
The sense of place was fabulous - it's set in the winter in a remote corner of Sweden, and I swear I was freezing the entire time I read this book More...
This book is scary, but not so scary I had nightmares. The mystery was engaging right up to the end (unlike Girl, where I never cared about the mystery).
The sense of place was fabulous - it's set in the winter in a remote corner of Sweden, and I swear I was freezing the entire time I read this book More...
Jul 29, 2010
Bernadette
rated it:
Even though I read it alone and there wasn’t a campfire in sight reading The Darkest Room was a similar experience to having sat at the feet of an old-fashioned storyteller and become engrossed in his latest tale. Different threads and themes are woven together in a way that would be a disaster in a lesser craftsman’s hands but in Theorin’s, who is clearly a master of his craft, the sensitively translated product is deliciously atmospheric.
The novel centres on a house which was origi More...
The novel centres on a house which was origi More...
Dec 14, 2011
Xirxe
rated it:
Theorins erstes Buch Öland wurde als Geisterbuch angekündigt - zu Unrecht wie man beim Lesen feststellen musste. Doch dafür passt Nebelsturm, sein zweites Werk, unter diese Rubrik. Wobei man hinzufügen muss: auch in diese Rubrik. Denn es ist zugleich ebenso ein Krimi wie eine Familiengeschichte.
Joakim Westin zieht mit seiner Familie nach Öland in einen alten renovierungsbedürftigen Hof, um den sich viele Geschichten ranken. Doch bald nach ihrem Einzug stirbt ein Mitglied der Familie und J More...
Joakim Westin zieht mit seiner Familie nach Öland in einen alten renovierungsbedürftigen Hof, um den sich viele Geschichten ranken. Doch bald nach ihrem Einzug stirbt ein Mitglied der Familie und J More...
Mar 14, 2011
Sarah
rated it:
This is a guest review that was written for my blog (www.feelingfictional.com):
I liked this book and would give it 4 stars. Personally I think the blurb on the cover is an exaggeration and does not do the story justice. It is not a frightening horror/crime story. It is an eerie believable ghost story about a house that was built from wood salvaged from a vessel wrecked off of the Island in 1846. However this is no Hollywood type of sinister monster house.
It is the sto More...
I liked this book and would give it 4 stars. Personally I think the blurb on the cover is an exaggeration and does not do the story justice. It is not a frightening horror/crime story. It is an eerie believable ghost story about a house that was built from wood salvaged from a vessel wrecked off of the Island in 1846. However this is no Hollywood type of sinister monster house.
It is the sto More...
Feb 14, 2011
Karen
rated it:
This was a great book and I know I read about it and that is why I got it but I can’t remember where and that kills me. I think it was a “If you liked The Girl with The Dragon Tattoo, you will love this…” thing but I can’t remember. Anyway, it is more ghost story than mystery but I picked it up and barely could put it down. Frankly, because it was compared to the Larssen books, I was expecting a bit of a slog, but this is a tight story and very satisfying. Good ending too.
Mar 14, 2011
Albert乂hu
rated it:
I'll give this book 4 stars. This is probably the best mystery book that i have ever read, this story is mostly about ghosts and murders. This book doesn't tell you much info in the beginning of the story. Then on in the story it give you information that you had never even thought of , this book also ends with a amazing surprise ending. This book gives you the creep and makes you desperate to know what's going to happen next and keeps on reading!
May 09, 2011
Marjolein
rated it: 
READ IN DUTCH
Joakim and Katrine decide to move to a manor near the shore of Öland. There have been a number of strange deaths ever since the house was build using salvage wood from a wrecked ship.
I don't really know what to think of this story. I liked his first book better, I guess. I'm not really into ghost stories and I think I expected it to be slightly different. The writing style was nice and it was nice to read but nothing special. I still want to read his new boo More...
Joakim and Katrine decide to move to a manor near the shore of Öland. There have been a number of strange deaths ever since the house was build using salvage wood from a wrecked ship.
I don't really know what to think of this story. I liked his first book better, I guess. I'm not really into ghost stories and I think I expected it to be slightly different. The writing style was nice and it was nice to read but nothing special. I still want to read his new boo More...
May 27, 2011
Sarah
rated it:
I really loved Echoes From the Dead, which was recommended to me by a friend. And when that same friend said she'd reading Theorin's other novel, I eagerly checked it out. I think The Darkest Room is an even better novel. Part mystery and part ghost story, Theorin's plot twists and turns, like the blizzard that eventually makes things all too clear. I cannot wait to read more of his stuff.
Nov 15, 2010
Christine
rated it:
This book, which won Sweden's Best Crime Novel of the Year, among others, is a compelling mix of crime and ghost fiction. The setting is an island off the coast of Sweden, on the Baltic Sea. Author Johan Theorin is a master of suspense: The Darkest Room is not only a tale of crime, but also a tangled family drama. Haunting, lyrical. Highly recommended.
Feb 25, 2010
Sofia
rated it:
I found Nattfåk a little bit slow starting, but then it really picked up! It's a great mix of crime fiction and ghost story, and the way the different characters' lives intertwine and tie up at the end is really great. Don't read it just now if you're sensitive about grief issues - I found at least the first part almost too painful at times, but it was wort it. Read it in late autumn, it's a great before-Christmas-book.
Oct 18, 2009
Aaron
rated it:
After reading Theorin's first novel, Echoes From The Dead, the last thing I was expected from his second novel was a ghost story. The Darkest Room reminded me of Don DeLillo's The Body Artist, but with actual plot, something DeLillo would of course never stand for.
The island of Oland exists, but Eel Point where most of the novel takes place is a fabrication on the part of the author. This however doesn't diminish Theorin's ability to write about the location so powerfully that it f More...
The island of Oland exists, but Eel Point where most of the novel takes place is a fabrication on the part of the author. This however doesn't diminish Theorin's ability to write about the location so powerfully that it f More...
May 05, 2010
Pam
rated it:
Set in Sweden on the island of Oland, this story is part mystery, part ghost story. Told from multiple points of view (Joakim, the current owner of Eel Point; Tilda, the new police officer in town; Henrik, a thief) with flashbacks to previous deaths at Eel Point and excerpts from Mirja's diary.
Feb 18, 2011
Angie
rated it:
It really surprised me how much I liked this book. I loved the old house in the story; its definitely a character of its own. It also has some great twists you never expected and things fit together in a believable way. This book had a lot to offer, ghosts, lighthouses, rich character history. It was and enjoyable read.
Jul 10, 2010
Susan
rated it:
Steve passed this off on me in Hawaii when I was having scandinavian noir withdrawal. I was really peeved with him when I thought he fooled me into reading a haunted house horror tale. But - stick with it - because it does straighten itself out into a nice police and geezer procedural.
Oct 07, 2009
Pam
rated it:
I read the English translation -- too bad the publisher didn't keep the cover art. I loved it. Nice combination of thriller and mystery and again, as seems to be the case with so many Scandinavian writers, the landscape is a character. I'll read anything Theorin writes.
Aug 31, 2009
Siri
rated it:
Nok en god krim av Theorin! Spennende forhistorie med mange overnaturlige elementer! Flott, øde og passende beliggenhet for å skape den rette spenningen i boka!! Les bokas introd. hvis du ble nysgjerrig :-) En bok det er vanskelig å legge vekk før slutten er nådd.....
Mar 26, 2011
Wanrong
rated it:
Really quite dark, and a little too spooky for my liking. I thought the book was overly complicated, introducing too many subplots, some of which didn't seem to be essential to the main storyline. Gripping, but a little confusing.
