The Find

The Find #1

by Venezia Miller

Deep in the dark forests of Sandviken, Sweden, a hiker stumbles upon a shocking discovery that shakes the lives of four families, connected by fond memories of summer vacations, but haunted by a long-buried sinister secret.

For 30 years, a sadistic serial killer has been living among them, hunting innocent young girls for his twisted pleasure.

The investigation is grueling, and the detectives in charge must not only face a cunning, calculating, and ruthless killer but also their own inner demons.

Time is running out, and the question remains, can they catch him before he strikes again?

And at what cost?

Keywords: mystery, detective, suspense.

Genres: Mystery, Nordic Noir, Thriller, Crime, Fiction, Noir

342 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 12, 2020

About the author

Engineer by day, writer by night—that's how I would describe myself. Since childhood, I have been fascinated with how writers can create entire worlds with simple words and draw others into their stories. I remember spending my summer holidays as a teenager reading detective stories and trying to write my own tales in the style of Agatha Christie on an old typewriter (yes, I'm that old!).

In the evenings, I would read my freshly typed pages to my younger sister, always ending on a cliffhanger to keep her longing for more. Those were precious moments. But as I got older and my schedule filled up with a job, husband, and children, there was little time left for writing. Eventually, I realized that all those stories in my head had disappeared.

In 2020, at the start of the Covid pandemic, I decided to reignite my passion for writing and published my first novel, THE FIND, on Amazon. Since then, this has become a full-blown book series.

As a writer, I truly appreciate your feedback and reviews. I am still on a learning curve and can always do better.

I am grateful to all the readers who have taken the time to read my books.

Thank you, and I hope you enjoy the series.

Reviews

[Maria Maria1954 · Rating 5 out of 5]

I rarely give reviews,but this book is the most amazing read,for a long time. Excellent writing, plot and flow of book. Who do I see to get an award for the author. I have read many “Who done it” mysteries, physiological thrillers,but the this left me intrigued to the end. And that end!!! Pure genius didn’t see it coming. Venezia Miller

[S Richardson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good.

This book is very good indeed, it is also about as dark as dark gets. Interestingly none of the characters are particularly sympathetic nor very strongly drawn. But all of them are very much there.

[Tamsynsbookreviews · Rating 5 out of 5]

Author: Venezia Miller
Page Count: 332 pages
Published Date: 12th April 2020
Genre: Thriller, Translated Fiction
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
SYNOPSIS:
Deep in the dark forests of Sandviken, Sweden, a hiker stumbles upon a shocking discovery that shakes the lives of four families, connected by fond memories of summer vacations, but haunted by a long-buried sinister secret.
For 30 years, a sadistic serial killer has been living among them, hunting innocent young girls for his twisted pleasure.The investigation is grueling, and the detectives in charge must not only face a cunning, calculating, and ruthless killer but also their own inner demons.Time is running out, and the question remains, can they catch him before he strikes again?And at what cost?
MY THOUGHTS:
This book had a slow start and a little confusing with so many characters with similar names but soon picked up and got really interesting when it became a murder investigation which left you always guessing on who the killer could be and got you wanting to always read on. Near the end this book got sad and also shocked me at the ending on who the killer is I didn't expect it to be the person. I have rated this book 5 stars as it has so much suspense I loved it.

[Livia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sandivken ,Sweden, a remote forest area .A young man out walking his dog finds the remains of a body .When Chief Inspector Isa Lindstrom is called to the scene it is so cold ...the kind of cold that seeps into your bones ...and eerily quiet.The police Forensic Anthropologist informs them that the bones are that of a teenager. The next day however it becomes clear the forest holds many more bones ...and this is a case that will leave its mark..not just on Isa..but also her partner Magnus and the whole of the team. Sandivken, so remote and so beautiful..A case with multiple suspects...Secrets , Betrayal...Madness...and Murder ..The twists just keep coming.
A Dark and Gripping Pageturner....en Fantastik lashing ...

[Wendy Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had mixed feelings about this book, but generally it was well written.
It starts with a dog finding bones in a forest and immediately you think the dogs owner is involved . There are loads of red herrings and just as you think you’ve sussed the killer, the plot changes.
It does have an incredibly sad sub plot which will pull at your heart strings.

[mark jenkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Next

What a page Turner I thoroughly enjoyed it and I can't wait for the next in the series. I love discovering a new author of high talent.

[RC · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book

I loved the story and the characters. Especially the unexpected ending blew me away. I would definitely recommend the book.

[Marthe Favager · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really liked the story. Excellent book.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing

I loved the book. The story was a bit different than I had expected from the beginning, but it was a great read. Especially the twist at the end.

[Mrs Diane Duncan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not at all what I expected!

A good murder mystery with a brilliant, unexpected twist at the very end. I almost lost interest in the last few chapters, but so glad I didn't. A great start to a possible series.

[Sonja · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved it, but the translation into English felt sometimes stilted and awkward. Will definitely read the rest of the series.

[Nicky · Rating 3 out of 5]

I generally like suspense stories and have read quite a few Nordic writers. Unfortunately whilst this story was reasonably well conceived the English (translation?) left something to be desired. This dramatically affected my enjoyment as I was distracted by re-writing it properly in appropriate English whilst at the same time telling myself I was the reader and not the writer. Whether this was a translation issue or simply that the writer’s own English was not sophisticated enough to produce a nuanced writing style is difficult to tell but it would definitely put me off reading another book by this author sadly.

[London Teacher · Rating 1 out of 5]

I disliked this book very much. It was very badly written/translated and very poorly edited. Not one character was in any way likeable. The ‘romance’ was entirely unbelievable (and the sex was awful). The time frame was muddling: at times it seemed as if days had passed when it emerged that weeks had gone by. None of the many characters was depicted in depth. Much of it was boring - the opposite of a page turner. I won’t be returning to this writer.

[Annie Kosar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chilling & Twisty Nordic Noir!!!

Just ADORED the setting, the plot, the writing, the characters….this Nordic Noir was twisty and moody in the BEST of ways!!!:-). I thought the secrets were revealed in ways that kept you wanting to know more and read page after page barely breathing cause it was so suspenseful!!:-). LOVED IT!!:-)

[Andrew John woods · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent Scandinavian crime

Great character observations, strong storyline, and perfect twist , just my cuppa tea .Looking forward to the next one .

[Laura Andersen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Four stars because I didn’t guess a major plot point :)

[Betty Adams · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just so perfectly Nordic dark.

[Brandon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one had tons of twists at the end I didn’t see coming

[Deirdre E Siegel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is not what I would call Nordic Noir, for me Noir has the hairs on the back of my neck standing up OR the place you are reading / listening feels like it is breathing, atmospheric yet safely ...coolly creepy.
For me this is a Midsomer Murder with unnecessary love and family interest that interferes with the storyline.
As book #1 in a trilogy this is a good start, a dog, buried bodies, holiday homes, mental health, trees and violence.
Looking forward to book #2, enjoyable listen thank you Venezia Miller, much appreciated. :-)

[Amy Louise · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sounds like we might have another strong woman to follow.

I just love books based on Scandinavia and the Nordic outerlands. The sense of mystery seeps out of the text. Looking forward to reading more of Venezia's work. Exciting times.
I feel this first book sets a great background with character s identified, love interests etc.
I'm not a spoiler so I'm leaving the rest up to you. Great start, off to buy the next one.

[Antonella Gramola-Sands · Rating 1 out of 5]

The plot is interesting although the twists are easy to guess. The problem is the language. Not sure if this novel has been translated (badly) into English or is just badly written. It does not flow ad sounds artificial and simplistic.

[davidjeffersonmarriott · Rating 5 out of 5]

A thrilling page Turner from cover to cover.

Great character's, great story line, all character's are believable the story kept me guessing all the way through the book looking forward too reading the next book. Thanks it's given me all the entertainment I want .

[Vero · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read. Loved the characters and the story.

[Michael Goodrich · Rating 5 out of 5]

Find.

Well that was an interesting story about human behaviour.
I do like a bit of snow too.
Read it now.

[Alia A Stovall · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Real Page Turner

Good mystery, many twists and turns and a shocking ending. All I could ask for is a continuation as a series!

[Karen Stedman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent read

Wow kept me reading until late night highly recommend this book. Will read more books from this author for sure

[Lisa-Marie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ehhhhh. I’m having bad luck with Nordic Noir stories, which I normally really enjoy.

I stopped part way through this and almost didn’t come back. The POV kept pinging around so much at points I felt like I was getting whiplash. It was also sooo much exposition - I remember a comment from an early creative writing class: “show, don’t tell”. This story tells. And a lot of the characters’ emotions felt unearned.

I found myself wondering at points if I would have felt the same way reading the story in the original Swedish, because parts of the translation did feel less smooth in the English than others, but really most of it was the writing style. The story at the heart of it is actually interesting, but I felt like it got lost in the execution. Probably better than a 2 star, but definitely not a 3 for me.

[Libby · Rating 2 out of 5]

So many things wrong with this story. Too many unstable people….how many psychopaths or schizophrenics does one story need? Really terrible people. The police detective who gets the hots for the first cute guy she encounters. Really? A schizophrenic 10 year old. Not sure what the laws are in Other countries but IN The US, I believe a person has to be 18 before a diagnosis of schizophrenia. Obviously, his father was mentally disturbed also. A respected police detective would kill a young doctoral student because he was jealous of him, didn’t like him, was afraid of the competition.

I might have given it 2.5 stars until that last part. I always give at least 2 stars if I finish a book, but this one has really made me mad. An insult to professional police officers EVERYWHERE.

[Bud Mallar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yes and no.

Not a Nordic noir in the traditional sense, just happens to be in that part of the world.

More of character study in the middle of a whodunit rather than a police procedural.

Our heroine has some issues - don't they all nowadays - and certainly makes some wrong decisions.

And, in general, the bad guys don't get punished, which means having to read #2 and maybe #3 which Amazon offered to me for almost nothing, so I decided to bet on the come.

Pretty good story line, a couple too many characters for this old brain, and it's lack of memory, to keep track off, but an easy read.

Not gonna shy away from #2, but it's not at the top of the TBR next list either.

[Adelaide Jewel (storygraph: adelaidejewel)]

Unfortunately I had to DNF this one. The English was pretty rough and hard to get through, though it looks like the book was independently published, so I can kind of forgive that.

However.

The police officer who could only focus on how attractive one of the potential suspects was??? And eventually sleeping with him??? And the other cop who murders him??? I mean, acab, so not surprising, but still very weird and distracting when all she could think about was how beautiful the guy was while also compromising the investigation. I did skip to the end so I could see what happened. It was…also not that surprising 🤷🏻‍♀️