This review is written with thanks to Pigeonhole for my copy of The Silver Road.

Blurb:

Three years ago, Lelle’s daughter went missing in a remote part of Northern Sweden. Lelle has spent the intervening summers driving the Silver Road under the midnight sun, frantically searching for his lost daughter, for himself and for redemption.

Meanwhile, seventeen-year-old Meja arrives in town hoping for a fresh start. She is the same age as Lelle’s daughter was – a girl on the brink of adulthood. But for Meja, there are dangers to be found in this isolated place.

As autumn’s darkness slowly creeps in, Lelle and Meja’s lives are intertwined in ways, both haunting and tragic, that they could never have imagined.

Review:

I am a huge fan of Scandi Noir and The  Silver Road is another excellent example of it, from an author with which I was not previously familiar. Jackson’s descriptions are exquisite, and I felt completely drawn into the Swedish landscape as I was reading. There is a sense of isolation in the novel and this creates a huge amount of tension that kept me hooked. I couldn’t wait for the next day’s stave as the plot unfolded.

There are no chapters in The Silver Road, but it is split into sections which alternately tell the stories of Lelle and Meja. At first, these stories appear completely separate, but it is clear that there is a connection between them and I was intrigued to discover what this was.

The Silver Road has a number of intriguing characters and I enjoyed the way that Jackson developed them. Most characters have qualities which allowed me to sympathise with them,  but they are also flawed and this makes them feel more human. I was able to understand their mindset, and as such, I felt able to invest in their story and care about what happened to them. Jackson also takes this opportunity to explore issues such as mental health, families and relationships and this gives the novel relevance to a wide audience.

I am looking forward to seeing what Jackson does next!

The Silver Road is available from Amazon.