Blackwater (Magill’s Literary Annual 1991-2005)
At a glance:
- Author: Kerstin Ekman
- First Published: 1993
- Type of Work: Novel
- Time of Work: 1974-1992
- Setting: Far northern portion of Sweden, near the Norwegian border
- Principal Characters: Annie Raft, Mia Raft, Johan Brandberg, Dan Ulander, Birger Torbjornsson, Gudrun Brandberg, Ylja, Per-Ola, Bjorne, Pekka, Vaine Brandberg
- Genres: Long fiction, Mystery and detective literature
- Subjects: Family or family life, Murder or homicide, Gender roles, Women, Small-town life, Truthfulness and falsehood, Cults, Sweden or Swedish people
- Locales: Sweden
In the second half of part 1 of Kerstin Ekman’s Blackwater, it appears clear that the novel is going to be about how a murder that is never solved changes the lives of several people. The main characters of this first part, Annie Raft, Johan Brandberg, and Birger Torbjornsson all have their own secrets to protect, but in each case, their secrets are their hopes and fears which get bruised and abused by the investigation and apparent cover-up going on around them. Indeed, that is the nature of part 1 of the novel: It is less a murder mystery than a novel about the rippling waves...
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