#BookReview The Forbidden Place by Susanne Jansson

Offermossen by Susanne Jansson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Richly atmospheric and haunting to the last page, Susanne Jansson's stunning debut will captivate fans of the celebrated suspense fiction of Jane Harper or Tana French.

In the North Swedish wetlands lies Mossmarken: the village on the edge of the mire where, once upon a time, people came to leave offerings to the gods.

Biologist Nathalie came in order to study the peat bogs. But she has a secret: Mossmarken was once her home, a place where terrible things happened. She has returned at last, determined to confront her childhood trauma and find out the truth.

Soon after her arrival, she finds an unconscious man out on the marsh, his pockets filled with gold - just like the ancient human sacrifices. A grave is dug in the mire, which vanishes a day after. And as the police investigate, the bodies start to surface...

Is the mire calling out for sacrifices, as the superstitious locals claim? Or is it an all-too-human evil?

An international sensation, THE FORBIDDEN PLACE is a gripping tale of the power of nature to shape our reality; the stories we tell ourselves to make sense of the world and the terrible consequences they may have.

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The marshland is a desolate place with misty meadows, sloping pines, and sinking soils. Once upon a time, sacrifices to the gods were buried here, and rumors say that people still disappear without a trace...

Offermossen "The Forbidden Place" is a thrilling novel about Nathalie who are doing field experiments for her doctoral thesis on wetlands. The thesis is not the only reason Nathalie has rented a cottage to the experiments. She has returned to the place she once grew up. Where she was happy. Before her life shattered. Now she is back and perhaps she will get the answers to what happened when she was a child.

I found the book to be captivating and intriguing. I love the setting of the story. There is something chilly and creepy with the marshland and this book really makes you feel that there is something out there, perhaps not something evil. Just something ... inhumane...

Offermossen is a thrilling book, not that thick so you will quickly read it through. It's a book that will leave an impact and I'm looking forward to reading more from Susanne Jansson.