The Woman Inside

By: M. T. Edvardsson

Narrator: Josh Dylan, Nathalie Buscombe, Sofia Engstrand

Macmillan Audio

ISBN: 9781250899521

Publisher: Celadon Books

Publication Date: 06/13/2023

Format: Audiobook 🔉

My Rating: 4.5 Stars (ARC)

JUN 2023 MUST-READ BOOKS

This program features multicast narration and an author's note read by the author.

A wealthy couple ends up murdered in the nicest part of town in this compulsively listenable thriller from M. T. Edvardsson.

Bill Olsson, recently widowed, is desperate to provide for his daughter, Sally. Struggling to pay rent, he welcomes a lodger into their home: Karla, a law student and aspiring judge, who works as a housekeeper to make ends meet. Her clients are the Rytters, an incredibly wealthy couple who hide behind closed doors. The wife is ill and hasn’t left the house in months. The husband is controlling and obsessive. Is he just a worried husband, concerned for his wife’s health? Or is there something more sinister at play?

As Bill’s situation becomes more dire, Karla is forced to make a difficult choice. And when the Rytters wind up dead, and Karla is pulled in for questioning, she’s made to defend some parts of her past she’d rather not revisit.

Every person in The Woman Inside is hiding something, but could any of them really have been driven to kill?

A Macmillan Audio production from Celadon Books.

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My Review

Swedish author M.T. Edvardsson returns following A Nearly Normal Family with his latest Scandi-Noir domestic thriller, THE WOMAN INSIDE —A wealthy couple found murdered in this riveting whodunit in a complex web of secrets and lies.

Have you ever wondered what is behind a murder of a couple? Sometimes things are not as they seem or as straightforward.

Set in Sweden, Steven and Regina Rytter are found dead in a wealthy part of Lund. Steven was a successful pediatrician doctor, and Regina was from a wealthy family. Regina was the one with the money. Steven liked the perks.

Who would murder them?

Meet Widower Bill Olsson. He is struggling financially and trying to provide a good home for his young daughter, Sally. He lost his job and having issues finding one. Bill tragically lost his fiancée due to cancer and was trying to find a way to provide both emotional and financial support for his daughter. He had promised Miranda he would take care of Sally.

Karla is an ambitious law student who wants to be a judge. She has had a rough childhood and a drug-addicted mother. She takes on a cleaning job contract for income; the client is the Rytters.

Bill decides to take in a lodger for money. Karla moves in.

Karla discovers Regina is very ill. The woman says her husband is drugging her. Karla is no stranger due to drugs and addicts due to her mother. Can she help her?

Regina is addicted. She says her husband is trying to kill her for her money. But she has to get off the drugs slowly.

Jennica is a student who grew up with Miranda (former friend) and Bill's late fiancée. A serial dater, hotline psychic advisor, and in a relationship with the victim (thinks his wife is dead). A dark sheep of her family. She is a pretender, a liar, and an unlikable character.

"Love is dangerous."

In the meantime, Bill (a jerk) envies everyone with money and loses his job. Yes, he is desperate to provide for his daughter but he is greedy and manipulative. He also has a gambling problem.

He talks Karla into taking expensive jewelry from her employer. She feels sorry for him. She gives it to Bill to sell. Instead, Bill loses the money gambling.

The novel is told in alternating POVs, primarily through Bill, Karla, and Jennica.

Through the eyes of each character, the reader is drawn into the dramas interspersed with police interrogations, interviews, and media commentary— leading to the explosive ending when the three voices connect.

Thought-provoking and fascinating! From grief, financial issues, addictions, greed, envy, and manipulation. Each person connects in this heart-pounding psychological thriller.

With a slow build, the author keeps you guessing about the real murderer—a Whodunit, Whydunit, and Howdunit. I enjoyed the author's notes and inspiration behind the book.

Every character has an agenda. Some good. Some bad. Some think they can justify their actions. I totally disliked Bill and Jennica and liked Karla's character.

I enjoy this author's writing. I could not wait to find out whodunit!

AUDIOBOOK: I listened to the audiobook, and enjoyed the narrators, Josh Dylan, Nathalie Buscombe, and Sofia Engstrand for each voice, immensely.

While reading, I thought of two recent books: The lodger part: Happily Married by Victoria Jenkins and the cleaner/owner The Housemaid's Secret by Freida McFadden.

Thanks to #MacmillanAudio for a gifted ALC via #NetGalley for review purposes.

Blog review posted@

JudithDCollins.com

@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks

Pub Date: June 13, 2023

My Rating: 4.5 Stars

June 2023 Must-Read Books

Praise

“With The Woman Inside, M. T. Edvardsson has written a super well-composed chamber drama, where the darkness dwells, the desperation grows between the characters and the walls are closing in until you´re caught in the trap.”

―Lars Kepler, #1 internationally bestselling author of The Sandman

"Alienation, self-preservation, and hope propel the story toward calamity with unrelenting suspense; highly recommended for fans of psychological thrillers."

―Booklist

About the Author

Photo Credit: Caroline Andersson

M. T. Edvardsson is an author and teacher from Trelleborg, Sweden. He is the author of multiple novels, including A Nearly Normal Family, his first published in the United States. He lives with his family in Löddeköpinge, Sweden.

WEBSITE

Name: Mattias Edvardsson

Born: 1977 in Trelleborg

Lives: Löddeköpinge outside Lund

Education: master's degree in literary studies, certified high school teacher in Swedish and Psychology.

What: Full-time writer since 2019. Writes books for adults, youth and children. Travels around Sweden and all over the world and talks about my books and writing.

Likes: text, music, language, popular culture

Background: sang in a punk band, was a coach for a football team in Division 3

Reads: crime fiction and contemporary novels

Listening to: rock

Eats: Italian

Drinks: sparkling water