About the Book
Murder. Corruption. Dark secrets. A titanic wave of refugees. Can Anna solve a terrifying case that’s become personal? Anna Fekete returns to the Balkan village of her birth for a relaxing summer holiday. But when her purse is stolen and the thief is found dead on the banks of the river, Anna is pulled into a murder case. Her investigation leads straight to her own family, to closely guarded secrets concealing a horrendous travesty of justice that threatens them all. As layer after layer of corruption, deceit and guilt are revealed, Anna is caught up in the refugee crisis spreading like wildfire across Europe. How long will it take before everything explodes? Chilling, taut and relevant, The Exiled is an electrifying, unputdownable thriller from one of Finland’s most celebrated crime writers.
My Review
The Exiled is the third book in the series to feature Anna Fekete. You could easily read this book and follow the story, it is slightly different to the earlier books. Anna has returned home to Serbia for a well-deserved holiday. However, when she is robbed shortly after arriving and then the thief is found dead her desire to get to the truth takes over.
One of the more welcome sides to this novel was the absence of Esko. But racism is still present and she feels increasingly disillusioned with her home country and people that she has always considered friends. She feels more than ever how different her life now is in Finland.
It’s very topical, the refugee crisis affects much of Europe and I hadn’t realized that this area was one of those that was struggling with people trying to get a better life. At times it was hard to read, seeing how one small act of kindness could make such a huge difference to somebody’s day. As always it is about power, greed and politics. Anna won’t back down, ignoring those who tell her she needs too and when she discovers that the thief has the same surname as somebody who tore her family’s life apart years earlier she is determined to get answers. When she refuses to stop looking into the crime she is in increasing danger from people connected to the case in present day but also from people who could hold the answers to her father’s death.
The epilogue was one that left me struggling how to feel. Chilled and a strange sense of relief is the only way I can describe it.
With thanks to the publisher for the copy received.
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