Starlight Book Review – Lene Kaaberbøl and Agnete Friis’ The Boy in the Suitcase 🇩🇰

Cover of The Boy in the Suitcase by Lene Kaaberbøl and Agnete Friis on a light cyan background | Image Source: Goodreads

World Tour Stellar Reading Challenge – Denmark

Translated from Danish

3.8/5 In 2023, I aimed to read books by “new to me writers” alongside the Stellar Reading Challenges (SRC). Since some of my heritage and much of the “Starry Night Elf” persona derives from Denmark, this seemed extra challenging as I previously sought out Danish writers. Of course, I read Hans Christian Andersen. I also read mysteries by Jussi Adler-Olsen and Sara Blædel. At the start, I wanted a book other than something “Nordic Noir” but, just the title alone of The Boy in the Suitcase by Lene Kaaberbøl and Agnete Friis compelled me to read the book.

Learn more about these 2023 SRC by clicking here.

Click here to discover more about 2024 SRC.

Trigger Warnings (TW): Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, and Trafficking

“Nina Borg, a Red Cross nurse, wife, and mother of two, is a compulsive do-gooder who can’t say no when someone asks for help—even when she knows better. When her estranged friend Karin leaves her a key to a public locker in the Copenhagen train station, Nina gets suckered into her most dangerous project yet. Inside the locker is a suitcase, and inside the suitcase is a three-year-old boy: naked and drugged, but alive… Is the boy a victim of child trafficking? Can he be turned over to authorities, or will they only return him to whoever sold him? When Karin is discovered brutally murdered, Nina realizes that her life and the boy’s are in jeopardy, too. In an increasingly desperate trek across Denmark, Nina tries to figure out who the boy is, where he belongs, and who exactly is trying to hunt him down.”

The Boy in the Suitcase made for a quick, fast-paced read. Kaaberbøl and Friis pulled me in with a stunning amount of ferocity. Nina Borg and the three-year old child of the title gained my sympathy in an instant; I finished this book because I wanted to see the kid through to a safe and prosperous end. I must also mention that a quarter of the action, possibly a third, took place in the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius which added a language barrier to the already dire situation on Borg’s hands. In the end, though, I deducted stars from The Boy in the Suitcase for some of the major ick factor (i.e. – who drugs a child and stuffs him in a suitcase?) and that the book seemed written for a Danish audience. Regarding the latter, the book assumed I knew more about Copenhagen than I do. Still, the book riveted me to it and I might try others in the Nina Borg series.

Quotes come from book flaps/cover and are featured on color blocks.

Starlight Book Review – Karin Slaughter’s Triptych – 🇺🇸

Cover of Triptych (Will Trent #1) by Karin Slaughter on a light green background |
Image Source: Goodreads

RUSA SRC – Region #4 Southeast – Georgia

4/5 I admit that I watched ABC’s Will Trent before I cracked the spine on an any of the books by Karin Slaughter which inspired the show. I enjoyed becoming acquainted with Will, Angie, Amanda, and, of course, Betty the Chihuahua. Still and all, I thought Triptych might be just the ticket for literary travel to Atlanta, Georgia in the Regional U.S.A. (RUSA) Tour Stellar Reading Challenge (SRC).

Click here to learn about the RUSA Tour SRC.

Trigger Warnings (TW): Triptych contains the following which may require TW for readers — Trigger warnings: murder, rape, mutilation, kidnapping, sexual relationships between teenagers and adult men, drug abuse, child abuse, mentions of self harm, death of a parent, slut shaming, misogyny, wrongful conviction, wrongful imprisonment.

“In the city of Atlanta, women are dying—at the hands of a killer who signs his work with a single, chilling act of mutilation. Leaving behind enough evidence to fuel a frenzied police hunt, this cunning madman is bringing together dozens of lives, crossing the boundaries of wealth and race. And the people who are chasing him must cross those boundaries too. Among them is Michael Ormewood, a veteran detective whose marriage is hanging by a thread—and whose arrogance and explosive temper are threatening his career. And Angie Polaski, a beautiful vice cop who was once Michael’s lover before she became his enemy… But another player has entered the game: a loser ex-con who has stumbled upon the killer’s trail in the most coincidental of ways—someone who may be the key to breaking the case wide open…”

Slaughter surprised me from the beginning of Triptych with her first point of view – third person omniscient for Michael Ormewood. Maybe the fault of this falls to watching the show before reading any of the books. Yet, as I considered the title of this very book — Triptych — I realized the need for three separate points of view. While definitely gritty, rough, and even brutal (much of John Shelley’s experience made me squint, poor guy!), I liked the sweet gems offered throughout Triptych. Will’s interactions with Betty stand out the most in this regard. Also, I enjoyed reading a little about Georgia – Agnes Scott College, Stone Mountain, and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. I might read another in this series when I’m in the mood for something darker because I found Will Trent in particular rather intriguing.

Check out an article about Will Trent the TV Show and its adaptation to screen by clicking here.

Quotes come from book flaps/cover and are featured on color blocks.

Starlight Book Review – Stephen King’s The Shining

Cover of The Shining by Stephen King centered on a dark blue-green background | Cover Image Source: Goodreads

Back in the Day Stellar Reading Challenge – 1970s

Published 1977

4.25/5 I determined to return to adult literature for my 1970s entry for the Back in the Day Stellar Reading Challenge (SRC). Still, I wanted to read something a little different from my usual fare and I chose a book from the Horror genre. While I have read several books by Stephan King, a few of his Horror books even, I had yet to read The Shining.

“Jack Torrance’s new job at the Overlook Hotel is the perfect chance for a fresh start. As the off-season caretaker at the atmospheric old hotel, he’ll have plenty of time to spend reconnecting with his family and working on his writing. But as the harsh winter weather sets in, the idyllic location feels ever more remote…and more sinister. And the only one to notice the strange and terrible forces gathering around the Overlook is Danny Torrance, a uniquely gifted five-year-old.”

I must note that one reason it took me several months to read The Shining was that I had to check in the book several times. Another would be that it was scary enough that I restricted my reading to certain times of day. King’s an amazing writer, providing evocative descriptions of characters and settings. I especially liked Dick Hallorann and I greatly cared about what happened to Danny Torrance. Several other characters were empathetic, too. I took off a partial star, though, for some of the rough parts, (yes, I know that this is definitely Horror) and an abundance of gratuitous details (again, I know). Will I read Doctor Sleep, the next in the series? Maybe after I read some lighter, cozier books. Still, I get why Stephen King reigns supreme. Also, I appreciated being able to step out of my reading comfort zone for this SRC.

Quotes come from book flaps/cover and are featured on color blocks.

Starlight Book Review – Dashiell Hammett’s The Maltese Falcon

Cover of The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett on a brown background | Image Source: Goodreads

Back in the Day Stellar Reading Challenge – 1930s

Published 1930

3.9/5 I cannot recall a time I hadn’t heard of Sam Spade or falcons from Malta. As an avid reader of mysteries, I knew of Dashiell Hammett’s private eye novel The Maltese Falcon. When I discovered The Maltese Falcon was published in 1930, I decided I wanted to read it for the Back in the Day Stellar Reading Challenge (SRC), the prospect of discovering books from the 1920s thrilled me.

“A treasure worth killing for. Sam Spade, a slightly shopworn private eye with his own solitary code of ethics. A perfumed grafter named Joel Cairo, a fat man name Gutman, and Brigid O’Shaughnessy, a beautiful and treacherous woman whose loyalties shift at the drop of a dime. These are the ingredients of Dashiell Hammett’s iconic, influential, and beloved The Maltese Falcon.” 

I think The Maltese Falcon established the Detective Mystery Subgenre. I found much to admire in Hammett’s writing — well-drawn characters, an interesting storyline, a colorful setting. Since some of elements in The Maltese Falcon seemed cliché, I imagined that it was because Hammett created what many other writers in various media try to emulate to this day. Also, some of the expressions and treatments in 1930s California would hopefully not fly in the world of 2022. Setting aside 1930s conventions and attitudes, I recommend this book to any reader eager to discover the genesis of a subgenre.

Quotes come from book flaps/cover and are featured on color blocks.

Starlight Book Review – Nella Larsen’s Passing

Cover of Passing by Nella Larsen on a light blue background | Image Source: Goodreads

Back in the Day Stellar Reading Challenge – 1920s

Published 1929

3.95/5 When I knew I wanted reading from nearly 100 years ago for the Back in the Day Stellar Reading Challenge (SRC), the prospect of discovering books from the 1920s thrilled me. I establish a few criteria. The first book that met all of the qualities I wanted in a “Back in the Day SRC” read happens to also be the first in chronological order. Nella Larsen’s Passing hit shelves in 1929 and possesses both dated and timeless qualities.

“Irene Redfield is a Black woman living an affluent, comfortable life with her husband and children in the thriving neighborhood of Harlem in the 1920s. When she reconnects with her childhood friend Clare Kendry, who is similarly light-skinned, Irene discovers that Clare has been passing for a white woman after severing ties to her past–even hiding the truth from her racist husband…. Clare finds herself drawn to Irene’s sense of ease and security with her Black identity and longs for the community (and, increasingly, the woman) she lost. Irene is both riveted and repulsed by Clare and her dangerous secret, as Clare begins to insert herself–and her deception–into every part of Irene’s stable existence. First published in 1929, Larsen’s brilliant examination of the various ways in which we all seek to “pass,” is as timely as ever.”

If challenged to describe Passing in a single phrase, that phrase would be “chilling.” The danger Clare put herself in would terrify me. Larsen conveys this in relatively few words. I still marvel at the complexity of this slim volume. More than once, I reminded myself that certain conveniences and conventions did not exist in the Roaring Twenties. Yet, I could still see some of these things happening in the 2022. Without committing the sin of spoiling, I wanted to know a little more beyond the end of the story and knocked off little more than one star.

Quotes come from book flaps/cover and are featured on color blocks.