A Nearly Normal Family by M.T Edvardsson
Narrators: Richard Armitage, Emily Watson & Georgia Maguire
Publisher: Celadon Books (Macmillan Audio)
Release Date: June 25, 2019
Length: 400 pages (12 hrs. 31 min.)
Amazon

{A Bit of Backstory}

Single Sentence Summary

A family drama, a murder mystery, and a legal thriller, A Nearly Normal Family delivers it all!

From the Publisher

“Eighteen-year-old Stella Sandell stands accused of the brutal murder of a man almost fifteen years her senior. She is an ordinary teenager from an upstanding local family. What reason could she have to know a shady businessman, let alone to kill him?

Stella’s father, a pastor, and mother, a criminal defense attorney, find their moral compasses tested as they defend their daughter, while struggling to understand why she is a suspect…”

The Draw

• I tend to like courtroom thrillers.
• I’ve had great luck with Swedish authors.
• Three perspectives, three narrators, very appealing!

{My Thoughts}

A couple of years ago I might have said that legal thrillers weren’t my thing, but not anymore. A Nearly Normal Family joins the ranks, that already includes books like Miracle Creek (my review) and Quicksand (my review), to make the sub-genre one of my favorites. This latest courtroom thriller by Swedish author M.T. Edvardsson may be my favorite yet!

A terrible crime has been committed. A man was stabbed to death. An 18-tear old girl, Stella Sandell, is arrested for the crime. Many facts point to her guilt, but could Stella have done such a thing and if so, why? How can she be saved from a life behind bars? These are the questions her parents must wrestle with.

M.T. Edvardsson let the story of A Nearly Normal Family unfold in three different parts, one from each member of the Sandell family. From Adam, Stella’s father and a pastor, we heard a frantic history of Stella’s youth (including indiscretions) and all he knew about his daughter on the night in question.

“I consider myself to be a good person. That sounds arrogant, of course, if not self-important or superior. But I don’t mean it like that. I’m a person with an abundance of failings, a person who has made innumerable mistakes and errors. I am acutely aware of this and the first to admit it. What I mean is that I always act with good intentions, out of love and care. I have always wanted to do the right thing.” 

But, when it comes to his daughter, what is the right thing? From Stella we got a much different perspective on her past and a close up view of the night of the murder. And from Stella’s mother Ulrika, a criminal defense attorney, we heard a calmer version of the past and a mother’s hopes for her daughter’s defense. The three parts were told in succession, picking up speed with each one. They beautifully wove together the mystery of how a normal family could have fallen so far. Whether in print or on audio, I highly recommend A Nearly Normal Family. Grade: A-

Narration: The three narrators really couldn’t have done a better job bringing their characters to life. Richard Armitage embodied the anguish of a father who both loves and fears his own daughter. Georgia Maguire delivered the heart of the story in Stella’s perspective, coming across as young, but world-weary. And, Emily Watson was outstanding reading a woman torn between her need to follow her own legal instincts and her love for her daughter. You could feel her anguish! Grade: A

If you liked this book you might also enjoy:

• The Book of Essie by Meghan MacLean Weir – Another audiobook whose story is told from three perspectives with three different narrators. I loved this story of a girl trying to escape her reality TV evangelical family’s grip. (my review)
• Quicksand by Malin Perrson Giolito – Similar in many ways, Quicksand is also a Swedish legal thriller about an 18-year old girl on trial for murder. In this, she’s accused of killing 2 classmates in a school shooting. (my review)

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Disclosure: There are Amazon Associate links included within this post.