The Gingerbread House

By: Carin Gerhardsen

Narrated by: Candida Gubbins

Penguin presents The Gingerbread House by Carin Gerhardsen, a sensational new crime-writing talent from the same Swedish editorial team and publisher as Stieg Larsson's Millennium Trilogy. Read by the actress Candida Gubbins.

Ingrid Olsson returns home from a Stockholm hospital to discover a man in her kitchen. She's never seen the intruder before. But he's no threat - he's dead. Criminal Investigator Conny Sjoberg takes the call, abandoning his wife Asa and their five children for the night. His team identify the body as that of a middle-aged family man. But why was he there? And who bludgeoned him to death?

Lacking suspect and motive, Sjoberg's team struggle until they link the case to another - apparently random - killing. And discover they face a serial killer on a terrible vendetta.... The Gingerbread House is the first title in The Hammarby Series, novels following Detective Inspector Conny Sjoberg and his murder investigation team - a gripping feast for all fans of Jo Nesbo, Camilla Lackberg, and Henning Mankell.

Carin Gerhardsen was born in 1962 in Katrineholm, Sweden. Originally a mathematician, she enjoyed a successful career as an IT consultant before turning her hand to writing crime fiction. Carin now lives in Stockholm with her husband and their two children. She is currently working on the seventh title in the series.

©2014 Carin Gerhardsen (P)2014 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"Carin Gerhardsen writes so vividly, like she is painting with words, gripping your heart and soul in an ever-tightening tourniquet" (Peter James)
"Gerhardsen brings a timely perspective to the serial killer genre, as her characters are engulfed by the worst possible consequences of their childhood cruelties. The pages turn themselves, right up the final startling twist" (John Verdon)

Great story with a twist.

I don't normally listen to crime fiction, but met the author and couldn't wait to explore the story. I could not wait to pick it up. Every chance I could. There are some beautiful characters with extraordinary hearts, dealing with a very sick part of society. It's a great story and I'm looking forward to the next book.

Couldn't stop listening!

No spoilers here!
This book is every bit a Scandinavian murder mystery with multiple story threads. The main plot has roots far in the past, murders in the present, and a rush to prevent future killings. However, there is not one gruff loner detective doing things regardless of the consequences. The team works together, divides the responsibilities, and we get a glimpse of them off work. Early in the book I was drawn in to the background, realization that the murders are work of a serial killer, and the rush to stop the carnage. I will definitely follow this author in the future.

I didn't sync with the narrator immediately, but it only took a short time to get into her rhythm and enjoy "someone reading to me."

excellent

Would you consider the audio edition of The Gingerbread House to be better than the print version?

Yes I loved listening to this book

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

Yes -had know idea who the killer was until almost the end- was well written and the narrator was excellent- loved it

Which character – as performed by Candida Gubbins – was your favorite?

Connie and Petra

Any additional comments?

I really loved these books and so I am very disappointed that the other books written by this author are narrated in Swedish and I wish they in were in English as I don't speak Swedish so I'm hoping they will be narrated in English in the near future PLEASE and thank you

Is There Ever a Statute of Limitations on Revenge?

There are consequences for actions and the fact that there seems to be no statute of limitations for revenge makes a person wonder if, in fact, we will eventually pay for the mistakes we made as wee children. Mistakes that most of us will never remember since our actions at 5 or 6 years old are often lost to the dull mist of memory. Hmmm.. this could be a scary thought.
Candida Gubbins narrated this story well.

Bullying fr dual sides

Excellent story. Truly revealing how the effects of childhood bullying brought about such lasting psychological damage for all parties involved.

Not my cup of tea

I pre-ordered this book and started listening the day it arrived. I enjoy discovering a new Scandinavian author that has a clever story idea and lots of talent. The reviews looked good so I was expecting something on the level of Jussi Adler-Olsen or Camilla Lackberg.

The narration was unsettling to me from the start. Gubbins seems like a very capable narrator, but her voice and accent was annoying to me. I actually considered buying the Kindle version to get through the story. Despite the narration, I never got hooked into the story. Even though I knew before the book started that the serial killer would be revealed to the reader, I thought the police procedural would be interesting on how they would catch him. That never happened for me. I finally gave up after the 4th hour.

Pedestrian

I'm a big fan of Irish police procedurals so have high hopes for authors of other European countries. What a huge disappointment. The writing lacks the poetic prose of Irish crime writers and the dialogue is the absolute worst. The level of mundane detail is almost laughable save for the fact that it's difficult cult to gloss over in an audiobook.