Never Coming Back: A Novel
Ylva Zetterburg tells her husband she’s going for drinks with coworkers, tells her coworkers she’s heading home for a family night, and then disappears. Her husband, Mike, afraid to acknowledge that she might not return, waits several days to report her missing. After the report, Mike is under the scrutiny of the police and the community in Helsingbord, Sweden. Everyone is convinced he must have murdered his wife. They are mistaken. Ylva has been snatched by a couple from her past bent on exacting an elaborately cruel revenge. She’s held in a basement cell just across the street from her home, forced to watch live camera feeds of her family’s activities while her captors attempt to destroy her with violence and manipulation. Koppel heightens suspense by withholding Ylva’s decades-old offense until the last chapter and cultivating the equal possibilities that she will be rescued, escape, or be completely forgotten. The scariest kind of thriller, with brutality delivered matter-of-factly and painfully realistic characters, this is both excruciating and irresistible. Endless discussion avenues for book groups. --Christine Tran