Tag: The Fruängen Bureau

Because You’re Mine by Luna Miller, Ludvig Christensen Parment (Translator): Another Missing Person Case for Gunvor Ström and Friends

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Because You're Mine

Because You’re Mine

by Luna Miller, Ludvig Christensen Parment (Translator)
Series: The Fruängen Bureau, #2

Kindle Edition, 277 pg.
Publishing Authority, 2021

Read: April 13, 2021

A Little Bit about Gunvor Ström

Two years ago, I posted about the first book about Gunvor, The Lion’s Tail*. I started off by saying, she’s “a rookie Private Investigator, forced to leave her career and changing her life after a divorce, she signs on to a Private Investigative Agency and mostly does grunt work—but does get the opportunity to do some investigative work. As much as she misses her old life, she relishes this new one (although she might like joints that are a little less painful).”

* In case you go looking for it, it has been repackaged as Looking for Alice—probably a more commercial title, even if it’s lacking the panache of the original.

She has a neighbor, Aidan, who serves as a drinking buddy (and they drink a lot), driver, and sounding board. During the case detailed in that book—her first major investigation—she ends up recruiting a couple of older teens/young adults from the neighborhood to help. The four of them somewhat jokingly dub themselves The Fruängen Bureau, and end up exposing some serious criminal activity in the course of what should have been a pretty simple inquiry.

What’s Because You’re Mine About?

It’s a few weeks later, and Aidan’s taking a friend to a nightclub to help blow off some steam after a recent breakup. While the friend is off flirting and dancing, Aidan strikes up a conversation with a woman who seems to be in a distress (he’s also attracted to her, but let’s focus on his chivalrous side—which does seem to be preeminent). She’s looking for a friend that seems to be missing—they’ve spoken almost daily for years and she hasn’t heard from him.

Aidan pretends to be much more of an investigator than he is (he’s surely picked up a few things from Gunvor, and anyway, she’ll be around soon and he can enlist her help if he needs it), asks a couple of questions, and arranges to meet the woman the next night to resume the search.

Meanwhile, Gunvor has a new client—a woman whose husband has gone missing. She insists he’s gone, she worried about his depressive bouts. His father (and employer) insists he took a two-week leave of absence. Everything Gunvor can find lines up with his father’s explanation, but the client doesn’t want to hear it.

Gunvor and Aidan end up working both disappearances together and bring in the rest of The Fruängen Bureau for assistance. Between the four of them (and a couple of new allies), they learn a few things about the two men they’re searching for—things that no one expected, but can’t seem to find either of them. Both the friend and the wife are insistent that the men be found but aren’t really forthcoming with information about themselves or the men they’re looking for. Which is strange, but the team doesn’t let that deter them.

The Fruängen Bureau

Gunvor Ström is supposed to be the protagonist of these books, but I’m not sure I see that. The first book in the series focused on her two young friends, Elin and David, at least as much as it did on her. Aidan gets the spotlight in this book—with Elin and David coming in second.* I’m utterly fine with this, it’s just odd when you have the entertaining and dynamic character that Gunvor is to set her aside.

* As always, I don’t have a word/page count or anything to back up this kind of observation. It’s the impression I walk away with.

It’s not so much the case with Aidan, but with the younger two, you see Gunvor as a catalyst for change in their lives—the events of The Lion’s Tail/Looking for Alice have changed their lives, their behaviors, attitudes, and futures. The people they encounter in this book do the same. Gunvor and Aidan seem pretty set in their identities and outlooks—but Elin and David are still works in progress. I wonder if that’s more interesting to write about, and that’s why they seem to overshadow the ostensible central character.

This isn’t a criticism, just an observation—sure, I’d like more focus on Gunvor, just because she’s interesting. But so are David and Elin, so I’m fine with that.

The Translation

This book has a different translator than the previous volume—I don’t know why. Ludvig Christensen Parment ends up capturing the same tone and feel as the previous translator did, they really feel like they were written by the same person. Which, I guess, is the point—and shows that it’s a pretty good translation. Also, on the whole, it’s really hard to tell that this wasn’t originally written in English. I think that counts as another sign that Parment did the job right.

So, what did I think about Because You’re Mine?

I spend a lot of time wondering if this was going to be how every book in this series went—Gunvor is hired to find a missing husband, only to discover that something else is going on —something possibly worse than a missing man (and probable adulterer). If so, at a certain point, I’d think that wives would stop coming to her (and/or she’d stop taking those cases). But in the meantime, it’s a perfectly decent formula for the books—and both have worked well.

Early on, I guessed what was going on in the missing person cases—and I was close to right. But what Miller did with those explanations—and the serious crimes tied to those explanations (so hard not to spoil anything there) caught me pretty off-guard. The last 20% or so of the novel really stepped up intensity and quality—it was a fine novel up to that point, then it became a good one.

I recommend this (probably more than the first, which you don’t need to read to appreciate this one, but you might as well) for a solid character-driven mystery and am very curious about what the future holds for David and Elin (and Gunvor, too).


3.5 Stars

My thanks to damppebbles blog tours for the invitation to participate in this tour and the materials (including a copy of the novel) they provided.

BOOK SPOTLIGHT: Because You’re Mine by Luna Miller

Today I welcome the Book Tour for the second Gunvor Ström/The Fruängen Bureau novel, Because You’re Mine by Luna Miller. Following this spotlight post, I’ll be giving my take on the novel here in a bit. But let’s start by learning a little about this here book, okay?

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Book Details:

Book Title: Because You’re Mine by Luna Miller
Publisher: Publish Authority
Release date: April 12, 2021
Format: Paperback/Ebook
Length: 277 pages

Book Blurb:

Gunvor Ström, a Swedish surgeon who had to retire because her hands weren’t steady enough to perform operations, accepts a position as a private detective and enters a new and surprisingly dangerous career.

In Because You’re Mine, she accepts her second assignment. Is it always for the best to look for a missing person? Gunvor is not entirely sure as she believes there are those who don´t want to be found. Despite this, she takes on a case. A wife needs help to find her husband, Per Cedergren. A simple case at first glance. Gunvor is convinced that he has sneaked off on an adventure with a mistress and soon will return voluntarily.

Gunvor’s good friend Aidan also makes his debut as a private detective when he helps a new acquaintance look for her missing friend.

When Gunvor and Aidan take the help of their young friends, Elin and David, the two parallel cases meander closer each other. But how do they relate? And what do the disappearances have in common with the murders that at first glance appear to be hate crimes.

Soon they find themselves in the eye of the storm, not knowing where the danger lurks.

Because You’re Mine is the second book in the series of private detective Gunvor Ström.

About Luna Miller:

Luna Miller

Swedish author Luna Miller (pseudonym) specializes in Nordic Noir. She is the writer of the international best-seller Three Days in September and is one of the authors of the international anthology Love Unboxed 2.

In mid-life, after experiencing life and adventure throughout Europe, India, China, Pakistan, Iran, Thailand and a host of other countries, with her studies, children and work, Luna found quality time to write her debut novel Three Days in September followed by Den som ger sig in i leken – the original Swedish precursor of Looking for Alice and the first book in the series of private detective Gunvor Ström.

Gå vilse, hitta hem – the sequel in Swedish to Three days in September was published in May 2020.

Because you´re mine – the second book in the series of Gunvor Ström will be published April 12, 2021.

Luna Miller was born in Sundsvall, Sweden 1962.

Social Networks:

Twitter ~ Facebook ~ Website ~ Pinterest

Purchase Links:

Amazon UK ~ Amazon US ~ Kobo ~ Waterstones ~ Barnes & Noble

My thanks to damppebbles blog tours for the invitation to participate in this tour and the materials (including a copy of the novel) they provided.

A Few Quick Questions With…Luna Miller

Earlier today, I talked about The Lion’s Tale by Luna Miller (translated by Aidan Isherwood). Miller was kind enough to answer a few questions for me. Hope you enjoy this.

Tell us about your road to publication — was your plan/dream always to become a novelist and your education/other jobs were just to get you to this point, or was this a later-in-life desire?
I have always had an ambition to write, but with a restless personality it was a challenge to complete any work in a satisfying way. Always a lot of ideas, but never enough patience to complete any of them. I was always occupied with other commitments – long travels when I was young, and then education, then kids, then work…

But difficult experiences made me realize how important it is for me to make my dream come true. And my years spent working as a civil servant, specialising in providing support for cultural life, taught me about patience. So, a few years ago I started to give myself time to write. And then more and more time. Disorganized at first, but then slowly developing.

I don’t want to ask “where do you get your ideas?” But this collection of characters — Gunvor, Elin, David, Aidan — is so unusual, so great. How did this come to you? Did you start with Gunvor and then try to figure out how she could accomplish things (and therefore needed the kids), or did you start with one/both of David and Elin and then added Gunvor? I’m just guessing here — you take over 🙂
Gunvor was the first character, but Elin and David entered the story soon enough. I did just about all of the backstory on the three of them before starting to write the book. The idea was to tell the story of unexpected heroines and heroes. Characters that have issues the readers can relate to and feel a bit sorry for. Characters who can barely cope with each other, or even themselves. But characters that grow with the story, even if they do make mistakes along the way. Characters that don´t really know what they are doing, but still give it their all.

Even if I worked on a backstory and planned how to take it along, the story still took on a life of its own. There are always a lot of unexpected things that happen when I start to write. It is like the characters begin living their own lives. Making decisions within the story that I hadn’t planned in advance.

I spent so much of this novel convinced that everything The Fruängen Bureau (one member in particular) was doing and thinking regarding one particular character was a giant mistake — did you plan this character arc out from the beginning, or did it come to you mid-draft? It’s possibly the trickiest thing you did in the book, very impressive.
I made the backstory of Chibby pretty early in the process. I am fascinated by people whose strengths and weaknesses are close. But, as I described in my answer to the previous question, Chibbe also “came to life” during my writing session and evolved in the process.
Is there a genre that you particularly enjoy reading, but could never write? Or are you primarily a mystery/suspense/thriller reader?
I like to write mystery/suspense/thriller. I have already written the second book about Gunvor Ström and her allies in Swedish, but I have tried other genres as well. The first book I wrote, Three Days in September, is a contemporary adult relationship drama about unlikely friendships, loyalty, love and hope intertwined with sex, violence and tragedy. That story had been in my head for many, many years before it finally become a book. The main idea is about the desires, dreams and fears of six lives that collide when a stranger comes to town. The story is intense, short and drastic.

I love books like The Lord of the Rings and the stories of Harry Potter. But I cannot see myself having control over so many characters at once.

I’ve often wondered what it’s like to work with a translator — was it a collaborative effort, or did Aidan Isherwood just take the manuscript and run with it? How was the translator selected?
Years ago, I lived in the house where I have now placed Gunvor’s home. I am nothing like Gunvor except that I also had a neighbour and friend by the name of Aidan. So, except that he is the translator he is also an inspiration to the Aidan character in the book. He did an excellent job.
At that time, I had no money to pay a translator, so we made an agreement to split the income of the book.The Lion´s Tail was also edited by Perry Iles. He was recommended by a friend of Aidan who is also an author. He did a great job with the book. I really recommend working with an editor. No matter how long you work on a book there are always things that can be made better by a “third eye”.
What’s next for Luna Miller?
I am writing the third book in the Fruängen Bureau series in Swedish. I hope that the second book will be translated into English in 2019 or 2020. I am also working on a sequel to Three Days in September.
Thanks for your time — and thanks for The Lion’s Tale, I really enjoyed it, and hope you have plenty of success with it.
Thank you for taking time to read it. I am really happy that you enjoyed it. And thank you for the possibility to answer these interesting question ?

The Lion’s Tail by Luna Miller, Aidan Isherwood (Translator): Unlikely doesn’t begin to describe the heroes of this debut PI novel

The Lion's TailThe Lion’s Tail

by Luna Miller, Aidan Isherwood (Translator)
Series: The Fruängen Bureau, #1

Kindle Edition, 257 pg.
2018
Read: January 23 – 24, 2019

“What did he say? Think. Try to remember. It might be very important.” Gunvor struggles to hide her impatience.

“Something about how even your dreams can be dangerous. About how I should keep my dreams as just dreams. And that if you try to make a dream come true you can mess up everything. You can ruin your life. That’s what he said. That your whole life can be destroyed.”

Gunvor Strom hooked me almost immediately — she’s a feisty woman in her 60s who we meet as she’s helping a young woman deal with a handful of teen males harassing her. She’s creative, crafty, wily and ruthless in this, and it’s a great way to bring in an audience.

We quickly learn that Gunvor is a rookie Private Investigator, forced to leave her career and changing her life after a divorce, she signs on to a Private Investigative Agency and mostly does grunt work — but does get the opportunity to do some investigative work. As much as she misses her old life, she relishes this new one (although she might like joints that are a little less painful).

Gunvor is assigned to find out what’s behind a husband’s odd behavior — the client, his wife, adamantly refuses to accept the idea that he’s being unfaithful, but his behavior is different and troubling. Gunvor isn’t on the case for long before she decides she could use a few more eyeballs — so she recruits, oddly enough, Elin (the young woman above) and David — the ringleader of those harassing her. She’s a student, he’s unemployed — and both need something in their life to care about, neither one of them realized that they were interested in investigative work.

Really, this book has two stories — one is the investigation into this man — and things get violent shortly after the trio gets to work. It’s at this point that the husband talks about the potential of dreams to destroy your life. If anything, this violence causes Gunvor and the rest to work harder — not long afterwards there’s a murder and the number and types of criminal activity that they’re investigating grows and grows.

The other story is following the development of Gunvor as an investigator and her two young protégés. Elin discovers sides to her personality that surprise her (and Gunvor, actually), and really comes out of her shell. David, on the other hand, response to the trust and responsibility given him by rising to the occasion and even maturing a little bit. Now, none of these characters grow perfectly or in a straight line — there are ups and downs to this development == and the suggestion is that this will continue after this book.

Both stories are wholly satisfying and serve each other well. The conclusion is as tense and taught as you can hope for, and at a certain point, you’ll forget that the trio you’re rooting for aren’t the kind of detectives you’re used to, all you know is that you’re hoping they survive.

This book, time and time again, came so close to wowing me — the clever twists, the dramatic turns, character development, and so on — but almost every time that Miller brushed against “great” she ended up settling a few notches down at being really good. Is it possible that if this was written in English, or set somewhere that I understood more than Stockholm that I’d be able to appreciate more nuances and rate it higher? Absolutely. But it wasn’t, so I can wish I understood what it means for someone to be from X neighborhood/district versus Y, and missing other things that don’t come through the translation as cleanly as they might.

On the whole, this was just a pleasure to read — it grabbed my interest from the beginning and never let go. I’m keeping my eyes peeled for the sequels, I can assure you, and I expect most readers will find the book as compelling.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for my honest opinion.

—–

3.5 Stars

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