Review: Marked for Life

 

Synopsis:

When a high-ranking head of the migration board is found shot to death in his living room, there is no shortage of suspects, including his wife. But no one expects to find mysterious, child-size fingerprints in this childless home.

Public prosecutor Jana Berzelius steps in to lead the investigation. Young and brilliant but emotionally cold, Berzelius, like her famous prosecutor father, won’t be swayed by the hysterical widow or intimidated by the threatening letters the victim had tried to hide. She is steely, aloof, impenetrable. That is, until the boy…

A few days later on a nearby deserted shoreline, the body of a derelict preteen is discovered, and with him, the murder weapon that killed the official. Berzelius finds herself drawn more deeply into the case when, as she attends the boy’s autopsy, she recognizes something familiar on his small, scarred, drug-riddled body. Cut deep into his flesh are initials that scream child trafficking and trigger in her a flash of memory from her own dark childhood. Her connection to this boy has been carved with deliberation and malice that penetrate to her very core.

Now, to protect her own horrific but hidden past, she must find the real suspect behind these murders before the police do.

Rating: 5 stars

Review:

Marked for Life by Emelie Schepp is one mind-blowing thriller. It rushes readers through a dark journey that goes deep into a character’s past. A killer is loose and one woman is determined to find the killer before the police do. Readers will be brought into one female prosecutor’s life and digging through demons in order to find clues on the murders at hand. Marked for Life is a chilling and edgy read that will keep readers up all night long.  This debut brings out realistic issues like child trafficking, drugs, and high levels of danger. A team of three forms and the deeper they investigate, the more memories are unleashed.

Emelie Schepp’s novel has wowed me from the beginning to end. I felt my heart pounding and the sweat, build up as the plot continued to unfold. A strong female leading role is evident, inside, this thriller. Having grown-up in a home that lacked the normal emotional journey that families share…leading prosecutor, Jana Berzelius, takes the lead on the murders. A murder weapon… and a container with people inside are found. A murderer thinks that Jana will never piece together the entire mystery…but when she does will it be too late for her and will the killer escape? Jana’s past childhood is darker than she thought…her father isn’t her real father….and her whole life has been dark. Living in the nightmares isn’t something that one wants to live in…and Jana ends up with more questions than answers. I felt sympathy for all the victims and the families that were found in the containers. Not many ended up in a good life like Jana. Marked for Life is a thriller that I would highly recommend to all. It will keep readers guessing…