Quicksand

Written by Malin Persson Giolito

Narrated by Saskia Maarleveld

**NOW A MAJOR NETFLIX SERIES**

We Need to Talk About Kevin meets The Secret History. 

The air is hazy and grey with gunpowder smoke. Everyone has been shot but me. I haven't got so much as a bruise....

Is Maja a normal eighteen-year-old, the poster girl-next-door, popular and excelling at her schoolwork, caught in the middle of a terrible tragedy? Or is she guilty of the tragedy itself?

Either way, everyone knows her name. She has spent nine excruciating months in jail, awaiting trial for a mass murder that killed her boyfriend and her best friend, and now the time has come for her to enter the courtroom... 

WHAT WILL YOU BELIEVE? 

This is the 'compelling and brutally candid' (Daily Mail) story of a girl whose guilt was decided long before her trial - as searing as it is timely and moving. 

***What people are saying about QUICKSAND***

Sensitive, moving and absorbing’  Marcel Berlins, The Times 

‘This is the evolution of Scandinavian crime, in more ways than one’ Fredrik Backman

'Compelling and brutally candid, especially about modern adolescence, this is not a comfortable book, but the story is so superbly told that it lingers in the mind long after the jury’s verdict' Daily Mail
  
'A suspenseful and addictive experience… [Giolito] expertly delves into the fickle psyche of the media and how they can change a story’s narrative with one headline and she shames the press’s tendency to report wild conjecture over facts… Though Giolito’s perspective is Swedish, it absolutely translates to a greater global crisis' Real Crime

'Giolito gives us the unsettling monologue of a teenage girl as she works her way through her role in murder. It is a splendid work of fiction' Kirkus Reviews

'Gioloto’s novel is haunting and immersive' Publishers Weekly

'Mystery and intrigue in its purest form. Great book, recommended to all' Marg J., bookseller

'A fascinating, often uncomfortable, but thoroughly engrossing read'  Sarah B.

‘Sweden's latest blockbuster thriller lives up to the hype' Washington Post

'Maja [is] a heroine you will not forget, victim of a toxic love story with a background so familiar to us nowadays... a super thriller – a real page-turner’
Mariagrazia M.

'I have never read a book by a Swedish author so when Quicksand became available I decided that it was the perfect opportunity to try. I certainly wasn't disappointed' Diane Hogg, NetGalley Reviewer 5*

• Language: English
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio UK
• Release date: Apr 6, 2017
• ISBN: 9781471164156

Malin Persson Giolito

Malin Persson Giolito was born in Stockholm in 1969 and grew up in Djursholm, Sweden. She holds a degree in law from Uppsala University and has worked as a lawyer for the biggest law firm in the Nordic region and as an official for the European Commission in Brussels, Belgium, where she lives with her husband and three daughters.

Reviews for Quicksand

[fhudnell-1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

This book was written from the point of view of 18 year old Maja Norberg, who is on trial accused of complicity in a school shooting. Unfortunately, I found it was a tedious experience being inside the head of this teenaged narrator who was so self-centered, obnoxious, arrogant, supercilious and a whole list of other character traits that turn me off. After a short time I just couldn't stand it any more. I did skip to the end to see how the trial turned out. I received a free copy of the ebook from the publisher, however I wound up listening to the audiobook borrowed from the library.

[ellewynne · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I found myself thinking about this book whenever real life interrupted and it had to be put down. None of the characters are likeable but it really made me think. There are parts that went on longer than necessary and should have been edited down, IMO. Overall a compelling story told very well.

[robert3167 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A timely book with the sad proliferation of mass school shootings.Maja Norberg is found unharmed in the arms of her dead boyfriend, the shooter.The trouble for Maja is only just beginning.What did she do? What didn't she do?Maja agonises over the 'what ifs'. Over the nine months she spends in prison she has to come to terms with actions and consequences. Guilt, fear and loss.This isn't a who done it mystery. We are lead to the claustrophobic courtroom drama by Maja's internal dialogue as she tries to piece together how she and Sebastien ended up on the floor of their classroom.

[thewanderingjew_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Quicksand, by Malin Persson Giolito, author; Saskia Maarleveld, narratorIn Sweden, there is a terrorist attack in a private upper secondary school. Maria Norberg (Maja) is arrested for her part in the murders. This is her story. She is a teenager, and as she describes her deepest thoughts and emotions, her family life and her love life, her hate for her boyfriend Sebastian’s father, and her conflicted feelings about her boyfriend, the reader is left to draw his/her own conclusion about her guilt or innocence regarding the tragic event. She is in jail in isolation. She carefully relates the events leading up to the attack. She admits to murdering two people, her boyfriend Sebastian and her best friend Amanda, but she insists she murdered Amanda by accident, while she intentionally shot Sebastian to prevent him from shooting her. Maja and her friends were promiscuous and engaged in dangerous behavior both sexually and with drugs. They seemed to have no clear boundaries to adhere to and did as they pleased, most of the time; sometimes it involved lying or else their parents were simply concerned with other things and did not interfere with their decisions. As a result, Maja and her boyfriend Sebastian make some very foolish decisions. Maja was given the responsibility for her boyfriend’s well-being after he suffered a breakdown. It is a task she was ill equipped to handle, but no one seemed to care or notice how it drained her. It seemed the adults were too busy to take care of him and simply gave her the job. She was guilt ridden and believed she had to help him.Sebastian was the black sheep in his family. His father abused and disliked him. His father abused many people because he was very wealthy and powerful. Sebastian yearned for his father’s acceptance but he could not compete with his “better”, well loved brother, Lucas. Sebastian was cruel to their friend Samir, an immigrant who had a scholarship to their school. He believed Samir was beneath him. Samir had created a narrative about his parents that was false. He said his father was a lawyer and his mother had been a doctor when actually she was a maid and his dad was a taxi driver. Sebastian taunts Samir. Maja, however, liked Samir and was usually kind to him.Maja seemed too sophisticated, sexually, for the 16 year old she was when the novel begins. However, she had loved Sebastian since they met and played together as young children. When he was held back in school and didn’t graduate with his class, he wound up in her class, and their romance bloomed. He became dependent upon her, but the burden of caring for him grew too great for her to bear. Her parents wanted her to be in the relationship with him because of his powerful father whose influence they hoped would help them. The novel methodically analyzes the attack on the school which has become an all too common occurrence in today’s world. Maja’s life is scrutinized before and after the murders take place. Both she and Sebastian wanted to be appreciated for who they were, not what they had, but both would soon be judged in the court of public opinion for what they did. Was Maja a willing accomplice in the terrorist attack or was she trying to save herself?I found the courtroom drama interesting, but I found the language and sex scenes seemed designed to give the impression that all young, rich kids were cruel, spoiled racists who were promiscuous and did drugs with abandon.

[lmjenkins · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This was an excellent book. More later...

[bookmuse56 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

What an appropriate title for this engrossingly intelligent tale of a mass school shooting which is more a subtle but scathing look at society, privilege and justice. Eighteen-year-old Maja as the sole survivor of the shooting is on trial for her role in the shooting which left her boyfriend, her BFF, and other friends dead. Maja is also the sole narrator of the story, and I wondered how much of a reliable narrator can she be. But my fears were put aside as the format of the story is in the present during the trial proceedings and Maja’s time in jail and in the recent past of Maja’s interactions with her parents, her budding sexuality, societal and teenage expectations. The author does a wonderful job of understating Maja’s psychological state-of-mind as loses her naivety shield and matures over the years before the shooting but too often the reality of the situations was just too much for her to be able to resolves. Maja is a compelling character that had me emotionally committed to the story.The translation by Rachel Willson-Broyles is seamless and added to my reading enjoyment.Overall this absorbing crime novel has a compelling setting, a chilling crime, complex characters and the universal themes of parenting, the allure of wealth, the integrating of refugees/immigrants, and teenage angst will have readers clamoring for more work by this Swedish author.

[cherylefisher · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I WAS REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO READING THIS BOOK DUE TO THE TREMENDOUS BUILD UP, BUT I DID NOT LIKE IT AS WELL AS MANY OTHERS FROM THE REGION.

[atticusfinch1048 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Quicksand – Highly Addictive Scandi NoirQuicksand was the winner of Sweden’s Best Crime Novel 2016, and has been given a billing in the English language of being a cross between The Secret History meets We Need to Talk about Kevin, and that fans of Serial and Making a Murderer will enjoy this book. I would like to add that any love of Scandi Noir will find Quicksilver highly addictive and completely engrossing.Maja Norberg is 18 years old and is standing trial for murder, or correctly put for a number of murders and incitement of others, at her school and the death of her boyfriend’s father in his home. She has spent the last nine months in prison awaiting trial and has been found guilty in the court of public opinion and the newspapers before a word has been spoken in court.There are two very clear narratives in this thriller both from the point of view of Maja, one of the ongoing court case and her incarceration awaiting trial, and the other is the relationship to her family, boyfriend and her best friend Amanda. All she can remember from the day is being carried out of the classroom with only a bruise surrounded by blood and death. Both narratives give Maja a voice for both good and evil while being provocative at the same time.We see Maja’s relationships with all the other characters, and at times she can be both annoying while being child-like while explaining what happened. Typical of all dark Sandi thrillers there is some lighter moments to make Maja seem stronger than she comes across in court. You are alone with her cell as she thinks back to her interpersonal relationships, could she or should she have done things differently. She knows she killed her boyfriend and her best friend but did she mean it, she cannot remember or does not want to remember.As the prosecution sets out its case, Maja sits silently as she listens to the evidence and her thoughts run wild as she does so. Is the prosecutor correct or is her defence lawyer, she questions both in her mind as the case continues, she certainly does not want to turn around and see her parents or anyone else that has packed in to the court room.As you read Quicksand you will want to know more you will want to get ahead and find out what the verdict of the court is. This is a mystery suspense thriller that is totally seductive, in that you want Maja to be found not guilty but you cannot guarantee that would be the right verdict. This is a wonderful narrative between good and evil, and you will be provoked by the subject matter, a classroom full of dead teenagers and teachers. There is a tension throughout the novel and you do not get any release until the very last sentence, Quicksand is utterly brilliant, and one of the finest thrillers I have read in a while.

[debkrenzer · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I was so excited to hear that I won this book from Book Reporter. It was an amazing read. An accounting of Maja who was the girlfriend of a high school student (Sebastian) who was the main shooter involved in a school shooting. As Sebastian's girlfriend, Maja was considered his accomplice. She was suspected of killing Amanda (her best friend) and Sebastian.The book tells of the relationship between Maja and Sebastian and Maja and Amanda prior to the school shooting. It is an in depth story of how much Sebastian changed over the time that Maja and him spent together. Maja really expresses all of her feelings about Sebastian, the shooting, Amanda, her time in jail, her lawyers, the judges, her parents, her classmates, Sebastian's dad and the prosecutor.I found it to be an amazing read and sped through the book very easily. I really felt sorry for Maja as I felt that she had to do things that she really didn't have to do. The responsibility that she was put under was way too much for someone her age. I would like to thank Book Reporter for pulling my name out of the hat and allowing me to read this outstanding book. I would definitely recommend it.

[beamis12 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Ever sine Columbine, school shootings have seemed endemic to the United States, happening way to often, always devastating and difficult to understand. When I saw this was set in Sweden I was intrigued. Maja is a senior in high school when this novel takes place but will soon find herself in prison and on trial. What did she do? What did she know, and when did she know it? Management is our narrator and she takes us into her time before the shootings, her time in jail, her talks with her lawyers and her trial. It is an intense and extensive Character portrayal of how she felt, before, during and after. It is very well done, albeit lengthy, and often intense. All the things that went wrong, things that should have and could have gone differently, people who should have interceded, authority figures who should have had more sense, but didn't. Although I realize that this is fiction, and would not hold true in all cases, this book provided more insight into why these things happen, and the conditions that lead up to them, than any other book I have read, or any of the mental health talking heads I have watched and listened to on television. A very well done and thought out novel.ARC from Other Press publishers.