Drowned

A summer visit to a remote Swedish country house sends dangerous ripples through seemingly perfect lives in Bohman's unsettling debut. Academic burnout Marina leaves art history behind and travels to rural Sk%C3%A5ne to stay with her older sister, Stella, and Stella's much older boyfriend, well-known writer Gabriel. Despite the oppressive heat, all seems lovely at first; Marina enjoys walking the grounds and discussing art with Gabriel. Unsurprisingly, all is not well between the couple, which Marina gathers piecemeal from her sister%E2%80%94they've never been close and Stella's job keeps her away%E2%80%94and from the increasingly amorous Gabriel. Nature is a constant presence, particularly the life%E2%80%94and death%E2%80%94cycle of the cottage's impressive gardens. Bohman delicately pulls apart the seams of Stella and Gabriel's relationship and lays an almost undetectable layer of menace around the increasingly interwoven trio. Alliances continually, and subtly, shift: from united sisters to established couple against the interloper to secret lovers against an unwitting third wheel. The seasonal and structural changes are deliberately understated and carry emotional weight into the climax, which Bohman deftly makes both foregone and suspenseful, leaving the reader wondering if everyone was doomed from the start. (May)