New York Times Book Review recommends M.T. Edvardsson's A Nearly Normal Family and lauds it as a "page-turner" that forces the reader to confront "the compromises we make with ourselves to be the people we believe our beloveds expect." (NYTimes Book Review Summer Reading Issue)
M.T. Edvardsson's A Nearly Normal Family is a gripping legal thriller that forces the listener to consider: How far would you go to protect the ones you love? In this twisted narrative of love and murder, a horrific crime makes a seemingly normal family question everything they thought they knew about their life-and one another.
Eighteen-year-old Stella Sandell stands accused of the brutal murder of a man almost fifteen years her senior. She is an ordinary teenager from an upstanding local family. What reason could she have to know a shady businessman, let alone to kill him?
Stella's father, a pastor, and mother, a criminal defense attorney, find their moral compasses tested as they defend their daughter, while struggling to understand why she is a suspect. Told in an unusual three-part structure, A Nearly Normal Family asks the questions: How well do you know your own children? How far would you go to protect them? M. T. Edvardsson is an author and teacher from Trelleborg, Sweden. He is the author of multiple novels and books for young readers in Sweden. A Nearly Normal Family is his first novel published in the United States. He lives with his family in Löddeköpinge, Sweden. New York Times Book Review recommends M.T. Edvardsson's A Nearly Normal Family and lauds it as a "page-turner" that forces the reader to confront "the compromises we make with ourselves to be the people we believe our beloveds expect."
-New York Times Book Review Summer Reading Issue
"Compelling."
-New York Times Book Review Podcast
"Edvardsson ably weaves themes of parental guilt and sacrifice into a nuanced family drama."
-Kirkus
"An intense legal thriller that successfully plays realistic, gripping emotion against a shocking legal twist."
-Booklist
"At its core, A Nearly Normal Family asks: How well do you know your loved ones? Or your best friend? Or anyone? Whom can you trust? Edvardsson doesn't give easy answers, and even throws in commentary about the Swedish legal system when it comes to determining guilt or innocence. But the author raises provocative questions, wraps them up in a propulsive thriller and delivers an ultra-satisfying read that's far from ordinary."
-Shelf Awareness
"Emily Watson, Georgia McGuire, and Richard Armitage complement each other's depictions of a dysfunctional household that is hiding secrets. ...These narrators embody a family that is not so normal after all."
-AudioFile Magazine
"A NEARLY NORMAL FAMILY is a canny, intensely suspenseful legal thriller. A 18-year-old teenager is accused of murdering a 32-year-old man, provoking a crisis for every person close to her and challenging the commandments of the law as they confront the bonds of love and family life."
-Scott Turow, Author of Presumed Innocent and Testimony
"M. T. Edvardsson has written a deceptive and riveting novel. A NEARLY NORMAL FAMILY will make you question everything you know about those closest to you."
-Karin Slaughter, Author of 18 international bestsellers
