Leona by Jenny Rogneby.
The die is cast.
Naked and bloody, a seven-year-old girl walks into a bank in central Stockholm in broad daylight and gets away with millions. Leona Lindberg of Stockholm's Violent Crimes Division agrees to work on the case. With a long, distinguished history in the police force, she seems the perfect choice. But Leona is grappling with deep issues of her own--a gambling addiction, a strained marriage--that could jeopardize the investigation. As she struggles to keep the volatile pieces of her life under control, the line between right and wrong becomes increasingly unclear--and even irrelevant. 
A very good read. Great story and characters. 4*.

This was one of the best thrilling reads I've read so far this year. The reader was on a roller coaster that didn't let go until the very end! Well done.

This police procedural starts off great, the premise is good...but it's believability is just hard to swallow. Leona is a character with loads of flaws and I wanted to like her but, I just felt like she was kind of an idiot and I'm not sure if that was intentional or not.

The blurb for this book reads:

"This is a hard-boiled crime novel, filled with unexpected twists and turns, featuring an unusual heroine. Leona makes for gripping reading while challenging feminine norms and posing questions about what lies behind the choices we make."

And that is a very accurate statement for this book. There were several twists and turns in this book. I do have to say, though, that I did not care much for the main character. At least, I did not like the choices that she made in this book. She was a very narcissistic, uncaring person.

However, the action, the uniqueness of the crime and the crazy twists made this an enjoyable read for me.

Thanks to Other Press and Net Galley for providing me with a free e-galley in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.

A Best Seller in Scandinavia, "Leona: The Die is Cast", is the first of a series written by Jenny Rognery. Set in Stockholm, this noir crime story begins with a robbery executed by a naked seven year old girl. That in itself would keep the reader interested, but the real strength of this thriller comes from the unusual and often disturbing character studies. Leona, most especially, is an troubled enigma that Rognery gradually reveals, little-by-little, to the reader's horror. Rognery's excellent pacing provides us just enough detail to feel unsettled by this protagonist. Savvy thriller/suspense readers will know not to jump to easy or early conclusions. Expect twists!

Rognery's talent also pulls us into the horrifying world of seven year old, Olivia. I'm guessing that it's not easy to write from the perspective of a child so young, and in peril, but Rognery does so hauntingly (though difficult to read). Rounding out the main players is Christer Skoog, a journalist on a revenge mission.

Suspense builds, more and more is revealed. What are we to think of emotionless Leona? What will Olivia's fate be? How with Christer help or hinder Olivia's rescue? Well, I kept reading to find out.

Definitely not my favorite thriller. It was hard to get past the child abuse of Olivia and her very unsafe, volatile situation. Also, the main character/lead investigator on Olivia's case, Leona was not incredibly likeable either as she is quite unemotional and detached from people and her work environment. It's hard to like a book if you have a tough time with parts of the plot and you don't like the main character. With that said, I did want to see what happened in the end and was not complete disappointed as there were some twists and turns to a rather unexpected ending. Hopefully other readers will like this book more than I did. Just not my cup of tea....

I usually love scandi-noir but this one didn't do it for me. I found it hard to relate to Leona and although I was puzzled by her psychological state we never got to the bottom of it!!

A good storyline/plot, quite original. I'd probably read another book by the author.

2.75 stars

This story was about blackmail, murder, and hope. There were two storylines tag-teaming each other and it made for an interesting book, but overall, I didn't connect with any of the characters. Leona's flat affect jumped out at the reader from each page and suggested from the start that she was emotionally disconnected from her environment and from people in general. Her antisocial behavior at work and at home was heavily emphasized, but I loathed being in her thoughts most of the time. As the story progressed, her actions and thoughts became more unbelievable, irrational, and foolish, but the flashback scenes provided some of the answers behind her questionable decisions. I waited patiently to see her downfall, but this book ended abruptly.

◆ This was an okay read for me. I didn't love or hate it and hope other readers will enjoy this book more than I did.

This is a very funny book--perhaps not exactly what the author had in mind, because it does fall into the 'preposterous' category. Leona is supposedly a fine detective in Stockholm's Violent Crimes Unit, where she has a good closure rate. That's her day job. She is married, with two children and--at least for most of this book--a husband. The first-person narrator seems serious enough, at least for a while, though the clues that she was abused as a child somewhere on the Asperger's spectrum mount up, until we are aware that she thinks of herself as an imitator of humanity. She has few friends, is alienated from her family, and is a gambling addict. Most of the book revolves around a criminal investigation involving a very young child. I won't be reading any more in this series.

Jenny Rogneby starts out by putting a 7 year old girl naked robbing banks. This alone shocks you into a kind of being with the girl and you don't want anything bad to happen to her. Then Leona is given the case and it starts out ok, but then it turns very dark noir. It stays very dark in that Leona wants out of her marriage and a life alone, gambling.

She shifts into a new gear in that Leona takes care of reporter and becomes unhitched as a reliable person. The story takes another turn and shifts to London where her son is having a operation. She find out they have reopened the case she was involved in again. She flies out of the hospital to freedom. I liked the story because it never stays the same, it always changes, My people are going to like it and I will recommend it to be read.

Stop -- this is a suspense thriller unike anything you have read before! Beware the havoc that comes from within.

A girl, only seven years old, walks into a bank -- bruised and covered in blood. She sets down a tape recorder. She takes the money and disappears. Leona is a detective assigned to the case. But she doesn't appear to be chasing down the leads, doing the interviews, or following the investigative techniques that are normally applied. Leona has some problems -- she's hounded by a journalist, beset by personal problems at home, and is on thin ice with her superiors.

This is a police procedural, but also an incredibly different take on crime fiction. I loved it! I won't say more due to spoilers, but this one (the first in a series) took me by surprise! I love Scandanavian noir, and this is set in Sweden. Although the protagonist is not very likeable, she is complex and her choices are quite disturbing. She's sort of an anti-hero(ine) and I can't wait to read more. This ends on a bit of a cliffhanger, and I hate that, but definitely I am hooked. I am definitely going to want to read the next book!!

I would like to thank Netgalley and Other Press for an advance copy of Leona: The Die is Cast, a psychological thriller set in Stockholm.

A bloody seven year old girl walks into a bank, plays a tape and walks out with a stack of cash. The police can't understand how it happened but put one of their best investigators, Leona Lindberg on the case. Leona has problems of her own and this could be the case that tips her over the edge.

This is not the novel I expected it to be - a straightforward police procedural with a damaged protagonist. Instead it is a clever, psychological thriller with some very good twists and turns. It is not a genre I particularly enjoy so I struggled with it but as it is well written and plotted with an unusual, original premise I have awarded it 4 stars in recognition of these qualities.

Leona is a deeply troubled person. At first I wondered if she was on the spectrum as she is unable to connect with people but it soon becomes clear that she is a psychopath. Her reasoning and behaviour are fascinating and goal oriented but it is impossible to empathise with her, which makes for strange reading.

As I said the novel has some good twists and while the ending is another good twist it is a little unbelievable. It is impossible to say more without spoilers.

I think that anyone who likes a good psychological thriller will find Leona: The Die is Cast unputdownable.

The surprises in this book never stop. From the seven year old girl who robs the bank to the endings many twists.
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