Stella and Anima have been best friends since they started school. They're getting ready to graduate. Anima will head off to medical school and Stella wants to go to Asia and tour. Both girls come from your typical ordinary family.
Both of the girl's father's coach their handball team. Stella's mom is a lawyer, her dad is a pastor.
The families have fun together.
Everything is.....ordinary. Until it isn't. A murder has been committed. Stella is in jail awaiting trial. Anima is definitely hiding something. Someone committed this murder. Evidence indicates it was Stella. Only Anima can tell the jury what needs to be said.
Riveting! Definitely keeps you guessing till the very end. Excellent!

Oh, how I love books with a moral dilemma and unreliable narrators! This novel has it all! It's a brilliant courtroom drama with family issues, a murder, a stalker, psychiatrists, rebellious teens, and above all obsessive love. It begs the question, "What would you do for your child in the worst of circumstances?" Eighteen-year-old Stella's parents are a pastor and a lawyer, so when she finds herself arrested on suspicion of murder, she is fairly confident that things will turn in her favor, as Sweden's laws rely heavily on evidence beyond a shadow of a doubt. But things are never as they seem! If you've ever raised a teenager (heck, if you've ever BEEN a teenager) this story will appeal to you as there are both wise and unwise decisions made by almost every character. But you may want to put everything else aside as it's incredibly hard to put this book down. Even the last sentence gave me goosebumps! This is a thriller not to be missed!

I read a lot of books and many different genres, but this new book by M.T. Evardsson is one of the most suspenseful novels I have read in a long time. In “A Nearly Normal Family,” Paul Sandell truly believed he had a meaningful life, with his job as a pastor, a beautiful intelligent wife, and a spunky teenage daughter that he would do anything in his power to keep safe. Life has a way of changing and Paul finds his daughter charged with murder and his wife hiding secrets. Paul must put his faith on the line to save the one person he loves most in the world. The storyline is engaging and most readers will find it hard to put down. . I was given an advanced copy of this book, and all of the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Loved this one!! This a very timely story, considering today's headlines. How well do we know our kids and how far would we go, or should we go, for them? I really enjoyed how the story unfolded, as it is told in three parts, in turn, from the three main characters. As each character tells their story more layers are revealed and your opinion will change as to what it looks like happened. The author did a great job developing each character, also, making it easy to understand their motivations. It was also fun to read about how the justice system is similar and different from ours, as this is set in Sweden. I'm not sure if this a debut or just the first of M.T. Edvardsson's books translated to English, but I am excited for more!!

A big Thank You to #NetGalley and Celadon for this ARC!

I will post to Amazon and Barnes and Noble on 6/25/19.

Interesting tale. I also appreciated the look into another country's legal system. It was good to see the story from so many angles. Good believable twists. I look forward to more from this author!

Satisfying thriller that deals with family drama and the perceptions of a mother and father and their troubled daughter in a unique way. I would recommend M.T. Edvardsson as an author to watch. The book is dark in the way that only Scandinavian noir can be. Is the Sandell family normal? Their teenage daughter Stella is accused of murdering a much older successful and possibly shady guy. As you read, the book which is told in from the view point of father, daughter, and mother you don't know who is telling the absolute truth and you wonder what is behind the facade that is hidden from the public view within anyone's family.

I highly recommend to anyone who enjoys unreliable narrators and a few twists and turns in their thrillers.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a chance to read and review.

A Nearly Normal Family was truly fantastic, FIVE STARS!

M.T. Edvardsson is a writer to watch, I hope more of his books are translated into English. A Nearly Normal Family, was told from three points of view. First, the father, a pastor, second, the teenage daughter, Stella, who has been accused of murder, and third, the mother, a criminal defense attorney. Each voice was very distinct from which made it very easy to slip into each character. I thought, Stella, was written very accurately as a teenage girl. It did not surprise me to learn the author had been a teacher. There were many issues brought up in the book which really made you think- what would I do?

“People are prepared to put aside everything in the way of ethics and morals to protect their families. The most rigid of principles can be easily pulverized when it comes to defending your own child. Lies, guilt, and secrets. What family isn’t built on such grounds?”

I cannot wait to see what M.T. Edvardsson comes out with next....whatever it is, I will be reading it. Highly recommend!

Thank you Celadon and NetGalley for my advanced copy of, A Nearly Normal Family, in exchange for my honest review.

***Will post to Goodreads one month prior to release, will post on 6/25/2019 to B&N and Amazon.

This is one of those books that will still have you thinking and questioning everything you just read for days after you finish reading the last page. Told in three different perspectives of the events leading up to, around and after a murder. A family must come to grips with who they are, what they stand for and what they will do to protect the one love.
It makes you question the narrative of what a normal family is. Is there any such thing as a normal family as we all have secrets. The facade we put out in public, isn't always what is shown in the privacy of our houses.
Gripping, thrilling and ine heck of a page Turner. A must read if you don't mind a multi-perspective POV.

A Nearly Normal Family had you guessing until the very end. It was really hard to put this book down. The book starts out with the fathers point of view then Stella’s and then ends with the mother. I definitely will want to read more from this author. Thank you NetGalley for the advanced copy.

A daughter accused of murder, a father’s dilemma, a mother’s love. This is a story of a pastor, a lawyer and a maladjusted teen. Told in all three voices, of past and present, this book is filled with complex, real characters. A man is dead, and a young woman stands accused of his murder. A family that is in crisis, parents that will do anything to save their daughter, but what really happened that night? A unique and twisty legal thriller about a family that isn’t quite as normal as it seems.

Wow a kept me guessing and pushing forth with each chapter! The characters were complex - good and bad, strong and weak, possibly crazy and maybe not?!?!

Eighteen-year-old Stella 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?


The plot moves swiftly between the POVs of the father, mother, and the accused daughter. Lots of secrets, twists, and turns leave the reader always questioning who is telling the truth and how much do we really know those closest to us. Just who is telling the truth? A Very good book!
Thanks, NetGalley for the advance copy.

This was a good story, kept me guessing through out the whole story! I enjoyed reading the three perspectives of the family, it made the story more intriguing! Great ending!

Told in three parts and three perspectives. There is the Dad/Pastor, Mom/Lawyer and teen daughter who is rebellious to say the least. Dad is sure in his feelings and life if somewhat pedantic. Mom is sure in her abilities but less sure in the emotions department. Daughter, Stella, is a hellion who is hard to control. The book leads up to and unfolds during a murder trial where the family secrets spill out. Compulsively readable and quite well done.

A Nearly Normal Family is a legal thriller with a unique twist - it is told from the perspective of father, daughter & mother - in the midst of the daughter being arrested for murder. Learning this family's backstory as well as how each of their minds work is such an interesting facet of this book, one that you do not usually get from this type of novel.

The family dynamics are much more of the story to me here then the actual "whodunnit" - which was interesting, too, but it's the family that really shapes the storytelling and in many ways, the case too. There is a ton of relevance to current events in this novel, which always make for interesting conversation - something I think will definitely be happening once this book is released.

Thank you to Celedon Books for an advance copy. All opinions are my own.

This book has been on my to-read-in-2019 list for a while now, and when I was approved to read it early I was so thrilled. An eighteen-year-old girl is accused of murdering a well-known business man over ten years her senior - but her parents didn't even know she knew him, and they believe that she would never, ever do something like that...

I enjoyed the way that the story is told in three parts - father, daughter, mother - and you find out bits and pieces in each part, but there are also pieces that lack truth, pieces hidden. I enjoy stories that have unreliable narrators, and this one certainly incorporated that in a way I found enjoyable and effective. Despite the fact that it has three narrators (and that all three prove themselves unreliable in some fashion), I did not feel confused by the narrative, which I feel could have easily happened given the storyline.

Thank you to NetGalley and Celadon Books for the opportunity to read this book!

4 - 4.25 stars.

This book was really captivating. You don’t have just one untrustworthy narrator, but 3 in this story. It’s interesting to see how 3 members of the same family are remembering past events differently from one another and then you’re forced to decide who to believe in order to uncover the truth in the present. Can any of them be trusted? I def loves this book. It’s different than anything I’ve read lately and was well thought out and executed excellently.

A gripping and haunting murder mystery/ legal thriller.
A teen girl from a loving family is accused of murdering a questionable businessman.

The plot moves swiftly between the POVs of the father, mother, and the accused daughter. Lots of secrets, twists, and turns leave the reader always questioning who is telling the truth and how much do we really know those closest to us.

Thanks #Netgalley, the publisher and author for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I received an advanced reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review

Serviceable if a bit formulaic legal thriller, teenage bad girl crafted by male writer with the usual acting out.
Just ok.

This was so good, it was hard to put down when it ended. I think M.T. Edvardsson really did an outstanding job a creating this story because it was so like a family in every aspect. He created tension, love, and an understanding of Swedish law to an extent. This was a story of two girls from different families, Stella Sandell and Amina Beŝić, they grew up alway knowing about the other girl and later played hand ball on the same team, they were best friends, sharing their dreams. But they ran into Chris Olsen at a dance and they both had the hots for him. Later on this proved to be a fatal blow for Stella once she was arrested for the murder of Chris. Her mom and dad, Ulrika and Adam Sandell were key into finding out about the murder and what Stella and Amina played into it and the big why? I can't wait for another book by M.T. Edvardsson if it was as good as this one. I recommend this book as one of the few books that captures a family with all it's flaws.