I haven't done any guest posts in awhile but I couldn't refuse this one by Scandanavian bestselling author Emelie Schepp, whose Jana Berzulius is a very interesting character. Although a public prosecutor she has some of Spade in hter. Emelie explains why.
In MARKED FOR LIFE a man has been found brutally murdered in his own home. The victim, Hans Juhlen, had no shortage of enemies. But the case stalls when a child's handprint is found inches from where the dead man fell. Hans Juhlen had no children. Public prosecutor Jana Berzelius has perfected the art of maintaining a professional distance from her cases. But when the body of a small boy is found - and with him, the weapon that killed Juhlen - Jana's impenetrability is tested to its limits. Berzelius is drawn more deeply into the case for as she attends his autopsy, she recognizes something strangely familiar in his small, scarred, heroin-riddled body. Cut deep into his flesh are initials that scream child trafficking and trigger in her a flash of memory of her own dark, fear-ridden past. Her connection to this boy has been carved with deliberation and malice that penetrate to her very core.
Because of an accident as a child, Jana lost her memory and she doesn’t know anything about her childhood. But she realizes that the small boy can lead her to the truth. So, in parallel with the investigation, and off the record, Jana tries to understand who the boy is and where he is coming from. The more she finds out about the boy’s background, the more she finds out about her own. And to protect her own hidden past, she must find the suspect behind these murders, before the police do.
I would consider Jana a private investigator. She is focused in trying to understand herself, who she is, why she is capable to doing things no one would be capable of. She has a personal connection to the case, and so is investigating it separately from, and in competition with, the police. Her motivations are not purely for legal justice so she is not committed to following procedure and the investigation becomes her own.
Emelie Schepp’s Marked for Life is out 6th July (HQ, £7.99)
www.emelieschepp.com
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