“It should have been the best night of the year.”
We’ve never been big on New Year’s celebrations here at What We Reading and, on the back of Malin Stehn’s Happy New Year, that’s not likely to change anytime soon. A psychological Scandinavian thriller, this book lured us in with its garish lime green cover first off, and then with its psychological, intimate premise. But, did this translated mystery novel deliver the chills? Join us at What We Reading for our Happy New Year book review to find out!
Date Published: 2021
Author: Malin Stehn
Genre: Thriller, Suspense
Pages: 432
Goodreads Rating: 3.64/5
Premise
Happy New Year is a story centred around two families: the Anderssons and the Wiskells. Having grown up together and been friends for years, readers join the families as they prepare for two parties to celebrate the new year, one for the adults and one for the kids. However, following the fireworks and festivities, seventeen-year-old Jennifer Wiskell is reported missing. The police get involved, and a paranoia-filled search for the young woman ensues. Through a series of revelations, the two families begin to realise that the truth behind Jennifer’s disappearance could be much closer to home than they first thought.
The book is split between three perspectives: Nina and Lollo, the two matriarchs of the Anderssons and Wiskells, and Fredrick, Nina’s husband.
What Worked
Off the bat, it was nice to experience a psychological thriller from a different part of the world compared to our other book reviews. Malmo and its surrounding neighbourhoods do a wonderful job in ramping up the tension throughout the book, especially when you think about its freezing temperatures and hostile climates for a young woman lost out in them.
Secondly, we really like stories that keep things intimate in regard to their plots and characters. It’s something Stehn sets up with her premise, and thankfully carries right the way through the book. A story like this can be ruined with dozens of new characters and revelations being introduced. All of the characters in the Andersson and Wiskell families stand out with their own traits the longer the book goes on, and there’s a nice bridge between how those personalities cope with the traumatic events unfolding around them.
The pacing of Happy New Year on the whole was also nice and consistent. It’s a slow-burning read, really focusing on the creeping paranoia that comes over the characters.
What Didn’t
Whilst the pacing was consistent enough, there’s no denying this book is slow-paced. Like, really slow-paced. We’ll give it a pass from our side on this occasion, but there’s no doubt there is a lot of filler here which will annoy some readers and could probably be cut.
Secondly, whilst the characters all work in terms of letting their personalities shine through their actions, Fredrick has to go down as one of the most infuriating people we’ve read during our book reviews. For starters, his relationship with Jennifer is problematic (to say the least), and yet the accountability anyone puts on him is staggering. Almost all of his chapters are spent moping around the family house ignoring his wife and daughter who need him more than ever. In fact, not only does he ignore them, he actively snaps back at his wife who shows impossible levels of support and patience.
And the fact that Nina is happy constantly putting it all down to ‘stress’ rather than ever really questioning anything more nefarious (albeit logical given the coincidence his worsening condition has with Jennifer’s disappearance) is what really breaks our immersion and makes things so frustrating to read through.
It’s rare for us to actively wish bad outcomes on a main character so passionately, but this guy was completely intolerable.
Verdict
We’re going to be honest here: this wasn’t our favourite book we’ve ever read.
It’s rare for us to find a character so loathable but Fredrick is that guy, and ultimately that makes reading through Happy New Year difficult at times. The pacing is a little on the slow side, and there are a few instances of characters acting needlessly naive which can also make reading this feel like a bit of a slog.
But, as a slow-burning mystery-thriller, it does its job pretty well. Stehn does a solid job in painting such a clear picture of who the reader’s suspicions should fall on the final act does have a nice payoff to it. It’s one of those reveals that feels like it would have been impossible to guess, so perhaps a few clues sprinkled it could have gone a long way in making it more fulfilling.
Nevertheless, our first Swedish book review on What We Reading, and not a terrible one to kick off on.
Our Rating: 3/5
Want more mystery? Check out our It Ends At Midnight Book Review
Part-time reader, part-time rambler, and full-time Horror enthusiast, James has been writing for What We Reading since 2022. His earliest reading memories involved Historical Fiction, Fantasy and Horror tales, which he has continued to take with him to this day. James’ favourite books include The Last (Hanna Jameson), The Troop (Nick Cutter) and Chasing The Boogeyman (Richard Chizmar).
