The Man in Room Seven

by Karin Nordin

‘I was gripped’ Louise Jensen, author of The Fall on Karin NordinSix years ago, Tweety came home from work to find her husband Dodge had left, taking their child with him. Utterly broken, Tweety vows that she will do anything to get her baby back.

After years following a trail of breadcrumbs, a lead. Someone looking just like Dodge stays at the same run-down motel for the motorcycle rally every year without fail. This time things will be different. This time his ex-wife is a few steps ahead of him.

Tweety takes a job at the front desk. Between the unmentionables she finds in the rooms and the incessant catcalling, it’s the worst job in the world. When Dodge arrives, he acts just like arrogant and obnoxious, but pretends he doesn’t know her.

There’s a booster seat in the back of his car. No sign of a child. But Tweety doesn’t care.

She has a goal and she’ll stop at nothing to get her son back. Catch Dodge. Make him pay for what he did to her. Live happily ever after.

400 pages, Paperback

Published July 29, 2025

About the author

Karin Nordin has been a compulsive reader of thrilling stories since childhood and discovered her love of Scandinavian crime fiction during summers spent visiting family in Norway and Sweden. She has worked in healthcare and education, including as a pharmacy technician, karate instructor, and an English language teacher for the Dutch military. She completed the Creative Writing MSc from the University of Edinburgh with Distinction in 2019 and also holds an MA in Scandinavian Literary Studies from the University of Amsterdam. Born in ‘The Biggest Little City in the World’ and raised in America’s Rust Belt, she now lives in the Netherlands. Her first novel, Where Ravens Roost, will be published by HQ Digital, an imprint of Harper Collins UK, in 2021.

https://twitter.com/KNordinAuthor
https://www.instagram.com/karinnordin...
http://www.karinnordin.com/

Reviews

[Jessica Huntley · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

A decent thriller but I struggled to connect or warm to any of the characters so found it hard to care about them.

Writing was fast-paced and exciting and the end twist came out of nowhere which had me questioning what the hell had just happened!

[Suzi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thank you Netgalley for my copy.

This isn't the worst book I've read this year but it's certainly not the best.
The FMC was annoying and everything she did made no sense. I also didn't enjoy the supernatural/ psychic element, it felt forced just to add another dimension to the story simply just to get the word count up to novel length.

I liked Pete in general but he couldn't save the story for me.

[Ella Callagher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Right... I really really enjoyed this book. All the way through, I was like yes yes yes!! But then the end... I just didn't get it...

I loved the backstory of the characters and the sinister twist in the middle and how it's all so much darker than we thought. The suspense was well driven and the chapters were written cleverly to help build this.

Just the ending... I feel like it was really good but can someone shed any light on it?!

[Kath · Rating 4 out of 5]

We start in the past when Tweety comes home to find that her husband Dodge has skipped out, taking their child with him. She is devastated and vows to track him down to get her baby back. Back in the present, having followed an obscure trail for many years, she finally thinks she is on the right track and has installed herself as receptionist at a flea-bitten motel. One that he is rumoured to be visiting soon to attend a motorcycle ralley.
But when he does turn up, he is Dodge but also he isn't, and he doesn't appear to recognise her... There's a booster seat in his car, but no child. Who could well be with the woman he meets up with in the car park...
And then things all start to get weirder... Things may not be as first thought, but I won't spoil things for you... suffice to say we all get thrown around and about until, eventually, the whole shocking truth is laid bare... And what a truth it is!
The characters in this book are all pretty nasty, and not at all easy to connect with in any way positively. Even though you have to feel for Tweety for the loss of her son, there is also something not quite right bubbling under there. And as for Dodge, well, Dodge by name, definitely Dodgy by nature. But again, is he all he portrays?
Even though I failed to warm to the characters I did find the story compelling enough to want to find out the truth of what was happening, and I was rewarded for my endeavours. Pacing was a wee bit hit and miss on occasion but never dragged too badly, and the end was definitely worth the journey.
My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

[Farah G · Rating 3 out of 5]

A mother's love leads her on a relentless journey in this suspenseful story about a woman who is determined to track down the child who was snatched away from her by her husband.

Tweety has a regular life with her husband and young son. Until one day gets home to find that she doesn't. Dodge has abandoned her, taking their child with him, and disappeared into thin air.

But Tweety isn't giving up just like that. She spends years piecing together where her husband might be, and travels to a place where she is likely to encounter him again. And so she does. But is too late or can she get her child back?

This is a gripping read, with an unusual take on a familiar trope. It gets 3.5 stars.

I received a free copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

[Alison Cairns · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was so disturbing I needed time to process what happened. And I'm not sure I actually know. This was seriously disturbing. Tweety comes home from work to discover her husband has left and taken their baby son. Six years later she's still searching for them. A tip off leads her to the notorious Cottonwood Inn where she takes a job and waits for Dodge to show up. Strange and disturbing things happen until we reach an explosive climax. And a twist. Boy is there a twist. #netgalley #themaninroomseven

[Laura Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Man In Room Seven by Karin Nordin is a parents worst nightmare.
Tweety comes home from work one day to find her husband and child gone. She spends years trying to find them.
This book contains psychic and supernatural parts also.
It's not what I would normally be drawn to read but it's still a good book.

[Julia Rogers · Rating 3 out of 5]

I started off slow then picked up speed and sped through this … but found the ending very confusing! Still mulling it over and not quite sure how I feel about it … could you have foreshadowed the ending? I’m not sure you could and I like a book where the clues are there so you could potentially figure it out (not that I do so often!). Had me thinking though …

[Victoria Postlewait · Rating 3 out of 5]

This had a strong start with a creepy setting and an intriguing mystery, but it lost me by the end. The plot got a bit confusing, and some twists didn’t quite land. I also couldn’t connect with the main character — and honestly, I didn’t love her name either. Decent atmosphere, but not as gripping as I hoped. Thank you netgalley for the ARC

[Boo · Rating 4 out of 5]

This for me was a 5 star read until the last few chapters... I enjoyed the plot, story, characters, confusing and Supernatural elements, until the ending... WHAT THE FUDGE?! It seems like all the hard work of reading the book went to waste as now I don't know what was real, fake, and who I am anymore!

[Barbara Lennox · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've enjoyed all of Karin Nordin's books so far but this was more of a departure. I was puzzled all the way through by the main characters, who seemed slightly off, and only at the very end was it revealed why this was. A clever ending, but was it foreshadowed? Not sure.

[Miranda Mackey · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is my favorite book my Karin. I was really enthralled by the first 3/4 of it. When all of the plot lines were shaking out though, it got a bit tedious to read through. She kind of brought me back with the final plot twist but by that point I no longer felt invested.

[Chris Warner · Rating 3 out of 5]

The basic story was a good one, but it fell short for me. I really couldn't connect with the main character at all. Pete was more believeable.
The ending was confusing and almost too clever to be satisfying.

[Kimberly Harris · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read it to the end but still do not quite understand the end.

[Sarah Poursaied · Rating 2 out of 5]

don’t understand what happened at the end