Scars of Silence: Lidingö Mysteries, Book 2

by Johana Gustawsson

As Autumn deepens into darkness in Lidingö, on the Stockholm archipelago, the island is plunged into in the space of a week, two teenagers, the son of the island's mayor and that of a powerful businessman, are brutally murdered. Their bodies are left deep in the forest, dressed in white tunics with crowns of candles atop their heads, like offerings to Saint Lucia.

Maïa Rehn has fled Paris for Lidingö, where her husband has grown up, trying to come to terms with the death of their only daughter in a car accident. But when the murders shake the island community, the former police commissioner is drawn into the heart of the investigation, joining Commissioner Aleksander Storm to unravel a mystery as chilling as the Nordic winter.

As they dig deeper, it becomes clear that a wind of vengeance is blowing through the archipelago, unearthing secrets that are as scandalous as they are inhuman. But what if the victims weren't who they seemed? What if those long silenced had finally found a way to strike back? How far would they go to make their tormentors pay? And you – how far would you go?

Audible Audio

Published November 20, 2025

About the author

Born in 1978 in Marseille, France, and a graduate of Political Sciences, Johana Gustawsson was a journalist for television and French press. She now lives in London, England.

Reviews

[Jacob Collins · Rating 5 out of 5]

I always get excited whenever there is a new Johana Gustawsson novel. She is a writer who knows how to hook you from the first page, and in Scars of Silence, she does so in an utterly gripping, yet horrifying way at the same time. It is quite a brutal opening, but it did an excellent job of keeping me on the edge of my seat. There is so much pain and emotion in these opening pages, and Johana Gustawsson kept me hooked on every word, and then she delivered an absolutely mouth-dropping end to the first chapter that had me eagerly turning the pages.

The emotions really feel real in this book, but alongside that, there is a pacy, addictive plot, following the shocking murders of two teenage boys, which takes place three months after the incident in the first chapter. The murders rock their local community to its core, and you can see how much they affect everyone, not least their families. I really wanted to know what it was that connected the murders, and Johana Gustawsson does an excellent job of gradually revealing this, making her characters feel even more real as the truth comes to life, particularly as she delves into the lives of the two victims. This really helps to create a sense of loss for the people who they were, and it gives the book so much depth. What’s even more disturbing is how the two murders appear to be connected to events that took place in the first chapter, and it kept making me think that perhaps the killer wasn’t done yet.

Johana Gustawsson is a writer who knows how to deliver a twist as well as a complex, well-thought-out plot. It’s part of what makes her books so exciting to read, and Scars of Silence delivers that yet again as the novel races towards its conclusion. I also loved the two leads, Maïa Rehn and Aleksander Storm, both of whom have their own unique personal struggles that make them such captivating main characters, and people we, the reader, really care about as well.

Scars of Silence is another terrific novel by Johana Gustawsson, and, like always when I finish one of her books, I’m now waiting with baited breath for her next novel.

[Natalie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Johana really has a way of gripping a reader. From page on I threw myself into the novel in one sitting couldn't put it down 'n gosh I wasn't expecting that ending. Can't wait to read more of Johana novels. Glad I found yule Island this got the ball rolling for me.