The Shadow Lily

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“Elegant, gripping, and intricate, The Shadow Lily is a mystery the way P.D. James wrote mysteries: with depth and real humanity. I loved spending time with Detective Hanna Duncker on an island off the coast of Sweden—Oland is as chilling and atmospheric as Ann Cleeves’s Shetland.” —Flynn Berry, author of the New York Times Bestseller Northern Spy

It’s a race against time as an island searches for a murderer and a missing child

Small-town police detective Hanna Duncker has a past. Her deceased father was convicted of murder and arson long ago, and she has taken up residence and resumed her police career in her hometown after his death. She and her partner Erik Lindgren are called to investigate the disappearance of a father and his infant son from their home while his wife was away on a weekend trip. As the investigation unfolds, Hanna makes a breakthrough in her ongoing private investigation of her father’s crimes: a discovery that could change everything she thought she’d learned so far.
  In The Shadow Lily, Johanna Mo’s follow-up to The Night Singer, we find Hanna even further entangled in the web of relationships and partial truths that trapped her father for well over a decade. Are guilt and innocence as definite as they seem? And can she handle yet another unravelling of her family’s story?Praise for The Night Singer: 

“…readers will readily engage with Hanna, a no-nonsense, dogged, and thoughtful investigator. Mo is off to a strong start.” —Publishers Weekly

Praise for The Shadow Lily

“Johanna Mo’s new novel, The Shadow Lily, is a solid police procedural that brims with twists, turns and surprising revelations.” — Sarah Weinman, The New York Times Book Review

“The Shadow Lily is a perfect crime novel for rainy days, one of those books that does well together with a cup of tea, a blanket and lazy days in the summer house.” —Berlingske

“With an eye for the banalities of everyday life and what great changes and horrible events can do to people, Mo managed to capture something new and authentic… splendidly done.” —Stavanger Aftenblad

“Johanna Mo has yet again given us a well-written crime novel, with strong characters and a splendid portrayal of life on the island.” —Tine Sundal, blog

“Mo employs alternating perspectives to great effect, using them to deepen the reader’s understanding of the events and the characters involved.” —BookPage

“Elegant, gripping, and intricate, The Shadow Lily is a mystery the way P.D. James wrote mysteries: with depth and real humanity. I loved spending time with Detective Hanna Duncker on an island off the coast of Sweden—Oland is as chilling and atmospheric as Ann Cleeves’s Shetland.” —Flynn Berry, author of the New York Times Bestseller Northern Spy

“…this beautifully written story about a small-town detective who becomes entangled in the mystery that trapped her father for over a decade drew me in with its authentic voice… If you love Tana French, then “The Shadow Lily” is for you.” –Alice Blanchard, award-winning author of Trace of EvilJohanna Mo was born in Kalmar, Sweden, and now lives with her family in Stockholm. She has spent the last twenty years working as a literary critic, translator, and freelance editor. The Night Singer is her English-language debut.Questions and Topics for Discussion

1. In The Shadow Lily Hanna finds out new information about the murder her father was convicted of. He said to a friend that he never should have protected him. What does Hanna believe this means, and how does it affect her relationship with her brother?
2. How does the Swedish setting affect the story? Did you respond to any cultural differences? If so, what were they, and what do you think prompted your response?
3. In The Shadow Lily Hanna develops feelings for Isak. What’s Hanna like when it comes to relationships?
4. What do you believe Erik’s worry about his family stems from?
5. The murder victim, Thomas Ahlström, works for an estate agency. It is a family business, and he is the only one who works there who is not part of the family. How do you think this affected the dynamic at the business?
6. Thomas has a daughter, Lykke, whom he abandoned when she was a baby. Why did he do this and how did it affect him? What does he do differently the second time he becomes a parent?
7. How did Thomas’s abandonment of Lykke affect her? What does she struggle with, and why do you think she struggles this way?
8. Secrets are a running theme in The Shadow Lily. What do you think is the role of secrets, and evading the truth, in social life?
9. The novel’s title comes from a lily that grows in the shade. Reading this story, what do you believe is the significance of the title?
10. What was your response to the ending? Did you expect the case to have a different conclusion?US

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