Beyond All Reasonable Doubt: A Novel

by Malin Persson Giolito Narrated by Saskia Maarleveld

Overview

From the award-winning author of*Quicksand, a gripping legal thriller that follows one woman's conflicted efforts to overturn what may be a wrongful conviction.*

I'm giving you a chance to achieve every lawyer's dream, said Sophia Weber's old professor. Freeing an innocent man.*

Thirteen years ago, a fifteen-year-old girl was murdered. Doctor Stig Ahlin was sentenced to life in prison. But no one has forgotten the brutal crime. Ahlin is known as one of the most ruthless criminals.

When Sophia Weber discovers critical flaws in the murder investigation, she decides to help Ahlin. But Sophia's doing her utmost to get her client exonerated arouses many people's disgust. And the more she learns, the more difficult her job becomes. What kind of man is her client really? What has he done? And will she ever know the truth?

Editorial Reviews

AUGUST 2019 - AudioFile

Narrator Saskia Maarleveld breathes life into the conflicted soul of defense attorney Sophia Weber as she takes on the case of Dr. Stig Ahlin, who has been convicted and imprisoned for the murder of a 15-year-old girl. Maarleveld carefully reveals Weber’s thought processes. Should she let Ahlin serve his time or accept his claim of innocence and try to get him off? The more she digs, the more concerned she becomes about a flawed criminal investigation. In a tone of cold intensity and increasing dread, Maarleveld presents the brutality of the crime and Weber’s subsequent reinvestigation, which could set Ahlin free. The award-winning author of QUICKSAND creates another gripping legal thriller and another captivating character begging for further adventures. R.O. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine

Publishers Weekly

★ 04/01/2019

In this searing legal thriller from Giolito (Quicksand), law professor Hans Segerstad persuades Stockholm defense attorney Sophia Weber, a former student, to try to prove the innocence of Stig Ahlin, a medical researcher. Ahlin was convicted 13 years earlier in 1998 for the murder of 15-year-old Katrin Björk, whose body was found by police in her parents’ house after responding to neighbors’ complaints about the girl’s barking dog. Giotti builds tension by alternating between Sophia’s search for evidence to free Ahlin and flashbacks to the original police investigation. Allegations that Ahlin molested his own daughter complicate Sophia’s efforts to get a retrial. This meticulously crafted novel proves Segerstad’s bitterly ironic claim made at the time he asks Sophia to take on the case: “How could Stig Ahlin be innocent? Our police always tell the truth, our prosecutors are never careless, and the opinions of our judges never fail. Everything is perfect in our country.” Fans of Nordic noir won’t want to miss this one. (June)

From the Publisher

[A] searing legal thriller…meticulously crafted…Fans of Nordic noir won’t want to miss this one.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Intriguing…keep[s] the reader guessing right up to the two very different twists that make for a gut-punching finale…[an] insightful look at the subtle variations of guilt…[a] smart, well-written legal and procedural drama.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“Chilling and complex. The truth in this story is a cracked mirror, changing at every angle. Giolito masterfully plumbs the nature of guilt or innocence until no character, nor even the reader, is left unscathed.” —Joanna Schaffhausen, author of The Vanishing Season

“As a top lawyer, Malin Persson Giolito knows the law. And as a brilliant author, she knows how to write a dark, incredibly suspenseful, and unputdownable novel!” —Helene Tursten, author of Detective Inspector Huss

“Another breathtaking novel from Malin Persson Giolito! Beyond All Reasonable Doubt masterfully questions the role media and public opinion play in court. A deeply moving suspense novel that zeroes in on humanity’s deepest flaws.” —Viveca Sten, author of In the Heat of the Moment

Praise for Quicksand:

“This is the evolution of Scandinavian crime, in more ways than one.” —Fredrik Backman, author of A Man Called Ove

“A remarkable new novel...[Giolito] writes with exceptional skill...[Quicksand is] always smart and engrossing...Giolito keeps us guessing a long time and the outcome, when it arrives, is just as it should be.” —Washington Post

“[Quicksand] provides a razor-sharp view of modern Sweden and its criminal justice system, yet is a tonic for readers who have had enough of the brooding, often-bloody 'Scandi-crime' that has been so popular in recent years.” —NPR, Best Books of 2017

AUGUST 2019 - AudioFile

Narrator Saskia Maarleveld breathes life into the conflicted soul of defense attorney Sophia Weber as she takes on the case of Dr. Stig Ahlin, who has been convicted and imprisoned for the murder of a 15-year-old girl. Maarleveld carefully reveals Weber’s thought processes. Should she let Ahlin serve his time or accept his claim of innocence and try to get him off? The more she digs, the more concerned she becomes about a flawed criminal investigation. In a tone of cold intensity and increasing dread, Maarleveld presents the brutality of the crime and Weber’s subsequent reinvestigation, which could set Ahlin free. The award-winning author of QUICKSAND creates another gripping legal thriller and another captivating character begging for further adventures. R.O. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine

Kirkus Reviews

★ 2019-03-18
A lawyer scrutinizes the investigation and trial that imprisoned a scientist for murdering a teen in this intriguing legal thriller.

The victim carefully prepares herself and a meal, but the lover's visit goes terribly wrong, and 15-year-old Katrin Björk is found beaten to death in her house after her terrified dog barks so much that the neighbors call the police. Stig Ahlin, the research scientist convicted of the murder, has been in jail for 13 years when lawyer Sophia Weber is asked to revisit the case and petition for a new trial. Persson Giolito (Quicksand, 2016), a retired Swedish lawyer, toggles between two time periods to give background on Katrin and Stig and the police investigation of the murder. Because Stig admits he was sleeping with Katrin and is also being investigated for allegedly abusing his daughter, Chief Inspector Bertil Lundberg—who's about to become a father—has little doubt about his guilt and proceeds accordingly. The press dubs him Professor Death. In the novel's present, Sophia pieces together a vital flaw in the investigation and prosecution involving questionable evidence from a too-helpful forensic dentist. Something clicks for her about the dog at the crime scene. A journalist offers another angle on the past. Katrin morphs from model student to bad seed. Stig has a thing for prostitutes and biting. The author shows unusual restraint in keeping violence offstage while keeping the reader guessing right up to the two very different twists that make for a gut-punching finale. Sophia was featured in a previous novel along with her irascible grandfather and a love interest in one DI Adam Sahla, who resurfaces here. An ongoing series would be welcome given the author's legal savvy, well-drawn characters, and insightful look at the subtle variations of guilt.

No courtroom fireworks but smart, well-written legal and procedural drama.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940169298796
Publisher:	Penguin Random House
Publication date:	06/04/2019
Edition description:	Unabridged

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