Blog Tour, Historical Fiction, Middle Grade Literature, Mystery

Blog Tour for The Night Raven by Johan Rundberg

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About the Book:
Title: The Night Raven (The Moonwind Mysteries)
Author: Johan Rundberg
Translator: A.A. Prime
Pub. Date: November 1, 2023

 

Beagles and Books is thrilled to be part of the blog tour for the upper middle grade novel The Night Raven published by Amazon Crossing Kids which aims to increase the diversity of children’s books in translation and encourage young reading from a range of cultural perspectives. Special thanks to the publisher and Barbara Fisch of Blue Slip Media for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Review:

It’s 1880 in Stockholm, Sweden. As long as she can remember, 12 year old Mika has lived at the Public Children’s House. Her days follow a consistent pattern until she answers the orphanage door in the middle of the night to find a young, boy hand her a newborn baby. His final words to Mika still ring in my ear-“The Dark Angel knows I’m the one who took her.”
 
Observant Mika gives a statement to the police with such detail that it attracts the attention of Detective Valdemar Hoff. After verifying her statement, Hoff brings Mika on a call to see if it connected to her late night visitor. Continually impressed with her perceptiveness, Hoff enlists Mika to help him investigate a murder that occurred on the same night the baby arrived.

With a dynamic main character and an intriguing plot, The Night Raven is an upper middle grade novel that is hard to put down. At only 181 pages, the fast-paced mystery goes quickly. From the moment I met Mika, I was rooting for her.  She is astute, compassionate, and resilient. While written in third person, Rundberg’s writing and Prime’s translation allow readers to really get to know Mika as a character. 
 
What I most admire about Mika is she acknowledges her good fortune considering what has happened to other orphans. This realization compels Mika to take action and convince Hoff to trust her. Having someone not only trust her but also thank her is a new concept to Mika making her confident about her future. While some plot events are tied up, there are still questions left unanswered. I eagerly await the translated The Queen of Thieves, the next book in the Moonwind Mystery series publishing in March 2024. 
 
 

Praise for The Night Raven!

★“This gripping, fast-paced mystery comes together well, with Mika’s deductions based firmly in logic and connections based in her own clear observations…A thrilling and thoughtful period murder mystery.”-Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

★“This English translation of Rundberg’s lively historical mystery…is something to celebrate…Joyous, funny, suspenseful, and serious—an unusual and winning combination for middle-grade readers. Let’s hope its three sequels appear in [A. A.] Prime’s English translation, too.” —The Horn Book (starred review)

“It’s a testament to the authors that none of the solutions comes easily — in any good mystery story, truth is a messy and painful business.”  
 —The New York Times Book Review
 

About the Author:

Johan Rundberg is an award-winning author of children’s books who lives in Stockholm. He has written picture books, early readers, and middle grade, including Kärlekspizzan, Knockad Romeo, and the series Häxknuten. In 2021, he was awarded Sweden’s most prestigious literary prize, the August Prize, in the children’s and YA category for Nattkorpen, the original edition of The Night Raven, which was first written in Swedish. Nattkorpen was also the winner of a Swedish Crimetime Award in the children’s and YA category. There are now four books in this series published in Sweden.

About the Translator:

A. A. Prime (Annie Prime) is an award-winning translator of Swedish literature. She was born in London and traveled the world studying a number of languages before settling in the English coastal town of Hastings. She now works full-time as a translator, specializing in the weird, witty, and wonderful world of children’s and young adult fiction. She holds an MA in translation from University College London and has published more than twenty books in the UK and US. In her free time, she can be found belly dancing, folk singing, horse riding, and sea swimming.

Published by lauramossa

I am an elementary reading specialist in Baltimore County. My goal is to build a community of readers at my school with both teachers and students. I am also privileged to be a member of #bookexcursion, a group of 12 educators from all across the country who read, share, review, and promote new #kidlit releases. Beagles and Books was created because in addition to books, I love my sweet beagles. Etta, a rescue from North Carolina joined our family in July 2010 and crossed the Rainbow Bridge in February 2020. Bella, a rescue from South Carolina became part of the family in October 2017.

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