The Eighth House (A murder, a mother, a haunting) - Linda Segtnan

The haunting story of a mother's search for a killer. I imagine myself as a nine year-old. A bell tolls inside me for her. It's a Friday, a warm day in May. She's gone to pick flowers. She lies in the grass with her face in the sun. She can hear the long whistle of a train echo across the fields. She's biked three miles from home, even though she's not supposed to go so far. She is going to die soon In the archives of the national library, a young researcher named Linda sees a nine year-old girl's face in the pages of a yellowed newspaper, and the seed of an obsession is planted in her mind. Birgitta Sivander was brutally murdered on a warm May night in 1948. The murderer was never found. Linda feels a deep connection to Birgitta, and in the months that follow she compulsively researches the case. All the while, a life is taking root inside Linda; she is to have a daughter of her own. As she grapples with the terror and wonder of motherhood, she gradually pieces together Birgitta's story, closing in on the possible killer. Driven to avenge the life of a lost child, ultimately Linda must find a way to lay to rest the violence of the past. Haunting and unputdownable, The Eighth House asks what it means to take a life, and to bring one into being.