A review by pomoevareads
Blue Notes by Anne Cathrine Bomann

adventurous challenging informative tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

“In 2018, the WHO designated prolonged grief, a disorder that can develop in complicated grief reactions, as a mental disorder. The diagnosis will take effect in Denmark in 2022.” This is pulled from the Aalborg University website in Denmark. 

It is this real news that Annette Cathrine Bomann’s newest novel Blue Notes is based on. Bomann has written a novel that is part character study and part slow burn medical thriller in which a new pill to treat prolonged grief is in human trials phase when a psychologist working on the research team discovers some skewed data that could ultimately endanger people taking the pill. The race is on to confirm these findings before the pill goes to pharmacies.

Originally published in Denmark in 2021 as Blå Toner, this near future novel builds solid characters while asking the question of whether this form of prolonged grief should be added as a psychological disorder. 

While the first 70 percent or so of the book is quite slowly paced, it does pick up in the remaining 30 percent. I appreciated that the ending was complicated and to be fair, true to what might happen in the real world. This wasn’t the type of medical thriller I had read before and if you come into expecting high suspense then you may be disappointed. I also found the parallels between the study and what was happening in the lives of the characters to be very interesting. 

This is definitely a book to get you thinking both about the very real possibilities of a pill being prescribed for prolonged grief at some point and also about the power held by some organizations. Fans of Empire of Pain might find this book particularly enlightening.

Thank you to @zgreads and @bookhugpress for an ARC in exchange for my honest opinions. Blue Notes is available February 22, 2024.