Review: The Chosen by Kristina Ohlsson

Title:The Chosen

Author:Kristina Ohlsson

Series:Fredrika Bergman & Alex Recht, #5

Published:December 2016, Atria/Emily Bestler Books

Format:Paperback, 496 pages

Source:Publicist

In her phenomenal #1
international bestseller—fifth in the critically acclaimed and
award-winning Fredrika Bergman series—“one of Sweden’s best younger
writers” (Los Angeles Times Magazine) delivers a tense, atmospheric mystery featuring an enigmatic killer rooted in folklore.

On
a cold winter’s day, a pre-school teacher is shot to death in front of
parents and children at the Jewish Congregation in Stockholm. Just a few
hours later, two Jewish boys go missing on their way to tennis
practice, and an unexpected blizzard destroys any trace of the
perpetrator.

Investigative analyst Fredrika Bergman and police
superintendent Alex Recht face their toughest challenge ever on the hunt
for a killer as merciless as he is effective. As they struggle to pin
down a lead, someone or something called the Paper Boy—a mysterious old
Israeli legend of a nighttime killer—keeps popping up in the police
investigation. But who was the Paper Boy really? And how could he have
resurfaced in Stockholm? It is up to Fredrika to track down the elusive
murderer before he claims his next victim.

My thoughts:This is the first book I’ve read by Kristina Ohlsson and I think I have a new favorite author to add to my list!!! This is also the 5th book in her Fredika Bergman and Alex Recht series and while I don’t usually like to jump into the series, especially at book five, I decided I would give it a shot and I am so glad I did! In fact, I liked this book and the characters so much, that as soon as I finished it, I went ahead and ordered the first four books!!!

This book is so complex and intriguing…right from the start it hooks you and never really lets go. I loved the way it was told. Each section begins with a part of the conclusion – and it’s very vague – you aren’t given names, so you aren’t quite sure exactly who is involved, but as the story continues, little clues are given so that it all comes together and you start to make guesses, right or wrong. These small sections of the conclusion are just that – very brief, but oh so powerful and make you want to jump ahead, but to do so would ruin the whole impact. 

While I know that had I read the earlier books I would have known some of the backstory to the main characters – that of Fredika and Alex, and possibly even Peder and Eden, I never really felt that lost. Kristina gives just enough background to feel like you get to know these characters, though, I am definitely anxious to go back to the beginning to meet them properly!

This book is so cleverly written – it‘s complex and tightly woven. Trust me when I say, you will want to carve out huge chunks of time to read it – as once you start, you will have a hard time putting it down. In fact, I devoured this book in two days – something I haven’t done in a while…and never once did I feel that reading this book, at close to five hundred pages, was a chore…even despite the heaviness of the subject at times – the missing children, the folklore of the Paper Boy, the terrorism angle.

This was a thrilling read and I am looking forward to spending more time with Fredrika Bergman and Alex Recht…hopefully my books arrive soon!!! And hopefully Kristina Ohlsson continues to write more in this series!

Books in this series:

1. Unwanted
2. Silenced
3. The Disappeared
4. Hostage
5. The Chosen