Title: I’m Traveling Alone
Author: Samuel Bjork
Series: Holger Munch & Mia Kruger, #1
Published: December 2016, Corgi
Format: Paperback, 528 pages
Source: Personal copy
Summary:
When the body of a young
girl is found hanging from a tree, the only clue the police have is an
airline tag around her neck. It reads ‘I’m travelling alone’.
In
response, police investigator Holger Munch is immediately charged with
assembling a special homicide unit. But to complete the team, he must
track down his former partner, Mia Krüger – a brilliant but troubled
detective – who has retreated to a solitary island with plans to kill
herself.
Reviewing the file, Mia finds something new – a thin
line carved into the dead girl’s fingernail: the number 1. She knows
that this is only the beginning. To save other children from the same
fate, she must find a way to cast aside her own demons and stop this
murderer from becoming a serial killer.
My thoughts: I have been on such a Scandinavian crime fiction kick lately and this book certainly delivers on that front and more. I had had this book on my tbr for quite some time and was so excited when I saw that a few of my bookstagram friends were doing a buddy read for it…I immediately jumped on that!
This book, the first in a series, totally hooked me right from the start. It’s such a layered story and while there are a lot of moving parts to it, parts that might not seem connected at first, they all come together in the end in such a clever way. I was particularly fascinated with the inclusion of the cult element – that really had me scratching my head trying to figure out how it would factor in.
I loved the characters, particularly our two head detectives. The dynamics between them are so good and I enjoyed watching them in action. I think both Holger and Mia balance each other out and I am really looking forward to seeing how they continue to work together on future cases.
This book is dripping with tension all the way through. There are times that the case hits very close to home for our detectives and you can feel the fear and stress. I found I could not turn the pages fast enough and had to remind myself to breath. And the short chapters just lends to that frenetic pace.
I am looking forward to continuing with the series and am excited to be doing another buddy read for the second book. Sometimes it just makes for a more enjoyable reading experience knowing you will be discussing the book with friends right after reading it.
