Publisher: Harvill Secker
Published: April 14, 2016
Source: Personal copy
Summary:
The most terrifying thriller you’ll read this year
It starts with just one body – the hands bound, the skin covered in marks.
Detective Superintendent Jeanette Kihlberg is determined to find out who is responsible, despite opposition from her superiors. When two more bodies are found, it becomes clear that she is hunting a serial killer.
With her career on the line, she turns to psychotherapist Sofia Zetterlund. Together, they uncover a chain of shocking events that began decades ago – but will it lead them to the murderer before someone else dies?
My thoughts:
I’ve had this book sitting on my shelf since I picked it up while in London back in 2016. I happened across a copy of the book – an Advanced Readers Copy, no less – in a used bookstore and grabbed it! I knew I wanted to read it, but the book it huge and I knew I would need to invest some time into it. Luckily, a group of friends picked this one to read during #NordicNoirNovember and I jumped at the chance to read along with them. Of course, I fell behind, but I did eventually finish it and I loved it! Now I’m kicking myself for waiting so long to pick this one up!
This book is dark, disturbing and complex! I’ve read some other #NordicNoirs that are equally disturbing so I wasn’t too put off, but I definitely wouldn’t pick this one up as your first foray into the genre. That being said, if you have read in this genre and don’t mind the dark and disturbing, then definitely give this one a go…it’s one I will certainly be rereading because I know I missed things the first time around.
This book is actually three books in one – when it was originally written, it was a trilogy but when it was translated, they decided to combine it into one book, therefore making it one giant volume! It’s a book you really need to read in large chunks so as to get into the rhythm of the story. And once I did, I found myself completely captivated by what was going on. It’s part procedural, part psychological and looks at mental health and emotional trauma.
There were some major revelations throughout that totally floored me and made me wonder what was going on. This just hooked me further but also had me questioning all the I had read prior and made me wonder what was going to come next. There were times even I was disturbed by all that was going on, but not enough to put the book down.
I absolutely loved this one and know it will be a book I will be thinking about for quite some time. It was addicting, dark and twisted – just how I love my crime fiction!
