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Release date: January 14, 2020

Publisher: Knopf

Genre: Mystery/Thriller

Blurb:

Detective Joona Linna is finishing out a sentence at Kumla prison for assaulting an officer in the course of his last investigation when he is summoned to a meeting with the Swedish Prime Minister. The Foreign Minister has been brutally murdered. There’s a chance more political figures could be targeted. The police need Linna to find the killer and neutralize the threat, so he’s granted a temporary release from prison. But when another murder occurs, Linna realizes he’s dealing with something far more complex, and far more terrifying, than anyone imagined. As the body count grows, Linna begins to understand that he can’t do this alone and he reaches out to Saga Bauer, the young Security Police detective, for help. Now, together, the two race against time to unravel the killer’s intricate plan before he can take his ultimate revenge.

Review:

While this is the sixth book in a series you definitely don’t have to start with the first book in order to enjoy this, but I do think that you will better appreciate the characterization and how much these characters have grown if you’ve read at least a couple of them. I jumped in back at The Sandman and think this is a great starting point if you don’t have the time or inclination to start all the way back at book one. Whatever you do decide to do though, this is one gritty series that shouldn’t be missed, especially if you like your thrillers on the super dark side.

One of the main things that keeps me glued to a thriller is when the pacing is well done and Kepler has that nailed once again. These books are long and sometimes I get intimidated, until I actually start and remember that between a sharp, crisp writing style, short chapters and an always intriguing case, the pages truly fly by.

I do want to point out again that this book (as well as the others I’ve read in the series) is extremely violent, shocking and disturbing. It’s definitely not one for anyone that doesn’t like bold writing, things are creepy and tense from the start and this is definitely not for anyone squeamish. BUT if you can handle that, this is excellent, seriously top notch crime fiction that’s not to be missed.

Overall rating: 4/5

Thanks to the publisher for my review copy.