Georgia Kostopoulou
I have started a bit strangely with this series, but I have come to love Detective Inspector Joona Linna and his way of thinking! The first book I read, was “The Sandman” which is actually the fourth installment in the series. I did love it, so I went back to read the rest! The first installment was “The Hypnotist” which makes the introduction of the Detective Inspector and is quite a read! Now, I’ve just finished the second installment, “The Nightmare” and I want to talk to you about this one!
A drowned young woman is discovered on an abandoned pleasure boat drifting by the Stockholm archipelago. As a twist of fate, her clothes are dry, without any trace of sea water, while her collarbone has a strange mark. The very next day, a man is found dead, hanging from a lamp hook inside his apartment. The man’s name is Carl Palmcrona and he is Director general of the Inspectorate for Strategic Products (ISP). He is the one that makes decisions about Swedish arms exports.
Is there even a connection between the two incidents? Detective Inspector Joona Linna is trying to solve the two mysteries and understand what pieces them together and what brings them apart. The one looks like a clear murder case, while the other one is a plain suicide. But something is really wrong with both of them. Why was the young woman dressed after murdered? Why would such a powerful and wealthy man commit suicide?
This story focuses on the arms business, the Swedish one in this case, and all the dangerous games that people involved can play. Being in an important position, making decisions that would affect hundreds, thousands of lives across the planet isn’t easy. Greediness though can make a good persuading game and you might not even understand the length of your involvement until it;s too late. Furthermore, more often than else, the people involved in such activities are ruthless criminals, caring only about profit and nothing else. Which leads us to what we have here. An interesting thriller!
The plot is amazing. It involves so many different aspects and different people, no one would ever think could be part of the same story. Music is tightly connected to the story, giving a different turn to the name of the famous Italian violinist, Niccolò Paganini. Criminal contracts that cannot be broken, that will not cease to exist even if one of the signing parties is dead, now bare the musician’s name and are signed under the spell of his music.
I really enjoyed Joona Linna in this story. His smart mind has come to life and has shown what can be hidden and what can be revealed and that we should look really hard to find all the missing pieces. He is an amazing character and one of my favorite detectives!
Thank you to NetGalley for an advance copy of this book. The views expressed are my personal and honest opinion.
About the author:
Lars Kepler is the pseudonym of critically acclaimed husband and wife team Alexander Ahndoril and Alexandra Coelho Ahndoril, authors of the No. 1 internationally bestselling Joona Linna series. With six installments to date, the series has sold twelve million copies in 40 languages. The Ahndorils were both established writers before they adopted the pen name Lars Kepler, and have each published several acclaimed novels.
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