I am delighted to welcome The Chestnut Man to the blog today. What better than to start the new year with a good piece of Scandi Noir? Written by the author, Søren Sveistrup, who wrote The Killing, an international and global TV phenomena, this debut novel has a great pedigree.
One blustery October morning in a quiet suburb of
Copenhagen, the police make a terrible discovery. A young woman is found
brutally murdered in a playground and one of her hands is missing. Above her
hangs a small doll made of chestnuts.
Ambitious young detective Naia Thulin is assigned the case.
Her partner, Mark Hess, is a burned-out investigator who's just been kicked out
of Europol. They soon discover a mysterious piece of evidence on the chestnut
man - evidence connecting it to a girl who went missing a year earlier and is
presumed dead - the daughter of politician Rosa Hartung.
The man who confessed to her murder is behind bars and the
case is long since closed.
Soon afterwards, another woman is found murdered, along with
another chestnut man. Thulin and Hess suspect that there's a connection between
the Hartung case, the murdered women and a killer who is spreading fear
throughout the country. But what is it?
Thulin and Hess are racing against the clock, because it's
clear that the murderer is on a mission that is far from over . . .
My Thoughts
This is a complicated plotline which takes you deep inside the troubled minds of some fascinating characters. At times, I felt that it was a little too horrific for me but those scenes apart, I found the psychological ins and outs of the storyline to be a compulsive read. I particularly liked the style of writing with its telling details and vividly drawn settings. It feels to have a cinematic quality. The chapters are all short snatches of the action and I would say that this is a novel in which the action takes centre stage. Character development is there but it is not handed to you on a plate. The reader has to look for the clues within the writing.
As a debut novel, it is an assured piece of writing. I found the character of Hess to be a particular favourite. He is an intriguing mix but you can sense that his inquisitorial radar is spot on. He is intuitive, an outsider and yet at the same time has a vulnerable side which has only just begun to be explored in this novel. I would love to read more featuring him. This is a dark tale with some harrowing scenes and chilling psychology at work. Nevertheless, it is full of tension and keeps you guessing right up to the end.
In short: A great piece of Scandi Noir full of chilling moments and dark secrets.
About the Author
Søren Sveistrup is an internationally acclaimed scriptwriter
of the Danish television phenomenon The Killing which won various international
awards and sold in more than a hundred countries.the Danish television phenomenon
Søren Sveistrup (born 1968) holds a master of Literature and
History from the University of Copenhagen and has graduated as script writer
from the Danish Film School.
Book Links: Goodread | Amazon UK
Thanks to Jenny Platt of Penguin Random House ( Michael Joseph) for a copy of the book and a place on the tour.
Check out the rest of the tour!
Comments
Post a Comment