The Nightmare

Det är sommar när en kvinna hittas död på en båt i Stockholms skärdgård. Hennes lungor är vattenfyllda och dödsorsaken är utan tvekan drunkning – men trots det finns det inget spår av vatten på hennes kläder eller på resten av hennes kropp. Kvinnan blir först idemntifererad som Penelope Fernandez, en känd fredsaktivist, men det upptäcks smart att det är hennes yngre syster. Kriminalkommissarie Joona Linna inser snart att det kan betyda att Penelope och hennes pojkvän (som är ägare till båten) Björn fortfarande befinner sig vid liv på någon av skärgårdens öar.

Dagen efter Penelopes syster hittas finner man ISPs generaldirektör död i en snara från taket. Det verkar som ett vanligt självmord innan det show more visar sig att Penelope Fernandezs pojkvän Björn tycks ha skickat ett fotografi till generaldirektören samma dag som han hängde sig – och antagligen samma dag som Viola Fernandez mördades på Björns fritidsbåt.

Hur hänger båtmordet ihop med generaldirektörens självmord? Joona Linna och hans kollegor finner sig själva snart på ett farligt spår som leder fram till en hemlighet som är mycket större än något de någonsin stött på förut.

Ännu en gång överträffar Lars Kepler mina förväntningar. Innan jag började läsa denna bok var jag tveksam. Den såg så tråkig ut och jag frågade mig själv om det inte gick att hoppa över boken för att börja på nästa. Kanske kunde jag komma tillbaka till den här senare. Jag är glad att jag bestämde mig för att det vore rätt dumt. För jag hade nästan lika svårt att lägga ifrån mig denna bok som med Hypnotisören.

Alla karaktärer är komplexa och realistiska – en del av karaktärerna är lika vidriga som man tyvärr vet att många faktiskt är. Det känns skönt. En del karaktärer är liksom i gråzonen och man gillar dem inte men de är intressanta karaktärer och ger definitivt något till själva handlingen.

Trots det kändes det som jag var tvungen att kämpa igenom de sista femtio sidorna; det var inte det att de var dåliga men lösningen fanns där och man väntade bara på att skurken skulle hamna bakom lås och bom. På det sättet kändes det väldigt utdraget vilket gjorde att jag hade svårt att fokusera.

Det kändes inte lika mycket i första boken men i denna bok har jag insett att Joona Linna är definitivt en Mary Sue. Han kan allt. Han vet allt. Han har aldrig fel. Det är irriterande med honom med tanke på att de andra karaktärerna är så välskrivna. Han känns tvådimensionell och man blir snabbt trött på att han bara vet. Det vore väl en sak om han hade superkrafter eller något men det verkar inte som det. Joona har många bra stunder men kom igen, ingen är så jävla bra. Ge mannen lite brister. show less

Detective Inspector Joona Linna is called in on two very puzzling cases. In the first, the body of a young woman is found on a drifting yacht. Despite being found lying on a bed in dry clothes, the cause of death is discovered to be drowning. Her sister, a well-known activist is also missing along with her boyfriend. The second concerns the possible suicide by hanging of a high-level bureaucrat. As Linna investigates, it becomes clear to him that these two cases are connected not only to each other but to illegal arms sales.

The Nightmare by Swedish author Lars Kepler is the second book in the Joona Linna series. At approximately 500 pages, it is quite long and, admittedly, it took me a while to get into the story but, once I did, I was show more hooked. It is well-written although, at times, the dialogue seems stilted which I suspect is down to the translation. The short chapters and quick switches between plot lines keeps the tension high. But perhaps what makes this book such a compelling read and the title so appropriate is not only the actions of the killer or the cold calculating cruelty of the man behind the scenes but because it is too easy to believe the story given some of the actions of governments today regarding arms sales to authoritarian regimes that are used to slaughter thousands of innocents.

Thanks to Netgalley and Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review show less

Really compelling mystery with a really strong ending (except for the very last paragraph, which was a weird change in tone). I liked this sequel more than book one, particularly because Joona plays a bigger role in this one and I like him as a character. As soon as I finished this book, I went to the library to get book three. Compared to other mysteries, this one definitely keeps me intrigued and I actually care about the characters when they're put in harm's way.

Some things that keep this from being a full five stars are
1) in parts of Penelope's storyline, it didn't seem like the people she interacted with acted like real people. Like when Bjorn and her are on the run and clearly in trouble, everyone they come across acts horrible show more to them even though they're clearly in need, which just didn't seem true to me, especially with how outlandishly terrible they behave
2) The stakes of the plot are super high and involve a lot of important people and I personally like mysteries that are a bit smaller scale because they seem more grounded to me.

But otherwise, this was really good and I highly recommend this series, at least these two books. These authors know how to right tension and rising action so well that I just fly through these books, even though they are quite long. Definitely give this series a shot if you're thinking about it. As I said, I've already gotten book three (The Fire Witness) from the library and plan to read it really soon. I would love to be caught up with this series when the English translation of the next book comes out in January so let's see how quickly I can read these next books! show less

This is a nonstop crime investigation as Joona Linda is determined to locate a missing woman and find a killer. It's almost comical how single-minded Joona is, to the point that he just walks away from people as he thinks about the case. No one has authority over him, but it's entertaining to have Joona be able to follow absurd-sounding solutions rather than being shot down by an overbearing supervisor.
There are at least three themes being pursued and the action alternates among them. I got impatient with the breaks in the search for the missing woman, but kept hoping the strands would come together in a meaningful way. I got my wish as her disappearance is tied to the sale of Swedish weapons to Darfur, Africa, and finding her will show more result in stopping the sale.
The audio version is wonderfully narrated by Saul Reichlin. His presentation adds to the excitement of the action and his accents made the characters more realistic. show less

The Nightmare:

This is a skilful Scandinavian police procedural, which deftly weaves personal peril with concerns of global significance and features a credible and interesting central detective. It's very much in the tradition of the best Wallander or Martin Beck mysteries, using what starts as a small investigation to shine a light on a much bigger picture.

The result is a long, complex and rewarding novel which I enjoyed far more than the author's previous book, The Hypnotist, and which you don't need to read first if you fancy picking up The Nightmare.

The title, hype and cover design suggest that The Nightmare might be some kind of slasher serial killer thriller. That's completely misleading. Instead it starts with a suicide, then a show more murder attempt and a couple fleeing from a determined killer. The action scenes don't dominate, however; instead the book is plot- and character-driven, and it knits together a raft of fascinating people and concepts.

(I go into more detail about the plot and characters over at:
http://murdermayhemandmore.wordpress.com/2014/12/20/the-nightmare-the-new-style-... )

The Nightmare runs to 500 pages, and it starts fairly slowly, but it so gripped me that I read it in one straight sitting, all through the night.

It isn't perfect, however. One of the encounters with a sick celebrity on his island hideaway comes over as just plain false, while the finale veered into James Bond territory somewhat. In places the translation stumbles; the choice of English word ain’t great and you can lose the meaning of the text and have to back-track. I wouldn't make any claim for great originality, either; most of these themes have been explored before (OK, maybe not the insomniac virtuoso and his method of going to sleep!)

But some of the characters are wonderful creations (look out for the young redhead: she's great), and plot kept me turning the pages through to its typically oblique Scandinavian end. Not quite Jo Nesbo, but well worth your while.

8/10 show less

More on Chill and read


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 show more 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. show less

Like "The Hypnotist" (Joona Linna #1), "The Nightmare" has a lot of potential and certainly has its gripping, taut moments. But for the most part it's a little disjointed. Again, I wonder if there's something lost in translation that prevents this series from being as good as I think it ought to be.

In this second book in the Joona Linna series, the death of a young woman on an abandoned boat leads to suspicions of a much greater evil at large, involving international arms dealers and prominent politicians. As the number of deaths increase, Joona and his team struggle to find the connection -- if there is one.

When it is finally revealed who is behind all the deaths, it's nothing exciting. The perpetrator's cruelty is horrifying, but the show more perpetrator himself is nothing impressive. I finished the book feeling satisfied but not thrilled. And I really wanted to be thrilled. show less