This review is written with thanks to Harper and Netgalley for my copy of The Chestnut Man.

 

Blurb:

The heart-pounding debut from the creator of the hit Scandinavian television show The Killing.

If you find one, he’s already found you.

A psychopath is terrorizing Copenhagen.

His calling card is a “chestnut man”—a handmade doll made of matchsticks and two chestnuts—which he leaves at each bloody crime scene.

Examining the dolls, forensics makes a shocking discovery—a fingerprint belonging to a young girl, a government minister’s daughter who had been kidnapped and murdered a year ago.

A tragic coincidence—or something more twisted?

To save innocent lives, a pair of detectives must put aside their differences to piece together the Chestnut Man’s gruesome clues.

Because it’s clear that the madman is on a mission that is far from over.

And no one is safe.

 

Review

I’d heard lots of good things about The Chestnut Man before I started this buddy read with Kerry and Robyn, but I still wasn’t quite sure what to expect. I love Scandi Noir, and The Chestnut Man has several familiar features. It’s slightly slower paced than the thrillers I am used to reading, but this did not affect my enjoyment of the novel at all. It gives Sveistrup the opportunity to develop the characters in detail, and this helped me to understand the motivation for their actions and become more involved In the investigation.

Sveistrup’s descriptions of the surroundings make The Chestnut Man very atmospheric and I could not help but become wrapped up in what was happening. I could not tear my eyes away from the page and I always wanted to know more.Somr of the descriptions are slightly more graphic than I would have expected, but I loved this and the insight it gave me into the person the police were hunting.

The plot of The Chestnut Man is quite complex, as there are a few strands which only tie together when the direction of the story becomes clearer. I, and the rest of my book buddies, enjoyed the opportunity to theorise even if at times it did take me some time to get my head around what was going on.

There is a very surprising twist at the end of The Chestnut Man which has definitely left me thinking!

The Chestnut Man is available from Amazon.