#BlogTour ‘The Spider’ by Lars Kepler

About the book…

Three years ago, Saga Bauer received a postcard with a threatening text about a gun with nine white bullets – one of which is waiting for Detective Joona Linna. But time passed and the threat faded.

Until now.

A sack with a decomposed body is found tied to a tree in the forest. A milky white bullet casing is found at the murder scene. And soon the police are sent complicated riddles from the killer – a chance to stop further murders.

Joona Linna and Saga Bauer must fight side by side to solve the puzzle and save each victim before it’s too late. But the violent hunt becomes increasingly desperate.

Maybe this serial killer is unstoppable.
Maybe they’re already caught in the web . . .

My thanks to Tracy Fenton at Compulsive Readers and publishers Zaffre Books for my gifted review copy of ‘‘The Spider’ by Lars Kepler which is out from Zaffre books in May!

This is the 9th in the worldwide bestselling Killer Instinct series-it links to 2 previous volumes, but can absolutely be read as a stand alone.

Warning-this is not for the faint of heart, the dice are rolled from the prologue where an eerie and atmospheric murder sets the tone for a sadistic and brutal series of killings.

Here, we find Joona and his partner Valeria in a relationship laden with secrets, Joona is using opium to help him recover from the trauma of past cases whilst being able to focus on what the cases he is being handed at work. As a recovering drug addict, Valeria is highly unlikely to want to continue a relationship with Europe’s most successful serial killer hunter, and yet, in spite of how precious Joona’s connection is with Valeria, he cannot bring himself to give it up.It points to the constant and ongoing stressors of his job, dealing with the most evil and twisted minds in Sweden. The conflict bubbles away under the surface, adding to the tension already implicit from a too-close-to-home murder which kicks off The Spider investigation.

Joona’s opposite number, Saga, is currently on administrative leave from the police following her own personal, and professional trauma, leaving her working as a private detective for hire , for the odious and criminally deviant Henry.As Joona punishes himself with his about to implode relationship, Saga punishes herself physically and mentally. A very unhealthy relationship with an anaesthetist had me genuinely twisted in knots hoping she would use the fire she displays at work to bring it to an end. At work, she is instinctive, fearless and thorough-if not always honest about her methodology.

She is brought back into the police to support an investigation into the disappearance of a mutual acquaintance, and the clue which has been left behind implies a link back to their toughest adversary, and a link of 9 white bullets-one for each of the murders that will be their most brutal and challenging investigation to date. There is just one problem-their antagonist, and his accomplices, are either dead or securely locked away. (trying not to give away any spoilers here!)

So in the absence of an identifiable target, but with a clear link to crimes of the past, how can they begin to identify not only the people whose bodies are destined to take a bullet, and, more importantly, how can Joona and Saga stop them, when the end goal is Joona’s name on the last bullet?

This is a thrilling , tense and gory novel, where you feel Joona, Saga and their team are trauma bonded by their experiences. The ones who are able to maintain relationships outside their jobs are still at risk from it being ended in a violent death, one which will see their professional triumphs superceded by their connection with the murderer. This is why, I think, you are over half way through the book before the killer is given the moniker The Spider, and it’s not by either the police or the media. It allows the reader to not only feel part of the team as they work towards this point in profiling the killer, it makes the losses that they have been through all the more human, wrenching and painful. It is their names and the breaking of the news to the relatives that stays with you, the violence and methodology is not used to shock as such, it’s to illustrate the evil to which people will stoop when they believe that they are in the right.

It’s very dark, and a great example of Scandinavian noir, the way that it is written really brings Saga and Joona to life whilst balancing the complex aspect of detailing police work and forensic investigations. The plot and characterisation dovetails so neatly, I felt it was an incredibly balanced work that looks deep into the abyss of the human soul, whilst illuminating those who fight the monsters you might find there.

About the author…

Lars Kepler is a No.1 bestselling international sensation, whose Joona Linna thrillers have sold more than 12 million copies in 40 languages. The first book in the series, The Hypnotist, was selected for the Richard and Judy Book Club and the most recent, Stalker, went straight to No.1 in Sweden, Norway, Holland and Slovakia.

Lars Kepler is the pseudonym for writing duo Alexander Ahndoril and Alexandra Coelho Ahndoril. They live with their family in Sweden.

Links-http://www.larskepler.com/

Twitter @Tr4cyF3nt0n @ZaffreBooks