The Chestnut Man

By Søren Sveistrup

Published by Penguin Books

What it’s about?

Autumn in Copenhagen and a woman is found murdered with one of her hands cut off. Above her hangs a chestnut man. When the doll is examined, forensics discover a fingerprint belong to the daughter of a politician, a young girl that was kidnapped and murdered a year before.

Naia Thulin is a lead detective on the murder squad. She teams up with Mark Hess, who has been pushed out of Europol and is waiting to be recall. The unlikely partnership starts an investigation that soon heads in some unexpected and gruesome directions.

What I think:

There was a real bookstagram buzz about this highly anticipated novel by the writer of The Killing. I teamed up with other readers for an Insta readalong for Nordic Noir November.

This is a long novel – 500 pages. And the autumn setting made it the perfect November read.

This a clever and complicated thriller. There are lots of avenues to be investigated. The detectives desperately investigate the connection between the murders and Rosa Hartung, the Minister for Social Affair.

The relationships between Thulin and Hess and the rest of their team, develop throughout the novel and I found the detectives more engaging than other books of this genre.

The finale of this book is exciting and gruesome. There are some fantastic twists that keep you guessing right until the end.

I really enjoyed this book – it’s a great thriller. There is suspense and tension throughout and a really satisfying and somewhat harrowing conclusion. It was great reading along with other people and hearing their opinions.

Hunt for The Chestnut Man at:

Waterstone’s: click here

Amazon.co.uk: click here