Stalker by Lars Kepler Book Review
Stalker by Lars Kepler Book Review
The lowdown from Goodreads
Publication Date February 5th, 2019
The Swedish National Crime Unit receives a video of a young woman in her home, clearly unaware that she’s being watched. Soon after the tape is received, the woman’s body is found horrifically mutilated. With the arrival of the next, similar video, the police understand that the killer is toying with them, warning of a new victim, knowing there’s nothing they can do.
Detective Margot Silverman is put in charge of the investigation, and soon asks Detective Joona Linna for help. Linna, in turn, recruits Erik Maria Bark, the hypnotist and expert in trauma, with whom Linna’s worked before. Bark is leery of forcing people to give up their secrets. But this time, Bark is the one hiding things.
Years before, he had put a man away for an eerily similar crime, and now he’s beginning to think that an innocent man may be behind bars–and a serial killer still on the loose. . .
Stalker by Lars Kepler Book Review
I first heard about Lars Kepler when I attended a book signing with Sarah. While on the book tour for The Sandman, the authors stopped in Portland. I thoroughly enjoyed meeting them & became intrigued by their writing style. At the signing, I learned they each write portions of the manuscript and then email them to one another for editing. I found this to be a really creative way of co-writing. Getting further background on the entity that is Lars Kepler was very interesting as well. Even though he is not a “real” person, the authors feel a presence that guides & at times steer the writing. I found this to be very cool & I’ve been looking forward to reading one of their books for a while.
Enthralling, Dark & Suspenseful
As soon as Stalker arrived at the house, I snatched it up. First I have to say this is a longer book. To be honest, it’s the longest book I’ve ever read. Although it’s a commitment, I sped through it. As soon as I finished, I wanted to read more.
Stalker is ripe with tension, twists & turns. Throughout the story, I’m intrigued, captivated & on the edge of my seat. It’s hard to find a stopping point in Stalker because you just want to keep reading. The storyline plays out masterfully. I have no idea what’s coming next.
Read Stalker as a Stand Alone but Prepare to Fall in Love with The Series
Even though Stalker is part of the Joona Linda series, I read this book as a stand alone. Despite not having a full background of the characters, I didn’t feel lost in the story. Everything made sense. Speaking of characters, Kepler knows how to write them. Initially, I have impressions of certain characters & throughout the story, my views shift. Not just once, but several times. I like this because it keeps me engaged.
THE VERDICT
I am Really Into This book! Lars Kepler paints a gritty, dark & explicit thrill ride. The great thing is it’s not too dark. I’m now a huge Lars Kepler fan & can’t wait to read the remainder of the Joona Linda series. Read Stalker if you’re looking for a darker murder mystery.
Special thanks to Lars Kepler & Knopf for providing my copy in exchange for an honest & fair review. We are thrilled to be a part of the Stalker by Lars Kepler Blog Tour.
Check out Sarah’s review for The Sandman by Lars Kepler.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR: LARS KEPLER
LARS KEPLER is the pseudonym of the critically acclaimed husband and wife team Alexandra Coelho Ahndoril and Alexander Ahndoril. Their number one internationally bestselling Joona Linna series has sold more than twelve million copies in forty languages. The Ahndorils were both established writers before they adopted the pen name Lars Kepler and have each published several acclaimed novels. They live in Stockholm, Sweden. Translated by Neil Smith.
