INTERNATIONAL BEST SELLER • “A nonstop roller coaster of suspense, taking us deep into the hearts and minds of perfectly realized characters. And, oh, what a villain! … The definition of a one-sitting read!” —Jeffery Deaver, New York Times best-selling author of The Goodbye Man Sometimes the past won’t stay buried.All across Europe, the most ruthless criminals are suffering gruesome deaths. At … ruthless criminals are suffering gruesome deaths. At first, it seems coincidental that their underworld affiliations are finally catching up to them. But when two of the victims are found to have disturbing connections to Detective Joona Linna, it becomes clear that there’s a single killer at work. Still, police are reluctant to launch an investigation. If a mysterious vigilante is making their jobs easier, why stand in his way? Joona, however, is convinced this is no
would-be hero. These deaths serve a much darker purpose.
Desperate for help, Joona turns to Saga Bauer. If his hunch is correct, she’s one of the few people who stands a chance at bringing this criminal mastermind down. But Saga is fighting her own demons—and the killer knows just how to use them to his advantage. He continues to strike with impunity, and no one, it seems, is safe. When the killer begins targeting those closest to Saga and Joona, it appears more and more likely that Joona has been right all along, and that tracking down the person responsible will force him to confront a ghost from his past … the most terrifying villain he’s ever had to face.
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One of the best thrillers of the year! Kepler treats us readers to a nonstop roller coaster of suspense, taking us deep into the hearts and minds of perfectly realized characters. And, oh, what a villain! Lazarus is the definition of a one-sitting read!
From the opening line, Kepler sets an ominous tone, cold and heavy with a taught sense of anticipation that will keep readers flying through the pages despite their fear of what might come next. Absolutely terrifying and beautifully written. I’m a fan for life!
This was my first book by Lars Kepler, a Swedish husband and wife duo writing Joona Linna Nordic noir thriller series under a common pen name. I received a free review copy from NetGalley and ended up starting with book seven of the immensely popular series, but I gave it a go nonetheless.
Lazarus wasn’t necessarily the best book to start with, as it wasn’t a stand-alone like some thrillers are, where action matters more than the characters’ personal lives. Every character came with a heavy baggage I knew nothing about, likely accumulated through several books already. Most importantly, the old emotional and psychological scars of the main character, Joona Linna, surface when the severed head of his late wife is found in a freezer of a murder victim, and they influence much of his actions. Since I hadn’t been there from the start, it took me a while to enter into the emotions of the characters and I wasn’t able to anticipate some of the punches.
That being said, all the backstory that mattered for the plot was explained well enough and I had no trouble following the story or feeling the tension build. I hadn’t been there for the original hunt of the serial killer in focus here, but even I could surmise that though he is presumed dead, the killer is back. There were some other details left out though, that I would’ve wanted to know, like how old is the main character, for example, or why he had been in prison yet allowed to return to the police force, but I could ignore them and concentrate on the plot that kept me in its grip to the end.
This is very dark Nordic noir, with graphic details and psychological evil. Writing is in present tense, which adds to the sense of immediacy, though the narrative style was slightly distancing at times. The NetGalley copy had no chapter breaks, so there were no breathers to ease the pace either (maybe this is the case with the finished product too?). There were many point of view characters and I didn’t connect with all of them, but their subplots mattered in the overall story. And as a Finn, it tickled me that the main character is Finnish. I think I got more out of him than most readers of the English version. The translation by Neil Smith was good and there was no attempt to anglicise the Nordic names, which suited me, but might be a bit difficult for English readers.
If you’re a fan of Nordic noir, I can recommend this book. But if you’re new to the series, maybe don’t start with this one; read the other six books first.
horror, international-crime-and-mystery, Scandinavian noir, law-enforcement, family-dynamics, friendship, suspense, thriller, torture****
If you like your murders gory and filled with both physical and psychological torture and horror you will love this book. The evil one outdoes Jeffrey Dahmer and Hannibal Lecter, partly beacause he directs minion on the outside while he remains in the prison for crazies. The authors are Swedish, and the translator for English readers is Neil Smith. This book is engrossing, but I have not read the others and did feel that this was a disadvantage for me. The publisher’s blurb is very effective.
I requested and received a free ebook copy from Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group/Knopf via NetGalley.
Amazing but make sure you read the book in order as this is built on the previous book.
Kepler’s characters, particularly Joona Linna, are always drawn sharp and deep, like scalpel cuts. Kepler’s prose unrolls as smoothly as a loop of razor wire. But it’s Kepler’s storytelling that really draws blood. Lazarus is as literate as peak Michael Connelly and as addictive as David Baldacci.
HOLY COW!!!
I love this series – Joona Linna is incredible, Saga Bauer is amazing, Jurek Walter is a horrifyingly perfect villain, and the investigations, pursuit, evasion, and supporting characters are all immaculate in construction, set up, and execution. The books are DARK, but there is a pathos to the series that has resonated with me from the first book.
In this latest installment, Jurek Walter is back. Or is he? Someone is following very closely in his notorious footsteps and no one believes Joona when he calls the alarm… The story that builds from here is bloody, vicious, devious, and glorious. It is, that is, perfectly Lars Kepler-esque. The husband-wife writing team that produces this series is marvelous. The writing, the pacing, the revelations – all are spot-on. The characters – both heroes and villains – are broken and bent in myriad ways, and watching them navigate their environs – both emotional and physical – provides readers with a delirious trippy experience that is horrible and delightful at the same time.
I can’t say a lot more – it would give stuff away and I wouldn’t spoil this read for anything… Trust me when I say it’s another perfect installment in a fantastic series. And the ending – OH MY GOODNESS, I couldn’t believe it all! It definitely left things open and I’m so very glad it did – this series is too good to end, although I do hope poor Joona gets a well-deserved break one day…
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my obligation-free review copy. The book releases in the U.S. on December 1, 2020. I included both covers I found online – they’re both compelling, for different reasons, so I thought both were worth including.
When you pick up a book like this and you know that there are already 6 others before it, you’re aware that the characters carry a lot of history with them already. As always, it’s better to read the previous books first, but in case you haven’t: when referencing to events that happened in earlier books, there’s always enough explication and remembrance to continue without major problems.
Joona Linna prison sentence was reduced to community service as a neighbourhood officer in a small Swedish town. In a few weeks, his dues are paid and he will return to his duties as superintendent for the National Crime Unit. For now, he’s happy with his lover, Valeria De Castro who owns a plant nursery. Will his happiness last this time?
The Oslo police (Norway) find a dead man in an apartment, everything points to a drunken fight until they look in the freezer. It’s stocked with various body-parts in different states of decay. One of the skulls belongs to Summa, Joona’s wife that died from cancer a few years ago. The first name that comes to thought is Jurek Walter (the cruellest monster and worse serial killer ever to roam the Scandinavian countries) and arch-enemy of Joona, but there’s enough evidence that he’s dead; so everybody thought.
Then the German Police contact Joona’s boss and specifically ask for his assistance in a case that involves the murder of a serial rapist. The victim called Joona 2 days earlier and on his back are the same scars he saw on Jurek’s twin’s back.
Then a similar incident also happens in Sweden and in Poland, Belarus and Italy occur similar murders on criminals as well. But Jurek never cared for morality; something else must be the matter. Joona thinks that he’s not cleaning society of the unwanted but that he’s holding a competition who’s to be his next sidekick, and that he’s eliminating the losers.
Joona immediately warns his daughter, who’s studying in Paris to put their emergency plan into action and to go, into hiding. Via various detours, he travels to a pre-arranged meeting place. He warns Valeria as well, but she says that she can’t leave her business and refuses to have police protection…
The authorities aren’t convinced of Jurek’s involvement or even that there’s a serial killer operating all over Europe. Since no-one asked for their help (they’re all too happy to get rid of their worst criminals) Nathan Pollock and Saga Bauer can only investigate the Swedish murder. Saga doesn’t believe it’s Jurek but is certain that they’re after another serial killer.
This is simply, unequivocally a brilliant, great book. It’s one of the best books I’ve read so far this year. The story draws you in right from the start. Even when you haven’t read any previous book, you’re immediately drawn into the action and into the mysterious connection between various events. This is a thriller like they should be. The suspense really grabs you by the throat. And when you know how Jurek operates and what his usual MO is, you expect something nasty to happen on every page. Even when you read a nice, pleasant family scene, you’re afraid that something or someone will come to spoil these moments. And then, of course, something does happen. Be prepared that not everyone will survive this ordeal.
I must say that Jurek is the perfect villain and easy to hate. Yet they gave him a psychological profile that’s still plausible. I sincerely hope that we never will have to deal with someone like him in real life. There have been already too many wacko’s about and that’s exactly why he’s believable. Every nasty crime that’s listed in the book has occurred somewhere already. For a serial killer “that’s not really interested in killing,” he leaves a memorable body-count in his wake.
Joona is a troubled man, but that’s hardly a surprise after all those trauma’s he’s undergone. As the main character, he’s sympathetic and likeable. He’s not an easy person and has a strong will and his own specific view on justice and morality. He suffers from migraine attacks, something I can relate to. His love for his daughter is overwhelming and the thought that he may lose her as well cripples him. He goes into hiding with her, but she’s a young woman that starts to doubt if that’s the right reaction to the threat.
Saga is the real protagonist in this story as she carries out the investigation together with Nathan. The longer Saga works on this case, the more she starts behaving like Joona; paranoia and all. When Jurek captures her dad, she’s being blackmailed by him. He plays a cat and mouse game and messes with her head. She’s a very likeable character and easy to relate to. I love how she cares for her sister on top of being a dedicated police officer. You can’t really blame her for not believing Joona when he says that Jurek was back as she’s the one that shot him 3x and found part of his body later.
All those different story-lines that occur more or less at the same time, force you to keep your attention very focused if you want to keep track of where everybody is and what they’re doing.
I also had a look at the Dutch (my mother tongue) translation of this book, albeit just a preview. But from that small part, I carry the impression that the English version reads easier. So, part of the praise goes to the translator as I didn’t find the name in the ARC.
I thank Penguin Random House and Netgalley for the free ARC they provided, this is my honest, unbiased review of it.