Killer Instinct Book 9
WHAT IT’S ABOUT
Three years ago, Detective Saga Bauer received an ominous postcard describing a gun and nine white bullets—one of which was intended for her partner, Detective Joona Linna. The sender alleged that Saga was the only person who could save him. But as time passed, the threat faded.
Until now.
A sack with a decomposing body has been found hanging from a tree in the forest. A milky white bullet casing turns up at the scene. When the body count begins to rise, the police realize that the killer is sending riddles, offering them the chance to stop the murders before they happen. But the police always seem to arrive a moment too late. As they begin to close in, the case becomes more and more tangled: someone is spinning a fiendishly intricate web, pulling Joona ever closer to a trap he may not be able to escape. The Spider is shocking and exhilarating in a way only Lars Kepler could accomplish.
- Publisher : Knopf
- Published: July 25, 2023
- Hardcover : 496 pages
My Thoughts
While I’m very familiar with Kepler’s name and the book titles in this series, unfortunately, I hadn’t read any before picking up The Spider. I say unfortunately for two reasons.
- I wasn’t familiar with the characters and their background. And, for me, the Swedish names of the characters took a bit to get used to.
- The writing and story felt good enough to make me wish I’d started with the first book.
So, folks, pick up The Hypnotist by Lars Kepler and work your way through this series. Even though each book is standalone, as with most books in a series, getting to know the characters can be very important.
This is the ninth book featuring Detective Joona Linna. This story has a killer who is mailing clues to authorities regarding his next movement and victim. This information leaves authorities working quickly to put the pieces together, hopefully before the next person turns up dead. They also needed to determine why certain people were being targeted.
While the Swedish names and my unfamiliarity with the characters slowed me down in the beginning. It didn’t take long for me to get things all squared around, especially with the help of Kepler’s Universe. Here the four main characters are described and their history is provided. In my case, this was extremely helpful.
Concerns
As mentioned above, it would have helped to be familiar with previous books, though not necessary.
Also, it felt repetitive and long in places.
Final Thoughts
Though I enjoyed the story, it wasn’t easy to completely immerse myself in the happenings.
I say thumbs up. But be prepared to spend a few minutes familiarizing yourself with the characters and history provided on Kepler’s website if you want to get the most out of this book.
My thanks to Alfred Knopf, Penguin Random House for a #gifted copy.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Lars Kepler is the pseudonym of critically acclaimed husband and wife team Alexandra Coelho Ahndoril (b. 1966) and Alexander Ahndoril (b. 1967), authors of the No. 1 internationally bestselling Joona Linna series.
With nine instalments to date, the series has sold 17 million copies in 40 languages. The Ahndorils were both established writers before they adopted the pen name Lars Kepler, and have each published several acclaimed novels.
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