Lars Kepler | THE NIGHTMARE

Plot (via Goodreads):

A drowned young woman is discovered on an abandoned pleasure boat drifting by the Stockholm archipelago---strangely, her clothes are dry. The next day in Stockholm, a man turns up dead, hanging from a lamp hook inside his completely bare apartment---but how could he have hung himself with no furniture to climb upon? As Detective Inspector Joona Linna begins to piece together the two mysteries, he discovers that they are a mere prelude to a dizzying and dangerous course of events. From the internationally bestselling author of The Hypnotist comes The Nightmare, another spellbinding tale of Nordic crime.

Review:

So this is my third Lars Kepler book out of the series thus far. I was completely blown away by The Sandman and absolutely loved The Hypnotist, so I was eager to crack open The Nightmare. Well, of no fault of the dynamic duo known as Lars Kepler, this one just did not keep me absorbed in the story as much as the other novels I've read by Kepler. 

This one starts off strong and in class Kepler fashion with a violent crime and introduces the reader to some key characters that build the bigger mystery at hand. I absolutely loved this opening and found the characters immediately likable and the story mystifying and thrilling. We then switch back to my favorite detective, Joona Linna himself and I absolutely love reading this characters. He is unapologetic, tough, and the way that Lars Kepler is able to show us his tough side as a detective and also a sneak peek into his personal life as he deals with his rollercoaster of a relationship with Disa is awe-inspiring and a delight to read. Kepler can create characters that make you immediately desperate to know more. Whether you love them, hate them, or just want to keep your eye on them if you think they are hiding something - they are there, they are present, and desirably three-dimensional. 

So now that we've gotten through what I loved about this one, I will have to say this had more of a political and espionage feature in the plot than what I am used to reading. Now, I'm not saying Lars Kepler didn't do a good job of explaining this via Espionage Thrillers for Dummies because they did; everything was explained well and anytime a reminder was needed, it was there. This just isn't my cup of tea when I'm reading a story. I found it hard to grasp the shocks that were coming and had a hard time staying fully invested in the storyline. This might have been my first Kepler that I counted down the pages.

So unfortunately, this wasn't my favorite Kepler, but still a recommendation if you love the series - and don't worry about me, because nothing will keep me away from my continuous love of Joona Linna and Lars Kepler. 

Rating: 3/5