This is a dark read. Gory and stomach churning at times. It’s also a fascinating tale of Stockholm in the 1700s and an insight into the bowels of what was known as (and still is) “The city of bridges”.

I went in expecting historical fiction, but didn't expect the horror of it. Entirely intriguing it had me from start to finish, but I couldn't bring myself to love it. I'm not sure where I fell off. Maybe it was too grisly for me in the end, but I struggled with the book even though it had everything I should have loved. Despite that, I was happy that I read it and it's an incredible story that I would recommend to anyone who has the stomach for it.

Wow, late 18th century Stockholm sounds just awful. Nobody's nice, everyone's out to get you, men are terrible to women and everybody has tuberculosis.

Still, murder mysteries! Hurray!

Thank you so much for the opportunity to read this title. Unfortunately, the story never pulled me un, although I could see where it would capture an audience. I felt it was unique enough, carried suspense but I felt disconnected from the characters and that may be why I was never drawn in deeply.

Don't so much as twitch toward this book if you're not able to breeze through Henning Mankell's more violent books about Wallander. In every line and on every page you're going to be challenged, and hard; rape, torture, murder, and a twisted vision of the upper-class privilege corrupting Sweden in its early Enlightenment days. As brutal as any Scandinoir, as evocatively written as Mantel's Sir Thomas More novels, and worth every flinch, gasp, and slamming shut in horror.

This book is great! Would definitely recommend. Thanks so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Excellent historical mystery thriller set in Stockholm. Yes, its grisley but that's what I came for. Absolutely loved this book. Need more from this author.

A bit grisly, but yet I couldn't put it down. I wanted to know what happened to the three main characters, so this made for an engaging read.

A gruesome period piece based in Stockholm. A crime novel that develops the 18th century Stockholm scene. This was hard to read and the miserable conditions were hard to stomach. Not one I would recommend. Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for my review copy. All opinions are my own.

The Wolf and the Watchman by Niklas Natt och Dag is a tense, atmospheric tale of murder and social upheaval in 18th century Stockholm. With the revolution taking place in France, unrest seethes throughout Europe and in the dead of night, a body is found, mutilated beyond belief.

Summary

"...Hand me the lantern, then.'
It is Cardell's turn to circle the dead man. He bends over at each corner of the body and studies the stumps one by one. with his healthy arm occupied by holding the lantern, he is unable to cover his nose. He breathes through his mouth and exhales the pungent air in small puffs.
'As far as I can tell, he lost the right arm first. Then the left leg, the left arm and the right leg. I'd say that the right arm is three months gone, provided Karl Johan has healed at the same pace as myself. The right leg? A month, perhaps.'
'So this man has had his arms and legs shorn away in turn. Each wound has been dressed and allowed to heal, whereafter the next limb has been removed. The eyes were intentionally blinded. None of the teeth are left, incidentally, nor the tongue. To judge by the state of the injuries, the process of turning him into what we see began last summer and was completed a few weeks ago. Death came to him only yesterday or the day before that..."

It is 1793, one year after the death of King Gustav III and Sweden is in a state of unrest. Like most of Europe the excesses of the rich plague the lower classes and much of the world is watching the events in France unfold. Three years before the people stormed the Bastille and took the ruling family and imprisoned them.

It is against this unrest that former night watchman, Mickel Cardell finds a body floating in the city's lake. The body has been mutilated to the point of only being left as a torso and the head and face damaged so badly that identification is nearly impossible. Cardell, a veteran of the wars, is suddenly compelled to find out who the man was and what manner of creature did this to him.

Cecil Winge is a brilliant lawyer and detective who is slowly wasting away from consumption. He is isolated and estranged from friends and family when he is commissioned by the Chief of Police to investigate the murder of the man found in the lake.

Kristofer Blix is a handsome son of a rural farming family who dreams of much bigger things. He apprentices for a surgeon but the lure of the city life quickly has Blix in debt and impoverous. Blix is sold by his debts into a slavery of sorts, his skills called into use for the amusement and sordid desires of the those who hold his notes.

Anna Stina is a young woman, unjustly accused and imprisoned. She is sent to a workhouse to serve out her sentence but falls under the eye of a sadistic guard who marks her as his next victim. She knows she must escape but time is running out.

The lives of these four will collide over the fateful year with only a mutilated corpse to hold them together.

Review

If you were to ask me what The Wolf and the Watchman was about, I am not that sure I would say it was a murder mystery. In fact the murder is somewhat secondary to the events playing out in the story. It is a character study of individuals and of a time and a place. Characters that are so intricately crafted and so detailed that each is able to tell its own story of living in 18th century Stockholm and of the class warfare that holds each of them in a state of despair. The weight of their lives is staggering.

Niklas Natt och Dag has written a drama about a Sweden that we rarely think actually could have existed and has wrapped it in the shroud of a murder mystery. This is a novel built on the characters and the setting and though the crimes are horrific, it is the human condition that prevails. You will find a part of you in each of these characters, their triumphs and their moments of terrible weakness.

I loved the story and the experience of this novel and the turn of the last page is akin to watching a place left behind in the rear view mirror. You want more of these people, a continuation and a hope that their lives are left better for all their struggles.

A really good read.

Fantastic novel, loved the whole premise of it and with well built characters i didnt want it to end.

This is one of the best books I have read in the last few years. A historical thriller set in Stockholm in the late 1700’s, the book is fascinating. Good from multiple points of view , it is a wonderful piece of historical,fiction, really real and different. Plus there is the element of mystery that keeps you glued to the page. The book is very very graphic and not for the faint of heart but life is like that. Just start reading it. After the first twenty or thirty pages you won’t stop. Trust me.

Can the Wolf and the Watchman solve this murder?

Winge and Cardell truly are great partners to unravel the murder of a man who was left mutilated and found dead in a bog. Don’t underestimate Winge with his skill of investigating murders even though he himself is about to be six feet underground. I was truly impressed that Winge dying in his deathbed was able to travel in the worst conditions to find out who the deceased person was and who murdered him? This book was so interesting, since I was trying to figure out who the dead man was? Who is the murderer? Will Winge survive to unravel the truth? Can Cardell while drunk survive the day, while putting his nose in the wrong places? Winge truly was impressive at the end of the story. Winge was able to turn the tables and make the man see that through all the hurt and fear he lived, at the end someone did care for him, even if it was just a little white lie. A terrible man pays for what they did but they also die feeling loved. The title was perfect for this book. Winge was a wolf until the very end.

Niklas did a profound job of creating a book that placed you at the year 1793, in Stockholm. It showed you how people lived and the things they would do to survive. He was so detailed that you can feel the torture that was imposed on the dead man that was found. You can feel the sadness, fear and the fight for survival of each character. This is a murder mystery that will keep you on your toes. I rated 4 out of 5 stars. Thanks, Atria Books for sending me a copy to review.

I would like to thank Netgalley for sharing this unique book with me in exchange for a fair review.
Ok, so let's start with a confession. I should never have waited so long to write this review. I have no excuse, no explanation. Just bad form on my part. on to the book
This book is both wonderful and brutal from nearly the very first page to nearly the very last. I do not like, and typically do not read book with graphic violence and brutality and this book has both in abundance. Let me be clear; this is not an easy read. The author has an uncanny ability to make you connect with each of his characters, even the most awful. The narrative is similarly engaging; at times confusing and seemingly disjointed, yet from the very beginning you have the powerful sense that MR. Natt och Dag will connect things in ways that will surprise, shock, and oddly satisfy you. Easy no, yet utterly compelling.
I had the unique experience of learning that while I was reading "The Wolf and the Watchman" by brother in Stockholm was reading 1973 (the Swedish title)!!! One more memorable experience from this truly memorable book

An excellent read! Thoroughly absorbing narrative and characters that drew me in and kept me turning those pages.

This book is probably the best historical thriller I have EVER read. The characters forced to either love them or hate them. And I loved them all.
This story follows two men, a semi-retired investigator and a watchman, as they try to solve a grisly murder. Each man has their own story and the supporting characters are just as richly written.
The story is one that you will remember for a long time after reading. I can't wait to read more by the author.

An amazing debut novel that mixes Scandinavian crime fiction with the historical novel to craft a story of greed, passion, power, and friendship that grips the reader from the first page. Dag's prose captures the nasty and brutish side of life in the 18th century wiping away the glossy and romantic view of the era.

Five reasons to read:

1. Interesting writing style
2. Very graphic, so make sure you're ready!
3. Interesting concept- I found myself enthralled in the storyline.
4. Interesting learning about Swedish history
5. Character and plot twists were unexpected and also kept the pace quick

In 'The Wolf and the Watchman', an uneven translation and a balky start quickly turn into an oddly compelling read. Niklas Natt och Dag has strayed a bit - all the way into the 18th century - from the usual path of Scandinavian gory crime literature.

Set in Stockholm of the 1790s, a city awash in filth, corruption, depravity, a city 'watchman' discovers a mutilated corpse in one of the city's many backwash-filled waterways. Enter a consumptive brilliant private detective, a tolerably incorruptible chief of police, and a thoroughly decadent monied class and we have a compelling, brutal, grotesque and oddly readable murder mystery.

Natt och Dag is fond of the info-dump in some severely overwritten expository dialogue, and he telegraphs a predictable ending, which is nonetheless much welcome after so much grime. All in all, a good summer read - if a bit long. Or a good read for a stormy night or three.

I would like to thank the publisher for giving me a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed reading this!