I was hesitant to read this because I wasn’t really drawn to the storyline. I should have listened to my instinct because it was very slow. If you’re a fan of thrillers, I wouldn’t recommend this one.

This was dark. This was disturbing. And this was masterfully written.

I have to give credit where credit is due. This is an incredible piece of work. It just wasn't for me. It took me A LONG TIME to get through it because of the grotesque scenes described. One could say to skip it, but to do so would lose the majority of the book's development and all-around tale.

It's mind blowing to think that someone (Niklas Natt och Dag) actually researched the details or came up with them on his own for a story such as this. Also kudos to the translator for keeping the story very smooth in English.

Thank you Niklas Natt och Dag, Simon & Schuster Canada and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest review. Always so grateful for the opportunity to read complimentary books!

I unfortunately was unable to finish this book; therefore, I will be quite honest and say that I did not want to give it a star rating because I do not believe it is fair to the book nor the author to "rate" a novel that I did not read from cover to cover. It doesn't reflect the book's value overall, in my opinion. As I am required to put a star rating to submit a review, I will put only 1 star, although I cannot honestly say that this is accurate. I do think that this book has a lot of potential, but was just not really up my alley of reading pleasure!

Review The Wolf and the Watchman – Niklas Natt och Dag
Dying of consumption and deteriorating by the hour, Cecil Winge drags his failing body through adversities and hardships to find the perpetrator of a most gruesome, sadistically drawn-out murder. With far less enthusiasm and motivation than Winge, but comparable effort, I dragged my eyes and mind through the pages of this book. It was a chore. Not solely because of the depravities, cruelties, poverty, and misery so eloquently described, but because of the relentless immersion of the reader in these pictures of physical, sexual, environmental, sadistic filth. I felt soiled whilst reading this tale, wondering about the source of such depths of depravity and disillusionment in humanity.

A dark and gruesome Gothic thriller, which shows a disturbing side of Stockholm during the dark period of the late 18 century. The Wolf and the Watchman is superbly written and is both horrifying and captivating at the same time. When Mickel Cardell, a crippled ex-solider and former night watchman, finds a mutilated body floating in the city’s malodorous lake, he feels compelled to give the unidentifiable man a proper burial. For Cecil Winge, a brilliant lawyer turned consulting detective to the Stockholm police, a body with no arms, legs, or eyes is a formidable puzzle and one last chance to set things right before he loses his battle to consumption. The characters are well developed and captivating in a furtive sort of way. Several threads of the story come together along with a few surprises at the end of this gruesome and brutal story and the author does a wonderful job of keeping the reader engaged and at their wits end. An excellent psychological thriller.

Winge and Cardell are really strong characters and I loved reading about them. It was a fun, deeply creepy book. The world-building and historical details were fantastic.

For a first novel Niklas Natt och Dag has captured the readers attention from the beginning. His story is set in the late 1700’s in Stockholm. The two main characters are Cecil Winge, who consults for the Swedish Police and Mickel Cardell, an ex soldier and watchman, a strange pair who set out to resolve the mystery of a washed up body. The body has no distinguishing features, his arms and legs have been severed, his eyes removed and his tongue cut out.. Not a story for the feint hearted, not only is the murder gruesome, but the author doesn’t hold back on describing the poverty and desperation of the times. Cecil is asked by the Stockholm police to solve the mystery he asks Mickel for help. Mickel is a amputee and so feels an affinity to the deceased and agrees o help. The story is deep, and dark, but intriguing, and keeps the reading guessing until the end. I recommend reading this book.

Thank you Simon & Schuster Canada for sharing a copy of this one with me - all opinions are my own.

This book is categorically unique and absolutely wonderful in its own uniqueness.. I won't lie, it took me a good few chapters to get into the plot, the voice and the story, but once I was in I was fully hooked. This is one of those books that is written with so much atmosphere that you are suddenly transported to another, much older, long forgotten time.

I loved everything about the way this one was written, from the characters to the settings. I completely appreciate flawed characters and there was no shortage here. More than anything, I loved that it felt like a deeply relevant story set in a very different period, which still had me fully invested in what was going to happen, and how it would all play out.

If I could make one recommendation on this one for readers, it would be to stick with it a little longer than you think you should - because when it catches you, it catches you GOOD.

Thriller set in 1793 tockholm. Body washes up on shore with no limbs, tongue or eyes? Count me in… or so I thought… I’ve finally finished the book! Even though it was short it felt like it took me FOREVER to read.

I've never read a book about Stockholm, let alone one set in the late 18th century. Niklas Natt och Dag has amazing descriptive writing skills…sometimes too descriptive. His writing style awakens all your senses and really makes you feel as if you’re part of the story, almost like you’re there. He has a unique talent for story telling and overall the story was interesting. Unfortunately though it was a bit too slow to get through, especially at the beginning and this’s is what turned me off from the rest of the novel. Certain parts dragged on and on and onnnnnn…. It really picked up towards the last 10 chapters but I had already lost most interest by then. The characters are what kept me going. I enjoyed Cecil Winge and Mickel Cardell working together and I was intrigued by them throughout the novel. I liked how the characters intertwine with each other in very unexpected ways, and how the smallest of details can turn into twists in the story.
Overall, the story was very well thought out, however it moved a little too slow for me. If it had been more fast paced I would’ve enjoyed it much much more.

ARC received in exchange for an honest review.

Great period story and the amount of excrement and filth of the era will have you gasping. Good characters and overall enjoyable read...mind you the horror of the end of life for the victim is...appalling

A very interesting historical mystery. The debauchery was somewhat off-putting, but still a worthwhile read. Recommended.

I received a complimentary ARC copy of The Wolf and the Watchman
by Niklas Natt och Dag from NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Canada in order to read and give an honest review.

<i.>Niklas Natt och Dag doesn’t hold back. Dark, gritty and brutally honest, the author doesn’t hesitate to show the bleakness of the times, the poverty…. “</i>

When I came across this book I was intrigued and it didn’t disappoint. Well-written, clever, intricately plotted with well rounded, characters it kept me immersed in the story…. however, I issue a word of caution to sensitive readers… this book is graphic.

For his debut novel, Niklas Natt och Dag doesn’t hold back. Dark, gritty and brutally honest, the author doesn’t hesitate to show the bleakness of the times, the poverty, the distention between the classes and the depravity of the seedy underbelly of a divided Stockholm in 1793.

Mickel Cardell a watchman and ex-soldier, is haunted by his past and learning to deal with the loss of his arm. When Mickel is called upon to fish a body out of the water he is overwhelmed by what he finds. An unknown young male, missing all four limbs, his tongue and eyes appear to all removed surgically prior to his death. When Cecil Winge, an attorney and consultant for the Swedish Police asks for his assistance, being an amputee himself Cardell cannot help but feel a connection to this poor victim and agrees.

Winge and Cardell are just two of the characters we meet along the way. There are two others, Kristofer Blix and Anna-Stina Knapp who we watch struggle and survive.

Kristof, a teen and former medic’s assistant from the country heads to Stockholm with hopes of becoming an elite and attending medical school. When he finds it’s a lot harder than he thought he makes errs in judgement and in desperation he gets caught up in something so depraved it will haunt him for the rest of his life. A fatherless teen Anna-Stina raise in poverty and forced to struggle most of her life, loses the one person who means the most to her and is abandoned to a corrupt system. When she is falsely convicted of a crime and thrown into prison her situation becomes more perilous.


As the story unfolds and we get to the bottom of this horrendous crime the lives of these four become intertwined and we follow along on their journeys. The author’s portrayals are unique and add such depth to the story as does his descriptions of Stockholm which is written so vividly it almost becomes a character in its own right.

I have to say that this is perhaps the most difficult review I have had to write, I really feel the book was well-written and clever but it definitely had a darkness that at the end of it left you with a queasy feeling or as I call it the “Ich” factor. It kept me engrossed which in my mind is what reading is all about. Not for the faint of heart but I recommend it!

1793 Stockholm, and Watchman Mickel Cardell is summoned to Larder Lake where children believe there is a body. The discover of the mutilated body compels Cecil Winge, a consulting detective to discover his history and thereby his name. Elsewhere various characters become involved in this search.
A dark story trawling through Stockholms' underclass resulting in an interesting mystery with engaging characters.

To my surprise, The Wolf and the Watchman compelled me to consume it at a quicker pace the more I read. Despite a synopsis that foretold the introduction of multiple characters with seemingly disparate storylines, Natt och Dag managed to weave everything together. His was not the most eloquent writing (although I expect this to be polished for the final release) but everything worked. The grit and desperation of the period, 18th century Sweden, was conveyed amidst the description of gruesome acts and behaviours. Not for the faint of heart.

This is a strange book for me to talk about because in terms of its individual elements--setting, character, plot--it wasn't a bad story. Far from it, really. Eighteenth century Stockholm was fascinating to read about, the characters were peripherally interesting, and while the mystery took some time to get going (part two especially makes things confusing) it kept my interest for the most part.

My problem lies with just how grey, dour, and joyless it was. The two main characters are a well-written but unlikable bunch. Winge is the genius not-quite-detective who suffers from a case of consumption and a cold, calculating personality. Cardell is the embittered war-vet-turned-watchman who suffers from anger management issues. It's reminiscent of True Detective S1--all the dour grimness and its underlying thematic messages, but minus the magnetic chemistry between the two lead characters which would have made the grimness more bearable.

I also had a hard time getting into the present tense style of the prose which isn't something I'm used to seeing in historical fiction.

If you're craving a gritty and gruesome historical murder mystery and can stomach stark depictions of human depravity, then I might recommend it. It wasn't to be for me, unfortunately.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The Wolf and the Watchman is not your modern day lightening paced murder mystery but instead is a slow steady procession to the truth.
This book was told in parts that at first seemed totally unrelated. I thoroughly enjoyed Part One of the story when we are introduced to the watchman, Mickel Cardell, and the investigator, Cecil Winge, who are working together to discover the identity of a limbless body found in the water. When I started in on Part Two, I was questioning how it related to the beginning because they just didn't seem to connect. As I continued along the path this story tells, you very slowly see all the connections and the storylines start to align with one another.
A beautifully told mystery that really gives you a feel for the time period that it occurs in.

4.65 Stars

If you like murder mystery/thrillers with historical settings that involve gruesomely heinous crimes and are steeped in Gothic/noir horror atmosphere, then this is probably the perfect read for you. I found this to be a shocking, highly compelling, page-turning read. I just could not put it down, even when I read parts that really disturbed me. I was that riveted to what was playing out on the pages. The place (Stockholm) and the time period (1793) are captured in amazing detail, vividly portraying a city teeming with disease, wallowing in squalor and oozing with corruption and mercenary opportunism. Yes, if you hadn't guessed already, there is overall dark, sinister aspect to this story that goes way beyond the discovery of the mutilated body, which makes this such an amazing novel. It defies being lumped into a set genre. It's a historical fiction, it's a murder/crime, it's a mystery, it's a thriller, it's a horror... it is all of these genres rolled into one story. Talk about impressive! Told in four parts, the story unveils in stages, revealing surprising connections, shocking depravity and gut-wrenching desperation. Each character is exquisitely drawn, exposing the reader to the dilemmas they face, and the hard choices they must make. The investigative team is a curious match: A wiry, incorruptible lawyer (the wolf) with a sharp intellect and steely determination who happens to be gravely ill with consumption and a physically and emotionally war-damaged ex-soldier (the watchman) whose daily alcoholic intake is to try and quell the nightmares that haunt him. An odd pairing (a thinker and a fighter) but well suited as both men pursue the case, with dogged determination, for their own reasons. This story is not for the faint of heart. There are some really graphic descriptions that may unsettle some readers, so consider yourself forewarned in that respect.

Overall, a chilling, brutal and relentless genre-bending novel that dives into the dark side of the human psyche. An absolutely outstanding novel and I am not surprised that it was named Best Debut of 2017 by the Swedish Academy of Crime Writers.

I would like to thank Simon and Shuster Canada and Atria Books for providing an Electronic Advance Reader Copy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A gripping and compelling murder mystery set in late 18th century Stockholm. The discovery of a torso in a lake outside Stockholm drives the storyline in this novel. The human remains prove to belong to a man whose limbs were severed one at a time over a period of several months.

Identifying the victim and his killer falls to Cecil Winge, an idealistic attorney who assists the police. Winge enlists the aid of Mickel Cardell, a veteran of a fruitless war with Russia in which he lost an arm. Now working as a watchman, Mickel retrieved the cadaver from the water. The pair have few clues to work with, but a piece of fabric with unusual markings wrapped around the body leads them to the Eumenides, an ostensibly charitable upper-class organization that meets in a building that houses a bordello. The book’s structure, which includes flashbacks and multiple perspectives, which the author uses effectively to heighten suspense and deepen characterizations.

Each character is fascinating and well-developed.

Details of life in Sweden in 1790's come to be an important part of the story. Natt och Dag pulls no punches in describing the squalor and abject poverty in which most of Stockholm’s population exist. Vividly written, The Wolf and the Watchman is a superbly detailed historical mystery that delivers an uncommonly bleak variation on the genre’s pursuit of truth and justice. If you like mystery, history, the dark and unexpected..you'll love this!

This was an extraordinary historical murder mystery featuring a detailed setting, characters that felt real, and an unpredictable, meticulous plot. If you loved “The Alienist” but felt that it wasn’t quite dark and gruesome enough (who are you, you twisted, morbid freak?) then this book is for you. I’m not judging because I absolutely loved this book. The gritty historical setting was extremely immersive and late 18th century Stockholm was brought to life in all its filthy, depraved and brutal glory. The story weaves together several disparate narrators whose stories coalesce into a complex murder mystery. I felt especially attached to Anna who was so relatable and brave. As usual throughout history women, especially poor women, were treated horribly. With no one to protect her Anna was at the mercy of men who had no mercy. Her storyline affected me the most deeply.

I did really love Winge and Cardell and their dynamic. This could have been the start of an amazing series featuring these two but due to circumstances revealed early on this isn’t meant to be. Although I may not get more Winge and Cardell I will be eagerly awaiting the next book by this author. I read through this one in a day and a half and I am left hungry for more. Whatever Niklas Natt och Dag writes next I will be first in line.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster and Atria Books for providing an Electronic Advance Reader Copy via NetGalley for review

Honestly this reads like something the love child of Steig Larrson and Jeffrey Deaver would have written. It has those lovely elements of a great Scandinavian thriller with dark, twisty, uncomfortable crime and criminal that Deaver and his ilk are wont to create.

I really enjoyed this, part II made me squirm a little bit (really, really don't read this if you are triggered by torture) but all in all as a whole it really worked.

The writing at first had me a little puzzled, I wondered if the translator was taking liberties or something, but realized that the author was just really attempting to emulate a time and a place. When it clicked, it clicked and the reading was smoother for it.

The protagonists were all flawed but likeable, and I'm anxious to see if there will be more to be said about Winge and Cardell.

I feel like this book is going to do extremely well!