I was really excited to dive into "The Chestnut Man" after hearing all the buzz about its twisty mystery and chilling atmosphere. The premise had potential — a series of gruesome murders linked to a strange symbol, a chestnut man made from twigs and chestnuts left at crime scenes. The setup was intriguing, and I was hoping for a dark, gripping crime novel.

However, I found myself a bit disappointed. The pacing felt off, with long stretches where nothing much happened, and the characters didn’t grab me the way I’d hoped. I struggled to connect with the protagonist, and the secondary characters didn’t add much to the story. Some twists were predictable, and others felt forced just to keep the plot moving.

That being said, Sveistrup’s writing is solid, and the atmospheric tension was present at times. The book is definitely dark and eerie, but it didn’t quite live up to the hype for me. It's not a bad read if you're into Scandinavian thrillers, but I was hoping for a little more depth and a few more surprises.

The Chestnut Man is a murder-mystery thriller with a fascinating plot, if slightly uneven pace. It's a good addition to the Nordic noir category, with lots of clever police work and Nordic details that will entice lovers of the genre. I certainly hope the author will pen a follow-up.

Well written thriller set in Denmark. The book was recently adapted into a min-series, which is also good. Very good pace of action, which keeps you reading.

I wanted to see the Netflix series before submitting my review. The book is detailed and was such a great read it had me on the edge of my seat the entire time.

In the story, A psychopath is terrorizing Copenhagen. His calling card is a “chestnut man”—a handmade doll made of matchsticks and two chestnuts—which he leaves at each bloody crime scene.

Highly recommend The Chestnut Man!!

The Chestnut Man was more procedural than thrilling and spooky. Yes, the Chestnut dolls were pretty creepy, but over all not a scary book. A great novel for fans of nordic crime books, and police procedurals.

Absolutely loved this story! Looking forward to reading more books by this author! Highly recommend!

This book was amazing! I couldn't put it down! I absolutely loved The Killing so I was very excited to read this. It did not disappoint! Truly creepy and shocking. Must-read!

A dark and gritty slow burn of a thriller. This novel pulls together so nicely. Told from multiple viewpoints and perspectives gives a unique insight into the multiple cases in the novel. Highly recommend for those who like Nordic noir.

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

Definitely different, slow development and the end had me a little confused, but overall a good story

I didn't love this one; it took me a long time to read it. I'm not sure that it earned the ending. I did like some of the characters and would probably give a second chance to the author but this one just didn't work that well for me.

I received an advance readers copy from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

The murders were very intriguing. I didn't know who the killer was. Some of the Danish names were difficult to read because I didn't know how to say them. That didn't ruin my enjoyment of the book.

I received an ARC from the publisher and NetGalley for an honest review.

This was a highly gruesome novel but incredibly intriguing. It was one of my favorite reads of 2019 and I recommend it to anyone who appreciates a good thriller. Be warned it is highly graphic but is necessary to accurately tell what the author was trying to portray. Incredible novel that will stay with me.

The best psychological thriller of the year. Perhaps in the past several years. Dark, brutal and gory, this is a must read of any fans of the genre and definitely for any fans of the show, The Killing.

This book started out great but did not live up to early promise. The author knows how to write and the set up was good but the plot got too convoluted and unrealistic. Still not bad.

A serial killer leaves a little chestnut man at the site of each murder. Also left are fingerprints of a government minister’s child, kidnapped a year previous. Sveistrup portrays well a family on the edge of grief clinging to a tiny ray of hope. The police investigation gets a bit detailed, leaving Dear Reader hanging desperately to any investment in the story. The climax and denouement are sufficiently twisty and well-written. It’s worth the effort to slog through the slow parts to get to the revelation. I received a digital copy from the publisher Harper through NetGalley.

The Chestnut Man by Søren Sveistrup is a chilling serial killer thriller set in Copenhagen. Thulin and her new partner, Hess, are assigned what is initially believed to be the isolated murder of a single mom. More murders occur, each with a chestnut man left behind. Every time the police think they have answers, another happens. And it's possible these murders are tied to not just the recent kidnapping and suspected death of Rosa Hartung's daughter, but a mass killing decades in the past.

This book is yet another example of why I've fallen in love with Nordic mystery/thrillers. There are so many interlocking stories here, all fascinating, and I couldn't wait to see how they tied together. Masterfully done! Just when I thought I'd figured things out, WHAM! Another curve ball. I'm just sad that one of my favourite characters turned out to be the culprit. 

Besides the character in question above, Hess was my favourite. He's so broken, and at first you think he doesn't really care about the case. He's actually a Europol agent, sent back to Copenhagen for some offense. But as the story progresses, you see how smart he is, and learn why he's rather standoffish. I think he's a good man, dealing with a lot. I'd love to see another story featuring Hess and Thulin, or just Hess alone. I'm kinda cranky, too, because now I want to read more of Sveistrup's books and I can't find them in English! I'm quite tempted to learn Danish just to read more.

***Many thanks to Netgalley and HarperCollins/ Penguin UK for providing an egalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

If you are still looking for the perfect dark, creepy, mysterious read for October then this is the book for you!

I am not going to go into the storyline here, it is best to know next-to-nothing when diving into this book. That is also my motto! What I am going to tell you is that this book is a must read for those who want a great thriller with a lot of mystery and intrigue.

This book doesn’t waste any time and opens with a gruesome murder scene. This is the moment I knew I had finally found the perfect October read that delivers the thriller punch I was looking for! Moms are being killed, body parts cut off, and what is up with all those chestnut men being left behind at the murder scene?!

I love that the police detectives are at a loss as to who and why. Just when they think they have gotten two steps ahead, they realize they have been outsmarted once again. They want nothing more than to stop these horrendous killings and it cannot be soon enough.

If this book is sitting on your TBR list I would highly recommend you pick it up today!!

As a big fan of The Killing, I was extremely excited about this book. I’m happy to say that it lived up to my expectations and then some. It’s one of the best books of 2019.

The Chestnut Man has several fascinating characters, all of whom are flawed in realistic ways. The main duo, Thulin and Hess, are members of law enforcement. They begin investigating a series of murders by the titular Chestnut Man. Are these murders connected to the year-old disappearance of a local girl? And why does the killer leave a chestnut man doll behind at every murder scene?

The author managed to create a story with many minor and major parts, a ton of red herrings, and a couple of reveals that I never saw coming. This book is longer than a lot of modern thrillers, and it does get a bit slow in a few sections (but not in a bad way). Overall, it’s a truly compelling read that in some ways mimics The Killing’s formula yet also manages to be a completely original story.

If you like thrillers and are okay with some gore, this may become your new reading obsession.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing a copy. This review contains my honest, unbiased opinion.

There’s a serial killer terrorizing Copenhagen. He doesn’t just kill his victims but first puts them through hell through his torture. His signature are the chestnut dolls he leaves behind as his calling card and the case detectives will leave no stone unturned to find this psychopath.

Naia Thulin from the Major Crimes division is paired up with Mark Hess who has just arrived, or been exiled, from Interpol. She’s not excited to work with him and frankly, he seems a bit of a mess. For his part, Mark will do whatever it takes to get out of Copenhagen. Both of the main protagonists like all good fiction detectives are carrying a lot of baggage but their characters still feel interesting and you want to get to know them.

The stakes are high for both detectives as the fingerprint that was identified links the crime to the Minister of Social Affairs, Rosa Hartung. It’s her daughter’s fingerprint they have found and that raises the question about her disappearance many years ago. Everyone assumed her dead but now there is hope for Rosa but everyone has to work quickly as possible to catch the Chestnut Man.

One of my favorite characters in the book was Naia’s daughter Le who is smart and sweet. There are definitely some gruesome details of the killings so it was nice to have a character removed from all of that. The book is a bit on the longer side but it’s a thriller and it’s a good one. I enjoyed it so much and am really hoping there will be a sequel.