A fantastic mystery/ police procedural. Felt super fresh & original. A little long but overall a great story. 4.5 stars rounded up.

Lars Kepler really just doesn't disappoint! Absolutely in love with these authors - their writing style is fun and easy to follow and the flow they have is amazing. This is just another installment of theirs that I love and can't wait to grab a physical copy for myself. Highly recommend!

The Mirror Man is 8th in the Killer Instinct Series. Author Lars Kepler turns up the horror when a serial killer goes on killing spree that will give you nightmares. If you are reading the series, pick this one up immediately - you'll love it. If you new to Kepler, read on, then go back to #1 and read them all. Thanks to Net Galley for the chance to read an ARC.

Latest in the series featuring Detective Jonathan Lina continuing in the violent and gory traditions of the preceding novels. Well constructed plot and believable characters make it easy to understand the enduring popularity of these stories.

Recommended.

This is a book of murder and horror that is u speakable…although I enjoy crime novels and shows, this one is not my favorite…sent to me for review by Netgalley.

I guess I'm getting fed up with being entertained by bloody sexualised bad treatment of women and this novel explores all that! It's slick and races along but frankly I leaped through to make sure it ended well but, honestly, it's appalling.

Lars Kepler has done it again with another police procedural set in Sweden. We are back with Dectetive Joona Linna when he is investigating the abduction of a littlr girl named Jenny. When her body is found years later with few clues as to where shes even been, Joona is there to figure this horrible crime out. I love going on these adventures with everyones favorite detective. The subject matter can be difficult at times because it is dealing with kids. Hoeever the story is wonderfully paced. You are in for one heck of a ride!

My Review: ⭐️⭐️⭐⭐/ 5 stars

This is the 8th installment from the Joona Linna series by husband/wife writing duo, Lars Kepler. I have wanted to read this series for years, and even own the first 3 in hardcover. However, I ended up reading the last book first and somehow did not feel like I missed too much of the story.

This is a Nordic thriller about Jenny Lind who was abducted and placed in a cage with other girls. Years later, her body is found at the park, leaving the local police baffled at who the perpetrator is. Their one clue is a mentally unstable man that was walking his dog at the same time near the park. Detective Joona Linna thinks there might be a link to this gruesome murder and that of another woman who died years ago. When another girl goes missing, the police are fighting against the clock to save her.

This was so dark and utterly creepy - also kept my attention throughout despite being an 8th book installment. I highly recommend it if you enjoy dark thrillers.

There are trigger warnings of violence (amputation etc), rape, and spooky kids.

Thank you to Knopf Books for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!

it was a great mystery novel that kept me guessing till the end. I would like to thank netgalley.com for letting me review this book

The Mirror Man is the 8th book in the Joona Linna/Killer Instinct series by Lars Kepler (pseudonym of the husband and wife writing team Alexander Ahndoril and Alexandra Coelho Ahndoril). Me being me, I started this series here. I know I missed out on important past storylines that are referenced, but I didn't care. I started this book on January 21 and finished the next day. This book is brutal. Gruesome. Over-the-top violent. And so oddly compelling and exciting I couldn't tear myself away!

Jenny Lind, a 17-year-old student, was abducted walking home from school. She was taken to a remote house, chained and caged alongside other girls, and their lives were brutal. The man holding them was unpredictable and violent. If they attempted to escape, they wouldn't live long to regret it. Five years later, Jenny's body is discovered in a public park, and the police don't have much evidence to go on. Detective Joona Linna of the National Operations Unit, however, believes this murder is somehow connected to a death classified as a suicide years before. When Mia, a 17-year-old orphan is apparently abducted, Joona knows they have a serial killer on their hands, and his murders are escalating. Do Mia and her fellow prisoners have any chance at all to survive? I wouldn't bet against Joona Linna!

This book is not your typical serial killer story! We know the murderer is Caesar, who has the help of Granny, but we don't know who they are. I did NOT have a clue. I thought I did. I just KNEW who the killer was. But I was mistaken. Big time. Joona Linna is a fascinating hero. He's brilliant, tough, and willing to just about beg his supervisor for permission to work on this case. Yet he's a kind man with what I gather is a tortured past. His daughter Lumi feels has to get away from him, as she is having trouble dealing with her father's violence when pursuing a case. He's my new thriller hero! The other characters in this book are extremely well drawn. We meet Jenny when she is abducted, and we see her struggle to survive. We know how she will end up, and it's heartbreaking. Pamela lost her child years ago, and she's struggling to get on with her life. Her husband Martin has severe mental health issues which have worsened after the loss of his stepdaughter. He witnessed Jenny's murder and cannot remember what he saw; Dr. Erik Maria Bark tries to break through his memories at Joona's request. Orphan Mia, a tough girl, has spent most of her life in the System, and Pamela and Martin want to adopt her, but she's torn away from them. Primus is one of the most disturbing characters in this book; he's a mental patient, a sexual deviant who has a connection to Caesar. And then there's Caesar and Granny...I don't know which one I find more abhorrent! Their brutality is unspeakable. I advise you to be aware that the content herein is not for those who are triggered by severe torture, rape, murder and mental illness. This book is so fascinating, however, that it totally drew me in despite the horrific nature of the storyline. It's a thriller not to be missed!

I received an ARC of this book courtesy of the publisher and NetGalley. I received no compensation for my review, and all thoughts and opinions expressed are entirely my own.

This is another Scandinavian mystery/thriller series that follows in the footsteps of the The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo series (often referred to "Scandinoir" or "Nordicnoir"). It is explores some very dark subject matter and can be too gruesome for some readers.  Again, think The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo series. You have been warned. But, if you enjoy these types of novels, you will definitely enjoy The Mirror Man, the eighth installment in the Det. Joona Linna series. Written by a husband and wife team, this book, and the entire series are amazing.  It should be more popular than it is.

The story begins with the abduction of sixteen year old Jenny Lind. She is kidnapped right in front of a classmate. Never found, Jenny soon becomes the town's most famous kidnapping case. Five years later, Jenny's body is found hanging in a playground. Caught on video is a witness- a mentally ill man, named Martin walking his dog who knows desperately wants to help the police, but has blocked that night from his memory. As Joona searches for any clue in the kidnapping and murder of Jenny, he discovers a five year old suicide that may be connected to her death. Joona must now feverishly try to solve the case of Jenny Lind while preventing more deaths.

This novel is intense. It begins with the kidnapping of Jenny Lind and never slows down.  It truly is one of those novels that you can't put down until you finish. I stayed up way too late, enthralled with the story.  The characters are incredibly well written.  Joona comes off as a brilliant detective that lacks interpersonal skills.  He is at a point in his life where after reconnecting with his daughter, he is thinking of leaving the police force. He is uncertain about what type of man he is and if he can continue to keep his "self" intact while being exposed to such brutal crimes. Kepler's portrayal of Martin, the mentally ill witness is amazing.  We feel Martin's confusion and hope and determination to help the police, if only he can figure out how. The trauma and PTSD he suffers from are so realistically portrayed that I dare anyone not to be sympathetic to Martin. As for the mystery itself, there are twists and turns that you will never see coming.  The novel is very tightly plotted.

My only real critique, and the reason it lost a star, is the solution to the mystery. I felt it was out of left field.  There was no signaling or inference of the identity of the kidnapper/killer until it was revealed.  It felt tired and cliched.  Having said that, you will still enjoy the novel. In fact, I liked it so much, I started reading the rest of the series. Here's a top though: do not read this series without taking a break between each book. The intensity is high and subject matter is dark. It can put you in a very dark place if you don't take a break.  But, it's still worth it.

I really enjoy Lars Kepler. I liked this book. While it was not my favorite of theirs it was good.
I was hoping for alittle more than it gave.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this review copy. The English translation of this releases today!

I really enjoyed this new book in this series. This is a bit of a return to form after the Jurek plot was wrapped up in the last book. I enjoyed seeing Joona solve a new mystery that is mostly unrelated to previous books. This book had the same very fast pace of the previous books with the same high-stakes ending that kept me reading, which I really enjoy.

I mostly like the way this was plotted. I was never really able to guess anything that happened with the plot. The whole time I was so curious about the motive of the killer and that definitely kept me reading. We have very little information about motives until the end and I mostly enjoyed that as it made me more curious about how the story would unfold. The actual conclusion for this mystery was a motive that I personally don't enjoy very much but that's probably more personal preference than anything wrong with the book.

I feel like this series has been able to maintain the quality of the story throughout that books and this one is no different. I would definitely encourage fans of this series to pick up this book.

From my blog: Always With a Book:

Without a doubt, Lars Kepler’s Joona Linna series is my favorite series despite how dark and disturbing it is. I just love not only the storylines that this husband-wife writing team comes up with but also the writing itself – it is so completely captivating and thrilling.

This latest book is probably the darkest and most gruesome of the entire series and while I still loved it, I found myself having to take little breaks throughout. It was a lot to take in and very intense at times…yet I could think of nothing else but this story. These books are most definitely not for the faint of heart What I love about these books, as I have found throughout this entire series, is that these books get under your skin. Not only are there the horrific horrors going on here, but there is also the attachment to the main characters that I have seen grow and develop throughout the series.

I absolutely love Joona Linna’s character. He is relentless in his pursuit of solving cases and whether this is a strength or a weakness, he doesn’t give up until there is a resolution. His stubbornness at times gets in his way, but at other times is his greatest asset. But as much as I love our protagonist, I also love that the authors fully develop their villains. This allows us to really know them and possibly even feel empathetic towards them at times.

I loved all the twists and turns that this book takes. It definitely has all the elements of a great NordicNoir that I’ve come to love and expect – there’s the serial killer, the violence, the atmospheric nature, and of course, there are flawed characters – and there were even a few elements I wasn’t expecting that really enhanced the story.

I cannot recommend this series enough. It is a fast-paced and complex story that totally delivers on every level. The tension remains high throughout, and the final chapter will leave you once again eagerly counting down til the next book…and I have no idea when that will be. But I do know that at least there will be another one. In the meantime…grab this one – you won’t be disappointed!

This Nordic Noir thriller is the eighth book in the Joona Linda series and follows the detective after the body of missing girl Jenny is found hanging in a public park. Five years prior, 17 year old Jenny was abducted walking home from school and taken to a run down house where other girls are being held. Their captor is unpredictable and the punishments are harsh and often deadly. Joona suspects Jenny isn't the killer's first victim and when another girl - Mia - goes missing it becomes clear they are dealing with a serial predator. As the police investigation unfolds, Mia and the group of young women at the house are plunged into increasing danger and Joona is in a race against time to save them.

TW/CW: kidnapping, sexual assault, child abuse, torture, animal abuse, animal death, drug use, alcoholism, death of a child, mental illness, police treatment of someone with mental illness, abuse in mental health facilities

In typical fashion for me, I didn't look up if this was part of a series before requesting on NetGalley and I was a little worried when I found out it was the 8th book. Also, there were a few reviews I read that said this book would have been confusing without reading the previous ones so I was worried but decided to give it a shot anyway. This series has been on my list as one that I'd like to read so if this 8th book wasn't making much sense, then I'd put it on the backburner and go read through the first seven books first. However, I was very pleased while reading that I was not confused at all. Like many police procedural series, the mystery in this book is self contained. There are a number of references to outside events that happened in what seemed like the previous book and while I didn't know what, exactly, the characters were referencing, there were enough context clues that allowed me to get the gist of what happened. Also, these other references didn't have any impact on the current case Joona is investigating so they were really more so for some character development and background info. As with most police procedural series, the characters and relationships develop over the course of the series so I'm sure I missed out on some of that, but I still really enjoyed this book as a standalone. I'm sure when I do get around to reading the series from the beginning, these character interactions will hold more weight.

I really loved the characters in this book and how interconnected they all became by the end. In the beginning few chapters, we did hop around to a few different characters and it made the story feel a bit disjointed because it wasn't obvious how any of the characters were connected. However, as the investigation progressed the ties and connections became increasingly obvious and I really loved how they all came together in the end. Each of the characters we follow was very unique and well developed so I never felt like any of them were just 'extra'. I think Kepler does a great job at quickly defining these relationships between the characters by giving us just the right about of backstory and then showing us a few key scenes with the characters to really cement in their personalities and relationships. We're following a handful of the characters throughout the story and it felt really well balanced. I think in a lot of police procedurals, the main POV is (unsurprisingly) the police detective. In this case, however, it really felt like it was a 33% - 33% - 33% split between the detective, the main witness, and the girls being held which really made this read less like a procedural and more like a traditional commercial thriller. This also allowed for a lot more character development and exploration since so much of our time was spent with these other characters.

As I mentioned, this was my first book by Kepler and the writing style in the beginning did take some getting used to. A lot of the sentence structure, particularly early in the book, was very basic and repetitive - for example: "Character A does X. Character A does Y. Character A goes to H and does Z." Now I know every author has their particular style and this is a translated work so maybe that narration style is more common in the native Swedish but I've read my fair share of Nordic Noir translated works and this one stood out to me as being a little extra dry and simplistic in the writing style. As the book progressed, about after the 30% mark or so, I noticed those sort of simplistic sentences showing up less and less and the narrative took on a style that didn't really have much outstanding defining characteristics. The narrative style faded into the background and let the plot and characters come through. Personally, I enjoy that way of writing where the narrative craft is almost invisible and I know it takes a lot of work to get a narrative to that level. In those early chapters, the sort of monotone, repetitive narration is broken up by moments of very visceral descriptions of what is happening to these girls and how they're feeling. We see Jenny's abduction on page and the narration goes from "Jenny went to her locker, Jenny left school, Jenny took a left down the short cut" etc and quickly turns into a terrifying close third person narration of what it feels like when she wakes up and the terror growing as she realizes what happened and probably will happen to her.

The thriller aspects of this book really elevated this book for me. I've said before that I'm a big fan of police procedurals but I can understand how other readers find them boring and dry and even I'll point out when certain books lean a little too far into the 'procedure' of the investigation. This one, however, had a really great balance between the investigation aspects and the survival aspect due to the multi-POV. I loved how we had chapters following the kidnapped girls and seeing how they were surviving and dealing with their ordeal. Then we're also following other characters who are connected to the case in various ways. I think the POV choices as well as how much of the violence and torture we're shown really amped up the tension because the reader knows that the Joona is investigating the case but none of the girls believe they'll be rescued. Also, we see some of them try to escape like we know Jenny was able to - at least until she was caught again and killed - so the reader also knows they probably won't make it if they try to escape but understands that they don't know that.

I do want to touch on a main reveal that revolves around a certain mental health diagnosis. This is just my pet peeve, but I really dislike when this certain diagnosis is used in this way. I personally think it is a cheep and overdone twist and while I personally do not have this diagnosis, I've seen many people who are diagnosed speak out against using that diagnosis in this type of way. Based on my understanding of this diagnosis, I do think Kepler got a lot of the factual aspects correct (like how it usually manifests, the root cause, etc) but, again, I think how it overall ended up being used was still not great and overall harmful to the public's understanding of this particular diagnosis. Mental illness is a bit theme and plot element in this story and there are some discussions about abuse in mental health facilities 30 years prior that I found to be a thoughtful addition to the story. However, we also see police officers not listening and taking advantage of a character in a precarious mental health state which, again, was a nice acknowledgement that these sorts of abuses of power are still happening.

Overall, this was a really great detective story and it really solidified my feelings that I should start this series from the beginning. Great characters, good balance between the investigation and more thriller-y elements, good balance between keeping the mystery self contained in this book but also having connections to the previous books in the series.

Thanks NetGalley and Knopf Doubleday for the ARC

Expected publication day is January 18, 2022

(originally published October 19, 2020 in Swedish)

I'm a big fan of Scandi-noir, and I find the writing team of Lars Kepler writes the most relatable stories in this genre. I still love Harry Hole, but I think I'm an even bigger fan of Joona Linna now.

To be honest, I was feeling pretty smug for figuring out the "whodunnit" of things, but no -- Lars Kepler surprised me in the end. I was all wrong! The Mirror Man is all about Joona Linna, and the usual cast of characters (like Saga Bauer, Valeria, and Lumi) have very minor appearances. Joona is all-in on the case of a serial killer who kidnaps and ultimately kills young girls. In the first chapter, we meet Jenny Lind, who is the most recent victim of the UNSUB. Five years after she was kidnapped, Jenny is found hanging in a playground. In searching for her killer, Joona finds a possible witness in Martin Nordstrom. Martin has recently been hospitalized in an institution to deal with a deep depression, the result of losing his daughter while ice fishing five years earlier. With the assistance of Martin's wife Pamela, Joona convinces Martin to undergo hypnotherapy to try to recover any memories of the crime scene he can that will help Joona identify the killer. After another girl is kidnapped, Joona becomes obsessed with solving the crime before any more girls are lost.

Like a lot of Scandi-noir, The Mirror Man is very dark and disturbing, so readers new to the series should be forewarned. This is the eighth in the Joona Linna series, and Lars Kepler fans won't be disappointed. The Mirror Man can be read as a stand-alone; however, I wouldn't recommend it because it helps a lot to understand Joona's backstory and how it relates to his relationships with friends, colleagues, and family.

Thanks to NetGalley and Knopf for providing me an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Mirror Man is the 8th Joona Linna book in the series from Lars Kepler.

"17-year-old Jenny Lind is abducted in broad daylight. She is taken to an isolated farm where she is held captive in cages with other girls. They are punished for every little mistake and their families are threatened if they try to escape. Five years later Jenny is found murdered in a public park. Joona ties her death to a previous suicide. When another girl goes missing Joona is sure there is a serial killer at work and he finds himself in a race to save them."

This is my 2nd Kepler book and I'm learning that they write some scary bad guys. This one cages teenage girls and carries a machete for punishment. This is a police procedural but it doesn't overwhelm the reader by jumping from lead to lead. The story goes back-and-forth from Joona's investigation to the farm where the girl's are held captive. The story is fast-paced and intense.
I was not a fan of the plot twist. Kepler makes it work but I prefer a different resolution.

Another great story from Lars Kepler.

Warning. Do not start reading this at night. Beyond creepy but so so good. You want to put this down and just can't. I love the creepy and the disturbing and this book is all that and more. Definitely pick this up. I dare you. Happy reading!

I swear this writing duo can do no wrong. The Mirror Man was an addicting, fast-paced thriller that had me dying to know what was going to happen next. While the books in this series tend to be longer (at least for me), the chapters are short, so it becomes easy to read quickly.

While I can’t say that I was super surprised by who the killer was, I thoroughly enjoyed the entire book. The details around how the killer got to where he did was surprising, and not something I was expecting.

Spoiler:

I thought Dennis' character was interesting, there definitely seemed like there was something more going on (outside of his relationship with Pamela), but he was just there to throw the reader for a loop. I was hoping his storyline would be a bit more tied up at the end.

My first 5 stars of 2022!!! After Jenny is abducted in broad daylight, she is kept and tortured by her captor for five years. When she attempts to escape, her abductor follows her and murders her in a public park. Joona is brought in after another teenager is kidnapped and the clock starts ticking for her to be found.

I am reading this series out of order (yikes - one of my pet peeves) but when I saw this one pop up on NetGalley I couldn’t resist. I love Joona so much - he is so flawed but so talented. He is a very complex protagonist, which makes the story so much more interesting to dissect. The plot was full of twists and turns and the events taking place were cinematic in my mind. There were creepy tidbits littered throughout along with gory and edgy imagery, making it a very intense read. Another thing that sticks out to me in Kepler novels is that we always get such an intricate back story about the other people involved in the case. It isn’t just about the detective and their investigation. I just found out today thanks to booksta that Lars Kepler is actually a pseudonym for a married couple who write together!? Mind blown!!