This book started out really strong and had me intrigued, but the story slowed way down after that. I understand why, but the details about the Cold War were not interesting to me and made me feel like the story was dragging. DNF at 52%.

The synopsis and first chapter of this book sucked me in. I was really intrigued with where it was going, however I found the book to be a bit slow and dragging. Political type of books aren't always for me and maybe that's why I was losing interest the more I read. I enjoyed the history as well as Agneta's storyline, but everything else just wasn't for me unfortunately.

As I was reading this Swedish thriller I was planning on only giving it 3 stars. Other reviews had called it fast paced, but I felt I was getting bogged down in the competing storylines. Soviet sleeper units up to no good after a long period of time drew my attention and kept my interest even though superfluous meanderings made me want to skip parts.

Don’t let that above paragraph discourage you. Keep reading for a jackpot ending and twists you won’t see coming. Don’t let this one slip by. I believe it is a series and I am going to check out the others.

Enjoy!

Geiger, by Gustaf Skordeman, is a twisted family thriller. It started off pretty slow but it picks up by the 5th chapter. I thought the main character, Sara, was interesting and likeable, the Bromans, not so much.
It's summer in Stockholm and the Broman daughters have just left their parent's house. The landline phone trills and the voice on the other end issues a one word command. After hanging up, Agneta gets her gun and murders her husband, Stellan, and then vanishes.
Police officer, Sara Nowak has been called by a friend, who is the officer that's investigating the murder. Stellan was once a well loved children's TV host, and when Sara was a young girl, she spent a lot of time with the family. Her and her childhood friends are shocked at by the murder, so Sara helps with the investigation. She doesn't know it yet but she's heading into a dark journey, and will learn more than she ever wanted to know about the Cold War and communist ideologies.

"It's early summer in Stockholm. Agneta and Stellan Broman have just waved off their daughters and grandchildren when the landline phone rings. The caller says just one word: "Geiger." Agneta hangs up, finds her old pistol, kills her husband of fifty years and then disappears from their home without a trace."

Now that's quite an opener to this Scandinavian thriller with a heavy dose of Cold War espionage. For those with an interest in the politics and history of that age, this will be a great read.

I didn't quite connect with it as much as I hoped, but it was an interesting enough book, though a bit slow.

Thank to to Grand Central Publishing for making a copy of this ARC available in exchange for a review.

I loved the premise of this book and couldn’t wait to start reading it. I was very interested in Agneta’s part of the story and found myself on the edge of my seat. I was less invested in Sara as a character and found my mind wandering during her parts. Although a very cool idea, there were too many slow parts to remain engaged. I would still recommend others give it a shot as it is definitely a well written story. 3 stars.


Thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for the ARC.

After seeing her kids and grandkids off she gets a call. She calmly grabs her gun and shoots her husband of many years. Now Agneta is on the run.
This book had me hooked with the end of the first chapter. The way the author starts off showing the family as if they were just like any other family was perfectly executed. The book is told through a focus of two characters; Sara, the woman trying to solve the case even though it is not her case and Agneta, a woman who suddenly shoots her husband and goes on the run. What I didn’t like about this book is how slow it could be at times which was in part to the history lesson this book offered on the cold war. I did not feel strongly about the character Sara, but I could not get enough of Agneta’s parts.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of Geiger.

The premise was so intriguing I had to request it and when it was approved, I was excited.

Sadly, Geiger is too political for me; so much exposition about the Cold War and Germany and blah blah blah.

There are disturbing subplots readers should be aware of including rape and sexual trafficking.

I didn't like the characters, especially Sara, who did not come off as a competent police officer.

She's judgmental, violent and spends too much time hating on the sex offenders she's tasked to catch in the act. I get that she's frustrated with her job but it sounds like she needs a new job and some sessions with a psychologist.

I did like who the spies turned out to be, and the writing was good but I found the majority of the narrative dull.

Geiger was not so much a mystery, as much as an outlet for the author to talk politics.

This Cold War spy thriller just wasn't for me.
As intriguing as this was I couldn't get into all the Cold War espionage.
I felt their was just too much political references for my liking and honestly made the story drag a bit for me.
I hope more readers have better luck than I did!

This is not my usual read but I was drawn to the story of a grandmother killing her husband. The story is great and honestly makes for a good Scandi crime thriller.
The characters were interesting and the twists that come along with are completely shocking. Good writing.... So I guess the issue is me and not the book.
I just wished I could have gotten into the vibe more if this book.

“I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.”

Grand Central Publishing,
Thank You for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this eARC!

Geiger was a good political/police thriller that doesn't seem to have been appreciated much in Sweden.

There was one thing that really bothered me -- and it might have bothered people in Sweden, but I don't know since I can't read their reviews on Goodreads. Anyway, I really didn't need the extra subplot about people sexually abusing minors, and it was disgusting how graphic the author got. But since that was a relatively small portion of the plot, I can still justify giving Geiger 4 stars.

A twist near the end of the book knocked my socks off. I had no idea the author was going to go in that direction. Some people might say this part wasn't realistic, but I'd argue it was for the time period it took place in.

Overall, the book was quite good and had a lot of good twists and turns. I loved it that it was a political thriller set in Sweden about the Cold War. Now that's a different plotline!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing an ARC. The review contains my honest, unbiased opinion.

This was a very good read for the first attempt that Gustaf had. Having Lotta walk with her father (Stellan) at the beginning was the first clue into his attempt to tell the story. Both children Lotta and Malin were going back to their homes after visiting their grandparents. Not known to us was the beginning of the attempt to overthrow the meaningless killing of her father by her mother. Sara who was the only child of their housekeeper, was a policewoman involved in solving prostitution with the Swedish police. But Sara wanted to solve the murder because she lived with the family until she was in her teens. I won't say anymore of what took place so that you'll have something to read about. I will say Sara comes out alive after the whole thing comes to the end.