Stockholm, 1794: A young nobleman, Eric Three Roses, languishes in a hospital as the rest of the city claims that he belongs in a madhouse. Riddled with guilt, he writes down the memories of his lost love --- his beautiful wife who died on their wedding night.

The young woman’s mother also mourns her death and, desperate for justice, begs for help from the only person who will listen to her: Jean Mickel Cardell, the one-armed watchman. But she isn’t the only person seeking him out.

Emil, younger brother to the brilliant lawyer and detective Cecil Winge, finds the watchman to demand his late brother’s pocket watch back. Instead, Cardell enlists Emil’s help to discover what really happened at the Three Roses estate that dreaded wedding night.

THE CITY BETWEEN THE BRIDGES: 1794 is a suspenseful race for the truth before it’s too late from an author with a “thrilling, unnerving, clever, and beautiful” (Fredrik Backman, #1 New York Times bestselling author) voice.

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1794: The City Between the Bridges by Niklas Natt och Dag is the second book of the ”Bellman noir” historical mysteries trilogy featuring Jean Mickel Cardell, the one-armed watchman.

Erik Three Roses, a sensitive nobleman in love with Linnea Colling, his childhood friend. Erik’s father opposes the marriage and exiles Erik to Saint Barthélemy, a Caribbean Swedish colony. Erik, however, manages to return home and marry the love of his life. On their wedding night, he awakes to find her brutally murdered. Erik, believing he’s the killer hospitalizes himself in an attempt to find a cure.

Linnea’s mother does not believe the official story that her child was mauled by wolves and also doesn’t believe Erik is capable of such brutality. She requests Cardell to investigate the murder which leads him into dark corridors of humanity which no one wants to enter. Emil Winge, Ceclil’s brother, joins Cardell but he might be more of a hindrance than an asset.

I stumbled on this book accidentally, I really enjoyed The Wolf and the Watchman and was excited to learn that there’s a trilogy in the making. Much like it’s predecessor, 1794: The City Between the Bridges by Niklas Natt och Dag (translated by Ebba Segerberg) is dark, grim, and somewhat depressing, yet fascinating with a good plot and narrative.

The story is mostly set in 18th Century Stockholm, and is full of descriptions of life at the time, as well as the people occupying it. The author does not view the past with rose-colored glasses, like many other cities its size around the world, life wasn’t precious, and each day brought its own, sometimes deadly, challenges.

The dark, brutal story is unrelenting but difficult to stop reading which is a testament to the excellent translation. I also enjoyed that the author takes time to introduce the characters, sometimes a large section of the book. The strong character development, not for every character of course, was a strong reason I enjoyed the book.

I wouldn’t classify this book as a “mystery”, per se. The who-done-it aspect is quite clear around the middle of the story, the question is not “who”, but “how”, and “why”. Nevertheless, the book is still engaging with a few twists here and there but mostly the story is coherent and straightforward.

This book has a lot going for it, and the author managed to include many themes in a relatively short space. Class collisions, complicated motives, struggle to survive, buying love and power, and violence for the simple pleasure of violence are all touched upon. The one recurring theme that I found is that sanity and madness are closely related even though they seem different.

The seedy atmosphere is felt on every page. The author isn’t shy from throwing challenges galore at his characters. It felt as if a terrible fate is just waiting for any character at the turn of every page, which, of course, made me want to turn the page.

<B>I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA NETGALLEY. THANK YOU.

My Review</b>: Splendidly grim; staggeringly brutal.

Really, I could stop typing right there. What you need to know is: The first book isn't a necessity to read before this one, but I recommend it. If that book's truly dreadful crimes don't cause you to blench, this one's won't either plus you'll already know Mickel Cardell...he's central to the point of view of Enlightenment-era Stockholm from below our usual ten-thousand-foot aerie of aristocracy of the mind or the law. History glosses over so much.

The author and the translator must have worked closely together on this series to maintain such a clear sense of the language being used with great exactness and concision. The way the imagery unfolds is gripping, especially in the more awful parts...and there are plenty of them!...so I'm not going to spend a lot of keystrokes specifying the CWs. Trust me, if you need a content warning, you might shouldn't pick this series up. Bodies and minds are abused, ground down, commodified. No one in this book has a shred of a chance at happiness.

If that matters to you, shop elsewhere.

What you'll get in this shop is a very trenchant take on the role of power in corrupting the powerful's souls. What happens when no one can say no to you is never pretty. What happens to others is downright horrifying. It behooves the reader willing to come down the fetid alleys and swim across the reeking canals to realize what dehumanizing and Othering costs the Othered, but also those passively complicit in it.

The manner in which the story is constructed, multiple apparently disconnected viewpoints, isn't at first obviously going to lead us to Stockholm and Mickel. Be patient...it will. But that polyphony that feels so alienating early on is, in the end, an effective tool for conveying the reality of the story to the observing eye of the reader.

I don't for a second think too many will see the ending coming. That is praise, coming from me. I can't honestly say I felt ma'at upheld in the resolution. Because nothing on this wide green Earth can redress the balance of horror and misery unleashed on the people in it. But it doesn't stop being worth the trip.

So no happy happy, joy joy. But a lot of seriously good points being made in prose more than up to the task of delivering the burden of the tale in unforgettable ways.

I loved The Wolf and the Watchman, and I was so excited to read this new one. Unfortunately, the story and writing are not working for me at all. I've tried several times, but reading it feels like a chore.

DNF at 27%.

My thanks to Atria books, Niklas Oct Day and Netgalley.
After reading the first book in this series, I knew that I was going to be frustrated with this second one.
Yep! I was.
What I also knew was that I would have to push through it to get to the good bits. Whew! It did take me time to push through!
But, as sometimes happens, I think I enjoyed this book more than the first!
I'm still completely disgusted by the descriptions. I would not have done well in this time frame.
Fantastic story!
I do wish that they "whomever they are" would translate all of this authors books.

Eric Three Roses was the youngest son of the Lord and nothing like his idolize older brother. Where his brother was a bully he was thoughtful and kind as a teenager he fell in love with The daughters of one of his fathers tenants. When his father found out about it he gave his blessing for a little dalliance but said he could never marry a peasant farmers daughter when Eric proclaimed his intention to marry Lanin his father sent him away to work in the slave trade. True to who Eric was he had no stomach for dealing in humans but while away having troubles of the zone he received a letter saying his older brother was dead and that he would now inherit three roses and be the Lord of the Manor. It should’ve been the happiest time of our its life his dream is coming true he could marry Lanin and live happily ever after but on their wedding night tragedy strikes he’s left to linger in a hospital and has convinced himself he deserves to be there. Can the watchmen prove his innocence especially when he starts the case believing Eric is guilty? There is so much more to the story and OMG what a great story I did not know this was a mystery series but count me in. I love historical mysteries and Wood County schools as one of the best ones I have read. I highly recommend this book if you love historical fiction great mysteries with the not so obvious outcome you need to read the city between the bridges it is so good. A total five-star read. I received this book from NetGalley and the publisher but I am leaving this review voluntarily please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

This was my first book to read by this author but won't be my last! The story and its characters will stick with you long after you finish the story. Highly recommend!

Mixed emotions about this one. I loved the first in this projected trilogy(The Wolf and the Watchman) so I had high hopes, maybe unrealistic for this one. Well it did not meet my expectations. It offered many of the same pleasures as its predecessor, dense lush writing, visceral violence and sex, perversion and sickness and a solid grounding in history—but the book wandered a bit and could have been much shorter and more effective. And the plot was a bit too attenuated to follow closely. Nonetheless Dag writes a helluva book and I look forward to the final book in the trilogy.

Niklas Natt och Dag was very skilled in his handling of the previous book to assume what the watchman was able to do. He is now worse off than he was before. I will let you read this story to find out what has happened to him. Niklas has given several of his characters many different stories which compete with the main thread to come back and turn everything around. Anna Stina Knapp will figure into Jean Michael Cardell's downfall which will figure into his wellbeing. There's plenty to figure out into what will happen to everyone in the story.