Carin Gerhardsen’s The Saint is a tightly woven thriller that expertly intertwines multiple cases, drawing readers into a complex web of secrets, lies, and unraveling truths. With her signature narrative style, Gerhardsen crafts a story that keeps you hooked as each case unfolds, revealing the dark connections between them.

What stands out most is the book’s seamless pacing. Each subplot is carefully developed, with tantalizing hints and revelations that steadily build suspense. The interplay between the cases creates a sense of mounting tension, as the secrets behind each mystery are laid bare. Gerhardsen masterfully balances these threads, ensuring they remain distinct yet interdependent, adding layers of depth to the narrative.

The characters are equally compelling. Gerhardsen breathes life into her cast, creating flawed and multifaceted individuals whose decisions drive the story forward. The emotional stakes are high, and the moral dilemmas faced by the characters add an extra layer of intrigue.

The Saint is more than just a procedural thriller; it’s a story about human vulnerability and the ripple effects of hidden truths. As each case reaches its resolution, readers are left with a profound sense of how interconnected the characters’ lives truly are.

For fans of crime fiction that challenges both the intellect and emotions, The Saint is a standout read. Carin Gerhardsen proves once again why she is a master of the genre, delivering a novel that is as thought-provoking as it is gripping.

Who would kill such a well-liked man?

The body of banker Sven-Gunnar Erlandsson is found in the Herräng forest by Josefin Siem, one of the girls on the soccer team he coached. He was shot in the neck and back while on his way back from a meeting with his poker club. There is no doubt that this was murder, but what could have been the motive? He is known for his charitable works and willingness to volunteer within the Stockholm community where he, lives happily with his second wife. The murder squad, headed by Detective Chief Inspector Conny Sjöberg, have few clues on which to base their investigation and no apparent motive. As the team pursues different avenues of inquiry amongst Erlandsson’s friends and family they uncover secrets that suggest that the victim was not as saintly as most thought him to be. Could there be a link between him and two girls who have gone missing? The truth could be more disturbing than the investigators could have imagined.
The Saint is the latest in the Hammarby series by author Carin Gerhardsen, and is both intricately plotted and full of fascinating, complicated characters. Each member of the murder squad has his or her own backstory, including one who is caregiver to his disabled daughter, another (newer) member on the team who was a contestant on an American Idol-like show, and a third who is coping with the residual trauma from a brutal assault which she believes was perpetrated in part by someone who works at her police station. They juggle their personal issues and challenges with their work on crimes that reveal the ugly underside of their pleasant community. This is a story that requires a reader’s attention, offering neither exciting car chases nor a sugar coating on the brutal realities of the world, but it is well worth the effort. The reader weighs different possible killers and discovers new victims as the tale unfolds. Not having read the previous entries in the series, I can assure other readers that they need not have read them in order to understand and enjoy this one (but do pay attention when characters discuss events that happened previous to this installment’s timeline). If you are a reader of Nordic noir, particularly of authors like Christoffer Carlsson, Jo Nesbø and Henning Mankell, I would definitely recommend that you add this to your list of authors to read. A female author adds a different perspective to the mix, particularly when it comes to the female characters portrayed. My thanks to NetGalley and Penzler Publishers/Mysterious Press for allowing me early access to this vividly written thriller.

I really enjoyed the writing style. I found myself gripped, turning the pages, not knowing what was to come next.
It was suspenseful, mysterious and really intriguing.

The Saint by @cavring is being published on 12 November 2024 and should be on your #nordicnoirnovember reading list💙

This book is the fourth book in the Hammarby police series; however, it can be read as a standalone as well. This investigation centers around a youth girls soccer coach who is murdered in Stockholm’s Herrang forest while walking home from a poker game night out with friends. The police are stumped because he did not seem to have any enemies and was considered a saint in local circles.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and how it has a cast of interesting police officials that were involved in the case. I’m planning to go back to read the rest of the books in this series now!

Thank you @mysteriouspress for allowing me to read this book in exchange for my honest review. This same review was shared on the Barnes & Noble website.

I'm usually a fan of Nordic noir but this one had me scratching my head, largely because I missed the first books in the series (which would have helped me to understand Petra in particular) but also because this is a very tangled procedural. There are multiple POVs (ok with that) and mutliple issues. The bottom line though is that it's a procedural in which the victim is revealed early on not to have deserved the title of beloved soccer coach. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Over to others.

The premise of this book sounds really interesting, but I struggled to get through this book. The way the multiple points-of-view are handled and the writing style, the story is very disjointed. I don't know if this is the way the book was written or if it's a translation issue, but I found it very hard to follow. The subject matter is also very dark. I usually like Swedish crime novels, but this one was not for me. I appreciate the chance to read an advance review copy, courtesy of NetGalley and Mysterious Press. My review is voluntary and unbiased. (2.75/3 stars)

When you hear that the victim in a police investigation is a saint, wouldn't you be extra suspicious? That's what happens here, with the murder of Sven-Gunnar Erlandsson. It's the first book I've read of Gerhardsen's and I'm definitely going to read more: even the multiple POVs didn't annoy me as much as they usually do (possibly because you expect a police investigation to be a team effort?).

If you're looking for a new Nordic Noir, this is a good place to start.

Nordic Noir that was not at its finest. This was a slog to get through.
Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for access to this eARC.

This was a solid read. I enjoyed reading this book, however I am very picky when it comes to any book that involves police procedures, and found myself putting this book down a lot. If you are into books that have a heavy police procedural aspect, I think you would really like this book.

Thank you, Netgalley, Carin Gerhardsen, and Penzler Publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you, Netgalley, Carin Gerhardsen, and Penzler Publishers for the ebook. This was quite the thriller that had me up all hours of the night trying to figure out what was going on. The perfect guy on the outside is murdered and the town is shocked. Once the detectives start looking into everything, the murder victim doesn't appear to be so innocent. Although, the outcome is not at all how I'd imagined, and it goes deeper than anything you can imagine.

Decent but not my favorite. It could have been better.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this arc in exchange for an honest review!

Nordic Noir, not at its best.

As far as Nordic Noir thrillers go, this one was decidedly subpar for me.

The story itself - a whodunnit about a beloved soccer coach who is found shot to death in a Swedish forrest - was fairly good and unsurprisingly dark and twisted, if not extremely original.

Although it‘s not immediately obvious (this is currently only mentioned in the very last line of the blurb), „The Saint“ is actually the fourth installment in the Hammarby Police series. As someone who hadn‘t read the three previous books, I felt a little lost at times - especially in the beginning - because lots of references were made to an earlier storyline, namely the brutal rape of one of the police officers.

Furthermore, all the main characters were introduced very quickly, with only short initial descriptions, and all pretty much at the same time. As a result of that, I didn‘t really develop a relationship with most of the rather large cast of characters because I simply didn’t learn enough about them, and their portrayals in most cases seemed superficial at best. It‘s usually not a great sign if a book needs a list of characters in the beginning so readers won‘t lose sight of who is who.

But my main issue with the book may, in fact, be with its translation (since I don‘t speak Swedish and cannot confirm this by reading the original, I am giving the author the benefit of the doubt here): the language often seemed stilted, some sentences were bumpy, and other terms and phrases sounded just plain wrong.

I was hoping for a new Nordic Noir series to devour, but after „The Saint“, I won‘t be reading the earlier books in the series.

TW for rape, sexual assault, domestic violence, child sexual abuse, drug use.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penzler Publishers / Mysterious Press for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

„The Saint“ is slated to be published on November 12, 2024.

The subject matter of The Saint interested me, but I struggled with the novel and put it down several times.. It is not a smooth read, and that, in my opinion, could have to do with the translation or perhaps the author trying to do too much.
Thanks NetGalley for the ARC.

** spoiler alert ** I was really disgusted when not even half-way through the book Carin Gerhardsen shows who the killer was, but unbeknown to me we had to solve several other murders to conclude the story, plus solve the rape of Police Assistant Petra Westman. It was the women that solved all the mysteries by looking at computer programs that had something to do with the murders. But in the end, Hamad showed Petra who had been her rapist. It was a really good story and we also learned who had been the person who had her stepfather killed. It seemed to never end with so much going on all the time.
I really ended up liking the story.

As a big fan of Nordic Noir, I’m always looking for new authors to add to my list and I hoped that Gerhardsen would be it. Unfortunately, I wasn’t very impressed. This volume is part of a series that I’d never read before, so maybe that made it harder for me to figure out the characters. There is clearly history there, and I felt a little lost sometimes. But I think that my problem was with the translation. The dialogues didn’t sound natural, the phrases were hard to understand and the turns of phrase were unusual. I was also not a huge fan of the plot, and the cast of suspects was not very well defined. I’m sorry to say that it was not for me.
I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, NetGalley/Penzler Publishers | Mysterious Press.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher, Mysterious Press, for letting me read and review an advanced copy of this book, ‘The Saint’ by Carin Gerhardsen.

In this series of the Swedish writer, the police are called to investigate what looks like an execution of a beloved soccer coach, who was on his way home from a gathering of his poker buddies. The police team lead by DCI Conny Sjoberg, all have their own issues, but must concentrate on the case. When it seems the case is connected to the unsolved cases of two missing girls, the investigation must follow all of the clues they have.

This Swedish mystery is fairly dark, in nature, looking at some of the worst characteristics of some men. It seemed a bit tedious while reading, but the conclusion was quite a climax.

A fun nordic noir outing. Enjoyed the story, but found the translation a little rough at times. Maybe some things just don't translate that well or maybe the translator was taking some sentences that originally worked well and translating them a little too literally? I don't read a lot of books that have been translated, so not sure if that's par for the course or not.

This is the fourth in a series about the eclectic Hammarby Murder Squad, but I read as a stand alone.

Sven-Gunnar Erlandsson is "A SAINT" in the Stockholm community. a soccer coach, consummate volunteer and all around good guy. Everyone is shocked when his murdered body is found in the forest.

The Hammarby murder squad takes the case. The team splits up all of the leads and we follow DI Chief Inspector Conny Sjöberb, as well as the motley crew. It's great to get to know this group and follow their line of thinking. I enjoyed the newest team member!
The squad chases down leads they are surprised at what they find. Could Erlandsson have been less of a saint than everyone thinks?
#penzler