A hugely entertaining crime/police procedural novel featuring a savant-level protagonist and antagonist, and a dead female financier who appears to have risen from the grave after 14 years. Loved the idiosyncratic way in which this was written and translated (who knew Swedish people think Volvos are daggy?), and how the burgeoning mystery involves rarified individuals from within the Swedish government/elite, right down to drug dealers in working class Husby. While many of the murder victims are female, it's refreshing to read Nordic Noir that doesn't linger on more and more improbable and horrific ways to take women and girls out. The murders or assaults in "Fatal Gambit" feature chess, classical music, arson and straight out suffocation, without the need for cross bows, booby-trapped balls etc etc. The ramping up of tension isn't by way of horror, which is a relief, but is instead character-driven.

I hadn't realised this was the second book in a series, so will now be seeking out "Dark Music", the first "Rekke/Vargas" novel.

With thanks to NetGalley and Quercus Books/MacLehose Press for providing me with an advance to read and review.

This is the second book in the Rekke series and I found it just as enjoyable as the first, Dark Music. All the characters from the first book were back again but this time the two families were more interwoven for the sake of the story. The pace picked up as the book progressed and I found myself turning the pages quickly towards the end. It still had a Sherlock Holmes feel to it from Hans but not as much as the first book. You could read this as a stand-alone but to understand the characters I would strongly advise reading Dark Music first. I look forward to more from this series. Thank you to NetGalley and Quercus Books/MacLehose Press for letting me read and review this book.

Fatal Gambit David Lagercrantz
4 stars
I first heard of this author when I read the three books that he wrote as a follow-up to the Stieg Larsson trilogy. I thought they were excellent and he really captured the style of the amazing Stieg Larsson.
Therefore I was really interested when I saw a book written by the same author and I am pleased that I read this. It involves the disappearance of Claire Lidman who had been pronounced dead back in 2004. Suddenly a picture is discovered taken in St Mark’s Square in Venice showing Claire. Is she still alive and what happened all those years ago?
Detective Hans Rekke is an unconventional man and his assistant Detective Michaela Vargas finds him difficult to deal with. Her own brother Lucas is involved in drug dealing and she is torn between duty and family. As the story progresses we discover the history between Hans Rekke and the notorious Gabor Morovia who has permeated his life for years and the other connection between Morovia and Claire.

I have discovered that this is the second book in this series and I feel I would have enjoyed this one more had I read the first book as I would have had more of an insight into the background between the two main characters. It took a while for me to get into the story but it was a good read and I would happily read more by David Lagercrantz.

Karen Deborah
Netgalley

Claire Lidman died fourteen years ago. So why does she appear in the background of a recent holiday snap taken in Venice? This is the central mystery to Fatal Gambit, which is the sequel to Dark Music. Once the plot gets moving the pace is intense and it turns into a real page turner.

This book is the sequel to Dark Music, and I would recommend that you read that first. Set in Stockholm, Hans Rekke is a wealthy,drug-addicted, manic depressive former concert pianist, who notices everything and can solve any mystery, Micaela Vargas is an unconventional police officer of South American descent, from Husby, the bad part of Stockholm. Together, they make a formidable pair of investigators trying to put the world to rights. They are a great pair of characters, and both have issues with their families, who feature in both books. Micaela's friends and colleagues are a lot of fun too, as is Mrs Hansson, Rekke's long-suffering housekeeper..
The plot is convoluted, with lots of surprises. I enjoyed both books and look forward to the next one.

The Millenium series by Steig Larsson is one of my all-time favorites and after his passing I wondered how author David Lagercrantz would measure up when he continued writing the sequels. I was more than thrilled to read the quality of work he produced so when I saw another book from him in the Rekke series I immediately hit the button to request it. The series commenced with book one, Dark Music, and I do suggest you read these books in order to see the character development which is significant in relation to this book.

The book commences with Samuel Lidman being shown a photo that absolutely stuns him, his wife who was confirmed dead fourteen years ago seems to be in the background. He enlists the assistance of Hans Rekke previously a government consultant who has a tarnished past and requests his help. Rekke now works along Michaela Vargas, a detective who initially disbelieves what she has been told. They both set out to find out if Claire could possibly still be alive, Samuel has never recovered from his wife’s death and with this revelation he is obsessed with finding out what has happened. Now the stage is set for a Rekke to confront an ominous and powerful adversary he met as a child, a man that has never forgotten Rekke and holds an almighty grudge against him. While all this is going on Rekke’s daughter Julia has met a new man and this is also going to cause Rekke grief.

This is a nail biting read, and one that I am now sitting at my desk at work, and I really wished I drank coffee as I have hardly slept as I could not put the book down. Some very well developed shady and menacing characters are present in the book who all come together to heighten the plot make this a fabulous thriller.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and publisher for an advanced copy, all opinions expressed are my own.

Fatal Gambit by D. Lagercrantz, published by Quercus, is part of the Rekke Series.
I recommend to read the books in order, there isn't much easying in, the reader gets thrown right in the story.
Enthralling, well written, twisty and fulkl of unexpected turns that has the reader guessing til the very end.
Blurb: When a dead woman appears—very much alive—in a recent photograph, mismatched crime-solving duo Rekke and Vargas are drawn into a dangerous mystery.When Samuel Lidman spots his wife—who was confirmed dead fourteen years ago—in the background of a friend's holiday photo, he brings it to disgraced former professor and government consultant Hans Rekke and his unofficial partner Detective Micaela Vargas. Their initial skepticism gives way to cautious belief—but where will this case lead them? Meanwhile, Rekke's daughter, Julia, has a new boyfriend she's determined to keep secret. When word gets out, Micaela's world collapses around her, and Rekke is forced to confront a powerful nemesis from his youth. Plunging us back into the political upheaval and financial crisis of the 1990s, as the iron curtain is finally lifted, the second Rekke and Vargas Investigation sees our heroes grapple with a fiendish case that affects them both in profoundly personal ways.