Eighteen Below

Having read the other two books in this series I had high hopes for this one but sadly I didn’t find this one to be quite as good as its predecessors and it took me almost a week to finish, whereas the others only took days to read.

I don’t know if it was because the format of the writing structure changed slightly or that it was due to the fact this one is more of a slow burner I’m not sure. But saying all that I would still read this one again!

The book has 2 storylines running through it which at first seem completely unrelated but as you get deeper into the book lines started to become crossed. When a homeless man is brutally beaten to death, Dunja can’t stop herself from starting an investigation of her own. Before long the clues take her to Sweden and Helsingborg, where Risk is investigating the peculiar case of the frozen millionaire.

Risk’s family play a big part of this one and it certainly takes the story down a path I wasn’t expecting! Fabian’s young daughter explores the supernatural with the help of a friend and Ouija board whilst his son finds himself entangled in a group of youths playing their own version of happy slapping. Onto of that Risk’s marriage seems to be coming to an end as his wife Sonja is commissioned by a wealthy art collector to produce an installation for his home.

All in all this book has a lot going on, all separate but interconnecting in a rather unique way. As i said earlier it is a fairly slow burner of a book but it is worth a read.

It can be read as a stand alone novel but I would recommend reading the other 2 books as it fills in the details of the bits of back story that come up but there are enough details for this to all make sense by itself.

It ends with a few unanswered questions which I am hoping will all be answered in his next book. I cant wait to see what the future holds for Fabian, the Risk family and Dunja.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Heads of Zeus for a review copy of Eighteen Below, the third novel to feature detective Fabian Risk now working in Malmo and former Copenhagen detective Dunja Hougaard, now a patrol officer in Helsongør.

When IT millionaire Peter Brise drives into the harbour after a car chase the police assume it's suicide until the pathologist reveals that he was dead and had been for a while when he went into the water. How can this be when he was seen a few days earlier? In the meantime Dunja's investigation of a homeless woman seen covered in blood leads her to a case of happy slapping and the derision of the detectives.

I thoroughly enjoyed Eighteen Below. I was hooked by the unusual premise and gripped by the slow, well paced release of information. I couldn't wait to get back to it and see what was coming next. Much of the plot, notably the Swedish murders, stretched my credulity but I soon forgot to wonder about it as I got caught up in the plot and, almost as importantly, the private lives of the characters. I like the way Mr Ahnhem is able to weave all these strands together so easily when the two main plotlines are completely separate and at no point converge except tangentially.

There is much about Fabian and his family in this novel. He and his wife, Sonja, are moving closer to divorce and his kids are dealing with it in their own ways, troubled Theodor has transferred his affections to Alexandra, a girl at school, and Matilda is dabbling in the occult with a ouija board. Dunja is trying to get her career back on track but is constantly sabotaged by the malevolent Kim Sleizner. I found all these personal storylines as fascinating as the main plots and can't wait to see how they play out in the next novel along with the hints about Fabian's next investigation.

I expected to find the novel a bit of a disjointed read given the various points of view and plotlines but while it does jump about I found it an easy and absorbing read. It should also be noted that there is a high body count and while the violence is not overly graphic it may not be for the squeamish.

I have no hesitation in recommending Eighteen Below as a good read.

This is the third in the Fabian Risk series which I have read from the beginning. As so often in the Scandi-Noir tradition, the body count is gruesomely high with Fabian's entire family having a storyline. Fabian and his wife, Sonja, head ever closer to divorce, Sonja's art work is displayed in an exhibition, and she accepts a commission from the wealthy Alex. Theodor, the son, deals with the family upheaval by becoming ever more remote, focusing his attention on Alexandra, a girl he has a heavy crush on. Matilda becomes closer to her friend, Esmaralda, and joins her in her interest in the occult, and the ouija board. Fabian is getting better at shooting after his inability to use his gun in critical incidents previously. It all begins with Astrid, struggling to cope with her divorce and turning to drink, chasing a car that drives off a quay. The presumed suicidal driver turns out to be Peter Brise, a rich IT entrepreneur. However, it turns out Brise has been dead for two months, and the body kept in a freezer.

So begins a complex case for Risk and the police team. Brise has been seen at least two days before his car ending up in the water. As the team dig deeper, they begin to slowly understand Brise's death is not the first but part of a series where wealthy individuals have their identity stolen, and their bodies left in freezers. Their assets are sold off with the money put into accounts overseas and laundered prior to being returned to Sweden. The police are up against highly intelligent and ruthless individuals willing to kill anyone that stands in their way. Honing in on their identities is a difficult task, and keeping them in custody even more so. Dunja Hougard, a police officer in Denmark returns as a uniform cop with Magnus as her partner at Helsingor police. Finding a job has been made difficult by her previous boss, Kim Sleizner, determined to revenge himself on Dunja and destroy her career. Dujna tries to get to the bottom of the killing of a homeless man despite all the obstacles she faces. Her investigation connects with Fabian as she uncovers the murderous deeds of a group of young people being posted on the dark net.

Ahnhem writes a fast paced story with short chapters that raise tension and suspense. Within the messy dynamics of Risk's dysfunctional family, we find the ambitious Sonja getting involved with her client, Theodor in a situation where he finds himself out of his depth and Matilda finding solace in Greta, a presence from beyond the grave. The beginnings of the next investigation for Risk is laid out in this novel with the suicide of a colleague. This is an enjoyable and entertaining series with a wide array of characters that shows no sign of fizzling out. I look forward to the next in the series. Many thanks to Head of Zeus for an ARC.