The Chestnut Man by Søren Sveistrup
Over the last two years, I’ve been adding more and more thrillers to my tbr. Last year, during #thrilleroctober I went on a thriller audiobook spree and LOVED it!! One of the books I read was the The Chestnut Man which reminded me a lot of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and Department Q. But compared to The Nanny, and The Whisper Man, which I also read during #thrilleroctober, this book was the most shocking and bloody of all.
SYNOPSIS
The heart-pounding debut from the creator of the hit Scandinavian television show The Killing.
If you find one, he’s already found you.
A psychopath is terrorizing Copenhagen.
His calling card is a “chestnut man”—a handmade doll made of matchsticks and two chestnuts—which he leaves at each bloody crime scene.
Examining the dolls, forensics makes a shocking discovery—a fingerprint belonging to a young girl, a government minister’s daughter who had been kidnapped and murdered a year ago.
A tragic coincidence—or something more twisted?
To save innocent lives, a pair of detectives must put aside their differences to piece together the Chestnut Man’s gruesome clues.
Because it’s clear that the madman is on a mission that is far from over.
And no one is safe.
MY THOUGHTS
The Chestnut Man by Søren Sveistrup
Although it took me a bit to get into the story, I ended up loving it. With over 500 pages and many different POV’s it was hard to figure out at first, who was who, and which of the characters I was supposed to root for. In the end it was Detective Naia Thulin and Mark Hess, who had ties to Europol, that made up the main characters.
For someone who played with chestnuts as a child, and made many chestnut figures herself, the connection felt very eery to me.
The Chestnut Man was a ‘siting on the edge of my seat’ kind of book. It was full of tension, and besides the slow start, there wasn’t a boring minute in the entire book. On top of it the killer was fantastically unexpected. But, the book is definitely not for the faint-hearted. People are dropping like flies, which of course adds to the overall ‘hold your breath and buckle up’ feel I got while reading this book.
| last thoughts |
The Chestnut Man is a definite recommendation for any thriller enthusiast. And I can’t wait to see what the author comes up with next. It looks like we might get more books with the main characters in the future.
The Chestnut Man is considered Nordic noir. And after I googled the genre, I realized that I already read books by “the father of Nordic noir” Henning Mankell. Because of the similarity of style and voice, I was instantly drawn to it.
ABOUT THE AUDIOBOOK:
The audiobook was fantastic. The only complaint, it was hard to distinguish the different POVs. But otherwise I took all kinds of excuses to keep on listening.
My rating:
HERE IS A GREAT INTERVIEW WITH THE AUTHOR BY CRIME BY THE BOOK
The Chestnut Man by Søren Sveistrup
Ahh oof! I was keeping my fingers crossed as it was a firm favorite of mine too! Great review Corina!
It was FANTASTIC!!! Can’t wait to read another book by him. Do you have recommendations of other thrillers that are similar in style?
Hmm I’m new to nordic noir and I haven’t come across anything similar, which is why I liked it so much too. I’ll let you know when I do!
I had to GOOGLE it – lol. I had no idea that I actually already read some, I was certainly surprised when I found out. Overall the books are a bit darker and foreboding I think.
That too but they are set in Scandinavia or other northern countries and written with a police POV. The author was already known for a tv series I believe, also in the same genre. Maybe you could watch that, there’s an idea :-).
The police POV is probably what made The Chestnut Man so familiar, I’ve always loved that in a thriller. And I read about his TV show, and definitely should be watching it.
Lovely review and I love the aesthetic of your blog. The story sounds very intriguing and as I am a Sidney Sheldon fan I think this book has to be on my list.
Best wishes from The Strong Traveller and have a great day
Do have a look at my blog whenever you find the time. There is some travel and lifestyle content which you may find interesting. Your thoughts will surely be very valuable. Stay connected. 🙂
Hi there, and thanks for visiting!! I’m going to check out Sidney Sheldon, and your blog too. I love to travel – and will be adding posts about traveling too – not at the moment – but hopefully in sometime in the future. 😀
Wow that’s great. Hope to stay connected. 🙂
I haven’t heard of this one before! Great review Corina! 💗💗
It’s really good, the one that has stood out for me over the last 12 month, Jar of Hearts by Jennifer Hillier was amazing too.
Ooo, thanks for the recommendation! 😊💗
I’ve never actually heard about this one! But it does sound fantastic. Thank you! 🙂
I’m planning to read the Whisper Man either this or next month. It’s been on my TBR since its release… Lol
I think both books, The Chestnut Man and the The Whisper Man were released around the same time, and everyone was talking about them. Can definitely recommend both. Happy reading!!