Excellent piece of Scandinavian noir , very violent unrelentless action that keeps one enthralled throughout. A seemingly washed out detective allied with an unhappy in her post colleague eventually gel together to solve the relentless mystery. Darkly atmospheric this really is a wonderful book with other great characters woven into the complex plot, thoroughly enjoyable and recommended!

From the writer of The Killing, I think I can safely say that if you enjoyed that you will enjoy this.

 

The Chestnut Man is a pacy, considered serial killer thriller with an intriguingly complex cast and a creepy as heck plot that keeps you turning those pages.

Immersively written with a race to the finish edge of seat finale, The Chestnut Man may well haunt your dreams.

Recommended.

Without doubt one of the best books I have read in the last few years.

This is the story of a killer that leaves the mark of a chestnut man at each of their crime scenes. When one occurs a detective is assigned but she is then apparently lumbered with a detective who was with Europol but has been kicked back home for a misdemeanor. He appears lack lustre and disappears but I suppose as with every thing there is more going on with this guy than you at first realise.
The two detectives muscle through the crime scenes as bodies start to pile up and there appears to be a link to the missing daughter of a politician as well. All good stuff as it mixes together to give lots of problems and possible culprits.
On they go searching and then realise that this killer has been doing it longer than they knew but still they seem no closer to the killer.....

I will leave the story there because I urge you to go read it and I don't want to ruin it for you. Firstly you won't be disappointed and secondly you will get a real treat of a book that is well written keeps you wanting to read on and guessing and guessing right to the end. It is a real good twist and not what I expected when the killer is revealed.
This is a debut novel and it is undoubtedly one of the best debuts I have read. Brilliant is just one adjective I would use to describe it. I can't wait for their next book because I for one will be buying it.

This is a good dark novel. It is slow to start with and builds into a really good dark thriller. There is a lot to this book and it is really well written. The chestnut people and the atmosphere all added to the feel of the novel. I hope Soren Sveistrup continues to write.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

Initially I wasn't very keen on this book as it was a bit slow - however, it soon got more fast paced and was a perfect scandi-thriller ( is that a genre all in itself?!) with tortured protagonists! I'm not sure if this is intended to be part of a series but I definitely would be interesting in reading more

The story begins in 1986 when an elderly police officer discovers several people dead at a farm. Two young children - a sister & brother - are found alive in the basement. The policeman who was first on the scene is one of the victims, killed as he searched the farmhouse.
Fast foward to the present day and the brutal murder of a young woman in a playground in a quiet suburb of Copenhagen. One of her hands has been completely severed and above her body hangs a small doll - a Chestnut Man - made from chestnuts and matches.
A young female detective, Naia Thulin, is assigned the case. Naia is a single mum who is on the verge of transferring to Denmark's cybercrime unit when she's partnered with Mark Hess He's just been suspended from his job with Europol at The Hague and is the subject of an ongoing investigation to clear his name. Their case takes a sensational turn when they discover a mysterious fingerprint on the Chestnut Man - evidence connecting it to a school girl, Kristine, who went missing a year earlier and is presumed dead. Kristine was the daughter of Sweden's Social Affairs minister, Rosa Hartung.
The man who confessed to her murder is behind bars and the case closed. But some believe the police forced him to confess and it could be that Kristine is still alive.
A second young woman is savagely murdered with both her hands being cut off. Another Chestnut Man is found with her body. Thulin and Hess believe the killer is building his own Chestnut Man and that more deaths and dismemberment will soon follow. The story moves quickly along with many twists and turns and red herrings. The murderer seems to be almost superhuman, always one step ahead of the police, second guessing the investigation at every turn. There's a lot of office politics at play within the murder squad, with the boss, Nylander, doing his best to ensure he doesn't end up being the fall guy if the murderer isn't caught.
He repeatedly tries to stop Thulin and Hess from chasing new leads, refusing to believe that his squad may have had an innocent man jailed for the murder of Kristine Hartung. He prevents them from interviewing Rosa Hartung, threatening to suspend them if they disobey him. As Thulin and Hess gradually begin to trust each other, their sole ally on the police is the head of the forensics unit. But, each time they think they're getting somewhere, something happens - another subplot - to throw them off track.
In parts of the book, there's far too much information, especially the minutely detailed descriptions of very minor characters, while at other points in the book the actions of Thulin and Hess and the killer seem to collide in a breathless rush and this reader found it confusing to determine who was doing what at vital moments of the story. On the plus side, it's a good police procedural/serial killer thriller - and you'll learn a lot about forensics and chestnuts!

With proper editing, this could be a classic thriller, but as it is, it's way too long and I was a bit relieved when I came to the end. Although this is fiction, at times the plot stretches credulity too far. The characters of Thulin and Hess are likeable enough, but too many others - especially their police colleagues - seem more like cardboard cutouts. The author Soren Sveistrup was scriptwriter for the amazing Danish crime drama, "The Killing"***, so this book will probably sell by the truckload, but I'd rather he wrote another series of ***"Forbrydelsen".

My thanks to the publishers Penguin UK - Michael Joseph and NetGalley for a copy of this book in return for an unbiased review.

Chestnut Man is so dark, and disturbing.

I must say it was difficult to read from time to time, as there is a lot of upsetting content in it, but it's not done in a vulgar way and put together very powerfully.

I loved Hess, and Thurin, both strong characters with their flaws. Hess specifically fits quickly into the very likeable anti-hero space in the eyes of the reader. I wish there wasn't the classic 'encounter with the villain and action' section in the end, this book really didn't needed it. But the ending was beautiful. I can't say too much about the plot to not to reveal but I can say Chestnut Mans will haunt you forever after reading this book.

Gritty, disturbing, dark Scandi-crime, there are trigger warnings but pick it up if you have the stomach, you won't be disappointed.

A fantastic atmospheric thriller,that takes your breath away. It is typically Nordic Noir,full of cruelty and graphic descriptions of torture that may be hard for some to read,but absolutely necessary in this case.
A young girl is found murdered in a playground,with one of her hands cut off. The mutilation appears to have been done whilst she was conscious,and near her body is found a chestnut doll. Later on, other victims are discovered,also with missing body parts. Is the killer trying to make a complete person in order to send a message and who is he trying to reach? What is the significance of chestnut dolls,and indeed,what the heck is a chestnut doll?
This is an edge-of-the- seat thriller,and do remember to breathe, at times you will be holding your breath!! There are murders,blood and gore aplenty. There are also the usual suspects, Hess the troubled detective, Thulin ,the young keen and eager to impress newbie and this time,politicians who have secrets to hide. A good story is when you have empathy with people involved and you are silently cheering them on,and this novel did that for me. I didn't guess the identity of the killer or the motive, so that is a win-win situation in my book.
An excellent first novel,which I find hard to believe this book is. The story is compelling,the characters are well rounded and I absolutely recommend this book. I hope there will be more books to follow. They deserve the chance to become more developed.
I have rated this as a five star read,and have posted this review to Goodreads today.

Soren Sveistrup, better known as creator and writer of Danish drama The Killing, is clearly a master at his craft, This is a superb thriller in the great Nordic Noir tradition where no holds are barred in terms of examination of the characters involved or the malignity of the crimes perpetrated, with a fine mix of heroic qualities in flawed characters, visitation of personal grief and a soupcon of political intrigue. And yet ... the author seems to manage to avoid the trap of the the so-called 'gritty' novels that fill many shop bookshelves with just plain nastiness and unpleasant, unlikeable characters - criminals and detectives alike being anti-everything except swear words - and instead engenders in us sympathy for those flawed characters and imbues us with hope they will overcome the evil and even find enrichment of their own lives - a sure sign we have identified with them.

Briefly, a young woman is found murdered in a playground In Copenhagen with one hand sawn off, and nearby hands a small chestnut doll. An unlikely pair of detectives - Naia Thulin, a young women in the Copenhagen force and the Mark Hess, a burned-out investigator sent to join her from Europol, where he is under a cloud - are at complete odds with each other but each in their own way doing their best to find the killer. The plot is complicated by a connection to the disappearance a year earlier of the young daughter of political minister Rosa Hartung, then complicated further still by another murder, and another chestnut doll left by the body.. Thulin and Hess are now racing against time as they fear the murderer may not be finished with his task and they try to stay a step ahead of the killer.

Absolutely edge-of-your-seat stuff, the best of thrillers and the best of writing. I understand this is the author's first novel. All I can say is this doesn't read like a first novel. It is up there with the best of them. Highly recommended for thriller-lovers everywhere who enjoy meaningful and empathic characters and good back stories. A slight warning in that some of the descriptions of bodies/murderer's methods can be quite graphic, but if you can cope with just a page or two of that, it's well worth it.

This is basically a police procedural novel, but with great characters and a detailed plot. The main detectives have the usual personal problems, but they are fleshed out as 3D people who we get to know as individuals. Some of the descriptions of violence are quite gruesome, especially near the end of the book, but not gratuitously so. I really enjoyed this gripping read, and can't wait for the next book from Soren Sveistrup.

The information I had gleaned about this book made me want to read it. A lover of crime novels the chestnut man had a eeriness that pulls you in. The story starts with a slaying several decades previous including a cop called to the scene. Years later the deaths of women start to happen and chestnut men left at the scene. Relegated Europol Hess is called to partner up with Thulin of major crimes division to investigate. The story had me guessing until the end about everything the background of the main protagonists to who the chestnut man really was. This book has become one of my favourites of this year and o hope the author continues to develop these to brilliant characters. The story was brilliantly thought out from beginning to end.

Sometimes, you know exactly what you are going to get from a book. This first foray into novel writing from Soren Sveistrup, creator of the TV mega-hit The Killing, is very much along the lines of what we have been accustomed to from Nordic Noir crime fiction. Two cops – Thulin, a single mother, ambitious and wanting to move up; and Hess, a disgraced outsider and a loner hiding a haunted past – set to solve the murder and mutilation of a mother. Pretty soon the corpses pile up and the whole department is in upheaval. Throw in some politics, some child abuse, a missing child and, in Hess, the cop who continues to search for the truth when everyone else thinks the case has been solved…Yes, this is us firmly and securely in Scandi territory.

Don’t get me wrong – this is a rollicking read and Sveistrup creates sympathetic characters and builds enough tension and twists to keep the reader going. But it is a slog; the book is about 100 pages too long (why doesn’t an editor actually ‘edit’??). And because it is written in the present tense it can’t help but read almost as a TV or film script at times (‘a gold wedding ring indicates that he is married’, ‘the garage is spacious and high-ceilinged’) which, after a while, started to wear a little thin even as it clearly illustrated the difference between a great novelist and a great script writer. The plot – well, it is a bit gruesome at times and delves into some seriously murky aspects of the human psyche. Again, this is what you expect from the genre and the ending is as realistic as you might expect – that is to say, not very and a bit cliched (isolated cottage, basement, cops in peril trying to save a potential next victim....).

For what it is this is a well-written and enjoyable (if that’s the right word for what the book contains!) crime novel. I’m sure there will be more to come in the series, and I’m equally sure there will be a TV series or movie, but for me Sveistrup brings nothing spectacular or new to the genre. 3 stars.

(With thanks to the publisher and to NetGalley for an ARC in return for an honest and unbiased review.)

The daughter of a prominent politician goes missing without a trace. A year later and a serial killer is terrorising Copenhagan. Thulin and Hess are in a race against time to put an end to his spree. Even following the clues, they appear to be getting nowhere. Who is the killer, why is he leaving little chestnut men at each crime scene, and what is the connection to Denmark's minister of children?

Despite a tense opening, this book gets off to a slow start, but after about 20% it picked up considerably. The story is very tense and exciting in parts and I didn't guess the perpetrator, so that was an unexpected surprise. Very enjoyable, if a little long drawn out, read,

What a fantastic book!

I love scandi crime despite the language barrier and was very excited to start this novel.

At first I found it fairly tedious and slow but decided to read on to give it time to develop. I’m so pleased I did! The female character is fairly unlikable and it’s only when the male protagonist arrives that the book really comes into its own.

Part political thriller, part serial killer this book ticks all the boxes. Well developed characters, excellent translation, and a thumping good story.

I can’t wait for the next installment!

3.75 stars


This book certainly started with a bang.... creepy and a little bit scary... so the next 200 or so pages didn't seem too bad.
I know,I've obviously read too many police books if chopping off a hand and mutilating someone is no big deal.
I guessed who the killer was,I'm not sure I was ever considering anyone else,but it was good to read the story unfold,and there was real tension as I sped through the last hundred or so pages.
I'm sure this won't be the last we hear of Thulin and Hess. Quite looking forward to the next one.

Wow, this had my heart thumping, brilliant twists and turns, certainly kept me guessing as well, would highly recommend it

This was an OK read, not something I would read again, which is a shame as it held so much promise for me, being a police procedural /thriller.

Thurin was a good character, she is young, ambitious, respected and good at her job. Her character is well written. Siren Sveistrup writes the police team well and creates suspense and tension. There just seemed to be something missing to me.

Unfortunately the bad guy /gal was guessed early on, as there could be few others it could be with the info we are given.

Not a bad read, just slightly underwhelming.

I just couldn't get on with this book. Felt like it was going on for ever. The % never seemed to change. Got 47%in and was struggling.

I really, really enjoyed this book. It had a similar feel to Jo Nesbo's The Snowman and I found it just as gripping and chilling. The story moved at a great pace and I kept wanting to go back and read more to try to get to the bottom of it. Like everyone else I was hooked on The Killing so I was so thrilled to see Søren Sveistrup was able to pull his skills in that arena through to this debut novel and I hope to read lots more by him! Would absolutely recommend.

When a series of women are found murdered in Copenhagen, with a small figurine made out of chestnuts beside them, ambitious detective Naia Thulin is keen to find the killer before they strike again. Unfortunately, she has been lumbered with a new partner, Mark Hess - a burnt out Europol detective who's back at his old squad under dubious circumstances. Yet, when a fingerprint is found on the chestnut men of a girl who has been missing for a year, the daughter of a politician, they suddenly realise how vital it is that they find a way to work together.

Eeeek - scary, grim stuff. I'm not very good at reading grisly details, especially at night for obvious reasons, but I couldn't resist reading the new book by the creator of The Killing. It's really good - very atmospheric and well-paced. Hess' backstory and the development of Thulin and Hess' friendship felt a little underdeveloped and just slotted in at times - this definitely could have been done better. But otherwise, I really enjoyed this and would definitely watch a tv series based on it (has to happen, right?).