This is an award winning Swedish historical horror fiction set in 1793, a period overshadowed by the recent events that resulted in the French Revolution sparking paranoia amongst Royal Houses throughout Europe, including King Gustav who unleashed a horde of spies to report on any who voice thoughts of overthrowing him. Gustav was assassinated, and Stockholm's people live in penury, struggling to survive in the stinking dark, dirty and cold streets riddled with cruelty, death, disease, enslavement, corruption and injustice. The disillusioned and crippled watchman Mickel Cardell fishes out the torso of man, heinously tortured and butchered, from Lake Larder. Cecil Winge, an esteemed rational and incorruptible lawyer, haunts the space between the living and dying, is suffering from consumption, not long for this world, and has left his pregnant wife. He is appointed to investigate the murder by the police chief at Indebetou House.

Winge, the wolf, and Cardell, join forces, determined to identify the dead man, knowing that the powerful and wealthy elites, such as the Eumenides group with their debauched, depraved and delinquent sexual desires, will do all they can to obstruct their investigation. As they mingle amidst the sordid and criminal underbelly of the city, a young man, Kristofer Blix, departs countrylife for the charms and excitement of Stockholm, with the desire to become a surgeon. His letters to his sister document his wild times and his desperate horrors. Anna-Stina is at the end of malign and judgemental forces when she is unjustly accused of being a whore. This results in her being incarcerated in a workhouse run by a truly sadistic man, where the life expectancy of those within is limited, pressured by unreasonable expectations of the amount of strings they must produce. Blix and Anna-Stina's stories come to connect with Winge and Cardell's case.

I should warn readers that there were numerous occasions when the narrative is so hard to stomach with the levels of inhumanity and gruesome horrors. The novel is arrestingly atmospheric, and vividly vibrant in its rich descriptions of the period that make you feel as if you right there in Stockholm, often nauseatingly so. This piece of Swedish historical fiction seems to emulate the horrors often attributed to present day Scandi-Noir. The highlight for me is the developing of the close and trusting relationship between the chalk and cheese characters of Winge and Cardell, the way they represent the humanity and hope when everything seems so much unrelieved darkness and bleakness. This is a brilliant read, but it really is not for the faint of heart. Many thanks to John Murray Press.

Wonderful dark novel set in 18th century Stockholm featuring a lawyer suffering a slow death from consumption and a one armed ex-sailor now a city watchman investigating a bizarre murder of a limbless man. Cleverly told in four parts to give all the characters stories this violent graphic tale never relents in pace or quite shocking detail . Highly recommended!

This is a complex mystery novel set in Stockholm in the 18th Century after the gruesome discovery of a body in a swamp. It has quite a gothic feel to it, which I really like. The writing is rich and holds your attention without leaving the plot behind, it's not a quick read but it's richness makes it worth it.
The story is split into narrative parts with different character focuses before coming together. It is shocking at times and certainly gruesome if you're squeamish for that sort of thing. I really enjoyed the gritty descriptions of the city, it's bleakness and poverty. The two men drawn into the investigation are a lawyer, Cecil Winge, and the watchman, Mickell Cardell, who discovered the body and this works really well, drawing obligation and justice themes into the story-telling. Another section of the book is about a man called Blix, who was hired by the murderer and who writes his story to his sister, Anna.
It's a hard read, and stomach turning at times as evil will be, and at times I did't want to keep reading, but felt compelled to.

Really enjoyed this book ! I was not expecting such an odyssey and big adventure of a book. Really interesting and a page turner. The action is set in Stockholm just as the French Revolution is guillotining the French Royals. MIckel Cardell is a disillusioned war veteran and alcoholic always spoiling for a fight with a wooden arm who braves the putrid "larder" - a stretch of foul water, to pull out a dismembered body. Through this act he meets Cecil Winge a wraith like tubercular lawyer not predicted with much time left to live who acts as a kind of "consulting detective" for his old University friend who is now the chief of police.

Together they set out to discover who the dismembered young blond haired male is, how he came to be so carefully dismembered and who the perpetrator is. We get an education on corruption in political circles, the debauchery of the elite , the terrible way poor women are treated by the puritanical state, a front seat into hearts of darkness and a morally dubious finale. It all adds up to a great read. I'm not usually a big fan of murder mysteries but this engaged me in a similar way to the Matthew Shardlake novels (although they are set in Tudor England). I could really see there being a sequel with Cardell and Winge or requels with Winge exploring the previous cases he has helped Norlin out with. Great stuff.

Perhaps inadvertently, the author of this excellent first novel has created a new sub-genre of literary fiction – Historical Scandi Noir. The plot has been well documented by other reviewers. Mickel Cardell, a one-armed destitute and drunken ex-serviceman, is called upon in his role as a Watchman, to retrieve a badly mutilated body from the Stockholm swamp. The case is handed to Cecil Winge, an incorruptible investigator who is dying of consumption and together with Cardell, they form one of the most unlikeliest partnerships in detective fiction.

The book is divided into 4 sections. In the first, we watch Cardell and Winge trawl their way through the underbelly of late 18th century Stockholm in their search for the truth of what happened to their victim. The 2nd section consists of a series of letters to his sister written By Kritopher Blix, a young conman who becomes inextricably linked to the crime. In the 3rd part we are introduced to Anna Stina, a young girl who is unjustly imprisoned in the workhouse, an establishment run by one of the most revolting characters in modern fiction and in the final section as expected, the various stories come together.

The novel is written largely in the 3rd person present tense, a technique which ever since Wolf Hall, has been increasingly used by historical novelists to immerse the reader within the period and the story. At times you almost feel as though you are standing beside the characters and I find this helps to understand their emotions and motivations and to gain a real insight into what life must have been like for the have-nots and the have-nothings.

Clearly the author has carried out an exceptional amount of research into the period and this coupled with a fine writing style and an excellent translation, provides for an impressive and powerful piece of work and a level of authenticity which is often missing from historical novels. Yes, it is grim but that was what life was like in the lowest strata of society in European cities at this time. There seems little point in creating sanitised versions so as not to offend our sensibilities.

What impressed me most about this book was that it went far beyond the realms of a simple detective story. This was also a story about friendship and redemption and whilst all the main characters are deeply flawed, they are also capable of acting humanely and doing what they genuinely believe to be right in the most difficult circumstances.

This is not a perfect novel. I felt there were times when the 2nd section was morphing into a gothic horror tale (particularly with the appearance of Magnus!). Fortunately, the author seemed to quickly renew his grip on the story and has succeeded in creating a disturbing but highly intelligent piece of work which I thoroughly recommend.

I am grateful to John Murray and NetGalley for an AOB in return for an honest review.

My main issue with books like this written by men is the marked absence of women or rather the role that women play within their narratives: an afterthought, something that barely existed, not worth a mention.
Apart from that, this book is grim, dark and no doubt fairly historically accurate, but the writing is flat and uninteresting, ideas are thrown in the air and we wait to see what falls and sticks. Shocking narrative in itself with lots of violence and did I mention the darkness is just not enough for me.

This is not a fun or easy reading book. It kicks off with the aftermath of a particularly nasty murder and widens out to give us a picture of a brutal and uncaring society. The book revels in filth and degradation. It's an unflinching study in just how horrible people can be to each other, one that paints a picture of life as a feral bloody scramble for survival. There is perhaps one character who comes out with what you might call a happy ending (if you squint at it a bit), but, my god, it is hard won. Even the blossoming friendship between two lead characters is circumscribed by imminent death (not a spoiler, honest, it's made clear from the outset).

As I say, it's not a fun read by any means, but it is an addictive and engrossing one. The writing is very evocative of a time and place lost in confusion and moral decay, and the central story is strong enough to rank with the best of contemporary crime novels.

Was eager to read this following all the hype but now I wonder why I bothered. Afraid for me it was dull, I attempt d several times to read it but struggled to get through it, eventually finishing and the lasting impression was “meh, so what”. Perhaps something lost in the translation.

Scandi Crime set in a historical setting - tick
This is really bleak, dark, gruesome and violent - but not overly so - completely fits in with the setting of poverty stricken Stockholm.
The best thing is the 2 main characters. Complete opposites but interesting in their own right - forming an unlikely but effective partnership/friendship.
Really enjoyed and definitely recommending

This is not a book for the faint-hearted as the core murder is gruesome and described in some detail and the author is not shy about recounting the awful treatment of the destitute and in particular the women in the workhouses. However, Natt och Dag provides enough appropriate and detailed descriptions of the settings and morals of this period in history to make this both believable and acceptable. Although not familiar with even a modern-day Stockholm I was transported to those streets and suffered along with the characters involved.
The characters and plot are strong and the conclusion satisfying as it provided answers and explained clues but it was also frustrating as it pointed out the extreme futility of the death.
A must-read for those who like a strong mystery set in a harsh but realistic historical setting. Despite the gruesomeness I would strongly recommend this.

Thank you to NetGalley and John Murray (Hachette UK) for this copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was unlike any murder mystery or historical novel I had ever read. Set in 18th C Stockholm, it follows city watchman, Mikel Cardell, and consumptive lawyer, Cecil Winge, through the dark underworld of Swedan’s capital city in search of the identity of the dead man who was dragged from the swamp. This is replete with pleasing historical detail, bleak and beautiful. I’ve never read anything quite like it.

Originally published in Swedish as “1793”, Niklas Natt och Dag’s debut novel will soon be available in English in an idiomatic translation by Ebba Segerberg. And it has all the makings of a literary bestseller. The story is set in Stockholm in the late 18th Century. Europe is still in awe of the revolutionary goings-on in France and, following the assassination of Gustav III, revolutionary fervour in the Swedish city is tempered by a sense of fear and dread as to what might happen if matters get out of hand. In this incendiary environment, Mickell Cardell, a one-armed ex-soldier and night watchman, makes a grisly find. Somebody has disposed of a body in the city’s lake – and it is a body with excised limbs and gouged eyes, testifying to a slow and painful death. This is the type of crime whose investigation the Head of the Stockholm Police can only assign to a trusted person – and that’s Cecil Winge, a lawyer with progressive ideals who is battling the last stages of consumption. Winge teams up with Cardell and together they attempt to crack the case. Their fraught journey will take them through all layers of Stockholm society, from the lowest classes to the supposed elite of the city, who also have their dark and base secrets.

In a virtuoso feat of storytelling, Niklas Natt och Dag introduces two further strands in his tale, which are presented to the reader in reverse chronological order. First there is the epistolary account of Kristofer Blix, a handsome young man who moves to Stockholm with the dream of becoming a doctor. Then there is the story of Anna-Stina, sent to a dreary workhouse after being wrongly accused of working as a prostitute. In the final chapters, these three threads combine to create a satisfying finale. Some plot twists are rather too convenient, but the momentum is such that one gladly suspends disbelief.

So why is The Wolf and the Watchman good “historical fiction”? First of all, the setting is no mere “appendage” to the story – the beliefs, ideals and way of life of the period fuel both the plot and the characters’ motivations and thought processes. Secondly, the historical context is authentic, not simply in the sense of being well-researched (though it seems to be that as well), but more importantly in that the novel places us soundly in the period it is describing. Indeed, the descriptions do not shy away from the revolting – whether stench, disease or bodily fluids. In this respect, a warning to the fainthearted is in order – the novel can be very graphic and I must admit to skipping a couple of paragraphs and reading some others whilst peeping between my fingers. It can be dark, it can be bleak, but it certainly cannot be accused of presenting the past with nostalgic, rose-tinted hues.

At the same time, I liked the fact that the author plays around with the genre. The Wolf and the Watchman presents elements of the “police procedural” and, in its use of an investigating duo combining brain and brawn, it pays tribute to classic detective fiction. There is also a strong noir element – the customers of smokey nightclubs and striptease joints replaced by the tobacco-chewing patrons of Stockholm pubs and coffee-houses. And, to the great pleasure of yours truly, there is more than a whiff of Gothic in some of the darker pages of the text.

1793 was voted best debut novel of 2017 by the Swedish Academy of Crime Writers. It’s a deserved win and, hopefully, its English translation will bring it to the attention of a wider audience.

Superb book.Set in Stockholm in the 1790's this centers on the finding of a body minus its arms legs eyes and teeth ,these having been apparently removed over a period of time with the victim seemingly cared for and allowed to heal between amputations..
Leading the investigation is Cecil Winge a terminally tubercular lawyer and Mickel Cardell a keeper of the Watch and invalided soldier ( he has a wooden prosthetic hand ) who is tired of punishing those whose main offence is poverty,from this perhaps stems his desire to get justice for the dismembered victim under the dying Winge with his last chance to achieve the same..
The book is very well written if unrelenting in its depiction of the harshness of life and conditions and the absolute misery of those with little or nothing and how those in even minor positions of power seem more intent in keeping those below them down rather than look to reduce their suffering..You can almost feel the bitter winter cold and smell the filth and decay,A hard life and it takes its toll on the population there are few likeable characters the two central figures being exception although Cardell for one when we first meet him is certainly no angel but a violent drunk supplementing his income working as a bouncer in one of the numerous pubs.
The tale is told through the eyes of the central characters and three others with all the parts coming together to complete the tale.and is well written throughout.A brutal uncompromising portrayal of late eighteenth century life in Stockholm brutal corrupt and hard.with echos of Dickens in the attitudes of many of those more fortunate than their fellow men..A great read but not for the fainthearted.

This book could have been perfect for me. Mysterious crime set in a place and time I know little about but with such evocative descriptions it really came alive for me. However the endless cataloguing of man's inhumanity to man without a glimpse of hope was just too much for me. Even the Watchman of the title was a brutally violent man and, even though he was made that way by the society he lived in, my stomach turned as I read how he evicted a group of drunken sailors from the inn withnot only teeth but eyeballs flying as he lashed out at them with his wooden arm. I got about a third of the way through before abandoning it as it had so much to recommend it but I just couldn't face any more of the horror and complete lack of hope.

A compelling if, at times, gruesome story of murder, corruption and poverty in late eighteenth century Stockholm. The extraordinary detail of characters' backgrounds, and the settings involved in the unravelling of the murder, were a fascinating insight into life at that time. Whilst I loved the history included, it did make for a very long book, and some of the characters' involvement in the story took a while to become apparent.

Gripping read that is so full of the unknown suspense that while you are reading it you will hear your heartbeat- mine was racing with anticipation at what would happen next. It is the kind of book where at stags I was too frightened to turn the page yet 8 needed to know more.
Horror book.
Thank you to both NetGalley and John Murray Press for my eARC in exchange for my review

A compelling, grim and dark story of late 18th century Sweden. A mutilated body is retrieved from the stinking water and the two main protagonists determine to find out who he was and how he ended where he did. In good Swedish tradition there is a lot of description about the city and environs - the squalor, miasmas, poverty, survival of the inhabitants - no sweet smelling romantic Regency story here. Nearly all of the characters are sad or damaged in some way but all are survivors in one way - Winge, the former lawyer, now inspector, dying of consumption, demanding truth, Cardell the one-armed ex soldier watchman, sometimes brutal and often drunk. The corpse - sans eyes, teeth, tongue or limbs, each removed over a period of months. Blix, whose story is given via a series of letters written to his sister, moves from an assistant surgeon during the war with the Finnish/Russians to a drunken sot to a pawn of the brutal and sadistic Balk. Balk himself had an abusive childhood, was raised with money though and did the 'Grand Tour' to France during the early stages of the Revolution where he himself became revolutionised. Anna trying to survive without degrading to prostitution, ending in the workhouse where she is brutally forced to work as a spinner before escaping. and., political intrigue following the assassination of the King, The sub stories all intertwine and come together neatly at the end, happily for some, not for others. Although grim, violent and with a lot of stinking corruption, the story is compelling and the characters believable. Thanks to NetGalley and John Murray Publishing for an advance copy in return for an honest review.

A brilliant debut which keeps you turning the pages in this gritty historical paced drama. Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for letting me review this book.

This is a really interesting read. I liked the writing style and could imagine the surroundings. There is a lot of detail in this book some of which is hard to read. It is an interesting and fascinating look at what life might have been like in Sweden in the late 1700s.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

his is a dark read. Gory and stomach churning at times. It's also a fascinating tale of Stockholm in the 1700s and an insight into the bowels of what was known as (and still is) "The city of bridges".

The bleakness starts when you open the cover and wherever you are reading, the shadows around you close in. You may need a lamp even in daylight when you read this. A limbless torso is dragged from the river and it's soon discovered that each limb was removed when the victim was still alive. Stockholm at the time is a city on the edge of the abyss for the king is dead, justice is mired in the stench and violence of the streets, and at first you think that this crime will become yet another stain on the city.

Enter watchman Mickel Cardell and police investigator Cecil Winge - a very unlikely pairing but with a relationship which works. Mikel spends most of his time getting drunk. He lost an arm in the Russo-Swedish War and this continues to haunt him waking and sleeping states. Cecil Winge on the other hand is a brilliant lawyer turned investigator. However he too is very fragile as is dying from consumption.

Together Winge and Cardell plumb the depths of the city as they carry out an investigation. This is where the city really comes to gory life as they trudge through the various pubs, inns and alleyways of Stockholm's neighbourhoods. We see the city through their eyes, then that of a man who is new to the city and writes letters to his sister, and then of a girl who is accused of being a prostitute. All very interesting and evocative insights into the stench, violence and gore of a city on the edge of the abyss.

The novel paints a grim picture of the past and I did feel at times it was a little too dark, and that it got a big much if I read a large section in one go, however it was a compelling story and setting. I know Stockholm as the city of bridges and rivers, the royal palace is the shiniest building in the city so to see it in this light was an eye opener!

It's a very vivid, raw and visceral novel but one I was glad to have experienced. Just don't eat before, during or after reading sessions. Just don't.