Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.

I’m really not sure what to make of this book! I loved the beginning and the whole premise of finding out why Agneta shoots here husband, but I found the whole history/politics/spies to be a bit of a struggle. Some spy elements worked really well, whilst others felt a bit far fetched. Perhaps some of this has been lost in translation but overall it just didn’t quite work for me.

Gustaf Skördeman’s Geiger begins with a phone ringing. Agneta Broman is waving goodbye to her grandchildren. After answering the phone she hears one word. She picks up a pistol, screws in the silencer, walk up slowly behind her husband, Stellan, and calmly shoots him through his temple. Then she walks out the door taking only an already packed rucksack, leaving everything else behind her.

It’s a terrific start to an interesting story that deals with espionage and the role of Sweden in the Cold War.

Detective Sara Nowak works in the police prostitution unit. She knew Stellan Broman, a once high profile TV presenter, known as ‘Uncle Stellan’ (you can see the parallels now, can’t you…?) She grew up with the Broman children because her mother worked for the Bromans and though this isn’t her jurisdiction, she wants answers.

Sara is a really prickly character with a temper to match. She has a reputation for being too rough on the job and it is only her inside knowledge that allows her anywhere near this investigation. It’s not long before she realises that she knew very little about the real Agneta and Stellan and what she thought she knew was a web of lies.

Gustaf Skördeman’s mysterious code word is the trigger for a chain of events that lead to a terrifying plot that involves a shady character named Abu Rasil – a sought after terrorist operating in Europe during the Cold War.

Geiger is a spy story but it also reveals some other disturbing elements and from the beginning the tension in this international spy story is high. This is Sara’s story and she will have to uncover the secrets of her own past as well as Agneta’s if she is ever to understand how to cope with the future.

Geiger has a fast moving plot, weaving between the police investigation and Agneta’s mission. The story is seen from two perspectives, and we see the commonplace development of dual identities and undercover secrets. Skördeman illuminates the Cold War and the relationships between Sweden, East Germany and Russia provide the backdrop to Agneta’s movements.

As Sara investigates it becomes clear that Stellan was more than the genial uncle that his adoring public so venerated. Indeed, almost no-one is who they purport to be and certainly none of them can be trusted in this murky story of death, corruption, terrorism and darkness.

The pacing is good in this dark and surprising story, though there is a lot of information to get through in the sections dealing with the Cold War. The characters are very well drawn, Stella in particular, and we understand her a lot better by the time we get to the twisty, compelling but somewhat contrived conclusion.

Verdict: Well worth reading, I enjoyed this explosive, complex thriller which made, at times, for a very uncomfortable read.

I was really intrigued by the blurb for Geiger, but having tried to read it a couple of times now I have to conclude it just isn't one fore me. I have had to DNF having given it a good go.

The writing isn't bad, I'm just not gripped by the story & feel it moves too slowly.

I loved the sound of this one but sadly found it to be poorly executed.
I found it really slow & decided to put it down at read something else at 21%

I’m not sure this one was for me, I did enjoy it but didn’t find it as thrilling or engaging as I expected and found myself getting confused in some points

Gieger is the debut novel from from Swedish writer Gustaf Skördeman, translated to English by Ian Giles. Agneta Borman, wife to one of Sweden’s most beloved television stars, Uncle Stellan, has spent the perfect week looking after her grandchildren. When the phone rings and she picks is up, one word, Geiger, takes her back in time and sees her resume an assignement she started fifty years ago. After shooting her husband in the head, Agneta leaves to finish her assignment. Sara Nowak is a police officer working on prostitution and the sex trade, but as a child she was spent her summers with Stellan and Agneta’s children, and as such is informed of Stellan’s murder. Sara may not be officially on the case, but she can’t help but look closer, and discovers that Sweden’s beloved Uncle Stellan was not what he first seemed.

Geiger reads like a classic spy thriller, with different political agencies and a plot that has it’s roots in the Cold War. The plot moves pretty quickly, between the police investigation and Agneta trying to finish her mission before she is caught. The historical context is absolitely fascinating, and obviously well researched. Gustaf Skördeman weaves the facts of the Cold War, the history of East Germany and Russia, into the plot without bogging the reader down, just adding to the interest of the book. In the present there is the investigation of Stellan’s death, with plenty of secrets and lies revealed, and a plot line that hurtles along to an ending I didn’t see coming.

The majority of the book is told from Sara’s point of view, as a friend of the family and as a police officer. I found her a complex character, dealing with many issues that face most women today; being a mother, wife, police officer, daughter, friend. Her work fighting the sex trade, and trying to help prostitutes ovbiously takes a toll on her life, even colouring her private life at home. Her anger at those who use girls for sex, and even after prosecution go back again, has left her with an anger that spills over putting her in trouble. Her realtionship with Stellan’s daughter’s Lottie and Malin, goes back to her childhood when her mother cleaned for them and she spent her summers playing with the ssister’s whilst their real friends were on holiday. Her determination into investigating Stellan’s murder starts as wanting to help the sister’s who she thought of as her second family, but revelations completely change her reasons, simply wanting to learn the truth of her childhood and what Stellan stood for. Sara does have some inferiority problems around Lottie and Malin, still trying to impress them with her position in the police, and that now she can help him. I don’t think Sara was likeable all the time, but I admired her determination, strength and moral compass that push her on everyday. Other chapters are from Agneta’s perspective, but I don’t want to say much about her story as it would give the plot away.

Geiger is an intriguing spy thriller, that captures the atmosphere of the Cold War and it’s continued contribution to history long after the Berlin War came down. Gustaf Skördeman’s plotting and characterisation is wonderful, capturing the present and past, and the nuances of his characters perfectly. There is a lot going on in this book which I loved, there was never a dull moment and I was kept on the edge of my set throughout. This really is an impressive debut novel, full of political intrigue, espionage and secrets a plenty.

Historical fiction has never really had a pull on me, despite my love of history. However, I do like to mix up my thriller / crime fiction / mystery obsession with something a little different now and again, and this looked really intriguing!

On saying that, I feel it’s worth pointing out that it isn’t a little bit of light reading… you do need to engage your brain to do it justice. Sadly, just after I started reading, my work and my toddler reached new levels of required attention, so I couldn’t really engage.

However, I have now had the opportunity to “sink my teeth in” and I’m so glad I did. Gustaf Skördeman’ debut draws the reader’s attention to a vital period of history - the fall of the Berlin Wall. I am ashamed to say I knew far less than I thought I did about this fascinating period of history. Geiger is an incredibly intelligent and thought provoking political thriller, and gave me a fabulous insight into the Berlin Wall and political events that surrounded it.

The story starts with such a deliciously explosive hook - Agneta and her famous husband Stellan Broman are waving off their children and grandchildren when suddenly their phone rings. Agneta answers. The caller says “Geiger?” and with that, Agneta picks up a pistol and shoots her husband dead! And so begins a tsunami of events that have been plotted for the best part of 50 years!

Detective Sara Novak, who has her own complicated connection to the family, tries to figure out why anyone would want Stellan dead, and what has happened to Agneta? This was a compelling read that educated the reader also. There were plenty of plot twists and suspense, and the pace was spot on.

There are quite a few characters, and I did find myself having to go back and re-read a few times to get to grips with everything that was going on, and who was connected to who (I mainly read at bedtime, so perhaps not the best time to “focus”!!)

The book does have some dark themes /trigger warnings of sexual abuse against minors which can be difficult to read.

All in all, I enjoyed Geiger. It was a clever political thriller with two strong female leads. It’s plot was compelling with plenty of twists and you were kept in the dark up to the clanger at the end.

This required a lot of thinking to read, but it was fascinating to learn about. It’s partly set in a time of west and east Germany and the wall coming down. The facts in the story are true and are fascinating to read about so I’d definitely recommend doing this. I was constantly debating what side everyone was on and was still left shocked by a couple of discoveries. I don’t read a lot of historical fiction or books with topics like this but will definitely be reading more.

Thirty years after the Berlin Wall fell, some of us still have chunks of rock in perspex boxes. We keep them with other items we no longer value but feel bad about throwing away. Back in 1990, every gift shop had a supply of ‘stones from the Berlin Wall’. These were presented to children because the destruction of the Wall was seen as having massive historical significance. In 2021, how many people remember the political events leading to the Wall’s demolition, or the reasons why it was built in the first place?

In Geiger, his debut thriller, Gustaf Skördeman shines a spotlight on a fascinating period of recent history that is at risk of being forgotten. He revisits the concept of ‘sleepers’ in the world of spies and secret agents. A ‘sleeper’ is an agent who is trained to fight and kill in support of a political cause, then sent away to lead a normal life until their handler reactivates them. Geiger opens with Agneta being woken from her long ‘sleep’ and springing into action.

One thing concerned me about the content of Geiger. It includes detailed descriptions of much older men committing rape and sexual assault on girls who are under the age of consent. In my opinion, descriptions of this kind are unacceptable in fiction. Sadly, not all readers will find them disgusting.

The landline rings as Agneta is waving off her grandchildren. Just one word comes out of the receiver: 'Geiger'. For decades, Agneta has always known that this moment would come, but she is shaken. She knows what it means. Retrieving her weapon from its hiding place, she attaches the silencer and creeps up behind her husband before pressing the barrel to his temple. Then she squeezes the trigger and disappears - leaving behind her wallet and keys.

The extraordinary murder is not Sara Nowak's case. But she was once close to those affected and, defying regulations, she joins the investigation. What Sara doesn't know is that the mysterious codeword is just the first piece in the puzzle of an intricate and devastating plot fifty years in the making.

Agneta is a unique personality, because very few thrillers feature an old woman as a violent anti-hero. I found the early stages of her campaign enthralling, and was disappointed when the focus shifted to Sara later in the novel. At first sight, Sara Nowak is a familiar character in fiction; a detective undermined by past traumas who tries to combat hidden weakness by obsessing about her job. In Sara’s case, the obsession is understandable. She works with prostitutes, trying to protect them and help them to escape from the clutches of controlling pimps and abusive clients. She especially loathes men who lead respectable lives with their families, but think nothing of paying to abuse girls who are the same age as their children.

Skördeman examines every aspect of Sara’s experiences as a mother, wife and detective in minute detail, creating a well-rounded portrait of a conflicted woman. Her behaviour as a police officer is often difficult to justify, and the reasons she gives for her actions are unconvincing. As the plot develops, the reader begins to realise that Sara has never grown out of her admiration for her childhood idols. Gradually, those idols are exposed as having feet of clay. When Sara learns the devastating truth about certain people she loved and respected, her world is turned upside down and she is forced to re-evaluate her entire value system.

History buffs will enjoy Geiger, as will those who are keen to increase their understanding of the origins of modern Europe, by means of an exciting story. Close focus is essential in order to keep up with the historical references.

Geiger kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time. As with others in its genre, it's not lacking in twisty plot turns and high-intensity thrills. The plot was intelligent and well thought out with events in the first chapter that kept me guessing until the very end. The only downside for me was that as an English speaker I found it difficult to keep track of the Swedish names, which often left me confused. This is no issue of the writer but something to bear in mind if you (like me!) find unfamiliar names hard to follow.

One word, uttered in a questioning fashion down an old fashioned landline, sets off a ricochet of incredible actions that have been 50 years in the making.

This political thriller takes no prisoners and needs maximum concentration, as a grandmother goes on the run after first shooting her husband, a beloved Swedish television celebrity 'Uncle Stellan', gathering up several essential belongings, and taking off on a pink pushbike.

Their stunned daughters have no idea whether their mother has been murdered, kidnapped, or run away, let alone why their father has been shot. Small comfort is given by the investigating officer being a family friend, being the daughter of the cleaner who grew up in the celebrity household and watched the lavish parties held there.

The investigations into allegations that Stellan was an accomplice to the Stasi, during the Cold War, sends shockwaves through Sweden and as the hunt for the missing Agneta ramps up, the police and Sara, are not the only ones on the trail of the truth.

I have to admit struggling to follow the names that were thrown up through the book and following who was who to whom, but this is definitely a political thriller which hits the ground running, and does not let up. Starting with a neat subversion on the family Sunday dinner, it goes off in unexpected directions following the case of what people want to believe about beloved childhood figures, versus the painful truth. Never has it been more apparent than today, where yet more figures are being held accountable for their actions.

A gripping, thrilling, nerve shredding enigma of a book, this is definitely a book for those who enjoy political thrillers, conspiracies and detective fiction.

GEIGER is a surprising novel which retains the ‘small’ while dealing with big, potentially cataclysmic post-cold war themes. By that I mean that, while many ‘big’ espionage novels tend to deal with macro events, often at the expense of character, Gustaf Skördeman’s debut has all the excitement of the thriller while retaining the character and small details of the detective-crime novel, and successfully marries the two into a very satisfying whole.

The beginning of the book lulls the reader. The opening is slow and deliberately paced as the Broman family, popular, retired Swedish television entertainer, Stellan, his wife, their daughters and grandchildren, gather for a family dinner. It is a very ‘literary’ opening, a upper-middle class family, the musings of one of the daughters, the quiet tensions in such gatherings - it isn’t clear where this is going. And then, once the extended family has left, the mother, Agneta, takes a call and immediately shoots her famous husband in the head, and disappears.

Where many novels would concentrate on Agneta’s mission, on what drives her, this story concentrates on the investigation into Stellan’s murder, an investigation into which Detective Sara Novak is drawn due to her history with the family. This history, the complicated relationship Sara had with the Broman sisters, with her own mother, who was the Stellan’s maid, as well as her current relationships with her own husband and children, drive the plot. Suspecting that Agneta has been taken by her husband’s killers, the investigation concentrates on Stellan, his past as Sweden’s ‘uncle’, his social life with the rich and powerful in media and politics, on trying to find who would have reason to kill him. This leads to shocking revelations which impact on Sara, her family, and, potentially, on peace in Europe. And, at points in the novel, we catch up with Agneta…

I enjoyed GEIGER a lot. It has been compared with I Am Pilgrim but I don’t see it. It’s much, much better than that.

3.5 rounded up

Absolutely explosive opening to a book, authors this is the way to hook me!

As much as I loved the complexity of this book I found that there was quite a lot of plot lines which made it a little difficult to follow. It was also very political with a heavy focus on the cold war, I did enjoy learning about it however it was almost too much as it went over my head a little and I was taken out of the story.

I do have to say that the author explores some very dark themes with on the page sexual assault of minors which I did find uncomfortable to read.
Unfortunately I couldn’t really connect to Sara’s character, she seemed too angry and stubborn. Some of her actions were so reckless that it felt it a little unrealistic.

I know that I have mentioned a few negatives but overall I really did enjoy my time reading it. Geiger is a really intelligent and unpredictable spy thriller with great plot twists, some of which I didn’t see coming.

Geiger begins with grandma Agneta Broman waving off her daughters and grandchildren after a family gathering. No sooner are the family out the door, when Agneta receives a telephone call that provokes her to shoot and kill her husband, Stellan and head off into the unknown. How could the word "Geiger" cause an old woman to murder her husband and flee on a pink bicycle, leaving her life behind?

In a story with plenty of historical context, the author delivers a compelling crime thriller. Sara Nowack is a forty-four-year-old mother and Swedish police officer in the vice department who is invited onto the Stellan Broman investigation by a colleague, Anna Torhall. She was a childhood friend of the Broman daughters and may have insider information. Sara is also working on a case with police officer David Karlsson involving prostitution.

Gustaf Skördeman has included a widely varied mix of characters for the different parts of the story and subplots, but not too many that I lost track of who everyone was. There is a whole range of happenings, accounts and occurrences and one of the themes is particularly distressing to read about. Overall, Geiger is a really intriguing read that I definitely recommend.

I read Geiger in staves with other Pigeonholers as part of a group. A special thank you to Bonnier Books/ Zaffre, Gustaf Skördeman, NetGalley and The Pigeonhole for a complimentary copy of this novel at my request. This review is my unbiased opinion.

A slow burning thriller that sets out to keep the reader not only engrossed but ignorant of the truth until the very end. With two very strong female leads it tells the story from both sides of the coin. The killer and the hunter, how they have come to this time in their lives and what has shaped their destinies. It peels away the story inches at a time to give the reader a fully immersive experience of the plot. The author gives us insights into the mindset of the women as the case moves foreword so we know what their motivations are for what they are doing. As the story heads towards its climax the pace picks up and its intensity increases. A gripping debut novel that will tempt those who enjoyed books in the style of ‘ I AM PILGRIM ‘ .

The landline rings as Agneta is waving off her grandchildren. Just one word comes out of the receiver: 'Geiger'.

For decades, Agneta has always known that this moment would come, but she is shaken. She knows what it means.

Retrieving her weapon from its hiding place, she attaches the silencer and creeps up behind her husband before pressing the barrel to his temple.

Then she squeezes the trigger and disappears - leaving behind her wallet and keys.

The extraordinary murder is not Sara Nowak's case. But she was once close to those affected and, defying regulations, she joins the investigation. What Sara doesn't know is that the mysterious codeword is just the first piece in the puzzle of an intricate and devastating plot fifty years in the making . . .

Unfortuately, I did struggle to enjoy this book as much as I thought I would. The plot sounded terrific, but unfortunately, it did not captivate me in the way that I thought it would. I thought that the book left a lot of lose ends. However, if this was to become a series, then the lose ends may tie up. I struggled with the writing. However, once I got into the book and got in to the plot, I started really enjoying it. I would definitely read the second instalment in the series if it was to be a series.

A landline rings, just as Agneta Broman, the wife of Stellan Broman, a post-war Swedish TV celebrity who the Swedish viewing public saw as an “uncle” to the nation, is waving her grandchildren goodbye. She answers the phone only to hear one word: “Geiger”. She immediately digs out a gun she’d kept hidden for years, shoots her husband dead, and disappears.

So starts this absolutely brilliant Swedish crime/espionage thriller.

Sara Novak is a vice cop who grew up a friend of the Broman’s daughters, Lotta and Malin. She was always the poor friend, her mother the Broman’s housekeeper, and as the narrative continues we learn the Broman daughters bullied her somewhat. She’s drawn into the investigation and it soon becomes an obsession.

The police only know that Stellan is dead, and Agneta is missing, and are unaware that she was the one who murdered her husband. But as the bodies pile up and things point to a motive linked to the cold war and the conflict between the Communist East and that Capitalist West, it isn’t long before a nest of international intrigue is discovered.

The publishers billed Geiger as the most gripping debut since I Am Pilgrim, and I have to say I thought the analogy was apt. This is an ambitious thriller, encompassing big themes, not least, the Cold War and its legacy, establishment sex rings and cover-ups. Sara is an interesting protagonist, while Agneta makes for a brilliant antagonist, reminiscent of the anonymous English assassin in Frederick Forsyth’s The Day of the Jackal. In both novels the police and protagonist are unaware of the identity of who they are after until near the end, and this is a device which works as well in Geiger as it did in Forsyth’s classic.

At the time of writing this review, Geiger is my book of 2021. There’s still a good few months to go, so other titles might well surpass it, though I suspect even if this were to happen Geiger would remain a close contender. Either way, this is a brilliant novel and highly recommended.

#GEIGER
By Gustaf Skordeman
- The landline rings as Agneta is waving off her grandchildren. Just one word comes out of the receiver: 'Geiger'. For decades, Agneta has always known that this moment would come. She knows what it means. Retrieving her weapon from its hiding place, she attaches the silencer and creeps up behind her husband before pressing the barrel to his temple.
“Geiger” is billed as the most gripping debut thriller since ‘I Am Pilgrim’. Although I haven’t read Terry Hayes’ highly rated book, I’m not sure “Geiger” - for me personally - can live up to that or any other promoted hype. Even after an opening that does capture your attention, I soon began to lose interest and the many Swedish place names that were unpronounceable, made it very hard going. Sadly not a story I could get away with and I ended up skipping many pages. I’m sure many a Cold War thriller reader may well enjoy this debut book but on this occasion it wasn’t for me.

This book was engaging and unpredictable and I would definitely recommend it to a friend! Pulled in from the off I had so many questions and just couldn’t put this book down! Everything was answered for me and there was no chance I was stopping reading until I had these answers! This book has been translated very well also