(3.5/5 stars) - Mirage was my first Camilla Läckberg book, and I went in very excited. A Swedish crime thriller with a mentalist, a high-stakes investigation, and a creepy underground mystery? Sign me up!

First things first—this book is huge. At 560 pages, it definitely didn’t need to be that long, and there were moments where I felt it dragging a bit. That said, I still really enjoyed it, and it made a great first impression on me as a newcomer to Läckberg’s work.

Mirage is the third book in the series, and while I did feel like I missed some backstory, the novel is so heavily character-driven that it still worked as a standalone. I could piece things together pretty well, though I imagine longtime fans would appreciate the deeper context.

One thing that stood out was the balance (or sometimes imbalance) between the crime and the characters’ personal lives. The crime plot—so fast-paced and thrilling—had me completely hooked, but it felt like the book spent more time on personal drama than the actual case. That was a bit of a letdown because when the mystery was in focus, it was fantastic. This is probably why I now feel like I need to go back and read the first two books, which I hear are more action-packed.

Pacing-wise, though, I was impressed. Even with the focus on the characters’ lives, it never felt slow. The mix of crime-solving and personal struggles kept me engaged, and I loved the dynamic (and sometimes very dysfunctional) team. Julia and her detectives each had their own subplots—secret love affairs, midlife crises—which added some fun drama alongside the mystery.

Overall, Mirage was a solid read with compelling characters and a gripping, albeit slightly underused, crime element. If you love character-driven thrillers and don’t mind a longer read, this one’s worth checking out. And as for me? I think I’ll be picking up the first two books soon!

Many thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

A pile of bones is found in the Stockholm Underground tunnels and Julia and her team of detectives are on the case. The National Security police are investigating the possibility that someone is amassing enough Ammonium Nitrate to make a huge bomb then the minister of justice disappears after receiving the message that he has two weeks to live. So starts a cracking race against time to find the minister and thwart the bomb plot. The police team is gloriously dysfunctional with a full house of marital breakdown, obsessive compulsive disorder neurodiversity to name but a few. But its a great read, Scandi detective fiction at its best.

When I read Camila Läckberg, I said I WANT TO READ IT. Because I'd read a few of her novels that I really liked (there's one in particular that I didn't like much, but it doesn't matter), and I was VERY excited.

I found... love affairs, family problems, midlife crises, character conflicts, and... a bit of a thriller. It's not at all what I expected, and I think several people agree with me that it focused much more on the characters' bonds and relationships than on the case itself.
It makes sense because it's the end of a series, but it's not what I came to read.

Look, I'm not saying that thrillers shouldn't have any of the things I mentioned above, but... is it really necessary? On top of that, thousands and thousands of pages of things that didn't interest me.

It's a shame because I really wanted to enjoy this novel because the premise seemed great (and it is, but it took so long to get to anything about the case that I ended up getting bored).

Thank you so much to HarperCollins UK for the ARC I read through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I had not read any of the other books in this series, so it was interesting to jump right in and treat it as a standalone novel. The main characters seemed to have considerable baggage, which I'm sure stemmed from the earlier books, but this didn't alter my understanding of what is a very busy book!

There are lots of characters weaved in, lots of family members that I kept on having to check who was related to who! The kidnap of an ex and the importance of this person was explained well and I liked the use of Vincent and his logic.

This is quite a long book, but a fast and easy read. Good plot and decent twist at the end. Recommended.

The third and final book in this crime series featuring Police inspector Mina Dabiri and mentalist Vincent Walder. While not as strong as the first two entries this one rounds at the series in a satisfying way with an explosive finale that will change how you think about the whole series. This one focused a bit more on the characters and their personal lives/issues, with the crime part feeling less developed. I read most of this in one sitting and felt the pacing was well done. I am sad to see this series finished and hope that these two authors team up again in the future.

A five star read as it's highly original, completely absorbing, interesting and entertaining. I found the mentalist number puzzles fascinating and thought the various characters to be quite extraordinary with their individual traits.

This is another excellent book in the Mina and Vincent series, and their love for each other shines through the book. Mina's police colleagues are also great and I really like the way that Pedder is still part of the team even though he is no longer with them.
The case revolves around skeletons found in the subway, and the kidnapping of Niklas, Mina's ex-husband. As usual it is a complicated plot going off in all directoions. The investigators get to meet people who live in the subway, policitians and beetle specialists. All this is done in a really interesting way.
The ending was really unexpected, and explained a lot, but it is absolutely devastating.

Definitely one of the best crime thrillers I have ever read!!! The plot was so thrilling while getting creepier the more I was into the book!
The characters also contributed to the atmosphere of the novel... I found them absolutely brilliant! Even though some of them had some mental issues, I still found them very relatable as well as likeable. I have not read the first two books and I will do so. This third book was no problem to read as a standalone. However, I am more than eager to know what happened in the first books. Highly recommended!
I received a digital copy of this novel from NetGalley and I have voluntarily written an honest review.