I'm not a fan of Nordic Noir books - it just isn't a genre I enjoy. But my friend Laura from the fab foodie blog, A Second Serving, does love it and raved about Kristina Ohlsson's, The Chosen so much that I asked her to review it for me. And she kindly obliged…
On a cold winter's day, a pre-school teacher is shot to death in front of parents and children at the Jewish school in Stockholm. Just a few hours later, two boys go missing on their way to tennis practice. A heavy snowstorm hits the city and the traces of the perpetrator are few and far between.
Fredrika Bergman and Alex Recht are faced with one of their toughest challenges ever as they hunt for a killer who is merciless as he is effective. The leads are diverse, but all point to the same place: Israel. And someone called the Paper Boy keeps popping up in the police investigation. But who is this mysterious figure? Could he possibly have resurfaced in Stockholm, now claiming new victims?
Laura says: The Chosen is a Swedish no. 1 bestseller and I can see why as it's tense, dense and incredibly atmospheric.
This is the fifth book in the Bergman and Recht series, something I didn't realise before starting! Although this is an entirely new story, it felt like there were a lot of characters which meant it could get a bit confusing – if I'd read from the start it might have made things easier.
Despite that, The Chosen was an excellent read in the Nordic-crime genre. It's a complicated story about revenge and has a real labyrinthine of a plot with its roots in the past and also the present. Interestingly, you know the ending of the story from the very start as the novel jumps around in time but you're still kept guessing the whole way through. It has a great ending too, with a fabulous twist, one that left me with a lump in my throat.
Despite being quite a complicated read I was thoroughly engaged by the story and would recommend to others who enjoy this type of crime fiction.
Sound like your cup of tea? Buy it here…
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