The Wolf by Samuel Bjork
In Sweden two young boys are murdered, their corpses left in an almost brutally artistic arrangement, and the case remains unsolved.
Years later, two more young boys are murdered in Norway in similar circumstances.
Mia Krüger, a young trainee at the Police Academy is drafted in to help solve the case due to her uncanny ability to piece together these horrific stories. Teamed up with Munch, her skills and his experience start to show that the two cases may be connected.
About the author
Samuel Bjork is the pen name of Norwegian novelist, playwright and singer/songwriter Frode Sander Øien. The Munch and Krüger series features three books: the Richard & Judy Bookclub bestseller I'm Travelling Alone, The Owl Always Hunts At Night and The Boy in the Headlights.
Review
‘The Wolf’ was a multi-layered, complex thriller that I loved! I didn't realise that this was a prequel to the other books which Samuel had written in this series, but I'm kind of glad that I have come to the series this way, in the beginning so to speak! I will be going back and reading the other three books in the series though as I thoroughly enjoyed this one and thought Mia was one of the most interesting characters that I have read this year!
It was one of Sweden’s most notoriously unsolved cases - the death of two young boys, abducted and murdered, their bodies stylistically posed. But eight years later when the bodies of another two boys are found posed in the same way it's clear that the killer might be back, but this time in neighbouring Norway. The case is led by veteran investigator Holger Munch but in a case with no clues and no evidence he is getting desperate. So he hires a young recruit from the police training academy, Mia Kruger, who is off the charts at analysing evidence and profiling criminals. Will they be able to catch the killer?
Mia is seriously one of the most interesting characters that I have read this year! You know how you can get goosebumps, well I got them from her chapters and it was due to knowing that she was an exceptional character. She was tough yet soft, clever but naive, wanting to please but insular. We also see aspects of her childhood and personal life with the search for her twin sister. I absolutely loved her! All the characters were well-balanced, complex and fully formed, probably because this series is now four books in, but I can see this as an advantage for new readers.
This book manages to make you feel unbalanced whilst reading it. Its multiple POVs mean that you are hopping around the case and getting bits of information from all over. It means you aren't seeing it as a linear investigation from the lead detective's POV and as a reader I found this made for an exciting and unpredictable experience. I found it to be a well-paced book as mysteries layered upon more mysteries, little nuggets of truth scattered over the prose until it all came together at the end. I flew through this book in one day and had a bit of a book hangover in fact, so to cure it I bought the other three books in the series!
I found this to be a tense, complex read that really unnerves the reader! Let me know if you pick it up!
