I’m thrilled to welcome Søren Sveistrup to Crime by the Book today to give CBTB readers an inside glimpse into one of the season’s hottest thrillers: THE CHESTNUT MAN. Søren’s debut novel is garnering incredible buzz, and the read lives up to the hype. In THE CHESTNUT MAN, an unlikely duo of police officers in Copenhagen, Denmark must track down a brutal killer with a chilling calling card - “chestnut men,” dolls crafted out of chestnuts and matchsticks. THE CHESTNUT MAN is a big, layered, intricate crime novel—the kind of story that Nordic Noir dreams are made of. With harrowing, clever plotting and made-for-television tension and drama, THE CHESTNUT MAN will thrill fans of Jo Nesbo and Stieg Larsson. Søren Sveistrup is the creator of the hit television show The Killing, and THE CHESTNUT MAN is his debut novel. Read on for the inside scoop on THE CHESTNUT MAN, including plot details, a snippet from my full review, and my conversation with the author.
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Book Review: THE CHESTNUT MAN by Søren Sveistrup
One of the season’s most hotly-anticipated new thrillers is finally here. From the mind that created the sensational television show The Killing now comes an equally-gripping - and equally-chilling - Nordic thriller: THE CHESTNUT MAN. In his debut crime novel, Søren Sveistrup instantly establishes himself as a must-read author for fans of Nordic Noir legends Jo Nesbø and Lars Kepler—and, for that matter, as a must-read for any reader who just wants a gripping thriller to sink their teeth into this fall. THE CHESTNUT MAN is good, old-fashioned Scandinavian crime fiction; it’s a hefty book, clocking in at 528 pages in the American hardcover edition, and immerses the reader in an intricate plot moving from the mundane details of police work to the cinematic (and gruesome) crimes of a twisted killer. If the plot of THE CHESTNUT MAN seems a bit familiar at first glance, don’t worry; Sveistrup sets up his debut novel in well-tread territory, but it quickly separates itself from the pack with richly-drawn characters, made-for-TV pacing, and, naturally, a killer with a modus operandi so sinister, you’ll want to read this book with all the lights on. The buzz surrounding the publication of THE CHESTNUT MAN has been significant; it’s earned incredible pre-publication praise, is a September Book of the Month Club selection, and is soon to be a Netflix original series. The buzz is warranted here; Sveistrup’s debut is a must-read for the crime reader looking for a big, bold, spend-all-day-reading thriller.
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3 Late-Summer Must-Read Thrillers
Summer might be winding down, but this season’s fantastic lineup of new crime fiction releases shows no sign of letting up. Whether you’re in the mood for a new psychological thriller, a serial killer novel set in Denmark, or a spine-tingling suspense novel with horror undertones, the end of summer 2019 has the book for you - and I’m rounding them up for you in this post! Here you’ll find three must-read late-summer thrillers from established masters of the genre and newcomers alike. Read on for book recommendations for your end-of-summer TBR!
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Book Review: THE TURN OF THE KEY by Ruth Ware
Every summer, there’s one thing I look forward to arguably more than anything else: the newest novel by Ruth Ware. And every summer, without fail, Ruth Ware outdoes whatever brilliant novel she delivered the year prior. Ware’s 2019 release is no exception - THE TURN OF THE KEY is Ware’s best novel yet. Equal parts old-school gothic suspense and modern psychological thriller, THE TURN OF THE KEY seamlessly blends an homage to Henry James’ The Turn of the Screw with a page-turning story of surveillance, paranoia, and domestic drama. Following a young woman who accepts a nannying position at a state-of-the-art smart house in the Scottish Highlands, only to wind up imprisoned for the death of one of the children in her care, THE TURN OF THE KEY is one of the most binge-worthy, genuinely addictive suspense novels you will read this summer. It’s a truth universally acknowledged that if Ruth Ware writes a suspense novel, yours truly will read it and love it, but THE TURN OF THE KEY blew even this die-hard Ruth Ware fan away. If you haven’t already picked up Ruth Ware’s newest, add it to your TBR immediately. I’m calling it right now: this is one of my favorite books of 2019.
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Book Preview: THE STRANGER INSIDE by Lisa Unger
If you’ve been a crime fiction fan for even a short while, there’s a very good chance you’ve heard of Lisa Unger—and if you haven’t heard of her yet, not to worry, today’s post will serve as the perfect introduction to this prolific author’s work. Lisa Unger is the New York Times bestselling author of seventeen novels, including her forthcoming release THE STRANGER INSIDE. Lisa Unger’s novels have been published in twenty-six languages, and Lisa has received multiple Edgar Award nominations, among numerous other accolades. Her books have been selected as “Best of the Year” picks by the Today Show, Good Morning America, Entertainment Weekly, Amazon, IndieBound, and many, many more. I could go on, but you get the picture: Lisa Unger is a master of the suspense genre with a huge readership around the world. And today on CBTB, I’m so thrilled to spotlight Lisa’s forthcoming release THE STRANGER INSIDE, available September 17th from Park Row.
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