My rating: 5 of 5 stars
“All men make mistakes, but a good man yields when he knows his course is wrong, and repairs the evil. The only crime is pride.”
----Sophocles
Jakob Melander, a Danish author, has penned a gripping and nail-biting pot-boiler in his new Scandinavian thriller, The House That Jack Built that introduces yet another new complex, tough and dedicated detective, Lars Winkler, and this is the first book in the Lars Winkler series. The city of Copenhagen is left by a dangerous killer who is choosing innocent prostitutes as his victims, and Lars is assigned on this case, but the professional life scene is not that good for Lars, as his wife has left him for his boss.
Synopsis:
The first book in the crime series featuring Lars Winkler: loner, dad, former squatter, and drug addict — and the most dedicated detective in Copenhagen.
A young prostitute is found murdered at the common in Copenhagen. The woman's body has been preserved and her eyes removed with surgical precision. Not long after, another body is discovered treated in the exact same manner. The press quickly names the spectacular case the Sandman Killings.
Detective Inspector Lars Winkler is put on the case. With an addiction to classical rock music and the odd line of speed, Lars is struggling to get his life back together, mostly with his sixteen-year-old daughter, Maria, who lives with him in his rundown apartment. His wife has left him for his old friend and former boss. Meanwhile, the atmosphere in the Homicide and Serious Crime Department is tense. Despite support from his new young partner, Sanne Bissen, Lars feels edged out. While tracking Copenhagen's most sadistic serial killer to date, his past — which has long been kept secret — is slowly catching up to him.
Lars Winkler has just returned back from his long trip to the Homicide and Violent Crime Unit in Copenhagen, but the atmosphere in the office is bit tense and uneasy, as Lars' wife has left him for his boss, Ulrik. Soon a dead body of a prostitute named, Mira, is found dead with a bullet into her heart and her eyes are surgically removed, and Lars is immediately assigned to his case along with his newbie partner, Sanne Bissen. But due to the personal life struggle between the two men, Lars is reassigned on a different precinct's ongoing case of a serial rapist. Once Lars gets involved in his new case, he becomes sure that both the cases are connected. But in an attempt to catch the serial rapist, things get terribly wrong, that costs his job, but the killer is lurking in the dark shadows and Lars need to stop him/her before he/she strikes again, and makes anymore victim.
Hats off to the author for penning such a highly addictive, powerful and intriguing thriller, that will keep the readers guessing till the very last page. For me, this book turned out to be a page-turning read that challenged me as well as entertained me. The author presents his readers with another complex hero in the Scandinavian thriller genre, and I must say, this hero glorifies the book with full colors.
The author's writing is really impressive and articulate, laced properly with enough tension, suspense and emotions, that will keep the readers rooted till the very end. The narrative is highly engaging and interesting, and not to mention, even though, this is the translation version of the original book, the dialogues are somewhat inspired from local dialect. The pacing is really swift as the story moves forward by unraveling one layer after another.
The mystery is really well concocted by the author with deep, impenetrable layers, twists and turns, action and lots of raw violence. Each and every scene in the book is penned out vividly, thereby allowing the readers to visualize the whole story right before their own eyes. The author peels away each layer of mystery gently with the course of the story, not revealing too much or revealing enough to give the readers a taste of this dark, puzzling mystery. The unpredictable twists make the story even more spellbinding, and with some added adrenaline action moments and some bone-chilling violent scenes, it turns out to be a perfect read for all the mystery/crime fiction readers.
The characters in this book are really well carved out with enough realism, flaws and complexity, who will easily charm the hearts of the readers. The main character, Lars Winkler, is so well developed with his broken past story as well as with his broodiness mainly due to his separation with his wife. Although his fatherly and overprotective demeanor towards his sixteen year old daughter is really striking enough to make the readers feel a connection with this man. His wit, strength, fearlessness and his weirdness makes him a flawed yet fantastic role model, whose complex mind set and thought process will throw the readers into a twisted maze of both professional and personal life drama and agenda to capture a killer.
The story is also backed by a World War II story, narrated from the perspective of a little girl, who are brutally murdered and this part is properly synced into the current story line and the ongoing investigation by Lars and his colleagues right before few sections of the current story. Reading which will make the readers curious and hungry for more knowledge about what happens next, thereby forcing them to turn the pages of this book frantically till the very unforeseeable climax.
The city of Copenhagen is strikingly portrayed with its isolated suburbs, warm people, chilly weather, lakes and streams and the evocative landscape that will instantly transport the readers to this picturesque yet cold destination. The author has captured the dark alleyways to the streets to the architecture of Denmark vividly into his story line, thereby providing a dramatic background to this captivating, dark thriller.
In a nutshell, this masterfully crafted story is a must read and if you are huge fan of Scandinavian or of any international thrillers, then don't forget to gran a copy of this book.
Verdict: A gripping, riveting yet poignant thriller!
Courtesy: Thanks to the author's publishers for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.
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Author Info:
I was born in 1965 in Copenhagen, Denmark and have to younger siblings. As a child, I would watch my father, who’s a classical archeologist, sitting at his desk every night reading and writing. And even back then, I can remember thinking: When I grow up, I want to do that, too! Maybe not archeology per se, but the part that contained having a distant world in my head and putting it down in writing.
My mother wrote children’s books and directed short films, and when I’d learned to read and was able to disappear into the wonderful world of books on my own, I was sold.
Music
But during High School music was added to the mix. Music had and still has a profound effect on me. Music is a guerilla attack that hits you, when you least expect it. Music reaches you behind – or before – language, it goes straight to the central nervous system. And because of this it is impossible to avoid or shield oneself from it. You are completely naked, laid open to music. Both good and bad.
I believe we all know the feeling – or know somebody who does – that a certain song, a certain piece of music or genre can be impossible to listen to. Either because the music in itself is bad or because we associate it with something unpleasant. Something we’ve read or experienced ourselves. That is, music can have a profoundly negative influence as well.
But on the other hand – when it’s good – music can give an almost physical high. I’ve read somewhere that recent research has shown, that some people react to music the same way they react to cocaine. I find this to be true. In many ways, therefore, it is my own experience or reaction to music I write about, when the reader first meets my protagonist Lars Winkler in The House that Jack Built: “John Paul Jones’s falling bass line was a gloomy backdrop for Jimmy Page’s spine-tingling guitar work. The Fender bass and Telecaster guitar resounded in his head in that indescribably fantastic way that made music better than drugs and almost as good as sex.”
Music has direct access.
And the kind of music that was new and exciting when I was young was punk and new wave. I was a part of the Copenhagen punk scene and played bass guitar and violin in a band called Agony. Our first gig was at the opening of a two-day punk festival in Copenhagen. I was 16, we played three songs and (nationally known and respected literature and music critic) Poul Borum went to the stage to get down the name of our band. This was the big time.
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