The Chestnut Man: A Novel

The Chestnut Man takes the police procedural/crime novel to another level. With a psychopath murdering women who have been accused of abuse, disfiguring the victim and leaving a chestnut man as a calling card, we have the murder squad on the case. Made up of one detective hoping to transfer to another division and another sent down from his position at Europol, this team with a shaky beginning must find a way to solve these crimes. This novel has great character development and a cinematic quality that puts you right in the middle of the action. The race against the clock and the tension are palpable. Even with a fast pace I couldn't turn the pages fast enough and flew through the 500+ pages. If it weren't for other responsibilities this would definitely be a one sitting read as even when I had to put it down I couldn't wait to pick it back up. I absolutely loved this one, the twists and turns and surprising conclusion kept me on my toes the entire time. With a bit of an open ending I'm hoping it becomes a series. If you like your crime thrillers dark, complex and well thought out, I can't recommend this one high enough!!!

I got this on Friday and finished it by Monday. This is now in my top 3 all time favourite Modern Fiction Thriller category (the other two are Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn and The Girl with the Dragon Tatto by Stieg Larsson). If your fiction picks are thrillers involving murder even to the point of scary, then this is for you. Everyone is saying it will be a movie, and I am sure that is the case, but it is a book first and the book is amazing.

I've read a great deal of Scandinavian crime fiction, this book really tired and bored me because how many times do we want to be in the head of someone being murdered with an axe? I hated it.

This book just went on and on and on. The writing style is boring and though I usually like books with short chapters, this book has that but the subject changes every chapter which just makes it hard to get into. I read the negative reviews before I buy any book and usually rule them out, but not with this book. Now that I’m done the book (I didn’t finish the last 50 pages, I can’t) I went back and read all the 1 star reviews and I feel the same as all of them. If you like a super slow thriller with a pretty predictable ending this is for you.

This Danish mystery about two police officers tracking a serial killer has plenty of tension, scares, and violence. It doesn’t spare the gruesome details about the victims. I had just a few problems with the book, which I’ll cover in a minute.
The story concerns Naia Thulin and her assigned partner, who goes by just the name Hess. Hess is sent from Interpol to be her partner as punishment for some infraction. They follow a trail of murders, four to be exact, which, besides the victims being dismembered while alive, also have at their crime scenes a handmade doll made of chestnuts, the killer’s calling card. There is another oddity about the murders. The dolls contain the fingerprint of a young girl whose mother is a prominent politician. The girl was kidnapped and assumed to be murdered over a year ago. A man named Linus Bekker, a paranoid schizophrenic was convicted of the murder and is now in a psychiatric institution. He confessed to killing the girl, but her body was never found.
Thulin and Hess are not convinced that Bekker was the murderer, although a machete with the girl’s blood was found in Bekker’s garage. The police detectives who arrested Bekker received accolades for Bekker’s capture, and they are not about to see their record being tarnished by a false arrest. Thulin and Hess are up against others in their department, as well as a sophisticated and ruthless killer.
I found the book to be great in pacing and building tension. What it provides in tension, however, it loses in a clear storyline. The book is relatively long at over 500 pages, so it probably doesn’t lend itself to being read in one sitting. When I picked the book up after putting it down for a day or so, I had to go back several chapters to reorient myself to what was happening. There are numerous characters, victims, families, and police to keep straight.
The chapters are short, many are just a few pages, which makes for rapid reading, but the scene and perspective shifts make the story choppy. If you are looking for an action-packed thriller, this book certainly has it. There are plenty of red herrings to make the identity of the killer a shock. On the other hand, I found character development lacking. I would recommend this book to those who like labyrinthine thrillers and complex puzzles.

Is it the long winter nights, the freezing wind and weather, or perhaps it is frustration with their Social Democracy? "The Danish welfare model ensures a healthy work-life balance as well as free education and healthcare for all." "Denmark is one of he most egalitarian societies in the world." The word 'egalitarian' simply means relating to or believing in the principle that all people are equal and deserve equal rights and opportunities.

If those statements are true, then all the material in this novel describing people and places in Denmark is a complete lie. And I don't believe that the author is writing fantasy here. Many politicians point to Denmark as being the best example of social democracy in the world. If that is true, then that societal construct simply does not deliver as well as it's proponents claim. This novel is rife with descriptions of all the problems that are common with the rest of the world.

Political commentary aside, Soren Sveistrup has delivered a debut novel that is intricate, extremely well written, complete with complicated characters with their own skills and motivations, and a criminal who is psychotic, detail oriented, and who leaves shocking crime scenes as his/her clues. This is a severely damaged individual who is able to remain under the radar and essentially hide in plain sight, culling his/her initial victims and executing his/her plans with perfection before sliding back out of the light.

A substantial and frightening threat is preying on Danish citizens, creating an increasing level of fear and anxiety among the population with each gory crime committed. The clues are virtually nonexistent, but it all comes back to "The Chestnut Man". A great read for fans of Christian Galacar, Robert Bryndza, and Chris Carter. And of course let's not forget to list Jo Nesbo.

Wow this book. If you like suspenseful thrillers with gore and excitement from the first page to the last, this is the book for you. It’s a real page turner. The dynamic of the characters is amazing. They are all so well described that I had created a picture in my head for each one. This book is full of mystery and you are guaranteed to be on the edge of your seat the entire time.

Kristine Hartung has been missing for a year, now deemed dead by law enforcement who have yet to recover her body. Linus Bekker has confessed to the murder after the murder weapon is found in his garage but doesn’t remember where he has buried her scattered body parts. Not only is the mystery of her death still hanging in the air, other murders are beginning to turn up. It isn’t until officer Thulin and mysterious officer Hess take on the case of the first murdered woman that they begin to uncover many missed clues about the Kristine Hartung case when a strange finger print is found on the bottom of a chestnut doll left at the scene. Questions begin to filter through the police department digging the already solved case back up for investigation. Is Kristine Hartung still out there alive? Who will be The Chestnut Man’s next target? When you think you’ve figured it out, trust me, you’re wrong!

I was a fan of the tv show THE KILLING and generally like most of these scandinavian thrillers. The Chestnut Man did not disappoint. The characters are maybe what you would expect from this genre, but they were still well written and interesting. The plot has many twists without feeling contrived in my opinion. I would be a little conservative on to whom I recommend this book only because some of the violence in it is on the gruesome side. Its still a smart enough novel that most fans of this genre will enjoy it in spite of the violence.

I read the book after watching the Netflix limited series by the same name. I loved the series, and if anything, the book was even better. One of the best books in this genre I have ever read

Beware that the plot evolves around rape and abuse of children. Why?