Title: The Mirror Man by Lars Kepler
Killer Instinct Series Book Eight
Publisher: Knopf
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery, Suspense
Length: 481 pages
Book Rating: B+
Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through NetGalley
Summary:
#1 INTERNATIONAL BEST SELLER • Detective Joona Linna is on the trail of a kidnapper who targets teenage girls and makes their worst nightmares a reality.
Sixteen-year-old Jenny Lind is kidnapped in broad daylight on her way home from school and thrown into the back of a truck. She’s taken to a dilapidated house, where she and other girls face horrors far beyond their worst nightmares. Though they’re desperate to escape, their captor foils everyone of their attempts.
Five years later, Jenny’s body is found hanging in a playground, strung up with a winch on a rainy night. As the police are scrambling to find a lead in the scant evidence, Detective Joona Linna recognizes an eerie connection between Jenny’s murder and a death declared a suicide years before. And when another teenage girl goes missing, it becomes clear to Joona that they’re dealing with a serial killer—and his murderous rampage may have just begun.
Review:
The Mirror Man by Lars Kepler is a chilling mystery. Although this latest novel starring Detective Joona Linna is the eighth installment in the Killer Instinct series, it can be read as a standalone. However, I HIGHLY recommend all of the books in this outstanding series.
Detective Joona Linna and his daughter Lumi are still on delicate footing when he is begins working on his newest case. Sixteen year old Jenny Lind was kidnapped five years earlier and there has been no trace of her in the intervening years. That is until her body is discovered in a macabre tableau in a local playground. Linna is unconvinced she is the killer’s first (or only) victim, and he soon uncovers a victim whose death is eerily similar to Jenny’s murder. When Mia Andersson goes missing, Joona turns to his friend, psychologist Erik Maria Bark to work with the lone witness to Jenny’s murder.
Joona has to work hard to convince his new boss Margot Silverman to allow him to work the Jenny Lind case. Due to unsurprising (to Linna) circumstances, he soon takes over the case. He is frustrated by their lack of evidence but Joona will go to dangerous lengths to track down anyone who might have information about Jenny’s killer. When Mia vanishes, he and Erik continue working with the witness whose mental illness makes it difficult for him to recall important details about Jenny’s murder.
The Mirror Man is a compelling mystery that is incredibly suspenseful. Joona trusts his instincts as he works tirelessly to uncover the murderer’s identity. Chapters depicting the horrific and violent conditions under which the kidnapped women live provided added tension and urgency to the unfolding storyline. With a truly jaw-dropping plot twist, Lars Kepler brings this grisly thriller to a high-octane conclusion. The final scene of this brilliant mystery will leave old and new fans of the Killer Instinct series breathlessly awaiting the next novel in the series.
