The Sandman By Lars Kepler

A few years ago, I read The Hypnotist by Lars Kepler and it left quite a good impression on me. The Hypnotist is the first in the bestselling Joona Limna series that have sold multi-million copies worldwide. Lars Kepler is the pseudonym for husband-and-wife team of Alexandra and Alexander Ahndoril.

The Sandman is the fourth book in the Joona Limna series. I have not read The Nightmare and The Fire Witness, the second and the third book in the series. If I can get hold of them, I would love to read them.

The Sandman by Lars Kepler

As the novel opens, a very ill and near death young man is found on a snowy railroad bridge near Stockholm. Mikael Kohler-Frost, together with his younger sister Felicia, had been missing for 13 years and declared legally dead. The children of popular author Reidar Frost were presumed to have drowned and their bodies were not recovered. Mikael reveals that he and Felicia had been held captive in a cold dark, tomblike room he calls “the capsule” and has never set eyes on his captor known as the Sandman. The police must race against time to find Felicia before she dies or is killed.

Detective Inspector Joona Linna had long believed, without real evidence, that Mikael and Felicia have been victims of Sweden’s most notorious serial killer, Jurek Walter, now serving a life sentence in a maximum security psychiatric hospital. Years ago, Joona had successfully captured Jurek but he is certain Jurek has an accomplice who is still on the loose.

Jurek is known to be so cunning and persuasive that the institution’s staff must wear earplugs in his presence, lest he recruit them in an escape attempt. Joona is convinced that Jurek knows where Felicia is and that the chance of rescuing Felicia depends on getting Jurek to talk.

Inspector Saga Bauer goes under deep cover in the psychiatric ward where Jurek is imprisoned. She will have to figure out a way to connect with Jurek before it’s too late – and before he gets inside her head.

The well-crafted story grabs you from the start and doesn’t let go.  I was glued to it till the wee hours!