“Maybe this serial killer is unstoppable.
Maybe they’re already caught in the web…”
Set to be published on 25th May, The Spider by Lars Kepler is the ninth book in the Joona Linna series follows security inspector Saga Bauer who, three years ago, received a postcard with a threatening text about a gun with nine white bullets – one of which is waiting for Detective Joona Linna. But time passed and the threat faded. Until now.
A sack with a decomposed body is found tied to a tree in the forest. A milky white bullet casing is found at the murder scene. And soon the police are sent complicated riddles from the killer – a chance to stop further murders. Joona Linna and Saga Bauer must fight side by side to solve the puzzle and save each victim before it’s too late. But the violent hunt becomes increasingly desperate.
Rating: 
Today is my stop on the Compulsive Readers blog tour for this book. Thank you to the publisher for a free advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
After absolutely loving The Mirror Man last year, I was excited to read the next book in the series, The Spider, and this is another gritty Scandi noir that’s most definitely not for the faint-hearted.
A deadly cat and mouse chase, a ruthless serial killer, and a web of past mistakes, The Spider has all the good qualities of a chilling detective thriller and it definitely delivers in intensity, complexity, bloodshed, and character development.
I love it when crime thrillers make the reader feel part of the investigation, and there’s a lot about this one that is exciting to try and piece together. The game could have been more engaging by giving the reader the chance to figure out the clues for themselves, but it was still very impressive to see the team figure out the serial killer’s complex puzzles.
There’s a lot of darkness to the story and some scenes are quite uncomfortable to read, but I still wanted more darkness in the murders. There are nine people on the serial killer’s hit list. But while the first murder is detailed in gory detail, the others aren’t given the same attention so this did let me down ever so slightly.
It would have also really helped to have more understanding of the characters as many of the victims are known to Joona and Saga, so maybe this is why the killings didn’t have the same impact for me. Having not read the start of this series, I was still able to enjoy this book, but I think knowing the characters, their relationships, and details about their past cases would have helped a lot.
However, I’m sure fans of the series will find this an absolutely gripping instalment. Me? I’m left really intrigued by Saga Bauer’s character who was also briefly mentioned in The Mirror Man, so I’m definitely interested in reading more of this series to find out what happened in her past.
Details:
The Spider by Lars Kepler
Series: Joona Linna #9
Release Date: 25th May 2023
Print Length: 496 pages
Genre: Crime Thriller
Publisher: Zaffre Books
Synopsis:
Three years ago, Saga Bauer received a postcard with a threatening text about a gun with nine white bullets – one of which is waiting for Detective Joona Linna. But time passed and the threat faded.
Until now.
A sack with a decomposed body is found tied to a tree in the forest. A milky white bullet casing is found at the murder scene. And soon the police are sent complicated riddles from the killer – a chance to stop further murders.
Joona Linna and Saga Bauer must fight side by side to solve the puzzle and save each victim before it’s too late. But the violent hunt becomes increasingly desperate.
Maybe this serial killer is unstoppable.
Maybe they’re already caught in the web . . .
About The Author:
Lars Kepler is the pseudonym of critically acclaimed husband and wife team Alexandra Coelho Ahndoril (b. 1966) and Alexander Ahndoril (b. 1967), authors of the No. 1 internationally bestselling Joona Linna series.
With seven instalments to date, the series has sold 15 million copies in 40 languages. The Ahndorils were both established writers before they adopted the pen name Lars Kepler, and have each published several acclaimed novels.
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