Lazarus by Lars Kepler: review

4/5 stars on Goodreads

Lazarus by Lars Kepler

This was my first book by Lars Kepler, a Swedish husband and wife duo writing Joona Linna Nordic noir thriller series set in Stockholm, Sweden, under a common pen name. I received a free review copy from NetGalley and ended up starting with book seven of the immensely popular series, but I gave it a go nonetheless.

Lazarus wasn’t necessarily the best book to start with, as it wasn’t a stand-alone like some thrillers are, where action matters more than the characters’ personal lives. Every character came with a heavy baggage I knew nothing about, likely accumulated through several books already. Most importantly, the old emotional and psychological scars of the main character, Joona Linna, surface when the severed head of his late wife is found in a freezer of a murder victim, and they influence much of his actions. Since I hadn’t been there from the start, it took me a while to enter into the emotions of the characters and I wasn’t able to anticipate some of the punches.

That being said, all the backstory that mattered for the plot was explained well enough and I had no trouble following the story or feeling the tension build. I hadn’t been there for the original hunt of the serial killer in focus here, but even I could surmise that though he is presumed dead, the killer is back. There were some other details left out though, that I would’ve wanted to know, like how old is the main character, for example, or why he had been in prison yet allowed to return to the police force, but I could ignore them and concentrate on the plot that kept me in its grip to the end.

This is very dark Nordic noir, with graphic details and psychological evil. Writing is in present tense, which adds to the sense of immediacy, though the narrative style was slightly distancing at times. The NetGalley copy had no chapter breaks, so there were no breathers to ease the pace either (maybe this is the case with the finished product too?). There were many point of view characters and I didn’t connect with all of them, but their subplots mattered in the overall story. And as a Finn, it tickled me that the main character is Finnish. I think I got more out of him than most readers of the English version. The translation by Neil Smith was good and there was no attempt to anglicise the Nordic names, which suited me, but might be a bit difficult for English readers.

If you’re a fan of Nordic noir, I can recommend this book. But if you’re new to the series, maybe don’t start with this one; read the other six books first.