Series
Genres
Publication
Blue Door (2013), 512 pages
Description
When a medium contacts the police department with claims about a murder at a rural home for wayward girls, detective Joona Linna investigates bizarre clues only to find himself confronting more violent truths and a figure from his past.
User reviews
LibraryThing member Gilmore53
Sorry, but this book was a disappointment. I loved the first book "hypnotisören". Thought the second book "Paganinikontraktet" was OK and was now looking forward to read the third book. However, after an interesting introduction it all became more and more boring. In the end I had to give up, just
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flicked through to the end. Show Less
LibraryThing member Amsa1959
This was much better than the last one. This is the third in a series of what will be eight novels about inspector Joona Linna. It´s a crime novel and there are some gruesome murders in it. I liked the characters and found them credible, I like Joona Linna, and in this novel we get to know a
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little bit more about him and his past. The story has many aspects and even though it swirls and shift focus it never looses it. Of course it´s a bit freaked out - but I don´t mind that in a crime story as long as the author keep it together, and they have. Show Less
LibraryThing member picardyrose
Troubled teen gets murdered at group home, another girl runs away (and accidentally kidnaps a 4-year-old). Scandinavian writer, but the hero detective reminded me of Jackson Brodie.
LibraryThing member Twink
I discovered the Swedish husband and wife writing team of Lars Kepler with the first book in their Inspector Joona Linna series - The Hypnotist. I loved it and it only got better with the second book - The Nightmare. I've been eagerly awaiting the North American release of the third book - The Fire
Inspector Joona Linna is on suspension, pending the outcome of an internal affairs investigation. Linna doesn't play by the rules, he goes for results by whatever means he sees fit.
"It is a serious charge, but this is not the first time Joona has run up against the authorities. It seems to be his nature....But what they can't ignore is that in the almost fifteen years Joona's been on the job, he's solved more challenging cases than any other Scandinavian officer."
And the cases Kepler come up with for Linna are challenging - not just for him but for the reader as well. I read a lot of crime fiction and this series keeps me guessing right 'til the end.
In the Fire Witness, Linna is called to 'observe' a particularly nasty case. A young girl has been found brutally murdered in her group home. Her body has been arranged with her hands covering her eyes. None of the other girls saw anyone or anything. Or did they? These are girls with a myriad of problems and getting a straight answer out of them seems impossible. And of course Joona can't stand by and just be an observer - he sees much more at crime scenes than his colleagues - clues and connections that others don't. The case begins there and Kepler builds layer upon layer into the case, including a would be psychic who may actually be the real thing. (Gentle readers be warned - Kepler pulls no punches with descriptions)
I've used the word creepy before to describe Kepler's books and I would use it to again to describe The Fire Witness. The settings, the plot, the characters and their actions are all unsettling, keeping readers on their toes.
The secondary plot line deals with Joona Linna's past. It has been alluded to in the past two books and at last we get to know what has happened to him. Not what I expected or imagined at all. (again, I love that I can't predict where Kepler is going to go next) The ending - oh, what an ending. I will be waiting on the edge of my seat for the North American release of the fourth book -The Sandman.
Definitely recommended. Kepler just gets better and better. Fans of Jo Nesbo and Jussi Adler-Olsen would enjoy this series
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Witness. And up front, I have to tell you it was a five star read for me.Inspector Joona Linna is on suspension, pending the outcome of an internal affairs investigation. Linna doesn't play by the rules, he goes for results by whatever means he sees fit.
"It is a serious charge, but this is not the first time Joona has run up against the authorities. It seems to be his nature....But what they can't ignore is that in the almost fifteen years Joona's been on the job, he's solved more challenging cases than any other Scandinavian officer."
And the cases Kepler come up with for Linna are challenging - not just for him but for the reader as well. I read a lot of crime fiction and this series keeps me guessing right 'til the end.
In the Fire Witness, Linna is called to 'observe' a particularly nasty case. A young girl has been found brutally murdered in her group home. Her body has been arranged with her hands covering her eyes. None of the other girls saw anyone or anything. Or did they? These are girls with a myriad of problems and getting a straight answer out of them seems impossible. And of course Joona can't stand by and just be an observer - he sees much more at crime scenes than his colleagues - clues and connections that others don't. The case begins there and Kepler builds layer upon layer into the case, including a would be psychic who may actually be the real thing. (Gentle readers be warned - Kepler pulls no punches with descriptions)
I've used the word creepy before to describe Kepler's books and I would use it to again to describe The Fire Witness. The settings, the plot, the characters and their actions are all unsettling, keeping readers on their toes.
The secondary plot line deals with Joona Linna's past. It has been alluded to in the past two books and at last we get to know what has happened to him. Not what I expected or imagined at all. (again, I love that I can't predict where Kepler is going to go next) The ending - oh, what an ending. I will be waiting on the edge of my seat for the North American release of the fourth book -The Sandman.
Definitely recommended. Kepler just gets better and better. Fans of Jo Nesbo and Jussi Adler-Olsen would enjoy this series
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LibraryThing member lostinalibrary
In this latest novel by the Swedish writing team known singularly as Lars Kepler, a murderer has killed two people in a home for delinquent girls. The suspected murderer, a young girl named Vicki Bennet steals a car with a four-year-old boy in the backseat. When the car is found at the bottom of
There is a great deal going on in this fast paced thriller but it never becomes confusing. There is, for example, a fake medium who keeps phoning the police offering 'tips' for money but seems to have real knowledge about the case; there are bits and pieces about Linna's back story; and there is Vicki's own story as well as that of a woman who once fostered her and now wishes to act as her champion. In some ways, I found these other issues more interesting than the murders themselves especially as I figured out who the killer was fairly early in the story. Normally, this fact would make me want to pass on the rest of the story but these other questions kept me wanting to read even when the main one was answered.
It should be noted that there is some rather strong language in the book especially from the girls in the home who, after all, are really bad girls and there is some sex which may seem a bit gratuitous. Personally, I thought it helped to make the characters more 'real' - there is nothing romantic here to dispel the sense of sadness and hopelessness that many of the characters seem to live with.* I only bring this up because I read some reviews which criticize the book for this.
*Side note: is there something about Scandinavian countries which makes their stories often so bleak going back at least to Hans Christian Anderson or maybe even Beowulf. Not that I'm complaining. I prefer bleak over peppy and romantic any day. What can I say - life without suffering bores me and when I say suffering I'm not referring to 50 shades of crap type suffering. I'm talking about the kind of suffering which, except in the case of psychopaths, makes us empathetic towards others.
But enough of the gratuitous side note...
The Fire Witness is the third in the Swedish starring Joona Linna. Although it helps to have read the other books, it isn't absolutely necessary. There are some references to actions outside this story but they really don't interrupt the flow or pace of the narrative. My guess is, though, after you read this one, you will definitely want to read the rest of the series.
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the lake, it is assumed that both the girl and boy are dead even though their bodies are not found. But Detective Inspector Joona Linna is not convinced and, despite orders to the contrary, he refuses to stop hunting for the pair.There is a great deal going on in this fast paced thriller but it never becomes confusing. There is, for example, a fake medium who keeps phoning the police offering 'tips' for money but seems to have real knowledge about the case; there are bits and pieces about Linna's back story; and there is Vicki's own story as well as that of a woman who once fostered her and now wishes to act as her champion. In some ways, I found these other issues more interesting than the murders themselves especially as I figured out who the killer was fairly early in the story. Normally, this fact would make me want to pass on the rest of the story but these other questions kept me wanting to read even when the main one was answered.
It should be noted that there is some rather strong language in the book especially from the girls in the home who, after all, are really bad girls and there is some sex which may seem a bit gratuitous. Personally, I thought it helped to make the characters more 'real' - there is nothing romantic here to dispel the sense of sadness and hopelessness that many of the characters seem to live with.* I only bring this up because I read some reviews which criticize the book for this.
*Side note: is there something about Scandinavian countries which makes their stories often so bleak going back at least to Hans Christian Anderson or maybe even Beowulf. Not that I'm complaining. I prefer bleak over peppy and romantic any day. What can I say - life without suffering bores me and when I say suffering I'm not referring to 50 shades of crap type suffering. I'm talking about the kind of suffering which, except in the case of psychopaths, makes us empathetic towards others.
But enough of the gratuitous side note...
The Fire Witness is the third in the Swedish starring Joona Linna. Although it helps to have read the other books, it isn't absolutely necessary. There are some references to actions outside this story but they really don't interrupt the flow or pace of the narrative. My guess is, though, after you read this one, you will definitely want to read the rest of the series.
Show Less
LibraryThing member JEB5
When a teenaged girl and a middle-aged female caregiver are found with their heads bashed in on the grounds of a home for troubled girls, the police and Joona Linna must uncover who the murderer is and locating a missing girl from the home. The hunt is on and the clues must be uncovered before the
The writing couple that makes up Lars Kepler use their multiple perspectives and vivid descriptions to allow their readers to enter the world of crime in Sweden. With the clues laid bare on the pages, will you be able to figure out who did it and why before Joona Linna and company?
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murderer gets away with the crime. Meanwhile Joona is told to remain only an observer and not to participate in the investigation, but Joona is a man that follows clues and solves crimes - will they be able to stop him from participating? He must enter the world of troubled girls to uncover their histories, medicines, motivations, friends, and games in order to figure out who has committed these horrendous murders. Will he be able to do it in time to save a little boy and another teenaged girl?The writing couple that makes up Lars Kepler use their multiple perspectives and vivid descriptions to allow their readers to enter the world of crime in Sweden. With the clues laid bare on the pages, will you be able to figure out who did it and why before Joona Linna and company?
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LibraryThing member ozzer
FIRE WITNESS is set in Sweden and arouses all of the gloomy noir ambiance of its Scandinavian counterparts. The intricate plot has many moving parts but these sometimes appear to be contrived and a bit clunky. Elements seem to have been added by a committee (indeed Lars Kepler is a committee of
Birgittagarden is a youth home for troubled teenage girls. One of these, Miranda, has been brutally murdered and the body posed with the hands over her face (see the book jacket). A caregiver, Elisabet, also has been bludgeoned to death in an outlying building. The case seems open and shut since one of the other girls, Vicky Bennet, has disappeared leaving behind a bloody murder weapon. The search for Vicky drives the story.
The protagonist is Joona Linna, a detective who is assigned to observe the case, but can’t resist taking over. Linna appears in other crime mysteries written by Kepler. He is pretty much a cliché in modern detective fiction. He is brilliant, tenacious and compassionate; but has a troubled past, many personal flaws and a tendency to flaunt authority and go-it-alone. The other characters lack nuance and thus are difficult to care about. Instead they act like puzzle pieces designed to drive the plot forward while adding mystery. Vicky is a tough, but almost irredeemable hard luck kid with a heart of gold. Anja Larsson is a wealthy divorced philanthropist who was once briefly Vicky’s foster mother and, for some reason feels guilty about how she turned out. Flora Hansen is a fake mystic, bilking people by purporting to commune with the departed. The police and Linna dismiss her as a crank; Daniel Grim is the psychological counselor at Birgittagarden. At first one wonders why each of these fairly minor characters is even there but as the plot heats up, one begins to see that they have important roles to play in resolving the mystery—just examples of some of clunky plot elements. The girls in the home are all pretty extreme, not well developed as individuals and tend to blend together.
FIRE WITNESS clearly deserves all of the blurb superlatives: it is cinematic, cleverly plotted, suspenseful, fast-paced, and a page-turner with a surprising climax. It, however, is not for the faint hearted because of extreme and brutal murders, violence, mental illness and sexual abuse. The novel is definitely light reading fare designed for commercial success. The final chapters are a testament to Kepler’s marketing savvy. They have nothing to do with the plot, but instead seem to be there merely to set the stage for future Joona Linna mysteries.
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two) designed to drop multiple clues that only Linna will understand. Certainly, his bumbling colleagues have no hope of either finding them of correctly interpreting their significance. The plot moves along at a brisk pace with multiple wrinkles that are designed to keep the pages turning as fast as possible, but many seem implausible. There is no theme unless, as the epigraphs and title suggest, liars can expect to be punished by fire.Birgittagarden is a youth home for troubled teenage girls. One of these, Miranda, has been brutally murdered and the body posed with the hands over her face (see the book jacket). A caregiver, Elisabet, also has been bludgeoned to death in an outlying building. The case seems open and shut since one of the other girls, Vicky Bennet, has disappeared leaving behind a bloody murder weapon. The search for Vicky drives the story.
The protagonist is Joona Linna, a detective who is assigned to observe the case, but can’t resist taking over. Linna appears in other crime mysteries written by Kepler. He is pretty much a cliché in modern detective fiction. He is brilliant, tenacious and compassionate; but has a troubled past, many personal flaws and a tendency to flaunt authority and go-it-alone. The other characters lack nuance and thus are difficult to care about. Instead they act like puzzle pieces designed to drive the plot forward while adding mystery. Vicky is a tough, but almost irredeemable hard luck kid with a heart of gold. Anja Larsson is a wealthy divorced philanthropist who was once briefly Vicky’s foster mother and, for some reason feels guilty about how she turned out. Flora Hansen is a fake mystic, bilking people by purporting to commune with the departed. The police and Linna dismiss her as a crank; Daniel Grim is the psychological counselor at Birgittagarden. At first one wonders why each of these fairly minor characters is even there but as the plot heats up, one begins to see that they have important roles to play in resolving the mystery—just examples of some of clunky plot elements. The girls in the home are all pretty extreme, not well developed as individuals and tend to blend together.
FIRE WITNESS clearly deserves all of the blurb superlatives: it is cinematic, cleverly plotted, suspenseful, fast-paced, and a page-turner with a surprising climax. It, however, is not for the faint hearted because of extreme and brutal murders, violence, mental illness and sexual abuse. The novel is definitely light reading fare designed for commercial success. The final chapters are a testament to Kepler’s marketing savvy. They have nothing to do with the plot, but instead seem to be there merely to set the stage for future Joona Linna mysteries.
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LibraryThing member carole888fort
The Fire Witness by Lars Kepler was first published in 2011 and has been published again in November 2018 by Vintage Crime/Black Lizard. Lars Kepler in the pseudonym used by married couple Alexander Ahndoril and Alexandra Coelho Ahndoril. This is #3 in their Joona Linna series and it can easily
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stand alone if you have not read the previous books. However, this series is so intense that readers will enjoy reading everything by Lars Kepler. Joona Linna is a troubled detective in Sweden. He is called upon to observe the investigation of a double murder which takes place at a home for troubled teenage girls. A resident and a caretaker have been killed and a missing girl is believed to have committed the crimes. The detective is approached by a medium who claims to have been visited by the ghost of the murdered girl and Linna is intrigued by this. The story develops quickly but nothing is as it seems. This suspenful read will appeal to readers who enjoy murder mysteries with a twist. Thank you to Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group and NetGalley for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. Show Less
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2011
2013-07-13 (English)
ISBN
0007467753 / 9780007467754
Other editions
The Fire Witness by Lars Kepler (Paperback)