The Chestnut Man is a fast paced murder mystery that does a phenomenal job of keeping the reader off balance. The writer has written a successful tv show in Denmark and it is obvious as the novel has the same style. I could see this being filmed as a mini-series. Investigations of the 1987 case reveal photographs with several chestnut men. Several VHS tapes of the foster kids with recordings of sexual abuse inflicted upon them by Orum and his wife were found. It was theorized the Orum felt guilty and killed his wife and then shot himself. The foster kids that survived the tragedy were Toke and Astrid Bering. Soon, Hess and Thulin realize that the victims of the killer are all mothers who have had complaints of child abuse lodged against them at some time, but all of them retained custody of their children anyway. More specifically, all of the victims are mothers who aren’t directly abusing their children, but rather turning a blind eye to the abuse. Detectives begin to wonder if the chestnut man killer has some connection to Rosa Hartung, and if his actions are meant as retaliation against her and the department of social affairs. The small chestnut man figurines left at the crime scenes bare Kristine Hartung’s fingerprints, could this mean she’s alive after all and was kidnapped by the chestnut man?

Naia Thulin, a female detective trying to change departments within the Danish police force to spend more family time with her daughter Le, cannot catch a break as she is tasked with the investigation of a grisly murder scene, involving a brutally beaten woman in a playground, and a chestnut figurine, seemingly left behind by the killer as their signature. The Chestnut Man is a brutal, chilling story that made me question are psychopaths really born that way, or do they become what they are because of others?

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He had a personal vendetta against Rosa, whose parents had taken him in as a child. He blamed her, despite her having been a child at that time, for his being taken away from them, with the next home that he was sent to turning out to be an abusive one. Little chestnut men are discovered at the crime scenes of gruesome murders. A 12-year-old girl who has been missing for a year, and presumed dead, has a link to the little dolls. Two detectives are brought in to find "The Chestnut Man," a serial killer who has been eluding the police for years. Putting the puzzle together proves dangerous, as the killer is one step ahead. Will they be able to stop a deranged killer or will they be the next victims of "The Chestnut Man?" A tension-charged debut, sharing elements of his signature TV writing with incendiary twists Financial Times

The audio (which I did parts of it) was excellent. I felt like I was there, experiencing the cold dark days. I liked both detectives and I wanted to learn more about them. I do think that they needed to interact a lot more than they did. Rosa Hartung had been very vocal about child abuse and negligence during her political career. Due to her firm policies, many parents lost custody of their children and held Rosa responsible. I found Sveistrup's writing to be extremely engaging. It was smart, with twists, turns and red herrings around every corner. As I raced towards the conclusion, I loved how the case pieced itself together. As in The Killing television series, Sveistrup offers lessons to seasoned practitioners of the serial-killer whodunit in how to inject new energy into this near-exhausted sub-genre , and a reminder (via his portrayal of the families, homes and workplaces that his cops visit) that crime writing has the potential to be eye-opening, panoramic social realism Sunday TimesIt seems to me that everyone already knows about Soren Sveistrup because of The Killing, but since I’ve never watched it, this was my first time encountering his work. When the weather turns cold and the days dark, is there anything more satisfying than cozying up with a dark crime thriller? I think not. Nightmare Fuel Coloring Book: Hidden drawings in a kid’s room heavily suggesting a traumatic experience lead Hess to discovering a hidden basement room where the child was being exploited Unlike Stephen Holder( thanks to US version series introduced us Joel Kinnaman, now he is in every show including Hanna, For All Mankind, Altered Carbon) / or Lennart Brix (Danish character), Hess, stronger and more complex, introvert hero, has troubled past, his new position is a test and last chance for him to prove his ability to work on a case, being a part of a team. He is not a drug addict or divorced like Lennart/Stephen but his past demons and a heart wrenching tragedy he’d endured justifies his changing moods and antisocial manners. Sveistrup obtained a Master in Literature and in History from the University of Copenhagen and studied at the Danish Film School. He has won countless prizes, including an Emmy for Nikolaj and Julie and a BAFTA for The Killing.