I love, love, love thrillers. Especially when they're as heart pounding as this one was. It's a puzzle that you have to figure out and I happily emerged myself in this awesome story. It kept me engrossed and entertained until the end. Happy reading!

This is my first read in the Joona Linna although I felt I got enough from it to read it as a stand alone. In saying that I'm hooked! This book was chillingly creepy, so much so, I was on my own in the house reading it about 70% through and I found myself listening for noises and checking the blinds were down!!!! This one affected me I don't mind admitting!!!

The police are sent a video showing a woman through a window putting on tights, then they get a phone call to a scene of crime, its the woman from the video!!! When a second video comes in, the team race against the clock to try and figure out who and where the woman is as they know without this, they will be attending another crime scene......

This book has an intricate storyline and some amazing twists, I literally had no idea who the serial killer was, not even a notion! A fantastic dark creepy serial killer mystery, can you hold your nerve and finish to the end? I found I was holding my breath!!! I will definitely be going back to the beginning of this series!

Many thanks to Netgalley and Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

Stalker is the fifth novel in the popular Joona Linna series by a Swedish husband and wife team, Alexandra Coelho Ahndoril and Alexander Ahndoril, whose are known by the pseudonym Lars Kepler. The series takes place in Sweden and has a Scandinavian slant. Detective Margo Silverman of the Swedish National Crime Unit is put in charge of a unique murder investigation. Videos are being sent to them showing victims, who are later found violently murdered with mutilated faces. By the time the tapes arrive, there is not much the National Crime Unit can do, since the victims were filmed earlier and are on the verge of being murdered. Margo is unable to find the victims with the sketchy clues in the videos before the murders occur. Joona Linna had disappeared several years before, but is located and agrees to help with the investigation. Erik Maria Bark, who is a psychologist specializing in trauma and hypnosis, pairs up with Joona, and they both get involved in the investigation. Unfortunately, Erik is feeling guilt due to some evidence he withheld years before which led to the conviction of an innocent man, and this series of murders is directly affected by what he did long ago.

As with the other novels in this series, the characters are extremely well-developed and readers who have read the previous novels are familiar with them. Joona Linna is one of the most unique characters in modern fiction, and he solves the crimes in unexpected ways. He doesn’t always follow rules and laws, and he isn’t particularly liked by others in law enforcement, especially due to the fact that he has the best solve record of any detective. He is, of course, no longer a detective, so doesn’t have authority, but finds ways to get what he wants anyway. During his absence, he has let himself get into very poor health, and Erik is trying to heal him; this serves as a hindrance to the investigation, and the murders continue.

The writing in these novels is excellent; the authors know how to tell a story and keep readers on the edge of their seats. There is building suspense throughout. The protagonist doesn’t always end up like readers would like, and that is certainly the case in this novel. Don’t expect favorite characters to live “happily ever after.”

Special thanks to NetGalley for supplying a review copy of this book.

Stalker is a creepy, dark thriller. I was on the edge of my seat for most of the book. The atmosphere is described well enough that I could picture everything! I know this is part of a series, but I felt this book could be read as a standalone. I was very excited to be picked to read this one and I was not disappointed!

Stalker has many twists and an intricate story line. You will be checking your windows and doors after this one!

The police are sent a video of a woman before they find her brutally murdered. Then, the next video comes in and they work fast to try and find the next victim before it's too late. Unfortunately the second victim is found brutally murdered as well. The police are up against a wall trying to figure out who this is and the race to find a sadistic serial killer begins. (The plot is so much more in depth though!)

Thank you to Netgalley and Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group for this ARC.

A complex and twisted tale .... I enjoyed this book, gross as it was at times! I’ve read other books by this author and this one didn’t disappoint.

I’d recommend this to anyone who loves a good crime thriller. The psychological element didn’t really hit me with this one.

I received this book in return for an honest review from Net Gallery.

Oh. My. Goodness!! I LOVE these books - the writing is perfect for the story, the pacing is always spot-on, and the characters are INCREDIBLY detailed and presented. When we last saw Joona Linna he had lost everything again - or did he actually gain it? It's impossible to tell at first blush, about anything - which is a big part of what makes this series so amazing. This book opens without Joona, and to me that only built the suspense. You just KNEW he'd be coming back, it was just a matter of when and how, and the suspense of that build was, to my mind, even more intense than the suspense of the killer in the opening bits...

This was another marvelous installment in this brilliantly dark series that explores the worst aspects of humanity while still maintaining a curious optimism, largely because of the nearly super-human nature of a few characters (Joona, obviously, but also Saga Bauer - who we don't see much of here unfortunately, and The Needle). I was delighted to see Erik Maria Bark play such a large role in this story; I loved his broken strength in The Hypnotist and he served as a great addition to the depth of this latest story and the inter-relatedness of the boos across the series as a whole. There are, as per usual, more slips and slides than a waterpark in July and every one of them is perfectly planned to lead you to the stunning reveal and exceptionally dramatic close. The Rabbit Hunter (book 6) isn't available in the U.S. yet, apparently, but I've already ordered myself a copy from a bookstore in the U.K., because I have GOT to know what comes next...

Thankyou to NetGalley, Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group and the author, Lars Kepler, for granting my wish to read an advanced readers copy of Stalker in exchange for an honest, unbiased opinion.
What a riviting storyline. I was so excited to receive a copy of this book as I have enjoyed the previous novels in the series. This one certainly did not dsappoint either.
I thought the storyline was well written and thoroughly engrossing. I stayed up into the early hours to finish as I just had to know how it would end. I enjoyed the twists and turns throughout the plot as it made it very hard to guess the ending.
Well worth a read.

I have become a huge fan of Lars Kepler, and the Sandman was one of my favorite recent reads. I picked up Stalker hoping to continue with Joona and Saga’s storylines. I was a little disappointed that much of Stalker focused on Erik, who wasn’t the most reliable character. But the scenes in which the women were stalked and killed... that kept me awake at night! Kepler is a master at suspense and I look forward to their next novel.

Thanks to Netgalley and Knopf Doubleday for granting my wish to read book 5 in this series. It was great, like the others. I did not figure out who the culprit was in advance, which made it a lot of fun. Credibility-stretching? Maybe. But it still entertained me for a few days. I recommend this, but I think you should read the series in order to get the most out of it.

Another superb Lars Kepler book to rival The Sandman. Great characters, plot and will keep you up to the final page!

Lars Kepler has always been one of my favourites and have read all his books. I ended up buying a copy here in Canada before I got accepted for this galley. I ended up finishing it up in about 3 days I couldn't put it down. Lars Kepler who is a husband and wife writing team always has a fascinating style of writing no matter the book I'm reading from them and they sure no how to add twists and suspense to the story and really get inside the heads of their readers. It was definitely a chilling read with lots of mystery and suspense and just a great detective/crime book.

Astounding tension from page 1 .. Very stark .. almost relentless . as it speeds along to terrific climax .. although I miss Kepler's usual detective (his memorial service is referred to at opening), this is an effective follow up .. really strong.

Best of the Best: New Crime Series with Intellect &/or Zen Influences; Gifts for Avid Readers*

Start anywhere in this series (Stalker is Book 5) & you will want to read them all without stopping, & then you’ll want to talk about them. So save time: get them all, get two copies, & share with your friend who has read everything. These are new enough to the US to be a lovely surprise for crime fiction fans.

The Kepler team does a brilliant job crafting (& translating) a dark procedural series with cracks (where the light gets in) of humanity in every character.

If you are a fan of the Amsterdam Cops, you will hear faint familiar wind chimes as you read.

*Note: Our staff categorizes this as a Dark Crime series. Dark Crime is recommended to be gifted to mature readers only.

I would never miss a book by the lars Kepler team. Writing is sparse and moves the plot along.
Interesting and compelling. Stalker doesn't disappoint.

This was the first book I read in this series. I must say I want to go back and read from the beginning. I did enjoy it and think starting from the start helps to connect you to the characters better. Would read more from this author.

When I requested this book from NetGalley I didn't release it was the 5th in a series.
I will have to go back and read the others.
This book was great, I have never read this author before but I enjoyed the story the writing it is gripping from the start and a bit creepy in places but what a great read. I can't wait to read the others even though this can be read as a standalone. If you enjoy a good crime/thriller then this book is for you

Riveting! This is the only description I can think of to accurately describe the writing team known as Lars Kepler. The plot twists continued to surprise me throughout the book. Almost welcome addition to the Joona Linna collection!

1st read 2016.

This book was pretty gruesome but it was a good read. It made sense when all was revealed. I don't think that the findings in the trial of Joona was right. But what do I know.

2nd read 2018

I believe that I was right the 1st time, it was a good read but the findings at the trial at the end of the story could have been different. During the second read it seemed much more gruesome in that it seems more woman were killed although I doubt it. It seemed to be more involved with Erik, Rocky, Joona, and Margot. The ending stayed the same with the unclean preacher being found. The story twist and turns a lot which makes it really involved and I found it rewarding.

This is the 5th book in this series, however I didn’t know that when I first received it from NetGalley. Instead of stopping the book to read the previous 4, I kept at this one. I don’t think I missed too much from not reading the others, although I’m sure there is plenty of character development to be gleaned from the previous novels. This book on its own was still really good. I might have added a half star extra to it since I did a disservice by not reading the previous books, but I think this is a proper twisted serial thriller killer novel!

I am becoming such a huge Lars Kepler fan. These books are captivating. I really enjoy the mystery and not knowing how they are going to end.