Cover Image: Eighteen Below

Eighteen Below

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Member Reviews

This is the third book in a series. I read it without reading the others. The story starts off with a member of a police squad heading into work and finding herself in a car chase that ends with the suspect car driving into a river. Her team take the case when the coroner finds that the recovered body had been frozen and couldn't have been driving the car. The team find that someone is taking the identities of people and liquidating their assets before moving onto the next victim. Meanwhile there's another thread to the story involving a the beating to death of homeless people. The two threads intersect via the family of one of the detectives on the case. All in all, I enjoyed the story and will probably seek out the other books.

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When I started this book I had no idea that it was a third part in a series. I was able to read and follow it, though, so it could be a stand alone. The book itself was pretty good. The plot was interesting or should I say plots! Every character seemed to have a subplot that could have developed into an entire book on its own. I’m it really sure how they all fit together into one book, and (in this book) they were never fully resolved. I’m not sure where the girls and the seance come into play. I’m not sure where the smiley faced killers fit in. And, I’m assuming, the cross dressing cop murder will be the next book in the series. These subplots make the book unnecessarily long.
All in all, the book, and the Fabian Risk plot was decent. He also has some subplots going on: his job, his wife, his kids.
The main plot involving a car crash which turns out to be a man that had died months early and was actually frozen was very interesting. More murders ensue and each time the bodies are frozen. This plot was gripping and thrilling. Although, the chapters were scattered in between each of the other characters’ subplots.

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Although I really enjoyed this book I think I would have enjoyed it more had I read the earlier books in the series. It was very different to English crime novels and that added intrigue and a different slant to the story. There were lots of threads running through the novel which added interest and twists. The overall concept was genius and I would like to start again with the earlier books.

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This book is very good, very different, with a rather interesting plot. It can get a bit gory, but it is still a very good read. My only criticism of these Scandi type novels, is that you have no idea of the names whether they belong to a male or a female. Brilliant stuff nontheless. I did feel that it all unravelled a little bit at the end. Not quirte sure how Sonya get to where she was at the end, or did I miss something?

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Diese Reihe ist packend und spannend und nicht mehr aus der Hand zu lesen. Zudem ist der Stil so gefällig, als wenn der Autor auf meiner Bettkante sitzt und mir etwas vorliest. Ganz großartig! Charaktere, plot und story sind überzeugend und machen ein großes Kopfkino lebendig.

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Scandinavian noir at its best, dark, complex, compelling, full of twists and turns and a breathtaking final third as Astrid Tuvesson, Fabian Risk and a team of detectives hunt for a serial killer (or is it killers?) involved in an identity theft plot with frightening levels of violence. A second thread sees horrendous videos posted on YouTube by a group of "happy slappers" in which Fisk's own son Theodor is implicated. This is book #3 in the Fabian Risk series, something I was unaware of when accepting this ebook from the publishers, Head of Zeus. A pity as there are clearly events in Risk's past that impact on his present demeanour. Nevertheless, Eighteen Below can be read as a standalone. It's a lengthy read - but well worth the time.

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Eighteen Below is an intriguing story , it starts with the Police Chief coming in to work in her car( a little under the weather due to a drink problem) when another driver clips her wing mirror , so she gives chase and the driver of the other car drives straight into the sea . Straight forward you may think until after the body is recovered the pathologist says the body has been frozen for 2 months .He is identified but there are people who have seen him alive in the days before. What follows is a riveting tale about Identity Fraud and a serial killer who has operated for a number of years ,t become apparent there are 2 perpetrators as both male and female identities have been stolen and bodies found . There is also another storyline running through the book about a "Happy Slapping " style of murders of homeless people which is being filmed and put on Social Media by a group of teenagers . Both of these stories end up close to home for one of the Investigators Fabian who is going through a divorce and is looking after his 2 teenage children . A thoroughly enjoyable read .

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I haven't read the first two books in this series and I really wish I had started at the beginning. Quite a complicated and twisty plot but a most enjoyable read..

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Eighteen Below is a fantastically enjoyable thriller from Stefan Ahnhem. The third in a series of novels that centers around detective Fabian Risk, this novel is easily accessible by those who have not read the preceding books.

In this book the detective is investigating a mysterious death - the victim appears to have crashed their car into a harbour, however an autopsy shows that the person had died two months before, having being frozen. Suddenly the hunt is on for a crazed serial killer.

There are twists galore in this novel, and the suspense is masterfully deployed.

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Utterly head-melting. Loads of characters and multiple plot strands throughout. I found it difficult to keep track at first but it's very much compulsive reading which gets better, and more exciting, as the story develops. I have to read the other books in the series now!

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This book is the third in a series, which I didn't know when I requested it. It does stand on its own, but I wish I had the information about Risk and his family from books one and two.
Anyway, I loved the start when a body is removed from a car that's been driven into the Helsingborg harbour, but the twist is that the victim died months ago. This is just the start of a killing spree by clever and ruthless killers.
However, there is another storyline where Dunja, a policewoman (I don't know if she featured in the previous novels), is investigating the murders of homeless people.
And then there is the story about Risk's family, especially his son.
It can be a bit confusing, going backwards and forwards and at times I thought, perhaps the stories could have been written separately, instead of fused into one?
But, stick with it because, in the end, it all comes together with one huge twist.
Very clever plotting.

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I realised later that part of the problem I had with this book is that this is the third in a longer series about the lead detective, Fabian Risk. I have an aversion to starting book series anywhere but the beginning and it bothered me a lot that there was backstory I might have missed.

However I did enjoy it and am definitely interested in reading the others in the series.

My thanks to NetGalley and publisher Head of Zeus for the e-copy.

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Firstly, I can’t believe I kept going with this book, the book was all over the place; there was continual references throughout the book to events which have happened previously - unfortunately I only learned halfway through the book that this was the 3rd book in the series. In saying that I have read plenty of other books that were not the first in the series, which did not have as many references to events that have happened in the past.

The plot line itself is incredibly far fetched, which involves 2 13 year old girls doing a seance, a twin sister swapping places with her twin brother who incarcerated in prison, multiple murders by the twins and a separate plot line around teenagers going around filming themselves murdering homeless people.

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I did enjoy this book, there were many twists and turns which I did not see coming and it left me guessing right to the end. I was not aware there was a previous book, I would have liked to have read it first, and I wasn’t too keen on the ending which left things open for the next book, but it was written well enough for me to still really like it.

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4,5 Stars

This book literally made me thrill and chill all over!

The case Fabian Risk and his colleagues have to solve is innovative, twisted and suspenseful until the last minute. The last 40 minutes of reading I was almost biting my nails, that's how nervous I was of how it will play out in the end.

My only criticism is that this book was a bit overstuffed with story-lines. Especially in the beginning there was a constant switching of scenes, and new figures were introduced in every chapter. It took me a while to get them all sorted in my head. I think that the story-line concerning Dunja should have better been a separate book altogether, and not squeezed into here. But Stefan Ahnhem wrote it as it is, and he wrote a pretty amazing book.

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Another absolutely cracking tale from Mr Ahnhem.
Will never look at a chest freezer in the same way again.
Have read all the Fabian Risk books from Stefan ahnhem and this latest one leaves me wishing for more.

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Despite not being the opening book in the series about Fabian Risk, I had no problem reading this as a stand-alone book. There were gentle nudge references to previous events that made me guess the existence of the earlier books, and I expect reading in order would show better organisation than mine!

The plot here is multi-layered- two seemingly unconnected police enquiries, each getting rapidly more complex than first appearances suggest, and both crossing national boundary lines between Denmark and Sweden thus involving cooperation of police forces and resources. The antagonists in each case are intensely disturbing, well described with attention to detail liable to make your skin crawl.

Certain events within this story are building towards the next book, so you won’t get answers to all your questions in this book but you will be wriggling on a hook waiting for the next.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for a free review copy.

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When I started this book I didn't realise it was the third in the series. That's why I could possibly have been slightly confused. An average Scandinavian noir book.

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There's a lot of good about this book. Arguably, too much - there were so many subplots! Each one could hold up as a story in and of themselves, Unfortunately, that's what took the edge off of them too. Part One of the book sets up all these little threads, fascinating and mysterious. A mystery that takes a huge beating as Part Two starts to slam them together without any of the subtlety that was so engrossing previously. It's a blip though, and overall the storyline holds up and delivers a very clever plot. There are countless surprises, and some masterful misdirection to keep the suspense high. Despite the bumps, it all comes together.

As the third book in the series, a number of the characters are well established already. There's good substance, and room to flesh things out too. The newer characters are a little weaker, suffering a little from the amount going on. But they're not without development, just that most of it is plot driven more than anything else - the main players are where you'll find the emotional bond that draws you in.

The end result? Typical Scandinoir darkness delivered at a faster pace than usual. It does lose some of the richness I so enjoy in the genre, but the added complexity makes for an interesting take on the genre. If you want a slightly less bleak Scandinoir this delivers well, without losing the finer qualities.

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Eighteen Below by author Stefan Ahnhem.

Thoroughly enjoyed this Scandinavin thriller , very well written . Fast paced and detailed , parts of the story were tough to read but I continued .
Well recommend and give four stars

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