The Swedish Foreign Minister is killed in his home. The story of the only witness doesn't make sense so the police and national security know that they need the help of one man. Joona Linna, who had been one of the best police detectives around, is currently in prison as the result of a case that went tragically wrong. But this case is critical and he is released to work on it.

More murders occur. As Joona tries to tie the victims together, he realizes that they all knew each other as young men when they all attended the same private boarding school. Something happened there that is creating revenge thirty years later. Can Joona and his team discover what it was and save the rest of the victims already slatted for murder?

This is the sixth book in this series. Lars Kepler is the pen name of a husband and wife team and this series has sold millions internationally. The tension starts in the first chapter and never stops. I had to occasionally put the book down and walk around a few minutes before I could go on. I plan to go back and start at the first book in the series and read all the rest of the currently nine books in this Swedish series that is the best of Nordic Noir. This book is recommended for mystery readers.

I did not finish this one, it was not for me, I couldn't relate to the characters, and just did not care for the story.

Joona Linna is in prison serving out his sentence for helping a prisoner escape. Although the other inmates know he was a cop he has managed to create distance among the different factions and keep himself safe. When an inexplicable killing occurs of a Government Minister the Prime Minister seeks his help. In typical fashion the plot unfolds and the reader attempts to figure out who the killer is, why he gives warning with a nursery rhyme and why each victim lives for 19 minutes. This is another page turner by the husband and wife writing team known as Lars Kepler.

This is the 6th book in the Joona Linna series. Joona Linda is a holds-no-bars, lead detective, just out of prison when he’s asked to solve a particularly dark serial crime involving the “Rabbit Hunter.”The crimes are gruesome, dark, and thought provoking. The small twists and turns throughout kept me guessing. A book featuring a killer who uses nursery rhymes to draw in their prey will always unsettle. The opening scenes of this book are quite graphic. This is another good installment in the series but one that felt about 100 pages too long

A little too dark and dire for my taste. While I did finish the book I cannot recommend it. There is nothing else to add.

I received an advance copy of The Rabbit Hunter from NetGalley and the publisher a very long time ago, but somehow I lost track of it and just read it now. My apologies.

That said, this is now the fourth Lars Kepler novel I've read, and I'm addicted! As a note, I haven't read the Joona Linna series in order, but that in no way takes away from the pleasure of reading each and every one. That's the sign of a great series and great protagonist for me. I've read quite a bit of Scandinavian noir, and I love the atmosphere of it, as well as the great storytelling. I find the Kepler series to be more relatable than other great novelists like Jo Nesbo or Stieg Larsson, but I love them all.

In The Rabbit Hunter, a serial killer seems to be on the loose, and Sweden's top detective is in prison! The killer is attacking randomly, first targeting a Swedish politician, then an American politician, and then a former janitor. Before the murders, the killer taunts the victims by playing a nursery rhyme about rabbits. The police can't make sense of the motivation and realize they have no choice but to get Joona a day pass from prison to help catch the killer. Thus Joona is re-teamed with the great Saga Bauer.

Kepler's novels are dark, twisty, and violent, and I speed through them every time. The writing is fantastic, and I love the Joona and Saga characters. I have to go back now and read any of the books in the series that I've missed.

I am a BIG Lars Kepler fan and The Rabbit Hunter DELIVERS.

While it's a large book at around 500 pages, it flies by. The short chapters are tense and snappy, T the plot is engaging and the crimes are deliciously dark. This duo always delivers with the twists until the very last page and this book is no exception. Their crimes are always thought-provoking and the serial killer in the Rabbit Hunter is well developed. I love how they combine thrills, character development and emotion, all while delivering serious chills.

While you can read this series out of order, there are references to past events in this book and some history will enhance your enjoyment, though it's definitely not mandatory.

A must read for fans of dark and gritty crime novels.

Thank you to Knopf Doubleday and Netgally for the arc in exchange for my honest thoughts.

Published in Sweden in 2016. First published in translation in the UK in 2018. Published in a slightly different translation by Knopf on January 14, 2020.

The serial killer who baffles the police in The Rabbit Hunter wears long leather straps around his head that are strung with rabbit ears. So yeah, he’s weird, but serial killers are weird by nature. That’s probably why thriller writers love to imagine them, even though actual serial killers are relatively rare. If we must have another serial killer novel, at least we can have one in which the killer really ramps up the weirdness.

Sweden’s foreign minister was murdered while he was consorting with prostitutes. Saga Bauer, an officer who specializes in counterterrorism with the Security Police, investigates the killing. One of the prostitutes heard the killer say something that suggests other murders are on the horizon. Bauer thinks a suspected terrorist named Salim Ratjen might have relevant information about an apparent assassination plot, but Ratjen is in prison and unlikely to be cooperative.

Enter Joona Linda, who has starred in five earlier novels by the writing team that calls itself Lars Kepler. Linda begins this one in prison where he’s serving a sentence for assisting an escape and assaulting a guard. He’s looking forward to spending the rest of his life not being a police officer until the prime minister shows up with Bauer and asks Linda to get into Ratjen’s head.

The scene shifts frequently after the premise is established, although it shifts away from prison relatively quickly. Other murders occur as promised, but they don’t seem political. What ties them together is unclear, thus setting up the classic serial killer plot as the police try to figure out who will die next.

Linda is released from prison to continue the terrorism investigation despite his growing sense that the foreign minister’s slaying wasn’t an act of terrorism. Bodies drop and clues pile up until the real reason for the killings — the fact that links them and that explains the rabbit ears — is revealed.

The Rabbit Hunter is a longish book with a complex plot that delves deeply into the lives of privileged people who will likely die before the story ends. Some readers might think they deserve to die. Other readers might think that some of the characters, at least, are fairly sympathetic individuals who have atoned for their past. Either way, their fate shouldn’t be in the hands of a killer who wears rabbit ears, or even one who dresses more conventionally. Interestingly, the killer receives less character development than the victims, in part because his identity is concealed for most of the novel. We do, however, get a good sense of the kind of the shattered childhood that might produce a serial killer.

Kepler manufactures tension in the manner of a good film director. Kepler describes a crucial element of a scene, then describes something that might or might not be important — a shadow, a loud noise, tree branches moving without wind. Suspense builds but the reader is never quite sure whether something eventful is about to happen. Until the end, at least, when the action erupts. The ending doesn’t seem forced but it might be faulted for being a bit too karmic to be realistic. Still, with all the violence and death that ensues throughout the story, it would be hard to classify the finish as an entirely happy ending. It also comes with the touch of bitter irony. The ending might best be characterized as a respite from bleakness which, in Scandinavian thrillers, is the best for which a reader can hope. And in the tradition of Scandinavian thrillers, the respite is worth waiting for even if it’s a long time coming.

RECOMMENDED

Such a complex, well written mystery! Lars Kepler are very talented writers, and I love the Nordic noir genre.

‏I was provided with a complimentary copy of this book so I could give an honest review.

The Rabbit Hunter is the 6th novel in the Joona Linna series written by Lars Kepler. Kepler is the pseudonym of husband and wife team Alexander Ahndoril and Alexandra Coelho Ahndoril.

While it is the 6th in the series, it can stand alone. However, you should read the earlier novels to really understand the characters.

Kepler's books are detailed and gritty. They are not set nor originally published in the US. Be warned! There is gore. That being said, the books I have read in the series are captivating. This one, not so much. I do recommend reading it but it was missing something. I am not sure if the cause was the translation or the original text.

Joona was not as strong of a presence as in prior books. He is released from jail just to help solve the case of the rabbit hunter. Instead of focusing on the case, he plans for life after prison and without working as a police officer. It is in his blood. It is who he is.

I will read book 7 and hope it was only this book or its translation I found lacking. I thoroughly enjoyed the others in the series.

This 200-word review was published on Philomathinphila.com on 3/25/20.

Who is behind the killing of these former students of an elite private school? Time is running out as one by one they are killed in the most brutal way. It begins with a nursery rhyme and then 19 minutes later you die. Joona Linna and Saga Bauer are back working on a new violent case. I enjoyed this one, but felt a few things seemed a bit far fetched.

Lars Kelper is amazing. 5 stars. I can't wait to go back and read the previous books! The premise was unique and I loved all the characters that were introduced. Thank you so much to Knopf Publishing and to Netgalley for this advanced review copy.

Why do I let myself get pulled into these graphic Swedish noir novels about gruesome murders. Well, maybe because the story is intense and interesting, maybe it is because the characters are sometimes and bizarre and quirky as the storyline. I need to go back and read the previous books in the series to see how the policeman turned criminal evolved to the point he is at in this book. So many murders in this book and such success in hunting the killer. I would love to see more of the character, Saga. I felt a little let down when she was sent to Chicago to interview a woman who knew the murdered men far more intimately than she wanted. She should have been with Joona.

When the Swedish Foreign Minister is murdered, peculiar factors in the killing have the police struggling.
A witness is left alive and she tells of a masked intruder taking his time with the brutal slaying, even as alarms are blaring and police are on their way.
Joona Linna, a detective who specializes in tracking down serial killers, has spent two years behind bars in a high security prison.
He is released to help find the Rabbit Hunter killer, whose agenda is to have his victims suffer a slow death after he plays a nursery rhyme about rabbits.
Linna teams up with Superintendent Saga Bauer as they secretly investigate how the killer chooses his targets, and how it relates back to events that happened many years ago.
This brutal, grisly and creepy Scandinavian noir thriller moves at a whirlwind pace! Though a longish book, it doesn't seem so, broken up into short action packed chapters.
This is the third book that I've read in this gripping series. It can be read as a stand alone, but really benefits from reading the others for the background history.
A highly entertaining read!
Thank you to Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group for the e-ARC via NetGalley.

I've always been a big fan of this series. Unfortunately, this was probably my least favorite so far. It was a little hard trying to keep everyone straight. And it was really easy to figure out who was the hunter. This made the ending seem like it really dragged out and was too long. I did really enjoy the relationship between Rex and Sammy. I'm also a big fan of Joona.

THE RABBIT HUNTER: A Joona Linna Novel
Lars Kepler; translated by Neil Smith
Alfred A. Knopf
ISBN 978-1-5247-3228-8
Hardcover
Mystery/Thriller

You will want to read THE RABBIT HUNTER. I am actually afraid to tell you much more than that because giving you too much information about this intricately plotted and wonderfully written novel would be like pulling the thread on a favorite sweater and watching in horror as the entire kit-and-kaboodle unravels. I will promise to try to not to do that if you will keep reading for just a moment or two. Deal?

Now that we have settled that, THE RABBIT HUNTER is the latest in the Joona Linna series by Lars Kepler, the pseudonym for the fabulous husband and wife writing team of Alexander Ahndoril and Alexandra Coelho Ahndoril. This is a flawless collaboration, by the way, for two reasons. One is that they stay out of each other’s way, so that it is difficult if not impossible to tell who has written what. The other is that it is apparent within the first few pages of THE RABBIT HUNTER that what one doesn’t think of the other one does. Yes, indeed, THE RABBIT HUNTER has everything, from graphic sex, violence, meticulous plotting, and a deep, deep mystery to kinky sex, violence, strong characterization. Let’s also give a moment of thanks to translator Neil Smith, without whom most of us would probably never get to read this wonderful work. THE RABBIT HUNTER begins with a wonderfully creepy vignette which leads into a hair-raising scene which over the course of several chapters will have you screaming or close to it, culminating in a murder with ritual overtones. Joona Linna is the chief inspector of the Swedish Police Force’s National Operations Department, or at least he was until his previous actions in the series landed him in prison, where he remains for a good portion of THE RABBIT HUNTER. Even behind bars, however, he is able to figure out what the killer is up to, though he can’t communicate it to Saga Bauer, his police partner, in enough time to prevent another murder. It takes the police some time to sort out the why behind the murders, even once Linna is brought back on board, and it’s not done without pursuing a dead-end which goes spectacularly and horribly wrong. Linna and Bauer engage in some good, old-fashioned police work which sorts out, sort of, the “why” behind the murders. That doesn’t stop Kepler from ratcheting up the suspense factor up to eleven as the killer decides to wrap things up by exacting revenge upon everyone on his list as quickly as possible.

There are twists and turns galore in THE RABBIT HUNTER, so many, in fact, that you will give up trying to guess who the guilty party is or what will happen next. Innocents get in the way. The weather refuses to cooperate. Rabbits...never mind what happens to rabbits. You will never want to stay at a hotel, go hunting, answer your door or leave (or stay) at your home after reading THE RABBIT HUNTER. It will drive you insane in all of the best possible ways. Oh, and just in case you think that you’ll get away unscathed at the conclusion of the book, Kepler tosses in an epilogue that will haunt you all over again, even as you become furious that you will have to wait more than a few weeks to read the next book in the series (titled LAZARUS, and published in 2018 in Kepler’s native Sweden). I am actually seriously considering learning how to read Swedish so that I won’t have to wait for the English publication, but...then I would miss what is sure to be another fine translation by Neil Smith. So I will wait. Maybe. But you can read THE RABBIT HUNTER, and you absolutely should. Strongly recommended, if you’re not too squeamish.

Reviewed by Joe Hartlaub
© Copyright 2020, The Book Report, Inc. All rights reserved.

'Ten little rabbits, all dressed in white
Tried to get to heaven on the end of a kite.
Kite string got broken, down they all fell,
Instead of going to heaven, they all went to…'

The Rabbit Hunter is the sixth thriller in the Lars Kepler’s international bestselling series featuring Detective Superintendent Joona Linna. Published with Alfred A. Knopf Publishing Group on January 14th, it is translated by Neil Smith and described as a ‘gripping’ read.

Having never read a Lars Kepler book I was intrigued to read The Rabbit Hunter but was a little nervous of jumping in at book six. I obviously did not have the back story of the main character Joona Linna but I didn’t find it a particular difficulty as the story was enough to keep me hooked.

The Rabbit Hunter is a very sinister read. A book featuring a killer who uses nursery rhymes to draw in their prey will always unsettle. The opening scenes of this book are quite graphic and offer the reader an insight into the dark depths of depravity that lie ahead. The Swedish foreign minister is brutally attacked and murdered in his home. There is an immediate lock-down as state security attempt to unravel the reasons for this barbaric attack.

Meanwhile Joona Linna has spent two years in a high security prison for reasons linked to a previous case. His expertise is requested by Saga Bauer, Operational Superintendent at the Swedish Security Service. She believes that Linna can provide the knowledge required in figuring out this unexplained killing. Is it personal or is it a terrorist attack?

As the body count rises the authorities continue to suspect terrorism but with Linna’s assistance they realise, with catastrophic effect, that they are most likely wrong. This is a killer with a very clear objective. This is a killer looking for revenge…

As the hunter widens his net, some more high-profile names become entangled in this case. Linna and Bauer are soon only too aware that time is very much against them and they need to make fast decisions with immediate and fast actions taken. This is high-adrenaline stuff folks!

There were a few scenes I did feel were superfluous to the plot and, I’m sure, some may consider gratuitous. I still am none the wiser as to the why, but I am going to assume that the answers may be found in future books in this series. Also, while reading, I did feel that the English language may have impacted some of the dialogue in places, stilted it a little perhaps.

The Rabbit Hunter is most certainly NOT a book for the faint of heart. There are stomach churning scenes of brutality and pure violence that are VERY graphic. As the pages turn, the pace quickens with your pulse rate as you race to the final finish. What evil hand is at work here? Why is this killer so barbaric in their attacks?

The Rabbit Hunter is a disturbing read, yet a very addictive one. It is gripping, disconcerting and riveting, a book that I am sure will thrill all fans , both new and old, of this dynamic duo.

Swedish Detective Joona Linna is back in another twisty, dark and violent police procedural chasing a diabolical serial killer called The Rabbit Hunter.

Saga Bauer, an officer in the Swedish Security Police specializing in counterterrorism, is investigating the savage murder of the Swedish Foreign Minister. The Minister was in the process of violating a young prostitute when he was shot in the chest and both eyes. The prostitute reports that the killer said, “I know that Ratjen opened the door and now hell is going to devour you all.” Ratjen is a high-level imprisoned drug dealer who was radicalized in prison. The police have a taped phone call where he mentions two more “celebrations to come”—the first in four days. Saga asks the Swedish Prime Minister, the presumed next victim, to recruit the imprisoned Joona, her former partner, to assist Saga in her search for the killer before he strikes again.

I recently complained in my review of The Tenant that I had a certain idea in my head of how gritty and noir all Scandinavian thrillers should be. This book meets, and in fact exceeds, my expectations.

It is an exceptional dark read. If you have triggers for basically anything, The Rabbit Hunter is not a good choice as every evil thing possible is within this tale. It is also XXX rated. But if you want to live for a few hours on the seedy side of life, you can’t go wrong with this pulse-pounding thriller. 4 stars!

Thanks to Knopf and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review.

Derek contributed this review to Really Into This

Check out all of our reviews at https://reallyintothis.com
Happy Reading, friends!

Special thanks to AA Knopf for providing our copy of Rabbit Hunter by Lars Kepler in exchange for an honest & fair review.

Rabbit Hunter by Lars Kepler is a great book that picks up speed from the very beginning. As soon as I finish the first chapter, I am hooked!

Honestly, there is not a single lull in the narrative that has me wanting to hurry up and get ahead. This is a very engaging read.

Kepler always does a good job writing the characters. Even better, they build their story and close them out very well.

As in all of Lars Kepler’s books they do a great job in being very descriptive. The authors use lots of details to bring the settings to life.

Kepler also does a great job in not having the story be predictable. The ending is very captivating

I must note Rabbit Hunter by Lars Kepler is a dark read. Like @novelgossip shared, the characters find themselves in some disturbing situations. These include under & some diverse sexual relationships.

Overall, this is a 5 star read for me. Dark, disturbing, thrilling & captivating. Just like I like it.

The Rabbit Hunter is the sixth book in the Joona Linna series and to get the most from this book, I strongly recommend that you start with the first in the series, The Hypnotist and progress from there. It is so worthwhile as although each book has a stand-alone case to be solved, Joona Linna’s own back story is so deliciously good and interesting that it makes all the books really sing.

Though this is quite a big book, it doesn’t feel that way because the chapters are short and the writing pacy, so time just flies by as you are reading.

Lars Kepler books are not for the faint-hearted. They are dark, gory and violent and The Rabbit Hunter is no exception. Following on from the difficult times that Saga Bauer and Linna went through in the fifth book, Stalker, Joona Linna is now languishing in a high security prison.

A Swedish Foreign Minister has been murdered in weird circumstances and there are no clues as to who might be responsible. Stockholm is on edge and the police are under severe pressure to solve this murder, not least because other murders follow fast behind.

The reader meets The Rabbit Hunter early on in the chapter and we are left in no doubt that this is seriously disturbed killer whose perverted mind enjoys inflicting slow, tortuous death.

The authorities, with the express blessing of the Swedish Prime Minister, come to Joona Lina with a deal. Help Superintendent Saga Bauer find the killer, and in return he will have earned his freedom.

Current thinking is that these murders are politically motivated acts of terrorism but Joona Linna, following this through, realises that there is something much deeper and more personal going on. This is a ruthless and efficient serial killer but the twisted acts of violence point him to an historic reasoning behind the serial killer’s twisted thinking.

Seeking a connection between the victims, he realises that they all hear a child chanting a nursery rhyme about rabbits and then, exactly 19 minutes later, they are brutally murdered.

Joona Linna will have to go back in time to investigate events of 30 years ago to find out why these people have died at the hands of a sadistic killer.

The book is tense and thrilling as the suspense mounts and Linna once again puts his life on the line to expose a scandal that goes back decades.

Verdict: Another taut and disturbing read from this writing duo. Light on characterisation, The Rabbit Hunter relies on the twisted and disturbing killings to keep the reader’s attention focussed. Not the best Kepler I have read, but still an enjoyable and completely engaging contribution to the series.