Not what I expected but still not bad. I did not wanna put this book down. Well my phone. I read it while I cooked and cleaned. Again I did not expect to be so into this book. I am so grateful for this arc.

A good quick fun read for an afternoon escape, a weekend at the beach, a long plain ride etc. It will take you away and won't disappoint.

This book is second in a series of Danish crime novels. A young boy goes missing, a boy who sees faces in ordinary objects. I enjoyed this read, the relationship between the detectives, their investigative journalist friend whose child went to school with the missing boy, and the frantic search hoping it wasn’t too late to save him. There were some very unexpected twists, especially near the end when I thought I had figured out what happened, only to be proven completely wrong. The book and characters held my attention, and I finished in just a few reads. The boy’s affliction of pareidolia was fascinating; I’d never heard of it before. A lot of tension builds up to an exciting and unexpected conclusion. If you liked “The Corpse Flower” or Danish crime procedurals, you will enjoy this book. Highly recommended!
Thank you to Netgalley, Ms. Hancock and Crooked Lane Books for an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

I was so into this book that I couldn't put it down. The characters in the story kept me so interested due to the twists and turns. I was praying for the little boy the whole time. I seriously thought it was one person, then turned out it was someone else I never suspected. I loved how this story played out. The last page SHOOK me to my core! Crazy how it all turned out. Loved this and how the tension built up page by page!

This was a very tough read for me. As a mother of boys, any book that has to do with children messes with my head. In Copenhagen, ten year old Lukas has disappeared from his school recess yard. Or has he? No one at the school seems to know. When the police dissect his phone, they find some interesting web searches. Lukas appears to be interested in a phenomena where he sees faces in inanimate objects. Interesting.
The scenery and descriptive writing was beautiful. I did not love the subject matter though. For fans of police work, thrillers, and twisty mysteries, you will surely enjoy this one!

Thank you to NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Net Galley for introducing me to another amazing Scandinavian writer. Before I started reading this book I went back and found the first in the series to get background information on the characters. The Corpse Flower hooked me and I jumped into the second release as soon as I could.

I was not disappointed. With an intricate plot, interesting characters and a lovely setting, I immersed myself in the storyline and read until my eyes blurred. I eagerly look forward to more and hope you will put this author on your to-read list. I don’t think you will be disappointed.

I received a copy of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley.

This centres on the disappearance of a child, and switches between the perspectives of the police officers investigating the case and an investigative journalist who finds herself in the middle of things. Handily she is also really good friends with one of the police officers and her best friend's daughter knows the missing boy. I found this a fairly good read, although elements of the plot puzzle me. The ending made sense, but there hadn't been enough clues for the reader to work it out.

I found the translation so clunky in places that it took me out of the story: 'he tried to light his lighter'/'he got his lighter lit' and the very non-idiomatic (in English) 'sensing that they were moving out into an opium field packed full of land mines' to mean their conversation was entering dangerous territory, being just a few examples.

Ich habe als erstes den dritten Band dieser Reihe gelesen und ich muss sagen, dass es wirklich besser ist, wenn man diese Reihe in der geschriebenen Reihnenfolge liest. Dieses Buch hat mir sehr viel besser gefallen als der dritte Band. Man hat das Gefühl, dass die Autorin hier noch mehr gute Ideen hat.

This book was suspenseful and fast-paced -- I think readers will, like me, stay up to find out what happened. I would recommend that readers start with the Corpse Flower, because the backstory we learn about Heloise in the Corpse Flower gives the personal storylines in the Collector a lot more emotional heft. I guess the author was vague about them to avoid spoiling the first book for new readers who were starting with the second, but the stakes didn't feel as high as they could have because of missing context from the first book. I also thought the first book was stronger in terms of using Heloise's job as a journalist as part of a plot. This felt much more like a conventional police procedural. Still, I'm always looking for more high-quality mysteries in translation and this series fits the bill.

I had read the first book from Anne Mette Hancock so was very much looking forward to the second. A young school boy Lucas goes missing and this is the main premise of the story. Erik Schäfer and his team are painstakingly going through evidence trying to determine was has happened to Lucas, it seems they have few leads and are quite frustrated at their progress. They are speaking with the parents of Lucas but Erik senses they know more than they are saying which in turn is hindering his investigation. I really like Eric, he truly cares about all his cases and that of a missing young boy is definitely affecting him.

While this is happening, journalist Heloise and friend of Eric is fighting her own personal battles. Her relationship with her partner Martin is causing her heartache, she is very aware he wishes to move their relationship onto the next phase of a being a family and having children. Heloise is questioning herself as she believes this is the last thing she wants, motherhood is not high on her list and she is trying to decide if she wishes to continue seeing Martin. Her father had issues and Heloise is concerned these have been passed on to herself, she feels that avoiding having children is what is right for her.

There are a couple of other storylines including one regarding her best friend Gerta who has recently been working as a psychologist with patients suffering from PTSD and these characters are all drawn into the plot.
The story is all woven together and this provides us with a very suspenseful book that held my attention throughout. I particularly loved seeing Erik and Heloise's relationship continue to grow, there is genuine fondness for each other and I hope there are further books in this series.

I highly recommend this book and thank Netgalley and the publisher for a copy in exchange for an honest review. 4 stars.

Nordic noir thrillers are starting to interest me more and more.
This was a cleverly written police drama. 

The writing itself was good. The plot intriguing. It was paced well, and I finished up in one day. And the characters were likable and interesting.
Danish journalist Heloise Kaldan I loved her character in the The Corpse Flower and she is mainly the reason why I requested book two.

If you enjoyed The Corpse Flower, you will enjoy The Collector!

“I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.”

Crooked Lane Books,
Thank You for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!
I will post my review to my platforms, blog, B&N and Waterstone closer to pub date.

This book had a little bit of everything - nuanced internal and relationship drama on multiple levels, investigative journalists, police detectives, and a mystery with multiple strands that I truly did not figure out until the solution unfolded in the book. The characters feel genuine and very human with realistic conflicting emotions and desires. Initially, I wasn't sure how I would feel reading a story about a missing child, but complex storylines drew me in and there were some unexpected uplifting moments. I definitely identified with and rooted for some of the characters although the way alcoholism is portrayed didn't sit well with me.

The second book in the Kalden & Schafer series, The Collector is an absolute triumph to Danish crime writing. It had everything going for it - fantastic character development, a gripping and enthralling plot, a dark and gritty Copenhagen setting plus the little nod towards New Zealand sealed it for me!! Anne Mette Hancock has cemented herself as one of my favorite Scandinavian crime writers. I look forward to reading her next book!

SYNOPSIS:

An investigative journalist and detective team up and take the reigns in this utterly compulsive police procedural where they search for a missing boy.

The Collector by Anne Mette Hancock.
When 10-year-old Lukas disappears from his Copenhagen school, police investigators discover that the boy had a peculiar obsession with pareidolia—a phenomenon that makes him see faces in random things. A photo on his phone posted just hours before his disappearance shows an old barn door that resembles a face. Journalist Heloise Kaldan thinks she recognizes the barn—but from where? When Luke’s blood-flecked jacket is found in the moat at Copenhagen’s Citadel, DNA evidence points to Thomas Strand, an ex-soldier suffering from severe PTSD. But then Strand turns up dead in his apartment, shot in the head execution style. What did the last person to see Lukas really witness that morning in the school yard? Was it really Lukas, or an optical illusion? Can you ever truly trust your eyes?
A very good read with good characters. Likeable story slow but readable. 3*.