What It's About: Detective Erik Schafer and his team from Violent Crimes Unit are assigned to investigate the mysterious disappearance of 10 year-old Lukas Bjerre. He has a peculiar obsession with pareidolia, and Heloise Kaldan, journalist from Demokratisk Dagblad may be able to help when she recognizes the last photo Lukas posted on his social media before he went missing.

My thoughts: This second book of the Kaldan and Schaefer series was intense and twisty, and I personally enjoyed it much more than the first book! The plot has more depth and I liked learning about the psychological phenomenon - pareidolia. There was also some psychological profiling in this story which I really liked. Although the ending seemed a bit rushed, it was a great story for me overall. I look forward to reading the next book in this series!


Pub. Date: Out now


***Thank you Crooked Lane Books for this gifted reading copy. All opinions expressed are my own.***

This is the second book in the Kaldan and Shafer series and I was happy to pick it up because I had read and enjoyed the first book, [book:The Corpse Flower|56706292] in 2021. This is another good Nordic thriller. Kaldan is a journalist working for a newspaper and Shafer is a Danish detective. They get involved in the case of a young boy who disappeared after entering his school. The investigation gets messy and has intriguing avenues to follow.

I like the characters and enjoyed the investigation. This book can easily be read as a standalone. There was good tension buildup and the plot moved well. There are some difficult situations and a surprise end. I look forward to the third book being translated.

Thanks to Crooked Lane Books through Netgalley for an advance copy. This book will be published on November 8, 2022.

Another enthralling investigative assignment for crime journalist Heloise Kaldan! This case involves a missing child with several promising leads that all lead to dead ends. Heloise then recalls seeing a picture of a unique barn in the police file when she was visiting her detective friend. She feels a connection and sets out on her own to find the barn and the significance it holds for the missing boy. I loved this dark Danish thriller with the many twists and clever turns. I read book one in the series last year and was excited for this one!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this e-arc of The Collector!

𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐈𝐅 𝐘𝐎𝐔
👮‍♀️ enjoy police procedurals
🕵🏻‍♀️ love a good mystery
📚 like books that have been translated
😮 want a twisted ending

• 𝐐𝐔𝐈𝐂𝐊 𝐓𝐀𝐊𝐄

After Lukas Bjerre disappears from his school one cold Monday morning in Denmark, the police will do everything in their power to find him, hopefully alive and unharmed.

• 𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐈𝐓’𝐒 𝐀𝐁𝐎𝐔𝐓

Lukas is a normal 10 year old kid according to his teachers, peers, and parents, so when he goes missing one cold Monday morning, nobody knows what could have happened. As the police begin to investigate, they discover all kinds of leads, ones that only lead to dead ends and others with more promise. But as the days pass by with still no sign of Lukas either dead or alive, they’ll have to start cracking down if they have any hope of reuniting him with his family.

• 𝐌𝐘 𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐒

I love police procedurals so I knew right away that I would love this story, and it did not disappoint! I haven’t read The Corpse Flower, book one in this series, but it’s not necessary to understand The Collector. I enjoyed learning more about Denmark and how they handle missing children’s cases. It’s always interesting to learn more about how different countries handle police duties. I also loved all of the twists and turns. I can honestly say that I did not expect that ending or the final twist! I can’t wait to read the next book in this series!

When you team up Harry Hole (Jo Nesbo) and Jack McEvoy (Michael Connely), you get this amazing thriller.

I loved Anne Mette Hancock's first book, "The Corpus Flower," so I was intrigued by her second book, "The Collector," and let me tell you, she doesn't disappoint at all.

Heloise Kaldan and Erik Shafer work together once more on a case to find Lukas Bjerre, a 10-year-old boy who went missing from the schoolyard. Lukas has an obsession with pareidolia—a phenomenon that makes him see faces in random things. His last post on Instagram, a photo of an old barn door, was the only good lead they had. Through the investigation, Erik will discover some dark family secrets that the Bjerre family doesn't want to be discovered. Where is Lukas and what is the reason for his disappearance? Did someone really see Lukas in the schoolyard?

Kaldan and Shafer are one of my favourite duos. I am so glad that their friendship is not sexualised but it's more like a father-daughter friendship. They can be a good team if they put their professions a little bit to the side.

There's a good dynamic between the police investigation and the journalist's investigation.

I really enjoyed the book, and I can't wait to see what the next book will be!

Ten-year-old Lukas is The Collector of images that looked like faces. He is also missing. Detective Erik Schafer is investigating but the clues have led to nothing. Heloise is Schafer’s friend but also an investigative journalist. It’s Copenhagen in February. A young boy wouldn’t last long in the frozen streets. What happened to Lukas? Will Schafer or Heloise find him in time?

Once again, just like my experience in the previous book in the series, The Corpse Flower, I didn’t get a noir feel from this book at all. And the book could be set in any snowy town. So, no Nordic noir vibes are here either. Therefore, The Collector is best for police procedural fans. While I did feel compelled to continue reading to discover what happened to Lukas, it was a rather slow and tortured route to the ending. But the last powerful and surprising paragraph changed my 3 star rating to an immediate 4 star one. It’s the best ending I’ve read in years!

Thanks to Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley for a digital review copy of the book.

Returning to Copenhagen, having been on a sunny winter’s break, Homicide Detective Erik Scháfer and his team are called into a search for a missing ten-year-old, Lukas. As the investigation proceeds, they discover Lukas is interested in pareidolia, a fixation on seeing faces in random things. Further confusion arises with an apparently unrelated murder of a soldier, an unknown apple man and a man wearing a pilot’s uniform. Danish journalist, Heloise Kaldan is tasked with reporting on the missing boy and yet has her own personal issues to deal with. Another enjoyable Nordic noir with an intriguing end reveal and seemingly unconnected events. An engaging crime series, with nuance and a four and a half star read rating, with hopefully more adventures to come. With thanks to Crooked Lane Books and the author, for an uncorrected advanced review copy for review purposes. As always, the opinions herein are totally my own and freely given.

In the book, journalist Heloise Kadan and Detective Erik Shäfer investigate the disappearance of a 10-year old Lukas from Copenhagen school. One of the clues, an Instagram photo of a barn door posted by the boy, leads them to the location Heloise recognized. But just as they think they made some headway in the investigation, the two start questioning, what did the person who claimed they saw Lukas last actually see?

This was my first book by Anne Mette Hancock and I believe it won't be the last one. This is a perfect Scandinavian Noir novel and if you're a fan of this sub-genre or have been wanting to explore it, you absolutely should read this book. The novel is hard to put down from page one. The twists will get your head spinning. For the life of me I don't think I would have ever guessed who was behind the boy's disappeance. And just when you think it's over, the last paragraph blows your mind! (No peeking)

This novel fully works as a standalone, but there are some references to the previous book, The Corpse Flower, so I would definitely recommend reading it. The author however, did a great job touching on the events of the past in The Collector. What a rollercoaster of a book!

I didn't realize The Collector was the second book in a series, but I'm glad I didn't let that discourage me from reading it.

I love Scandinavian Mysteries and am always happy to try a new author!

At first I wasn't sure about the translation - the first chapter with Heloise felt a little odd to me, but soon I was completely absorbed in this mystery. I loved having the story told from both Heloise and Eric's POVs. And I really liked the fact that all the puzzle pieces were laid out for me to try to put together. I got some of the pieces to fit, but not all.

I usually HATE little surprise info-drops at the end, but this one was great.

I just checked out the first book in the series and will definitely follow this author!

A witness reports seeing ten-year-old Lukas entering his school in Copenhagen and it's not until the end of the school day that people realize he hasn't been seen since. Lukas has pareidolia, a psychological phenomenon that causes him to see faces in random things. Heloise Kaldan, a journalist, and Erik Schafer, a police detective, are both investigating the disappearance although for different reasons.

The main characters are much more relaxed and likeable than in the first book and I really enjoyed reading this one. Detective Schafer made me laugh out loud a few times, especially when he was describing some of the characters at the school near the beginning. I'm not sure he was being politically correct but it made me laugh. Like the first book, this was translated from the Danish which resulted in some odd wording; at least I assume it was the translation, unless the Danish actually say a person's hands are yellow with cold! Heloise (the "h" is still silent!) and Erik are good friends and the banter between them is charming without any hint of romance, more like a father-daughter relationship. The chapters are a nice length and the ending was a bit of a shock.

It's not necessary to have read the first book, The Corpse Flower, as this one reads well as a standalone. I'll be anxiously awaiting translation of the 3rd book in this series.

My sincere thanks to Dulce Botello of Crooked Lane Books and Netgalley for the widget. All opinions expressed are my own.
Publication Date: November 8, 2022

Well done Scandi-noir procedural with good characters and a twisty plot. I missed the first book but this was a fine standalone. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Here's hoping we see more from Hancock.

4.5 rounded up.

This is a sequel to her earlier book, The Corpse Flower (a very unfortunate title but it simply referred to large stinky flower that only flowers every few years). But I digress, this story brings back the two major protagonists from the previous book - investigative journalist Heloise Kaldan and police officer Erik Shäfer. They are both working on the same case from different angles.

A 10 year old boy, Lukas Bjerre, has gone missing. His father took him to school in the morning and waved him goodbye but he was not in any of his classes and he wasn’t reported as missing until the roll call at the end of the day. The next day the boy’s jacket was found under the ice in a frozen lake but there was no sign of the body. Also eventually found was his backpack and other belongings but there was no sign of the boy.

This was a perplexing dilemma for the police and clues were thin on the ground. The story was full of misdirection and unreliable narrators. Nothing was as it seemed. I certainly couldn’t pick whodunit!

Heloise worked her own angles on this one and Schäfer worked the usual police following the evidence lines of inquiry until eventually the horrible truth was revealed.

The ending was quite ambiguous and quite abrupt. It makes more sense now that I realise there a third book to come. Hopefully it will be translated soon as I am really enjoying this Nordic noir series. Many thanks to Netgalley and Crooked Lane Books for the much appreciated arc which I reviewed voluntarily and honestly.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy! I dont usually do series but I truly loved the first novel and I needed to see what happened next. We are back with more action and amazing police procedural that is suspenseful!!! I throughly enjoyed this one and cant wait for more!

This is my first book by this author and the second in this series, but that did not hamper my enjoyment at all; rather I now want to read the first book. Heloise Kaldan is an investigative journalist and her friend, Detective Erik Schäfer is a police investigator in the Violent Crimes Unit. The book is set in Copenhagen where a young boy named Lukas has gone missing. The boy has a unique interest in pareidolia, which means that he sees faces in inanimate objects.

A reported sighting of a body in a frozen moat leads to the recovery of Lukas’ bloodstained jacket, allowing forensics to come into play and the finger of suspicion is pointed at someone, only for that route to be abruptly cut off.

But one clue stands out. Among Lukas’ possessions, is a photo of a barn door. Heloise is sure she has seen that door before, but can’t quite remember where. Perhaps that’s because she has troubles of her own. As Schäfer and Kaldan work out different and parallel investigative angles, they need also to deal with their own personal issues whilst pursuing the case.

I enjoyed this book and especially liked the relationship between Kaldan and Schäfer who are friends but who have to tread a wary path between being supportive and sharing some information, but nevertheless maintaining their own investigative paths. Kaldan can be there for Schafer while she deals with her own personal issues but that doesn’t mean that he’ll deal her in on the police investigation. Kalden however is willing to use her friends to help her get to know and understand Lukas a bit better. Kaldan has a hard edge to her when she is pursuing a story and that means she takes risks and has a tendency to rush in where fools fear to tread.

Hancock also builds in some additional characters of interest, not least of whom is the local supermarket worker Finn, whose penchant for handing out fruit to local children makes him the focus of suspicion for quite some time.

Hancock builds an intriguing and suspenseful police procedural with strong characters and some interesting misdirection which keeps the reader guessing.

Verdict: The Collector is a chilling police procedural that is both tense and sometimes frightening. It is also an engaging, enjoyable read.

𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗿 𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴: ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ (4/5)

𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗗 𝗜𝗙 𝗬𝗢𝗨 𝗟𝗜𝗞𝗘:
🕵🏻‍♀️ Police procedural
🗝️ Lots of secrets and twists
🕸️ Nordic noir
🚩 Well-developed but questionable characters
🔎 True crime vibes
📖 Short chapters

𝗧𝗛𝗢𝗨𝗚𝗛𝗧𝗦:
This was the first book I'd read by Hancock and the second in her Halden + Scháfer series. There was a fair few mentions of aspects from the first book (𝘛𝘏𝘌 𝘊𝘖𝘙𝘗𝘚𝘌 𝘍𝘓𝘖𝘞𝘌𝘙) but it was definitely still readable and enjoyable as a standalone. A missing child, a murdered ex-soldier, a cleverly plotted mystery, and some dark themes, all wrapped up in the lingering pareidolia, this was a suspenseful and engrossing read.

Set in Copehagen, our main narrator is journalist Heloise with several other perspectives provided throughout. Pace-wise, this did start off pretty slowly, picked up the pace steadily - while I will always favour a fast-paced plot, this was intriguing and well-written enough to keep me on my toes, leaving me keen to pick up book number one. My only jibe is once finishing the last page, I still hadn't worked out where the relevance of Luke's pareidolia fitted into the plot.

𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙠 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙪𝙗𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙝𝙚𝙧, 𝙖𝙪𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙧 + 𝙉𝙚𝙩𝙜𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙮 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙖𝙣 𝙚𝘼𝙍𝘾, 𝙞𝙣 𝙧𝙚𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙣 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙖𝙣 𝙝𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙧𝙚𝙫𝙞𝙚𝙬. 𝘼𝙡𝙡 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙤𝙥𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙢𝙮 𝙤𝙬𝙣. 𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙧𝙚𝙫𝙞𝙚𝙬 𝙝𝙖𝙨 𝙗𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙥𝙪𝙗𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙝𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙂𝙤𝙤𝙙𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙗𝙚 𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙤𝙣 @𝙧𝙚𝙙𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙗𝙤𝙤𝙠𝙜𝙞𝙧𝙡 (𝙄𝙂) 𝙘𝙡𝙤𝙨𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙤 𝙥𝙪𝙗𝙡𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙙𝙖𝙩𝙚.

Unfortunately, I have been locked out of my netgalley account for a few months and was not able to see which books I had on my list, in order to properly read and review. I do apologize and am doing a 3 for neutral. Will update once I’m able to obtain a copy and read!

Brilliant!

I enjoyed the scene setting and the imagery of the writing.

The protagonist was engaging, I can’t wait for the next instalment.

I immediately became immersed in the story, it hooked me and wouldn’t let me go. There were twists aplenty, especially at the end! I loved it.

The second novel in the Kaldan and Schafer series, 10-year old Lukas goes missing and it is up to Erik Schafer and the police to find him. The boy has a peculiar obsession with pareidolia—a phenomenon that makes him see faces in random things. Heloise Kaldan thinks she remembers seeing a picture that Lukas continually post on Instagram somewhere else, but where? And will it help find Lukas?
When seemingly random people who have nothing to do with Lukas turn up dead (and their DNA is somehow on the boy's missing jacket) will Schafer be able to figure this mystery out in time?

*Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this e-arc.*

Another amazing read! Easily could have finished in one sitting - sucked me in. I could not put it down!
Heloise starts the book at a dr appt - requesting medication to resolve an issue. Her doctor receives a phone call - extreme distress.
The dr's son, Lukas- has disappeared - last seen entering the school. How can a child disappear from the safety of his school? Erik Scháfer works the case - dealing with the parents, school and somehow the murder of ex-soldier. What can be the connection? Lukas' Instagram - an account his parents are unaware of, focuses on face-like images, including a barn door. One Heloise is convinced she has seen before.
The suspense? Amazing. The characters? Loved them. The plot? Give me more.
Highly recommend!

This was not exactly my style of thriller. It started a bit slow, and then picked up in a way I found harder to follow. The author definitely carried on through her last book. I think had I read the first book first, I would have liked it better.