I didn’t realize this was a series and I’m sure I would have gotten more into the book if I read the first one. The ending was a little huh for me. Like what? I don’t know if I will read the next book.

The Collector: Kaldan and Scháfer Mystery Series, Book 2
It shows how little parents know about their child’s actions on the internet and how misleading appearance can be.
The disappearance of a 10-year-old gets everybody on high alert. Suspicion falls on the local store clerk and on an ex-soldier suffering from severe PTSD.
Not everything is as clearcut as you would think. Lots of twists and turns that get you second guessing yourself several times.
The various characters are presented in good and bad, which is the typical nature of most human beings.
The question is will they find the child alive or a body.
Heloise Kaldan a journalist with a local paper gets pressured by her boss to use her friendship with the investigator to get a jump on the news story. This causes some understandable friction between the two which might create an end to the friendship. At the same time her longtime romantic relationship seems to be heading off the cliffs. She manages also to alienate her best friend, Gerda.
I do not consider it a fast read. I read the book first and a couple of months later I listened to the Audio book. I was amazed by some of the details I had missed the first time. The Narrator did a great job in presenting the story.

Okay, I enjoyed it, but that ending confused me a bit. Was the kid planning to kill his father? Or did he put the stuff in his mom's hidden alcohol stash? Very weird ending. Will definitely read the next book once it's translated.

Didn’t realize this was the second in a series but it worked out fine as a standalone in my opinion. Nordic noir is a new genre for me. Overall I liked this one and can’t wait to read more from this author!

Thank you to Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for the ALC!

The Collector by Anne Mette Hancock was not for me to be honest. I found it a little boring! Thankful to read this before it was published but it will be a pass for me! Thank you!

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the ALC!

The Collector is the second novel in Hancock’s Danish crime series, but it can work as a stand-alone. A young boy named Lucas has gone missing, and Helose Kaldan, a journalist, and Erik Schafer, a police detective, are investigating for different reasons. This story is about truth and the ability to trust those closest to us.

this one was a little too creepy for me. I thought I could do it but I ended up skipping huge parts of this book because I was too nervous I wouldn't be able to handle it. however if you are a horror fan or don't mind creepy things you will love this one!

So, funny story: I had no idea this was a sequel, and I was so confused as to why the plotline was hazy, but after a quick research quest on NetGalley, I was able to get the answer to my issues. Overall though, going in blind wasn’t the worst thing in the world, that’s how I read The Widowmaker, I had no idea is was a part of a series and I just enjoyed what I was hearing/reading as best as I could.

*received for free from netgalley for honest review* Didn't have the chance to read the first one as i didn't notice this was part of a series until i was almost finished it lmao it was still really good! looking forward to rereading this series once i can get my hands on the 3rd book

Heloise's appointment with her doctor is abruptly ended when Dr Bjerre is told that Lukas, his ten year old son, went missing from school. The story unfolds from there and is told from the point of view of Heloise, a journalist and Erick Schafer of the Violent Crimes Unit.
There are many twists and turns and as the plot evolves we learn more about Lukas and a cast of suspects from the apple man at the local grocery to an unknow women seen on the path to school. It all comes together with a wow ending.. This book is the second in a series but stands on its own. If you like Scandinavian Noir in the style of Jo Nesbo add this to your list..


Thank you NetGalley and Dreamscape Media .

This book is the 2nd in a series and having not read the first, I found it difficult to read and follow along. It was well written, but I needed more backstory and character development. This is my own fault for not reading the first book before.

Thank you Netgalley and Dreamscape Media for accepting my request to audibly read and review The Collector.

Author: Anne Mette Hancock
Narrator: Laura Jennings
Published: 11/08/22
Genre: Mystery & Thrillers


A Danish mystery with likable characters. This is the second in a series. I didn't read the first book, and I don't feel like I missed anything in the second book by not reading the first.

A child disappears and the author has chosen to do actual case work and bring an expert in, and I thought it was smart. There was not the American banter between partners or superiors. There were personal relationships coexisting with the plot, and they were okay. I enjoyed the adult characters.

I didn't like the swearing that came two thirds into the book. The author has too much talent to resort to a classless vocabulary. It was quite disappointing.

The ending was sadly realistic. Kudos to the author for the statistics seamlessly entered into conversations.

This was terrific! the title doesn’t make sense to me (nor the cover) but I enjoyed this story and thought it was extremely clever how things worked out. Great narrator choice

occasionally the translation resulted in bad writing. For example the cop says “that isn’t how the cookie crumbles” not only is this a tired phrase, it’s painfully American and not something a Dane would say.

I also felt a few times that I was missing something, Is this part of a series!? There was so much reference to something that happened re her dad but I never knew what that was? Was that in a prior book?

2.5 rounded up to 3 for the resolution of the crime.

Heloise’s doctor’s child goes missing while she is in his office and she overhears the conversation.

I went in with high hopes because I liked The Corpse Flower. Heloise was a bit off-putting but it made her feel real. Unfortunately, in this book, I hated her. Not in the unlikeable character type of way though. I really got the impression that I WAS supposed to like her. She was SO self-righteous and hypocritical that it really distracted me from the actual story. A number of times I thought ‘The AUDACITY of this woman’. I think the biggest turning point for me with her was when she goes in to someone private property where a sign indicates that that is not welcome. She goes to the door, asks to look around out back & upon being told no goes & does it anyway. Then she kept bothering the poor owner who clearly didn’t want to talk & didn’t want her there. She also did a number of other very shady things that, maybe if she didn’t judge everyone else for, I wouldn’t have minded so much, but man, I really did.

I can honestly say that the end is not the ending that I was expecting, so that was definitely a positive.

The narration was also well done.

I would like to thank NetGalley, Dreamscape Media, and Anne Mette Hancock for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

"The Collector" is a solid police procedural following the mystery of a 10-year-old boy's disappearance. This is the second in an established series, something I wasn't aware of going into the book and was relieved to find didn't matter too much when it came to following the intricacies of the plot and characters.

Heloise Kaldan is a journalist who is seeing her doctor for an appointment when the doctor suddenly needs to leave to take a phone call -- his ten-year-old son was seen entering school that morning but now, near the end of the day, administrators realize that he hasn't been seen since. Her natural journalistic interest and close proximity to the disappearance soon have her conducting a private investigation into his disappearance, paralleled by the official investigation in progress by her friend Detective Erik Schäfer.

For a Nordic mystery, I found this didn't stray too heavily into the noir genre, wasn't overly dense, and translated well. I think my attention might have drifted in print form, but the audiobook was performed well and I was engaged in the plot from beginning to end.

This book was fantastic! I am so glad that I went and found the first book in this series to read first. Not that it had a real bearing on the second book but it gave you the back story on the relationship between Kaldan & Schafer, which I particularly love! Kaldan's backstory is heartbreaking but it also explains why she is the way she is and you can see her personal growth happening. I can't wait for the next one in this series and will be going to look for other books Anne Mette Hancock has written.

#TheCollector
#NetGalley

I requested this one because it might be an upcoming title I would like to review on my Youtube Channel. However, after reading the first several chapters I have determined that this book does not suit my tastes. So I decided to DNF this one.

Translated books are always interesting to me, because it's interesting to see how language translates and also how culture does or doesn't feel familiar. The translation on this book was easy to follow and the narrator did a good job. Overall, my biggest complaint was that occasionally there were some translations that likely had also been translated for the American market (ex. use of Farenheit or miles).

This is the second book in a series, and I didn't realize that when I started it. Usually that's not a big deal, but unfortunately there were a number of references to the detectives' previous life.

The mystery was also very predictable. I think anyone who reads a lot of thrillers, is interested in true crime, or watches/reads detective stories could probably guess the answer. I spent the whole book hoping the obvious answer wouldn't be the correct one, but sadly it was. What a disappointment.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC!

3.5 stars. So I love Scandi/Nordic Noir, it’s one of my favorite genres. With that being said, I knew I was going to enjoy this read. However, I am admittedly a bit underwhelmed. One of the things I love most about Nordic Noir is how it pushes the envelope, toeing the line of too dark/morbid/macabre/bleak/enter intense murdery descriptive word of your choice. The Collector felt a little safe. Characters were good but didn’t feel fully developed, there were a few side plots that didn’t really add anything to the story and felt unnecessary, and I have no idea what the cover or title have to do with the actual story, but the end was a decent twist. I’ll forgive the lack of character development, as I didn’t realize this was book 2 in a series until after reading. As for Anne Mette Hancock’s writing as a whole, I’m intrigued and want to read the first book in this series. Laura Jennings narration was great.

Thank you NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the advanced audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

"Maybe he has an internal Mr. Hyde."
"We all have an internal Mr.Hyde."

The Danish mystery The Collector by clever author Anne Mette Hancock is book 2 in the Kaldan & Schafer Mystery series but is a standalone.

While reporter Heloise is at her OB-GYN he gets a call his 10 year old son Lukas is missing. It's a race against time to find him alive.

Narrator Laura Jennings was incredible emoting very varied emotions. The one clue to Lukas is a picture on his phone of a barn. He has pareidolia, he sees faces in objects.

So whose face did he see in the barn? There are many dead ends and misdirections but when it all comes together we see the truth was in front of our eyes the whole time.

I received a free copy of this audiobook from Dreamscape Media via #NetGalley for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.