The Spider

LoveReading Says

Lars Kepler returns with The Spider, the ninth gripping tale following Swedish detective Joona Linna as he races around Stockholm, trying to find a serial killer. But the killer always seems to be one step ahead of the investigator and his team, and taunts them with figurines and clues to show them who the next victim will be. When The Spider was released in Sweden in 2022, it was the best-selling novel of the year in the country. The English edition was translated by Alice Menzies.

The novel is cinematic, with non-stop action and dramatic locations (everything from a halal butcher to a yoga retreat, but also the more conventional mystery locations like empty parking garages, empty warehouses and empty churches. In short, beware of empty spaces). This novel is not for the faint of heart—at times I felt as though I was reading a horror film, with violent scenes and real peril that left me breathless. But I still found myself speed reading to find out what happened next.

What’s quicker than a page turner-- maybe a page flipper? Readers will get tangled in the web of The Spider as they furiously flip the pages to find out what happens next, and undoubtedly will breathe a sigh of relief when they escape from it.

Reviewed by Maureen Stapleton
Maureen Stapleton, a writer and journalist, has written for The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Radio Times, Heat, and many others.
More reviews by Maureen Stapleton

About The Spider

Three years ago, Saga Bauer received a postcard with a threatening text about a gun with nine white bullets - one of which is waiting for Detective Joona Linna. But time passed and the threat faded.

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