Matt's Reviews > The Sandman

Kepler has waited until the fourth book to pen what many Joona Linna fans have long waited for; a case that flashes back into his past. Linna stumbled across Jurek Walter one night, standing over a recently opened grave and staring down at a woman. All this is summarised in THE FIRE WITNESS and its closing chapters. When one of Walter's supposed victim's is found wandering along a train track, the hopes that others can be found raises hope. With Walter incarcerated in a psychiatric prison, Linna must find a way to crack open and case and determine who is working with Walter, the accomplish named The Sandman. Linna is already in Walter's crosshairs, so Saga Bauer, of the Security Police, is sent into the prison as an undercover officer, in hopes of helping Linna and the National Police find out where others might be kept. Bauer's time in jail gives her a sadistic and up close look at Walter and his power of persuasion. Even if she is able to slip inside his walled facade, whether she can do so in time is still in question. Eerie and highly suspenseful, Kepler has saved the best for this novel, with an epilogue that will leave readers rushing out to get the next novel in the series.

Kepler's mastering of the Linna character continues. For those who have followed the series to this point, discovering what Linna has sacrificed comes to bear great importance on this novel. Jurek Walter is Linna's ultimate foe and his crimes echo deeply within Linna's soul, even into this novel. Dark and highly precise, the Walter character is pensive and acts in complete dichotomy to Linna's rushing and fast-paced detective inspector role. Fans of the series will love this novel, but newbies should STOP and read from the beginning, as much is revealed in here, creating AHA! moments are would ruin earlier novels, had they not been previously digested.

Kudos, Lars Kepler for this. If only I did not have to wait until July 2015 for the English translation of your next novel.