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    The Nightmare
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    The Nightmare
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    The Nightmare
    Audiobook15 hours

    The Nightmare

    Written by Lars Kepler

    Narrated by Sean Barrett

    3.5/5

    ()

    Unavailable in your country

    Unavailable in your country

    About this audiobook

    ‘One of the most exciting Swedish crime novels of recent years…’ Göteborgsposten

    From the bestselling author of The Hypnotist comes the second high-octane thriller featuring Detective Inspector Joona Linna

    He is an artist in terror
    The lifeless body of a young woman is discovered on an abandoned boat. A man is found hanging alone in his apartment.

    This is his masterpiece
    Should the deaths be treated as suicide or murder? Four people know the answer. But a killer wants them dead.

    And only one man can destroy it
    Can Detective Inspector Joona Linna keep them alive long enough to find out the truth?

    Perfect for fans of Jo Nesbo

    Praise for Lars Kepler:

    ‘A high-octane, taut thriller’ Marie Claire

    ‘It doesn’t get much better than this’ Göteborgsposten

    ‘Intricate detective work and heart-ticking suspense’ Boston Globe

    ‘Kepler’s plots are always thrilling’ The Sunday Times

    ‘Hurtles along … full of nuanced detail which sets it far above the average thriller … You’ll be terrified’ Evening Standard

    ‘Taking Europe by storm…ferocious, visceral storytelling that wraps you in a cloak of darkness’ Daily Mail

    ‘Deeply scarifying stuff’ Independent

    ‘Kepler has a direct line to a very dark place in the human soul’ Lev Grossman, Time

    ‘The reader is ready to sell his own soul for the opportunity to read this book without interruption, at one sitting.’ Arbetarbladet

    ‘A creepy and compulsive crime thriller.’ Mo Hayder

    ‘Intelligent, original and chilling Simon Beckett

    ‘Kepler matches the great Jo Nesbo for gothic excitement.’ Weekend Australian

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins
    Release dateSep 13, 2012
    ISBN9780007466634
    Unavailable
    The Nightmare
    Author

    Lars Kepler

    Lars Kepler is a No.1 bestselling international sensation, whose Joona Linna thrillers have sold more than 12 million copies in 40 languages. The first book in the series, The Hypnotist, was selected for the 2012 Richard and Judy Book Club. The most recent, Stalker, went straight to No.1 in Sweden, Norway, Holland and Slovakia. Lars Kepler is the pseudonym for writing duo, Alexander and Alexandra Ahndoril. They live with their family in Sweden.

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    Reviews for The Nightmare

    3.5/5

    322 ratings20 reviews

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    • 5/5
      Brilliant. I'm glad to get in on the ground floor with this writer as his books are being translated to English. This is he most recent English release and the second in the Joona Linna series, with the next one coming out this (2013) summer. A fantastic case of strange murder, suicide that may be murder and then a running tally of victims is connected to a political thriller that expands upon my usual fare of serial killer reads. I'm not usual interested in political thrillers but that aspect doesn't come into play until well into the >500 page book that it's just one more twist to an intricate multi-threaded plot that leads in many directions before it all comes together in the end.There are some inconsistencies with the first book. In that one we didn't get to know Joona much at all with psychiatrist Erich Maria Barc being given the lion's share of character development. Well, Eric is not in this book; he is mentioned in passing though not by name. Joona has an arrogant catch phrase in the first book which has been dropped all together now instead of claiming that he is always right, the people around him seem to bolster his arrogance by telling him he is always right instead. Much is made of Joona being a Finn in this Swedish police procedural. I honestly can't remember this being mentioned at all in The Hypnotist. Joona's character is fuller developed now and he has been given a background up to the point where a mystery is foreshadowed at the end which may be part of the next book's plot.Even being a chunkster, this is a fast-paced read. One that keeps the heart pounding and the pages turning late into the night. I adore the small 3-4 page chapters that make one fly from chapter to chapter and for some reason this set up makes it hard for me to put the book down when I see there are only 4 pages to the next chapter! The case in The Hypnotist was more frightening; while this one is still thrilling it is quite different letting us know Kepler is not going to be following a cookie cutter plan for his series books.
    • 4/5
      Stockholm Police find lifeless body of woman on an abandoned yacht. A man’s body is hanged - a suspicious suicide. Are these deaths somehow related? Joona Linda & Saga Bauer investigate. Lots of action and very gripping plot keeps the pages turning! Only complaint is I’m finding these Swedish crime books a bit longer than necessary otherwise interesting storylines. Looking forward to next book and recommend this one to those who love thrillers.
    • 1/5
      Well named. It was an absolute nightmare of a book. Some books you can't put down. This one I just couldn't pick up. No descriptions worth reading to my husband as I am apt to do. No character development whatsoever. Ridiculous storyline which led me to fantasize on various ways to destroy the book. It now resides in the trashcan. Because I just can't subject another living person to this 'Nightmare'.
    • 5/5
      This is a nonstop crime investigation as Joona Linda is determined to locate a missing woman and find a killer. It's almost comical how single-minded Joona is, to the point that he just walks away from people as he thinks about the case. No one has authority over him, but it's entertaining to have Joona be able to follow absurd-sounding solutions rather than being shot down by an overbearing supervisor.There are at least three themes being pursued and the action alternates among them. I got impatient with the breaks in the search for the missing woman, but kept hoping the strands would come together in a meaningful way. I got my wish as her disappearance is tied to the sale of Swedish weapons to Darfur, Africa, and finding her will result in stopping the sale.The audio version is wonderfully narrated by Saul Reichlin. His presentation adds to the excitement of the action and his accents made the characters more realistic.
    • 4/5
      Really compelling mystery with a really strong ending (except for the very last paragraph, which was a weird change in tone). I liked this sequel more than book one, particularly because Joona plays a bigger role in this one and I like him as a character. As soon as I finished this book, I went to the library to get book three. Compared to other mysteries, this one definitely keeps me intrigued and I actually care about the characters when they're put in harm's way. Some things that keep this from being a full five stars are 1) in parts of Penelope's storyline, it didn't seem like the people she interacted with acted like real people. Like when Bjorn and her are on the run and clearly in trouble, everyone they come across acts horrible to them even though they're clearly in need, which just didn't seem true to me, especially with how outlandishly terrible they behave 2) The stakes of the plot are super high and involve a lot of important people and I personally like mysteries that are a bit smaller scale because they seem more grounded to me. But otherwise, this was really good and I highly recommend this series, at least these two books. These authors know how to right tension and rising action so well that I just fly through these books, even though they are quite long. Definitely give this series a shot if you're thinking about it. As I said, I've already gotten book three (The Fire Witness) from the library and plan to read it really soon. I would love to be caught up with this series when the English translation of the next book comes out in January so let's see how quickly I can read these next books!
    • 1/5
      I hate to review books I didn't actually finish. Unfortunately, I gave up after 150 pages, because I gave up hope of getting into it. The writing (or possibly the translation) is very awkward--for some reason, the use of the present tense with a 3rd person omniscient point of view kept grating in a way I can't quite describe. After 150 pages of a thriller, I should feel like I've gotten some kind of mystery to get my teeth into. Instead, I'm treated to 3 page chapters that don't add up to anything and a main character who has given me no reason to care about him or to think that he's a great detective--aside from a couple of things that were obvious and the declarations of other characters.

      The novel looks and feels like 2 people sat down and decided to write The Next Great Scandinavian Crime Series. It looks and feels like a slickly wrapped, empty box.
    • 2/5
      In sharp contrast to the lyrical poetry that I have been reading I am half way through a Swedish Noir called “The Nightmare” by Lars Kepler and rather a nightmare it is, too. Really it’s a run of the mill, James Bond (would you believe that I have never watched a Bond film) / police/ bit of everything rough and tumble but oh how I hate the short chapters and constant change of character focus; that’s my minor nightmare. These formats, short chapters, named ones, back and forth in time ones, seem to be becoming even more prevalent today. Is it a hangover from creative writing classes? Personally, I find it distracts but maybe it’s easier to write in that way.This is the second book in the series by Kepler and he fails again with female characters. He did succeed in getting me to read up on the Darfur wars in East Sudan, to learn more about the plight of the Fur and the dreaded Janjaweed, devils on horseback, Arab tribal militiamen often little more than children, known for their atrocities and killings against the African tribes. A recent report spoke of unrest again in Western Darfur, the region still troubled despite the fall last year of Omar al-Bashir who had ruled for three decades.The kernel of the tale is about the lengths manufacturers/ politicians/ salesmen will go to to protect their arms sales.
    • 4/5
      Detective Inspector Joona Linna is called in on two very puzzling cases. In the first, the body of a young woman is found on a drifting yacht. Despite being found lying on a bed in dry clothes, the cause of death is discovered to be drowning. Her sister, a well-known activist is also missing along with her boyfriend. The second concerns the possible suicide by hanging of a high-level bureaucrat. As Linna investigates, it becomes clear to him that these two cases are connected not only to each other but to illegal arms sales.The Nightmare by Swedish author Lars Kepler is the second book in the Joona Linna series. At approximately 500 pages, it is quite long and, admittedly, it took me a while to get into the story but, once I did, I was hooked. It is well-written although, at times, the dialogue seems stilted which I suspect is down to the translation. The short chapters and quick switches between plot lines keeps the tension high. But perhaps what makes this book such a compelling read and the title so appropriate is not only the actions of the killer or the cold calculating cruelty of the man behind the scenes but because it is too easy to believe the story given some of the actions of governments today regarding arms sales to authoritarian regimes that are used to slaughter thousands of innocents. Thanks to Netgalley and Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review
    • 5/5
      The Nightmare, a dark Swedish murder mystery, is the second installment with Detective Inspector Joona Linna. The author, Lars Kepler, is actually the married couple Alexander Ahndoril and Alexandra Coelho Ahndoril. Joona Linna is tasked with investigating two puzzling incidents: one of a drowned woman found in her dry clothing alone on a boat and also the apparent suicide of a man found hanging in his apartment. It soon becomes apparent that the two are linked. With the help of Swedish Security Police Detective Saga Bauer, the pair set about solving the mysteries as it becomes clear that a psychopath involved in arms sales is the key. As the investigation reveals, others are also in danger of being killed by this cruel man. This is an edge-of-your-seat thriller. I look forward to reading more in the series. Thank you to Knopf Doubleday Publishing, NetGalley and Lars Kepler for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
    • 3/5
      Like "The Hypnotist" (Joona Linna #1), "The Nightmare" has a lot of potential and certainly has its gripping, taut moments. But for the most part it's a little disjointed. Again, I wonder if there's something lost in translation that prevents this series from being as good as I think it ought to be.In this second book in the Joona Linna series, the death of a young woman on an abandoned boat leads to suspicions of a much greater evil at large, involving international arms dealers and prominent politicians. As the number of deaths increase, Joona and his team struggle to find the connection -- if there is one.When it is finally revealed who is behind all the deaths, it's nothing exciting. The perpetrator's cruelty is horrifying, but the perpetrator himself is nothing impressive. I finished the book feeling satisfied but not thrilled. And I really wanted to be thrilled.
    • 4/5
      took a long time to read, but that's a good thing in my 'book'. story's plot skips touches many people, but I never felt lost in the action.
    • 5/5
      I received this book as a gift which was great because I would not have given it much notice otherwise. It is written by a pair of authors from Sweden and after slogging through The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo which bored me to death I was not in the mood to try another book with rave reviews outside the USA.All books that require translation suffer stilted dialogue tenses being mixed and descriptions being muddled. But if you look past this, the reader I think, will find a fantastic mystery with likable characters. The book is 500 pages which is a bit long, but think of this book more like the old mysteries that take a long time to develop, rather than many books today which are written for the TV attention span. So everything gets figured out and wrapped up as fast as the reader needs it to. This book allows the characters to draw the correct conclusions in a slower manner. If you take the observations into consideration I think you will enjoy this book, I know I really enjoyed this book.
    • 4/5
      Lars Kepler writes amazing, thriller, mystery, suspense novels that will keep you spellbound to the pages until the last is read.

      The second book in the series, this novel follows Joona Linna as he tries to find Penelope Fernandez all while trying to figure out why someone is trying to kill her, and who they are. This novel unravels in a fast paced, suspenseful fashion, while exploring the world of illegal arms trading.

      The repeated theme of this book is "what is your nightmare". When deals are made for utmost loyalty, would you be willing to break the deal to have your nightmare reaped upon you? That is the question many of the characters in this book must consider in their daily lives.

      Joona Linna is without a doubt the detective you would want on your side if you were in the same position as Penelope. He is the flawed hero that will give you the necessary faith to believe that while bad guys do exist, there are people there to stop them.

      Kepler's writing allows for the full development of every character, exploration of character motives, while creating a world where heroes still exist.
    • 5/5
      There appear to be more than enough excellent descriptions of 'The Nightmare',without adding my own. What does strike me in reading the various reviews is just how much they vary. Some say it is marvellous and some say it is poorly written. Some describe it as not so good as 'The Hypnotist',while others likes it better. Having just finished reading 'The Nightmare' I will only say how enjoyable and thrilling a read it was for me personally. I look forward to another excursion in the company of Detective Inspector Joona Linna soon
    • 4/5
      I enjoyed this book as much as The Hypnotist. I particularly like the fact that the chapters are so short as this always encourages me to read more for some reason. I did get a bit confused at times regarding the politics but the plot compensated for this with its twists and turns which kept me gripped.
    • 5/5
      A great mystery/thriller, with lots of twists and turns to keep the action going.
    • 4/5
      I read the first book - The Hypnotist - by the Swedish husband and wife team of Lars Kepler last year. (my review) I was quite intrigued with their recurring character Inspector Joona Linna, so I happily picked up their latest North American release - The Nightmare. Two deaths, that at first glance appear to be accidental or suicides, draw the attention of Inspector Linna. Linna sees things differently from others. He has that little 'something extra' in the way he views crime scenes and evidence, often spotting clues or links that others miss. When he decides that the two scenes are linked, he puts himself on the case, against the wishes of his superiors and the leader of the investigation. Linna is never loud or pushy - he simply ignores much of what is said and continues on. And when he is proven right, how can they take him off the case? And the case is a mystery - the killer is quick, silent, incredibly devious and frightening - he seems to know the victims' worst nightmares - and makes them come true. He's killing in order to obtain something - but what? Kepler has changed things up a bit with this second book. The mystery, tension and psychological thrills are all there, but some political plotting and social commentary is also worked into the mix. (I was quite stunned by some of the statistics listed in the book and had to go online to check them - and yes they're true. "Every single day thirty-nine million bullets are made. The nine largest exporters of weapons in the world are the United States, Russia, Germany, France, Great Britain, the Netherlands, Italy, Sweden and China.")Interestingly, the flyleaf and promos for the book only make reference to the unusual murders, not the weapons plotline. I do wonder if this combination was a bit too ambitious - it seemed to get very, very busy. Either storyline on its own would have been good. I think what I do like about Kepler's books is that I have no idea what to expect - I always feel a little off kilter. Joona Linna's thinking is non linear and his take on things is always refreshing. The Nightmare is populated by odd characters with strange penchants and proclivities that give an unsettled feel to the narrative. The scene with the television personality left me bewildered as to why it was included. The book is translated from the original Swedish by Laura A. Wideberg and I found the cadence of some of the prose added to the off kilter feeling. But, did I like it? Yes. I am definitely a fan of Inspector Linna and will happily pick up the third book in the series - already released in Sweden.
    • 5/5
      I stumbled my way through The Hypnotist, and possibly it was due to the translation, or just the meandering middle section, but the overall story seemed disjointed as if the authors attempted to splice two completely different stories together. So why did I bother to pick up the next book in the series? Possibly because of the one word title, or possibly the bright orange cover (there's a trend of them this summer), or maybe I'm willing to give folks a second chance. In all honesty, it was the promise I would learn more about the lead investigator Joona Linna that intrigued me, that and my insatiable curiosity when the book jacket hinted at impossible suicides.Whatever the two authors did this time out, they did right. I had a hard time putting the Nightmare down. From the opening sequence of events when Inspector Joona steps in with his steely, calm, resolve, convincing the powers above there is a lot more going on then what appears on the surface. A drowning victim found in bed on a boat, but the body is dry. An apparent suicide by hanging in a closed room and no furniture nearby. These are the two seemingly unrelated cases that are presented to Joona at the beginning. Attention to detail, and a dogged approach to following his own instincts keeps the Inspector focused and moving forward. There is quite a bit of jumping around in the storytelling, but it's like having a large box of puzzle pieces laid out. First you start with the straight-edged pieces and slowly work sections of like colors before the picture begins to resemble the cover artwork. The pieces all come together and there is plenty of action and thrills throughout to keep the reader flipping pages. A few small drawbacks, tense would change unexpectedly leaving me with a slight feeling of jarring loss to the rhythm, and a few characters a little too over the top that didn't add a whole lot to the story.Overall, they definitely hit my 'must read' list for the future with this installment, and I would recommend this book as the starting point to anyone wishing to begin the series.
    • 2/5
      So disappointed. I really liked the first book and was so looking forward to reading this.
    • 2/5
      I really liked the first book in the series and had maybe too high expectations. I did not like this one.