The Rabbit Hunter – Lars Kepler

Released earlier this week!

Thanks to Knopf Publishing for the free early copy in exchange for my honest review

THE RABBIT HUNTER – Lars Kepler (Released January 14th, 2020)

You can see my thoughts on their other books:

STALKER (here) and THE SANDMAN (here)

Book Description:

The latest internationally best-selling installment in the Joona Linna series sees him temporarily called back to the police force to solve a series of bizarre and increasingly horrifying murders.

Detective Joona Linna is finishing out a sentence at Kumla prison for assaulting an officer in the course of his last investigation when he is summoned to a meeting with the Swedish Prime Minister. The Foreign Minister has been brutally murdered. There’s a chance more political figures could be targeted. The police need Linna to find the killer and neutralize the threat, so he’s granted a temporary release from prison. But when another murder occurs, Linna realizes he’s dealing with something far more complex, and far more terrifying, than anyone imagined. As the body count grows, Linna begins to understand that he can’t do this alone and he reaches out to Saga Bauer, the young Security Police detective, for help. Now, together, the two race against time to unravel the killer’s intricate plan before he can take his ultimate revenge.

My Thoughts: 5/5 stars

I am convinced that this writing duo can do no wrong. This is my third outing with Lars Kepler and I was reminded why I loved their other two books. Dark, gripping, twisted – just everything you want in a thriller! THE RABBIT HUNTER is part of the Joona Linna series (book six) and I would recommend starting with earlier books if you can. I started late in the series with THE SANDMAN but I still plan on going back to the beginning!

What I’ve come to expect from Kepler is that it’s going to be dark, gritty, brutal, and shocking. I love every page of it. We get the signature short chapters – which just fuels the fire in the “just one more chapter, the next one is really short!”. A new violent serial killer is on the loose, dubbed The Rabbit Hunter, and is leaving victims and gruesome crime scenes in their wake. I don’t want to spoil the investigation or the reading experience, but I will say that I wasn’t expecting that reveal!

If you like the more brutal serial killer thrillers, then I think you should pick up the Joona Linna series. Whether you start with THE HYPNOTIST (at the beginning) or part way through with THE SANDMAN (like I did), I think it’s better to go into THE RABBIT HUNTER with some background information. I can’t wait to see where the series continues and 2020 is the year for grabbing backlist books, so books 1-3 are on the TBR as well!