Wow! This book starts explosively from the very first chapter. Sisters Lotta and Malin, together with their husbands, return from some time away to collect their children who have been staying with their grandparents Agneta and Stellan Broman. They don’t stay long, and are soon bundling their children into their respective cars with all the paraphernalia that they’ve taken with them. As they’re saying their goodbyes, Stellan is already settled in his favourite armchair with a book and some music on in the background, and Agneta has come to wave them off, but then the phone rings. She hurriedly says her farewells, shuts the door and goes to answer it. The caller says one word: “Geiger”.
Lotta has no way of knowing that as she and her family are driving away, as she’s shaking her head at the quirks of old age and her parent’ insistence at still having a landline (“who still has a landline?”), her mother has gone to retrieve a hidden firearm, attached a silencer to it, returned downstairs, stood behind her husband and shot him in the head! She then takes a bag that has been prepared and waiting for just this occasion for many years … and disappears, leaving her wallet and keys behind.
Sara Nowak is a policewoman, and although she is not assigned to the case, she was extremely close to the Broman family when she was much younger. So when her colleague Anna calls her to the house just hours after Stellan’s murder, she doesn’t hesitate. Maybe she could offer some insight that nobody else can … possibly get the inside edge on the killer – who on earth would want to kill a benign grandfather? Because for most of Sweden, ‘Uncle Stellan’ was a national icon; a well-loved, top television personality known by all. There wasn’t a single person who disliked him or bore a grudge against him. It seemed like in his entire public career, he’d never set a foot wrong. And what has happened to Agneta? Where is she?
Time is ticking and answers are needed. Sara knows that they are missing a vital piece in what must be a complex puzzle that they don’t understand, and boy, is she right!! But it’s not just one piece … it’s a whole lot. One puzzle piece will just be the beginning in an avalanche of unexpected information that is about to come to light, exposing long buried secrets, leading Sara to wonder if her entire childhood and youth was an illusion.
The twists and turns don’t stop in this breath-taking thriller that poses many ‘what if?’ questions about the Cold War, Sweden’s stance during those years, defunct spy networks, opinions on capitalism, personal grudges and so much more. It’s clever, intelligent and sophisticated, with just the right level of sharpness to its edginess. It keeps you guessing, dangles you over the edge and pulls you back time and time again, leaving you gasping with shock and surprise.
This is a 4-star read. It’s absorbing and intriguing and I’d recommend it if you’re looking for something that will get a hold of you and not let go right until the very end! Thank you to Compulsive Readers for the blog tour. Take a look at what other bloggers are saying about Geiger …
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