Thank you Knopf Publishing Group, #partner, for the advanced copy of Dark Music in exchange for my honest review.
Publisher: Knopf Publishing Group
Published: August 23, 2022
Summary:
Inspired by Sherlock Holmes, an exhilarating new thriller from the bestselling author of The Girl in the Spider’s Web–a murder investigation in which two unlikely allies race to uncover a shadowy international conspiracy.
Professor Hans Rekke is a world authority on interrogation techniques, capable of dizzying feats of logic and observation. He was born into wealth and power and has a picture-perfect wife and daughter. But he also has a fragile psyche that falls apart under pressure.
Micaela Vargas is a street-smart police officer, daughter of Chilean political refugees, who grew up in the projects on the outskirts of Stockholm and has two brothers on the wrong side of the law. She is tenacious and uncompromising, and desperate to prove herself to her fellow cops.
Micaela needs Hans’s unique mind to help her solve the case of a murdered asylum-seeker from Afghanistan. Hans needs Micaela to save him from himself. Together, they need to find the killer before they’re both silenced for good.
My thoughts:
I first became familiar with David Lagercrantz when he took over writing the rest of the Millenium series after the untimely death of Stieg Larsson. Since I enjoyed his writing style, I decided to give this new book, the first in his own series, a try and I very much enjoyed it, enough so that I plan on continuing with the series!
As first books tend to go in series, this one definitely served its purpose. We are introduced to our two main protagonists, Professor Hans and Police Officer Vargas. They complement each other well and both have their flaws and demons and I think I am going to enjoy getting to know them further as the series progresses. I have a feeling Vargas is going to become a favorite character – I just love her rough-around-the-edges personality and her drive and tenacity.
In full disclosure, I haven’t read Sherlock Holmes, so the references to Hans and Vargas being a modern-day Holmes and Watson totally are beyond me, yet I still love their partnership. There is something when there are two unlikely allies that end up working together – it just keeps me engaged for some reason.
I found it quite interesting the deep dive this book took into the Afghan culture. I wasn’t aware that music was banned during this time, though I had an inkling about the torture techniques just from the news. It was still eye-opening for sure. But I have to say in this installment, I was more focused on getting to know the characters.
I will certainly be eager to see what direction this series takes. We are left with a possible hint as to where things might go and I will be curious to see if that is indeed the case.
