The Killing

August 26, 2013
Despite the episodic nature of the story and its many elements of soap opera, Hewson (Carnival of the Dead) ably adapts to the page the first season of the hit Danish TV series, which tracks the efforts of tenacious Copenhagen homicide detective Sarah Lund to find the killer of 19-year-old Nanna Birk Larsen. The case has no shortage of suspects, and a link to the campaign staff of liberal mayoral candidate Troels Hartmann threatens to affect the election, as he tries to upset wily Lord Mayor Poul Bremer. Virtually everyone lies to the police, including suspects and witnesses. Dirty tricks from members of both campaign staffs, as well as corruption within police ranks, ensure an investigation in constant turmoil. Lund’s planned and imminent departure for a job in Sweden lends urgency, and working with her replacement and co-investigator, Jan Meyer, adds to the tension.

September 15, 2013

Layered with political intrigue, this excellent novelization of a hit Scandinavian TV series is a tense crime novel featuring criminal investigator Sarah Lund. As Lund is about to transfer jobs and move from Copenhagen, Denmark, to Stockholm, Sweden, she is called in to look into the death of a young woman. As she investigates, many suspects emerge, including the victim's family and friends as well as a trio of politicians vying to win the position of Lord Mayor of Copenhagen. With many twists and turns, this work will keep readers guessing the murderer's identity from beginning to end. VERDICT Despite the use of British slang, Hewson (Death in Seville; Nic Costa series) has done an excellent job capturing the chilly flavor of Nordic noir. Similar in tone to the books of Jo Nesbo, Lene Kaaberbo, and Stieg Larsson, this will appeal to adult fans of Scandinavian crime novels.--Russell Michalak, Goldey-Beacom Coll. Lib., Wilmington, DE

Copyright 2013 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from September 1, 2013
First up: this novel is based on the original Danish television series The Killing (more precisely, the first-season screenplay by Sren Sveistrup), and not on the American remake. Second up: this is such a good book, so rich in its characters and writing, that familiarity with its source material is completely unnecessary. Its story, in which a Copenhagen police detective lands a politically sensitive murder case the day before she's scheduled to move to Sweden, is wonderfully told. Hewson is, of course, the author of several excellent mysteries, including the popular Nic Costa novels, and he was an excellent choice here: his own elegant prose style perfectly captures the mood of the story. Not merely a spin-off of a high-profile television property, this is a fully realized novel that stands on its own two feet, while at the same time reimagining the television series, taking its characters and story in new directions and exploring them in new ways. A splendid book and perhaps a new benchmark for literary adaptations of screen stories.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)