The Killing 1

David Hewson

May 2012 · The Killing Book 1 · Pan Macmillan

About this ebook

David Hewson's The Killing 1 is the novelization of the first series of the hit Danish crime drama, The Killing.

'Through the dark wood where the dead trees give no shelter Nanna Birk Larsen runs . . . There is a bright monocular eye that follows, like a hunter after a wounded deer. It moves in a slow approaching zigzag, marching through the Pineseskoven wasteland, through the Pentecost Forest.

The chill water, the fear, his presence not so far away . . .

There is one torchlight on her now, the single blazing eye. And it is here . . .'

Sarah Lund is looking forward to her last day as a detective with the Copenhagen police department before moving to Sweden. But everything changes when nineteen-year-old student, Nanna Birk Larsen, is found raped and brutally murdered in the woods outside the city. Lund's plans to relocate are put on hold as she leads the investigation along with fellow detective Jan Meyer.

While Nanna's family struggles to cope with their loss, local politician, Troels Hartmann, is in the middle of an election campaign to become the new mayor of Copenhagen. When links between City Hall and the murder suddenly come to light , the case takes an entirely different turn.

Over the course of twenty days, suspect upon suspect emerges as violence and political intrigue cast their shadows over the hunt for the killer.

Ratings and reviews

TV shows from books work, however books from tv shows clearly don't. This book tried to follow the plot too intricately, and totally fails to engage the reader. I wanted to like this I really did, and I usually love Scandinavian crime novels, but this was simply too hard to get into. (for reference I was reading the book before seeing the tv show)

The story unfolds and the intensity of the inter-twined plots increases. Having watched the series on TV the book enhanced the enjoyment.

Excellent - a compulsive read, brilliant characters and a superb plot - all you could want in a book!

About the author

David Hewson, is well-known for his crime fiction set in European cities. He is the author of nine novels in the highly acclaimed Detective Nic Costa series, which are set mostly in Rome. His other novels include The Fallen Angel and Carnival for the Dead - set in Venice. He has spent time in Copenhagen researching and writing the novel of The Killing.