Recent Reads: The Wolf and the Watchman by Niklas Natt och Dag

My review: 🌟🌟🌟🌟

Nordic noir is a genre that I think of as being present day, but Niklas Natt och Dag has shaken that for me with The Wolf and the Watchman.  

Set mostly in 1793 in Stockholm, this is the investigation into a hideous discovery of a mutilated body in the water that sets watchman Mickel Cardell reluctantly off on an investigation with Cecile Winge, a lawyer and now a consultant for the police, dying of consumption.

We get flashes of the French revolution, and of Cardell's career in battle, when he lost his hand and his friends.  We are shown the seedy underside of Stockholm, and of the people who prey off of each other.

This is quite a graphic book, and looks at how Cardell deals with his life after battle through alcohol and violence.  It shows Winge's choices about how he is going to die, not in his home with his wife, but in a boarding house.  It also looks at what lengths people can go to for revenge, and the joy of hurting others.

Definitely not a cosy crime novel, but, yes, nordic noir with a horror edge.  It is a book that will make you keep turning the pages, and you'll be taken for a great ride!

The Wolf and the Watchman was published on 7th February this year, and is available on Amazon, and everywhere else you can find books!

I was given this book for free in return for an unbiased review, so my thanks to NetGalley and to John Murray Press (the publishers) for this book.

Check out my GoodReads profile to see more reviews!