I haven't read anything by mr Minier before, but will do so in future. This was a thrilling read and I enjoyed every minute of it. Recommended.

Good thriller tying up the disparate clues in a natural manner. I've not read any of Minier before, but shall look out for more

it took me a while to enter this extraordinary and vividly graphic world - Norway and France! - and an unusual, almost eccentric detective - with preternatural powers of insight - as she comes across traces of the recently recovered French detective she must work with - although he is not really fully recovered from a near-death experience. we get her orneriness from an early train journey when she frosts away a fellow traveller on a night train ... but they are after a monstrous serial killer who has linked the two detectives across countries for his own ends .. brilliant and intriguing (like all-night intriguing) - smart ...

Night, the fourth novel to feature Commandant Martin Servaz of the Toulouse Police, is a hybrid of thriller and police procedural and is packed with twisty-turns and reveals that blindside you time and again. It's a rarity nowadays that I am surprised by happenings in crime fiction, so kudos to the author as I didn't predict any of the twists before time and key information was kept hidden until well towards the end. You can tell the plot has been thought through and planned precisely; Minier has done a great job turning his ideas into well crafted plot threads..

The swift pace and continual developments keep the story propelling forward. This is a thoroughly enjoyable thriller with plenty of pep and pizazz and enough to keep even the most discerning crime reader entertained, as well as challenged by the complex plotting. The fact that it is translated from the French certainly has no bearing on readability, and there were no clunky words or phrases stemming from it. Minier doesn't tie-up all of the loose ends of the story, so some questions still remain, and I look forward to the next instalment to satisfy those with answers.

Many thanks to Mulholland Books for an ARC.

I came to this without having read any of the previous novels in the series featuring French policeman Martin Servaz and, whilst I was able to enjoy this latest novel by Bernard Minier, I did feel at times that I would have got more out of it having read more of them.

A woman’s body is found in a church in Bergen, which becomes a case for Norwegian cop Kirsten Nigaard. Thus begins a classic tale of cat and mouse: the killer is found to have been working offshore on an oil rig and in his possessions are found photographs which, it is discovered, have been taken of Martin Servaz. The two police officers join forces to track down notorious serial killer Julian Hirtmann, a returning character from previous novels. Minier has admitted that he admires the work of Thomas Harris and this certainly rang true for me in this book, with its echoes of Hannibal Lecter and a sub-plot of the fathers of two of Hirtmann’s previous victims trying to track him down to kill him.

There are plenty of twists and turns as the plot moves on apace. Minier certainly has a sense of drama and constructs a good plot which will have you turning the pages quickly. I’m assuming that the book provides answers to some questions raised in previous books, and it is certainly left on a bit of a cliff-hanger looking forward to the next in the series. Yes, it has made me want to go back and start from the beginning which is surely a good thing. One thing that did slightly irk me was Minier falling into the habit too many authors make for my liking, that is rushing through an epilogue that covers months in a few pages and tries to tie lots of loose ends together. It jarred with the pace of the rest of the book that preceded it and just didn’t feel right. Notwithstanding, even in translation it is clear that Minier is a good writer and I enjoyed the book as the action criss-crossed several countries and certainly had plenty of surprises. A series I will explore more, for sure. Somewhere in the region of 3.5 stars for me, let down a little by the Epilogue.

Thanks to NetGalley and publishers Hodder & Stoughton for the ARC.
This is an overly-complicated story, in my opinion. I found the disparate parts to the 'plot' were ridiculously overt in their connections - Kirsten's name in the pocket of a murder victim, photos of a Toulouse detective going about his daily life, photos of a young boy.
Starting with the maiming by electrocution of a suspected rapist atop a moving train and subsequent shot to the heart of the Toulouse detective, Martin Servaz, and his subsequent coma and change of personality.
The Swedish murder leads to a North Sea Oil rig, which narrative was exceptionally atmospheric, discovery of the photographs, which lead to Toulouse and Martin. From then on I feel the story was rather cat and mouse with very little conclusion in sight. Why Martin's nemesis Julian Hirtman - an escaped serial killer - needed to run such rings around him is really, really unclear; a lot of the narrative was irrelevant when it came to weighing-up its contribution to the actual conclusion of the story.
Sorry, I haven't read any of the previous books, but with this I found it to be rather, well, unnecessarily drawn-out.

I didn't realise that this was the 6th in the Commandant Martin Servaz of the Toulouse Police, but it works perfectly fine as a standalone. This is an intense thriller, packed with twist after twist, and numerous misdirections from the author which makes it a compulsive read. It begins with the murder of a woman at the altar in a Bergen church in Norway. A note found on the body has Kirsten Nigaard of Oslo Kripos investigating. The dead woman turns out to be a North Sea oil rig worker, on the rig a set of photographs are found showing surveillance of Servaz and a young boy, Gustav, is found, along with evidence that suggests the notorious serial killer, Julian Hirtmann, has resurfaced. Kirsten goes to France to work with a Servaz who has recently emerged from a coma after being shot.

Servaz is suspicious about being manipulated by Hirtmann, it is not like the man to leave so many clues behind. He is still haunted by his personal history with Hirtmann who abducted Marianne.And who is the child, Gustav, where does he fit in? Is it Hirtmann's child? The police try to locate the boy, identifying Austria as the place where the photograph is taken. Servaz is a changed man after the coma, experiencing numerous vivid and vibrant dreams. In Vienna, two elderly men, Zehetmeyer and Wieser, have their own personal reasons for trying to locate Hirtmann and they are willing to pay big money for information as to his whereabouts. Servaz faces threats from numerous quarters, including an internal affairs inquiry run by Rimbaud, and he has Servaz in his sights as the main suspect of a shooting. In a twisted and dark narrative, Servaz uncovers some personal connections that have him going off the grid which ends in a thrilling finale in Austria.

This is a truly gripping Euro-thriller, heavy on complex and intricate plotting that relies on significantly more nebulous characterisation for all the twists and turns to work. As a result, I never really felt like I really got to know and understand either Kirsten Nigaard or Martin himself. Minier is obviously skilled in writing thrillers that draw in readers and keeping them engaged with fast paced storytelling and action. His depiction of Hirtmann is that of a master strategist, a man pulling the strings of his cohorts and the police, at home with never ending brutality, expert at evading the police and incarceration, whilst controlling Servaz with ease. It has to be said this can become wearisome on occasion. However, this an entertaining and nail biting thriller that shifts through various stunning locations, and that will appeal to those who love twisted thrillers. Many thanks to Hodder and Stoughton for an ARC.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Hodder & Stoughton for an advance copy of Night, the fourth novel to feature Commandant Martin Servaz of the Toulouse Police.

When a body is discovered in a Bergen church Kirsten Nigaard of the Oslo Kripos leads the investigation which takes her to the victim’s place of work, an oil rig. What she finds there, pictures of a young boy called Gustav and an unknown man, lead her to the conclusion that escaped murderer Julian Hirtmann is involved. To further her investigation she travels to France to get Martin Servaz’s help as he has experience with Hirtmann.

I thoroughly enjoyed Night which is a thriller rather procedural, chock full of twists, turns and action. I found myself unable to predict anything in the novel so hats off to Mr Minier for his plotting and inventiveness. This surprised me a little as I have read The Frozen Dead and wasn’t impressed, finding it overly long and complicated. This hits the mark much more easily. It is fast paced with developments in every chapter and never flags so I found myself frantically turning the pages to see what was coming next. A case could be made for some of the events stretching credibility, especially Hirtmann’s omniscience and reach, but I was too caught up in the events to think about them in this way.

I must admit that I don’t really get Martin Servaz. He must be smart to be the head of a major crime unit but he seems to make one stupid decision after another in this novel. It makes for exciting reading but doesn’t really give the reader a sense of the real man.

Night is a good read which I have no hesitation in recommending.