Now I don’t normally read a book that’s in the middle of a series but I came across Die For Me and wanted to try it. I have a thing for Scandinavian crime thrillers and although I felt a bit lost at points (due to not having experienced that character development this type of series provides) I still really enjoyed the book. I definitely want to read from the beginning though. I’m terrible at providing a breakdown of what the book is about but I will say that it’s about women and sexual assault and I liked how Jesper Stein showed the reader that it isn’t just men who downplay rape in our modern society. It’s a sad truth and I felt it was highlighted and dealt with by the main character Axel Steen really well.
There were a few parts where the translation to
English wasn’t that great but it’s understandable it has to be tough to have a literal translation. I found this book to be full of awesome forensic information and details I really enjoyed that part of it!
This is a very good procedural police thriller I highly recommend but maybe start from the first one which I’m going to do.
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC for an honest review.

My thanks to NetGalley and publisher Mirror Books for the ARC.
This is a very cleverly-written Nordic thriller set in Copenhagen. Star of this story is DCI Axel Steen - a driven investigator who detests paperwork - partial to drugs and alcohol, separated from his wife Cecilie and daughter Emma.

Mid-summer of 2004 18yr-old Marie Schmidt's body is recovered from the lake at Orsted Park. She'd been missing for 36 hours. She hadn't made it home a short walk from Norreport Station and 4 hours previously her bag and clothing had been discovered in bushes. She was nicknamed 'Blackbird'. The case was never solved and Axel was obsessed with it. He neglected his family, hence the split.

Now, 2008, Copenhagen is in the grip of a heat-wave. His wife's boyfriend is Deputy Commissioner Jens Jessen (JJ) - a careerist lawyer, an administrator; universally un-liked but always on the lookout for his next promotion. He's a bully and egotistical but nevertheless is entirely insecure about his relationship with Cecilie and Emma.

Out of the blue Axel gets a call from their Forensic Services: they found a DNA match from a recent serious sexual assault with a sample taken from 'Blackbird' - the system said he should be informed. Thus starts a renewal of Axel's obsession and to try and link his cold case to a serious of rapes in the intervening 4 years. This means him having to very reluctantly work with Tina Jensen who is investigating the recent case, and being pressurised by JJ to provide the Dep. Commissioner with operational experience by shadowing him during the investigation.

This couldn't possibly end well - could it?

Well, this story is so well-written, with great dialogue. I was really interested in the juxtapositions of life in Denmark. The beautiful park and lake where students celebrate and let off steam that become 'playgrounds' for couples and drug dealers at night. The nice precincts and areas of the city - then the impoverished down-and-outs and drug addicts waiting to collect benefits. A real eye-opener for me.

A really good Nordic mystery/thriller.

Jesper Stein has created for the reader a book that can sit comfortably beside those that have been written by all of the crime writers from the Nordic countries. Unfortunately for the reader this is one of a series written by the author and is only the first to be translated into English. Some readers may find the Danish places names etc a little off putting. I can only urge them to allow the story to develop and it will then be only a minor distraction.
Stein has created an extremely troubled investigator whose past is carried around with him and causes him to drift from that which is expected from a senior police officer.
DI Alex Steen is obsessed with a 4 year old murder that he was not able to solve. It is only due to his perseverance that he is able to carry this burden and work toward establishing a link between a series of nasty rapes and possibly this cold case. This crime novel carries the reader on a whirlwind ride from start to finish.
I cannot wait for the rest of Jesper Stein’s work to be translated to English.

This is the 7th book in the series but the first one I've read. It works well as a stand-alone, since the characters and their relationships are well established and clear enough. The case is interesting: a serial rapist is terrorizing women in Copenhagen and may or may not have also murdered a young girl. Axel Steen, a damaged but capable cop will sacrifice everything to get to the bottom of this. There are a lot of twists and turns, and I was very surprised by the conclusion. Axel is not a well balanced man and his morals are not always clear, but he is a top-notch investigator. The rhythm is steady, making for a fast read.
I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, NetGalley/Mirror Books!

The first book I've read by Stein. Translated into English, it took me a little while to get into the way the story was written but the characters were interesting and the plot developed in such a way that I was keen to read on. A good detective/crime book

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to attempt to read and review this book.

Unfortunately, I was unable to download the book. I only ended up with the title pages. The other pages were blank.

DI Axel Steen is investigating a murder in his hometown of Copenhagen, a eighteen year old girl is found dead in a lake and with no evidence to go on the case soon goes cold despite all his best efforts and losing his wife daughter.
Four years later a DNA match comes through by means of a young woman being brutally raped.
Axel returns back to the case which nearly killed him. After linking more cases together he knows that he has a serial rapist on his hands.
Can he catch the man responsible before it destroy him.

A bit slow for me in places but over all a great read.

This is the first i have read from this author and i look forward to reading more.

Die For Me is a decent thriller, a bit complicated. The book is a bit long and has some boring spots. There are some interesting characters. I am grateful for the opportunity to read it.

This story was incredibly complex and I found some of the language (names, locations) and translations difficult to get through. It almost felt like I was watching a foreign language film that had been dubbed over with English voices. While I found the criminal aspect of the story interesting, it was difficult to tell when the story changed from Axel to JJ. I also found the ex wife/girlfriend to be an very unlikeable character. Finally, I though this books was way too long and could have been much more abbreviated for my taste. I do appreciate the opportunity to read and review this book.