Nine stars
First and foremost, a large thank you to Morgan Greene for providing me with a copy of this novel, which allows me to provide you with an unbiased review.
Picking up immediately after the last novel came to a screeching halt, Morgan Greene provides readers with an explosive continuation to this stunning series. DI Jamie Johansson has grown so much in the past two novels (as well as her prequel trilogy) that series fans can only wonder what she will do with some of the news she garnered while almost dying in the middle of the ocean. Greene writes so fluidly that it is hard to believe that he’s not Scandinavian himself. A chilling piece series fans have come to expect!
DI Jamie Johansson has so many questions after almost dying, many of them related to a powerful and secretive organisation that may be responsible for killing her father. As Johansson prepares her next move, she must come to terms that Imperium Holdings will stop at nothing to remain in the shadows, even if that means killing those who pose a risk.
Forced to take on a new partner, DI Johansson struggles with this, as well as the apparent suicide of her superior officer, something that stinks of Imperium intervention. While she appears indifferent, Johansson wants nothing more than to race out and pull back the curtain on this group.
After losing her position within Stockholm Polis, Johansson begins her covert mission, travelling to other parts of Scandinavia. She’s immediately targeted, but it only lights a new fire under her to get answers before she can be snuffed out as well. Working an angle in Norway, Johansson pairs up with some unlikely individuals to try getting to the core of the Imperium organisation. It is only then that Jamie Johansson learns how deep and wide the group has become and what secrets they hold in their possession.
I remember stumbling upon the first novel in the prequel series, hoping that Morgan Greene would be as talented an author as some of the early hype led me to believe. I could not get enough of Jamie Johansson, who was working within the Met, and I soon became addicted to the series. When things moved to Sweden, as newly-promoted DI Jamie Johansson was seconded while she looked into her father’s apparent suicide, I became even more obsessed and Morgan Greene was one of my newest favourite authors. His writing moves from being well-crafted police procedurals to ranking right up there with some of the great Scandinavian noir authors I have had the pleasure to read. This guy is the real deal for sure!
DI Jamie Johansson has come a long way in these three books (as well as the prequel trilogy), both on a personal and professional level. Her attention to detail is matched with a grittiness that will not permit her to ignore a lead. Able to hold her own, Johansson sometimes has a difficult time following direction, but it is usually because she is determined not to let evil win again. I can only imagine where this series will take her, or what else Greene has in store for his protagonist, but I am eager to be a part of the journey.
For those who have read a number of Scandinavian noir novels, especially those that have been translated, there is a sense of fluidity to the narrative. I often comment that I am baffled that the likes of Jo Nesbø, Søren and Lotte Hammer, and Jørn Lier Horst can write so easily in another language and have their translated work come across as smoothly. Greene follows in their footsteps, without the need for a translator, telling complex stories in plot-heavy novels and keeping the reader thoroughly captivated until the final page turn. Not only is the narrative strong, but there are great characters, a strong sense of forward momentum, and powerful story arcs that do not fizzle at the end of the novel. Greene can tell a story but always leave the reader thirsty for more, something that I have found since discovering his work in October 2020. This is one author worthy of putting on your radar, if you have not already.
Kudos, Mr. Greene, for another stunning novel. It’s only been a year, but I am eager to see what the next twelve months of reading your work will do to me!
A Book for All Seasons, a different sort of Book Challenge: https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/248185-a-book-for-all-seasons
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