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Content snapshot
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Violence
A lot
Extreme graphic violence; the family massacre is depicted with Scandinavian crime fiction's characteristic unflinching detail
Language
Barely any
Mild language in Kepler's Scandinavian crime register
Sexual Content
Barely any
Minimal sexual content
Substance Use
Barely any
Some drinking
Emotional Intensity
A lot
The psychological horror of hypnosis as a tool to reach traumatic memory — and the disturbing content it reveals — creates the novel's distinctive and effective dread
What this book is about
Lars Kepler's debut novel introduces Detective Joona Linna, who asks a hypnotherapist to reach the sole survivor of a brutal family murder. The hypnosis sessions reveal something unexpected — and create their own threat. Kepler writes Scandinavian crime fiction with extreme violence; the murders are graphic and disturbing. For adult readers of dark crime fiction.
Notes for sensitive readers
Reader-flagged moments and themes that may affect your experience.
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