Title:	The Fire Witness
	Author:	Lars Kepler
	Published:	November 27, 2018, Vintage Crime/Black Lizard
	No. of Pages:	560
	Cover Price:	$16.99 Paperback, $11.99 Kindle

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The Fire Witness is the third novel in the bestselling Joona Linna series by Swedish authors Alexandra Coelho Ahndoril and Alexander Ahndoril who write the series under the pseudonym Lars Kepler. There is a grisly murder at a home for wayward girls and Joona Linna is called in to help with the investigation. One of the girls is missing, and the police find a bloody hammer under her bed. This young girl is then involved in the kidnapping of a young boy, and there is wide belief in the law enforcement circles that she and the boy have drowned. Another grisly murder is discovered at the home, as well. In addition, a woman, unrelated to the crime, claims to be psychic and gets herself involved in the case as she conducts séances to earn extra money; she knows full well she is duping her clients, but somehow begins to feel like she has a link to the dead.

Suspense begins to build from the first chapter of The Fire Witness, and it doesn’t stop until the dénouement at the end of the novel. The authors know how to tell a story and they use their talents to keep readers on the edges of their seats. Joona is one of the most unique characters in modern fiction, and his character is well-developed so that he seems real. His interaction with the other characters is very believable, and, while some of the characters are featured in previous and later novels and are known by readers, the new characters who are related to the scenarios in this novel are developed well enough that the interactions are convincing. Joona’s actions are always unpredictable and surprising.

As the story develops, readers will have no idea what is really going on, and will most likely stay up late to find out what the characters are up to. There are dozens of twists and turns in this novel, and the suspense doesn’t stop.

The Fire Witness is highly recommended, as well as the other novels in this excellent series.


Special thanks to NetGalley for supplying a review copy of this book.