Knock Knock by Anders Roslund
Seventeen years ago, Inspector Ewert Grens was called to the scene of a brutal crime. A family had been executed, with only their five year old daughter left alive. The girl was placed under witness protection and adopted, but the case went cold – a fact that haunts Grens. When he learns that the apartment where the crime took place is now the scene of a mysterious break-in, Grens realises that someone is intent on silencing the only witness. He must find her... before they do.
Meanwhile, Piet Hoffman has put his life of crime and infiltrating the most dangerous criminal gangs behind him to live a peaceful life with his wife and three children. But one day, he returns home to find that someone has found him – and has the power to share his identity with some of the sadistic criminals that he has helped put away over the years. With the strong possibility that the police have been compromised, there’s only one man he can trust to help him, and save his family.
About the author.
Anders Roslund has published ten novels to date as part of the successful writing duos Roslund & Hellström and Roslund & Thunberg. His books have been read by millions and he is the recipient of numerous prestigious international awards, including the CWA International Dagger, The Glass Key and the Prix du Polar Européen. Knock Knock is the first novel published under Roslund’s own name.
Review
‘Knock Knock’ is a tour de force of crime/thriller writing. It was spectacular, highly taut, captivating, gritty, action-packed and downright entertaining. Anders was somehow a new author to me and I have read a lot of Scandi noir. However, I will be going back to read the rest of this series as this novel was spellbinding. ‘Knock Knock’ is the 9th in the series but I don't think you need to have read the previous ones. It certainly felt like a standalone to me.
Detective Superintendent Ewart Grens is six months from retirement and dreading it. His whole life is his job - he even sleeps mainly in his office on his threadbare corduroy couch. When his colleague Marianna Hermansson alerts him of a bugarlry where nothing is taken he is thoroughly confused as to why she is bothering him with such a case until she tells him the address. Sixteen years ago 5yr old Zana Lilaj was found there surrounded by the bodies of her parents, her brother and her sister. They had been dead for three days. Grens never managed to secure a conviction for the case and he always thinks of the wee girl.
Piet Hoffman is an ex-undercover agent who infiltrated numerous gangs and secured a lot of convictions for the police - whilst endangering his family in the process. He returns home from his security company one day to find that his youngest son is playing with a grenade! This leads to him being dragged into a masterminds plan to ignite a gang war in Sweden and if he doesn't his family will be killed.
This completely gripped me from the first couple of pages and I just had to keep reading. The plot was fantastic and the twists and turns were out there. As the book progresses you see how the two separate threads become intertwined seamlessly. The action moves from Sweden to Albania and back. The pace picks up and then I stayed up to 5 am reading this beauty as I HAD to know what happened. Grens intrigued me as a character and it's him I'm excited to find out more about by starting from the first book. He breathes his job, expects others to uphold the law, is grumpy and lonely.
This is definitely not going to be the last of Ander’s books that I read as this is an easy 5⭐️ from me! Let me know if you give it a try.
