Author:Will Napier
On the surface Joseph Pullman seems to have left his unhappy childhood far behind: as the town undertaker and a council member, he is now a respected citizen of Henderson, Maryland. But Joe's father is in jail for the brutal murder of a young boy and despite his wife's questions, Joe can't - or won't - talk about his past.
When his wife disappears, and a woman's severed hand is found inside a glove, Joe decides it's finally time to confront his past. Only to discover that his past has beaten him to it...
Dignified, damaged Joe is a wonderfully complicated creation
—— GuardianNapier is a good writer...the dialogue is spare and convincing and there are flashes of brilliance and insight
—— Daily MailA new dark and disturbing voice
—— Bernard MacLavertyJungstedt delivers excellent clammy atmosphere and a constant premonition of weird deaths to come. She's becoming one of Scandinavia's best crime writers, no mean compliment in a crowded field
—— The TimesThe story has achieved cult status with millions of fans who continue to read it
—— Library JournalPopular fiction at its best
—— The Washington PostOnly one's dreams after a champagne-fuelled night at the Follies Bergere have quite the same nightmarish-but-entertaining quality as Vargas's delightful crime novels
—— Jake Kerridge , Daily TelegraphGripping
—— Guardian[Vargas is] one of the most exciting, addictive and inventive purveyor of classy crime fiction currently pounding the publishing beat... It it a highly entertaining policier but more importantly, as with Conan Doyle, the wacky world Vargas shapes is oddly reassuring: a great remedy to a grey day
—— Christian House , Indepedent on SundayA thrilling read
—— Sunday TimesA beguiling story
—— Independent on SundayA sinister, beguiling tale that brilliantly evokes a childhood world
—— Woman and HomeBrilliant and nightmarish, this modern fairytale is beautifully written
—— Eve MagazinePhantom will maintain Jo Nesbo’s unstoppable momentum.
—— The IndependentThe king of Nordic crime – and his haunted protagonist Harry Hole – returns with this tightly plotted thriller which pitches Hole deep into the murky underworld of Oslo’s heroin market.
—— MetroJo Nesbo is at the top of his game... The must-read thriller of 2012.
—— BellaPhantom leaves us reeling, with a storyline and ending that hurts us almost as much as it hurts the protagonists... The twists and turns show Nesbo at his complicated, yet utterly accessible best, and Hole at his undeniably brilliant but self-destructive worst.
—— The ListJo Nesbo is a master of his craft. His latest novel, Phantom, is world-class crime writing. Phantom is a crime novel that pleases on every level.
—— Dagbladet (Norway)Harry Hole is back only to find that the case he wants to investigate is already closed
—— ObserverJo Nesbo has done it again with Phantom, his seventh gripping novel featuring Inspector Harry Hole... Tense and compulsive Phantom will have you jumping out of your seat
—— Hannah Britt , Daily ExpressKing of Scandinavian crime... A writer at the top of his game
—— Deirdre O’Brien , Sunday MirrorRiveting reading from page one
—— My Weekly