A review by athirah_idrus
The Fire Witness by Lars Kepler

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

 This is my second time reading a Lars Kepler novel, of the Joona Linna series. Despite not reading according to the order, it isn’t difficult to follow the cases. In fact, I’m amazed by how gripping the stories are that made it hard to peel myself away from the pages. There were some background details that might be a little lost to me, particularly on Joona’s background, but they didn’t take away from the juicy details or the excitement I got from each case. The profiles of the killers and the background of the cases were detailed out in clear, easy-to-follow sequence that made it seem as if we were following the detective with a special excess to his way of thinking. 

 

In The Fire Witness, the third instalment of the Joona Linna series, a young girl in a halfway home for troubled girls was found beaten to death. Another one was missing and feared to be the perpetrator of the violent crime. Detective Joona Linna, who was not on active duty as he was being investigated by Internal Affairs for a questionable conduct on his old case, was assigned simply as an ‘observer’ to assist with the case. 

 

I really loved the pacing of the book and the clear way each little mystery was brought to light. The case was not complicated and even though police procedures could be dry and uninteresting, the authors did a good job in explaining it in a way that is easy to understand. Although I did guess correctly, I still enjoyed the book so much that I think it merited 5-star rating from me.