A review by _desreads
Geiger by Gustaf Skördeman

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

Cold War espionage anyone? Skördeman’s debut thriller begins with a phone call to a well known Swedish family in Stockholm. Agneta, the wife, answered the phone and hears one word: Geiger; she then hangs up, gets her pistol, shoots her husband of 30 years and flees the city. As the nation is shocked with the death of its most infamous TV show host, a police officer named Sara is called to the case because she was childhood friends with the family’s daughters. From there a web of dark secrets, false identity and harmful ideology begin to unfold, and Sara learns just how much the past is still shaping the present. 

I love me a good spy/espionage story, and for most people I think this will do the trick. There are definitely some twists I didn’t see coming and Skördeman builds strong, multifaceted characters. While I found the ending rushed and a bit more farfetched than the rest of the book presents, the main issue I had were some scenes of Sara’s work as a police officer. Because she works in the prostitution ring in downtown Stockholm, you are exposed to the abuse and sexual assault that the girls she is trying to fight for endure, and it was just not what I was wanting to absorb, especially after reading “Tell Me Everything”. 

Thanks for the recommendation @anniebjones05! A good non fiction comparison that I recommend is The Spy & the Traitor by Ben Macintyre 
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