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I'm Travelling Alone (Munch and Kruger Book 1) by Simon Bjork #Inbetweeny

I'm Travelling Alone was passed to me by the in laws and strongly recommended by mother who had already purchased and read book two by the time I flipped the first page.

"When the body of a young girl is found hanging from a tree, the only clue the police have is an airline tag around her neck. It reads ‘I’m travelling alone’.

In response, police investigator Holger Munch is immediately charged with assembling a special homicide unit. But to complete the team, he must track down his former partner, Mia Krüger – a brilliant but troubled detective – who has retreated to a solitary island with plans to kill herself.

Reviewing the file, Mia finds something new – a thin line carved into the dead girl’s fingernail: the number 1. She knows that this is only the beginning. To save other children from the same fate, she must find a way to cast aside her own demons and stop this murderer from becoming a serial killer."

Two cops - check
Both with problems - check
No love life to speak of - check
Alcoholism/Addiction problems - check
Furious superiors - check
Scandinavian setting - check

OK so at first sight it is slightly cliched, and everybody seems to have a name beginning with M! I was also slightly stressed out by the fact that at page 200 we were still being introduced to new characters and new scenarios. Each character/scenario did however all tie in neatly at the end so hats off to Bjork. I can only imagine the size of the timeline it would have required!

 I actually enjoyed the book and read all 500 pages in about 5 days which is good going for me. There were some excellent twists (that had me dumbstruck) and a very climatic ending. The reader also got a lot of background in relation to the main characters which certainly sets you up for future novels. But having read some outstanding Scandi Noir recently (Palm Beach Finland, Trap) that broke the overworked formula, I'm just not sure if I have the energy to invest in a series where the main character (Mia) is overworked, skating on the edge of alcoholism, addiction and mental breakdown. It was good, it was solid, but not brilliant and in an overcrowded market good sometimes isn't enough to make you read the next one.

If you know of a series of excellent crime novels where the lead isn't a mess, let me know. The closest I have come to is The Dry by Jane Harper - two men, no competition between them, no angry male superior, no excess of alcohol, no divorce that they still haven't recovered from. I do intend to read the second, Force of Nature and indeed the third The Lost Man (more on that in February).

The second in the Munch and Kruger series is The Owl Always Hunts At Night. It comes recommended by my in laws and mother. Make of that what you will!!!

The link to the book takes you to The Little Apple Book Shop in York that I had the delight to visit at the weekend. A stones throw from York Minster it's small but perfectly formed.




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