The House of Dolls (44 page)

‘I can actually.’

She stroked the dog.

‘Are you all right? You look distracted.’

‘Never better,’ he said, aware she was staring at his threadbare blue shirt, the worn jeans, old trainers. A thought. He pulled up his jeans and pointed. Two matching socks. Bright red.

‘Congratulations,’ she said. ‘It’ll be evening dress next.’

‘It’s a start.’

‘Do you want to come to the park too?’ she asked, hovering over each word like an adult talking to a child.

Vos pointed to the boat.

‘Work to do here. Lots of it.’

‘Will it ever be finished?’

‘Probably not.’

‘Will you?’

He hesitated then said, ‘Is anyone?’

A nod towards the Drie Vaten.

‘Besides . . . there’s some washing waiting for me over there.’

‘That is truly shameful.’

A sheepish grin.

‘I know. Don’t let him eat crisps.’ He pulled an old supermarket carrier from his pocket. ‘Make sure you clean up . . .’

She reached beyond the dog into the basket and showed him a brand-new pack of something called poop scoop bags.

‘Last chance ever, Pieter Vos,’ Laura Bakker said, pulling down the sunglasses. ‘I won’t ask again.’

He shrugged, smiled a wan smile. Watched as she muttered something under her breath then set off along the canal.

Sam did something he’d never seen before. Instead of facing forwards, enjoying the wind in his fur, he turned and looked at the woman pedalling him to the park. She was chattering to him as she cycled slowly along the Prinsengracht, red hair flying over her shoulders, lost to everything but the dog.

Vos glanced at the run-down, battered boat.

Then the Drie Vaten serving up the first cold beers of the day.

Tugged at his too-long hair.

Scratched his cheek. Felt briefly torn.

The Killing

by

DAVID HEWSON

Based on the original screenplay by Søren Sveistrup

ISBN 978-1-4472-1395-6

Through the dark wood where the dead trees give no shelter Nanna Birk Larsen runs . . . There is a bright monocular eye that follows, like a hunter after a wounded deer. It moves in a slow approaching zigzag, marching through the Pineseskoven wasteland, through the Pentecost Forest.

The chill water, the fear, his presence not so far away . . .

There is one torchlight on her now, the single blazing eye. And it is here . . .

Sarah Lund is looking forward to her last day as a detective with the Copenhagen police department before moving to Sweden. But everything changes when a nineteen-year-old student, Nanna Birk Larsen, is found raped and brutally murdered in the woods outside the city. Lund’s plans to relocate are put on hold as she leads the investigation along with fellow detective Jan Meyer.

While Nanna’s family struggles to cope with their loss, local politician, Troels Hartmann, is in the middle of an election campaign to become the new mayor of Copenhagen. When links between City Hall and the murder suddenly come to light, the case takes an entirely different turn.

Over the course of twenty days, suspect upon suspect emerges as violence and political intrigue cast their shadows over the hunt for the killer.

Praise for
The Killing

‘As gripping as the TV series. It will keep you pinned to the very last page’

Jens Lapidus

‘David Hewson should be commended for writing such a page-turner of a book . . .
The Killing
has enough twists and turns to satisfy not only any avid follower of the series but also readers that are coming to it first time around’

shotsmag.co.uk

The Killing II

by

DAVID HEWSON

Based on the original screenplay by Søren Sveistrup

ISBN 978-1-4472-1694-0

Thirty-nine steps rose from the busy road of Tuborgvej into Mindelunden, with its quiet graves and abiding bitter memories. Lennart Brix, head of the Copenhagen homicide team, felt he’d been walking them most of his life.

Beneath the entrance arch, sheltering from the icy rain, he couldn’t help but recall that first visit almost fifty years before. A five-year-old boy, clutching the hand of his father, barely able to imagine what he was about to see . . .

The bark of a dog broke his reverie. Brix looked at the forensic officers, white bunny suits, mob hats, marching grim-faced down the rows of graves, towards the space in the little wood where the rest of the team was gathering . . .

It is two years since the notorious Nanna Birk Larsen case. Two years since Detective Sarah Lund left Copenhagen in disgrace for a remote outpost in northern Denmark.

When the body of a female lawyer is found in macabre circumstances in a military graveyard, there are elements of the crime scene that remind Head of Homicide, Lennart Brix, of an occupied wartime Denmark – a time its countrymen would rather forget.

Brix knows that Lund is the one person he can rely on to discover the truth. Though reluctant to return to Copenhagen, Lund becomes intrigued with the facts surrounding the case. As more bodies are found, Lund comes to see a pattern. She realizes that the identity of the killer will be known once the truth behind a more recent wartime mission is finally revealed . . .

Carnival for the Dead

by

DAVID HEWSON

ISBN 978-0-330-53783-4

In Venice the past was more reticent. Beyond the tourist sights, San Marco and the Rialto, it lurked in the shadows, seeping out of the cracked stones like blood from ancient wounds, as if death itself was one more sly performance captured beneath the bright all-seeing light of the lagoon.

It’s February, and Carnival time in Venice. Forensic pathologist Teresa Lupo visits the city to investigate the mysterious disappearance of her beloved bohemian Aunt Sofia. But from the moment she is greeted off the vaporetto by a masked man dressed in the costume of The Plague Doctor, Teresa starts to suspect that all is not well.

The puzzle deepens when a letter reveals a piece of fiction in which both Sofia and Teresa appear. Even more strange are the links to the past which gradually begin to surface. Are the messages being sent by Sofia herself ? Her abductor? Or a third party seeking to help her unravel the mystery? The revelation is as surprising and shocking as Sofia’s fate. And Teresa herself comes to depend upon the unravelling of a mystery wrapped deep inside the art and culture of Venice itself.

Praise for
Carnival for the Dead:

‘Atmospheric and engaging . . . the central mystery is every bit as intriguing as ever and the unravelling of the solution has the satisfying precision that we know the author delivers so adroitly . . .’

Daily Express

‘Complex and cunning’

Sunday Telegraph Seven magazine

‘The Byzantine complexity of
Carnival For The Dead
is a measure of Hewson’s inventiveness . . .’

Sunday Herald

‘Turns television gold into literary gold’

Daily Telegraph

‘Hewson is a highly regarded crime writer in his own right . . . for those who missed watching Sarah Lund and the Danish police in action, I believe they will get a great deal of pleasure from reading about them’

The Times

‘A very fine novel, which is more of a re-imagining of the original story than a carbon copy – and with the bonus of a brand new twist to the ending’

Daily Mail

‘David Hewson’s literary translation . . . allows the characters more room to breathe . . . Hewson’s greatest achievement is that it’s compelling reading’

Observer

‘Not just a novelization. Hewson is a highly regarded crime writer in his own right; he spent a lot of time with the creators of the original to ensure that he did not offend its spirit and mood, and he has provided his own, different solution to the central murder mystery’

Marcel Berlins,
The Times

‘A fast-paced crime novel that’s five-star from start to finish’

Irish Examiner

‘The book is an excellent read in which the author manages to dig deeper into the characters without having to rewrite their original television characterization. For those who haven’t seen the series, this is a very cleverly constructed and beautifully written crime drama; for those who already know the ending, a new twist awaits’

Irish Times

‘David Hewson has a superb sense of pace and place, his characters feel real, and he writes a page-turner detective story like no other’

Choice

‘The running heroes Costa and Peroni, like all the best fictional detectives, become more rounded and interesting with every episode . . . I was hooked’

Literary Review

‘If you haven’t already discovered this brilliant series featuring Nic Costa and a cast of Roman detectives, you have a treat in store’

Toronto Globe & Mail

‘The exciting story is laced with Roman history . . . A very intelligent and enthralling book, with a complex plot expertly handled’

Tangled Web

‘A thrilling tale of vengeance . . . chilling to the core . . . The plot develops at a steady pace, with the author’s captivating descriptions of long-forgotten passageways and temples, and his skill in creating a sinister undertone keeping you hooked from the off. A highly dramatic tale for those who like a sprinkling of culture with their crime thriller’

Woman

‘Very enjoyable Italian mysteries . . . cleverly worked out and sharply written. Hewson’s take on the secretive city [of Venice] is uncomfortable and sinister’

Literary Review

‘[Hewson] is a talented writer with the gift of creating a good, old-fashioned page-turning thriller. His characters shine with real depth and conviction and the plot is breathtakingly imaginative. A superb read’

Reading Post

The Killing

The Killing II

Nic Costa series

A Season for the Dead

The Villa of Mysteries

The Sacred Cut

The Lizard’s Bite

The Seventh Sacrament

Dante’s Numbers

The Blue Demon

The Fallen Angel

Carnival for the Dead

Other titles

The Promised Land

The Cemetery of Secrets

(previously published as
Lucifer’s Shadow
)

Death in Seville

(previously published as
Semana Santa
)

 

 

First published 2014 by Macmillan

This electronic edition published 2014 by Macmillan

an imprint of Pan Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited

Pan Macmillan, 20 New Wharf Road, London N1 9RR

Basingstoke and Oxford

Associated companies throughout the world

www.panmacmillan.com

ISBN 978-1-4472-4616-9

Copyright © David Hewson 2014

The right of David Hewson to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

The Macmillan Group has no responsibility for the information provided by any author websites whose address you obtain from this book (‘author websites’). The inclusion of author website addresses in this book does not constitute an endorsement by or association with us of such sites or the content, products, advertising or other materials presented on such sites.

You may not copy, store, distribute, transmit, reproduce or otherwise make available this publication (or any part of it) in any form, or by any means (electronic, digital, optical, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the publisher. Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

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