Zack Herry, Stockholm police detective, is a crack sleuth but also takes a lot of drugs and is not faithful to his masochistic lover Mera. He works well with his partner, Deniz, a dark-skinned (we think) woman from Kurdistan, who ran away from her home town where brothers would burn their sister to death for wanting to marry someone not chosen by their parents. The crime: 4 Asian masseuses are shot to death.

My rating reflects not the quality of the book itself--it's a competently written thriller--but my reaction to it, which was meh. I felt as if everyone--coworkers, friends, even the author--was overly enamored of the main character in a way that I, the reader, couldn't really understand, let alone share. He wasn't presented as someone who was a fundamentally good person despite his rough edges, he was presented as all rough edges in the guise of edgy, and it just didn't work for me.

As a great fan of Scandinavian thrillers, I'd give this one a pass. Lots of blood and gore, international nastiness, drugs, prostitution, the crimes of the rich and powerful -but in this book, too much already. Zack is the bad boy cop; his "badness" got rather boring after awhile; he wasn't an interesting enough character, unlike some of his fellow women police officers.

Not liking the junkie-cop. Sorry, that is all I have to say.

A decent and entertaining thriller.

In Swedish: https://lottensbokblogg.wordpress.com...

When I first read the description for this book, I was intrigued. I am a fan of crime fiction, and have a burgeoning interest in stories set in foreign countries. From the summary I read, this book sounded like it had all the earmarks of exactly my kind of story - a murder mystery, law enforcement as the protagonist, a racing clock. I started reading with high hopes.Sadly, I found myself struggling to continue reading almost immediately. As I continued to read, I found just nothing to connect to...

* I would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review an advance copy of this book. *Zack Herry lives a double life; Detective Inspector in the Special Crimes Unit by day, and club-hopping drug-taker by night. He is haunted by the memory of his dead mother and the chronically-ill father that he had to care for as a child instead of a normal childhood.Zack and his colleagues are called in when four Asian prostitutes are brutally murdered in a quite gruesome wa...

I picked up this book based on a recommendation from my fiance. Zach is a quite typical Swedish crime story, which is a genre I seldom engage in. Since I wanted to test something new, I however picked this book up from the library. Overall, I found this book to be an exciting and engaging read containing several likable characters and an interesting and thrilling (albeit anger inducing) plot. Some of the criminal elements in this book were a bit "too much" for me. The problem with books like thi...

I love the Malin Fors series, so I was excited to find this one by the same author. However, it didn't keep me on the edge of my seat the way the Fors' series does. It was a struggle to get through, even though all the elements of a thriller are there - creative killings, injustice, lots of suspects. Part of it was Zack himself - while he's pleasant and I thought that his excesses were mainly due to his age and family history - he's kind of vapid. I was much more drawn to Deniz, Douglas and some...

Zack is the youngest member of Stockholm’s Special Crimes Unit. Each of the members of the unit is damaged in one way or another, no one more so than Zack. After his mother was killed in the line of duty when Zack was five years old, he decided that he would follow in her footsteps and become a police officer himself, and perhaps find out who killed her. But right now he and his partner Deniz are busy trying to solve the murder of 4 Asian women who worked in a massage parlor. This is Scandinavia...

Another fabulous book by this talented Author. I was already a big fan with the Detective Inspector Malin Fors series, and I’m really looking forward to more on this new series, as I enjoyed it just as much. I love a floored character and Zack Herry fits this mould perfectly. There are so many other great characters in this book though, and I love the way both Authors have delved into their backgrounds, it’s really added a great element to the story.Detectives Zack Herry and his partner Deniz Ak...

Mons Kallentoft did an excellent job of putting together a real thriller that you can still have questions about when you finish reading it. Is he still going to find his moms killer? Do we believe Robert? Or is he implicated in her death? Why does he look the other way when Zack does something wrong? Drakan's attempt in the end of the book to kill Zack is with the bounds of getting even after his boss his been killed. It was a fascinating read that has me wanting another book to answer my quest...

See review under Wit and Wonder Books

***ARC received in exchange for an honest review***Zack is a thriller, edge of your seat, not for a weak stomach novel by Mons Kallentoft, a critically acclaimed and international bestselling author of the Malin Fors crime series and Marcus Lutteman, a celebrated Swedish journalist known for his research and biographies. This is the first book in the Herkulesserian series. Zack works for the special crime unit in Stockholm and at night he loves to let loose with activities his job would frown up...

A boyish novel with lots of flaws. Still, it entertains.My full review in Swedish: iHeartFantasy

My impression was spoilt by police officer on drugs. Crazy world...

SummaryFirst book of the Hercules trilogy by Swedish duo Mons Kallentoft and Markus Lutteman.2014, Stockholm. Sukayana Prikon, owner of a dodgy Thai massage establishment, wakes up to find a desperate text message on her phone 'Help us he kill all'. She rushes to work only to discover four massacred bodies. Police officer, Zack Herry, and his partner Deniz Akin are on the case. Unfortunately, Zack's painful childhood memories resurface during the investigation. He normally suppresses these with

I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway. this is the first book I've read by the author.I enjoyed this book. the pace and characters were very good. the main character is a bit of a pain in the ass but by the end I was hoping for another book featuring him. as with many books set in other countries it was a little disorienting to names and term that don't translate. unlike many of the other books, set in other countries, this one was easy to relate to culturally. I look forward to reading more b...

A real thriller that takes place in Sweden. Much like the old Micky Spillane and others that I remember pulling no punches back in the 40's, involving die hard gangsters. Zack is a believable character; a white knight with his own problems and vices. Likewise for the plot, with asian women being "used" in massage parlors, etc. Of course, being in the US, I know nothing about the towns and other locations that he mentions in Sweden, but that doesn't make any difference in the action. Once I got i...