The Boy in The Headlights by Samuel Bjork

Author  : Samuel Bjork
Title : The Boy In The Headlights
Published : 2018
Publisher : Corgi
Pages : 384
Genre : Crime Thriller

     Winter 1996. An old man is driving home when his headlights catch an animal on the empty road up ahead. He stamps hard on the brakes. But it is not an animal at all. It is a young boy, frightened and alone, with a set of deer antlers strapped firmly to his head. Fourteen years later, a body is found in a mountain lake. Within weeks, three people have died. Each time, the killer has left a clue, inviting Special Investigations Detectives Munch and Kruger to play a deadly game - a game they cannot possibly win. Against the most dangerous and terrifying kind of serial killer. One who chooses their victims completely at random. To find the killer they must look deep within their own dark pasts, but how can you stop a murderer when you cannot begin to predict their next move?

     Some times you just have to go back to what you know. In this case, it was back to the fantastic work of Samul Bjork. Last year I devoured the first to in the series with a child-like glee. I think there will always be something that brings me back to Scandi Noir as a genre. Yes, you do kind of know what your getting but for me, I don't think there is anything wrong with that. Like I have said before its akin to putting on your favorite old jumper. you know where you stand with it but it still images to keep your interest from the first page to the last. 

     Having spent a good deal of time in the company of Munch and Kruger I feel like I have come to know them fairly well. but just like anyone you know that can still surprise you from time to time. As is the case with The Boy in The Headlights, apparently you can teach an old dog new tricks. I still enjoy the time I spend with these two and hope that there will be more to come. The author has built them up through the course of these books into something that to me feels very real, the way they move and interact with each other is very natural for two people who have known each other for a long time. In my head, I can know how each of them would react to a situation, and in the course of this book, they never felt like they stepped away from that. As with such books, we also get the mastermind behind these dastardly crimes. To me this time around they felt a lot more based in the real world their motives are believable. Which is not to say that you would want to sympathize with them on any level. Rather that we have seen such thing on some level play out in the real world. 

     It comes as no surprise that once again I have really enjoyed the latest book in this series. Bjork always keeps me on my toes as his villains and heroes battle it out in a game of witts. I would say that this book is never a full-blown police procedural novel. He takes liberty's in the name of building a better story. Each element constantly building on the last, the man really knows how to ramp up the tension. Every little clue is strategically placed for the observant reader to pick up. I enjoy having to work for my final outcome and to me, Bjork manages to do this every time for me. Whilst we do have our main story to follow he is also dealing with the many strands from the previous novels that need to be dealt with. From my point of view, I would say that if you haven't already read the first two book it would be vastly beneficial to start there before dig into this one ascertain information would work as major spoilers in your enjoyment if you went to them afterward. 

     I could sing the praises of this book for many a good hour given the chance, but I would only end up giving things away and deducting from the enjoyment I hope you will have in reading this book. He has once again captured everything I love about this genre of book and sprinkled on top a few surprises and twist to keep it interesting to those who have read a great deal of Scandi Noir. So if you are going to delve into this one or go back to the beginning I'm sure you will love every minute of it.