The Wolf and the Watchman

The Wolf and the Watchman took me by surprise. I don’t usually fall for historical crime/mystery fiction (the story is set in 1793, in Sweden). However, this novel grabbed me immediately and didn’t let go.

The Wolf and the Watchman delivers a captivating whodunit with literary flare. The plotline is utterly convincing. The descriptions are lyrical yet on point. You get a heartrending page-turner peopled by characters you won’t forget, driven by motivations as dark as a Stockholm winter night.

As for the whodunit angle, the twists and red herrings will hook even the most exacting mystery lover.

There are so few novels in English that explore Gustavian Stockholm, and this is a thrilling page-turner set in 1793 that explores the dark side of the capital city one year after the assassination of King Gustav III. Mikel Cardell, a watchman with a brutal past in the army, and Cecil Winge, an investigator who is hovering near death himself, team up to find the perpetrator of a heinous murder. Author Niklas Natt och Dag (translates to Night and Day — an old aristocratic name) has written a story steeped in graphic, gory period detail and authentic atmosphere.