The Sandman

"Even though Jurek Walter has committed the most heinous crimes of any serial killer in Swedish history, he is completely unknown to the public. The proceedings against him in the Central Court House and at the Court of Appeal were held behind closed doors, and all the files are strictly confidential." Detective Inspector Joona Linna is determined to find The Sandman who held a young boy and his sister captive for 13 years, and the serial killer, Jurek Walter, locked away in a mental institution with no physical contact with other people holds the secret.  The young boy, now a young man, has escaped the elusive Sandman and tells a terrifying tale of terror and suffering beyond all comprehension.  The boy's sister is still a captive, and Jinna must find her before it's too late.  In order to get Jurek Walter to talk, Linna elicits Inspector Saga Bauer's help to be part of a risky undercover operation posing as a mental patient and getting Walter to tell her the place where the missing girl is being held captive. First of all, though this is book 4 in the series, it reads well as a standalone.  Secondly, this edge-of-the-seat thriller had me thoroughly engaged in the characters and wanting--no, needing--to read the other books in the series.  The character development is so intricate from Joona Linna, who sacrifices everything, including his family, in order to stop a psychopath, and Saga Bauer who risks her life to find a missing girl, to Anders Rönn, sadist psychiatrist, who wields his power over patients, and Jurek Walters, calculating sociopath, who is waiting for his day of revenge.  If you like gripping and deeply engaging thrillers with bone-chilling characters and surprise endings, pick up this book.  In fact, follow me to the bookstore to pick up the series.