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The Tunnel (Danny Katz – 2) by Carl-Johan Vallgren

Once a promising military intelligence officer and high-functioning heroin addict, Danny Katz now uses his gifts as a linguist and computer programmer in his work as a private investigator. His drug habit ultimately derailed his earlier career, but now he is clean—and self-employed. In short, Katz is used to his fair share of suffering and all too familiar with Stockholm’s seedy underbelly.

When his former drug dealer, Ramón, dies from an apparent overdose and Ramón’s girlfriend, Jenny, disappears without a trace, Katz suspects that something is amiss. He decides to investigate, enlisting the help of prosecutor Eva Westin (another ex-junkie from his past) to find the missing young woman. It isn’t long before the line between Katz’s current and former lives begins to blur, raising many questions about his own troubled youth.

Katz’s inquiries lead him to the darkest corners of Stockholm’s black market, including its porn industry, and he quickly finds his old addiction threatening to reassert its grip on his life. It also becomes clear that someone is willing to do whatever it takes to keep him from discovering the answers to his questions. Will Katz be able to master his personal demons and discover the truth behind Ramón’s death and Jenny’s disappearance before the city’s netherworld once again claims him as its own?

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Author’s Bio

Carl-Johan Vallgren is one of Sweden’s most loved writers. He has been awarded the Swedish August Prize for Best Novel of the Year, and has been translated into 25 languages. He’s also a talented musician with Warner Music.

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My Review

4 stars

Katz, Jorma, and Eva have known each other since they were homeless teenagers living on the streets of Stockholm. But time moves on and they have all grown. Katz is now a private investigator and is on the hunt for his old drug dealer. But the investigation leads him to the porn industry.

Eva has become a prosecutor and is now looking into how the mafia is laundering their money in Stockholm. And then there is Jorma, not liking the clean path, when he is approached about a robbery he jumps at the opportunity, but the robbery goes wrong and he is left injured and on the hunt by the police.

This book has a little bit of everything in it: drugs, sex, violence, and so much more. Katz is still fighting his drug addiction 10 years later. He is also trying to learn more about his Jewish father. Eva is trying to be a good mother but suffers from sex addiction. And although everything is separate, the more Katz digs the more it really all links together. I loved the dark, gritty world we find ourselves in. It’s not pretty by any means. But this is what you expect from Scandinavian noir. It dirty, ugly, and horrible but it rings true.

This is a great story and my first book of Carl-Johan Vallgren’s. It was not hard to read it as a standalone book but I do have the feeling that if you read The Boy in the Shadows first some of the small background would have made more sense.

Over all this is a great book and one I recommend for anyone that likes Scandinavian noir or dark and gritty thrillers.

I received The Tunnel from Quercus for free. This has in no way influenced my opinion of this book.