Die for Me (Axel Steen #2) by Jesper Stein
Genre: Crime fiction, police procedural, Scandi-noir
Read: 30th March 2020
Purchase: Amazon
(publication date: 23rd January 2020)
★ 1 star
The premise for DIE FOR ME indeed sounded promising but I don't know if something is lost in the translation or I was just frustrated with the politics and the depressing narrative by the main character, Axel Steen, because it just grated on me. The most exciting thing was the Prologue. Then came the police politics, the morose monloguing by Axel, his getting stoned on his days off, the ex-wife now shacked up with his boss...I just lost patience with it.
It begins with a missing young girl's body found in the lake in Orsted Park. It is clearly a homicide but it's one that remains unsolved leaving DCI Axel Steen both unsettled and haunted for years to come. But now a DNA match discovered on a sexual assault victim matches one found on an item belonging to the cold case victim. Axel begins investigating the new rape case and discovers there is a predator preying on young women in Copenhagen.
Had that remained the focus of the story, I may have enjoyed it far more, but as it was the back stabbing of police politics, the ex-wife now hooked up with Axel's boss, the annoying bits that just took away from the actual story...just ruined it for me. I didn't like his ex-wife Cecilie nor her lover, Deputy Commissioner Jens Jessen. I didn't want police politics, I didn't want morose monologuing as to where his life has gone wrong, I didn't want stoned sex with various women, I didn't want back stabbing or nastiness. I wanted a good solid crime thriller that gave us a look at both sides of the coin. I didn't get it. And if it was there, I must have missed it.
A police procedural that is dark and gritty, DIE FOR ME may not be for everyone due to its subject matter. For some, the topic of violent sexual assault and rape may be a little difficult to read.
I couldn't warm to Axel. But then I couldn't warm to any of the characters. He could be a competent detective but he just goes about things in an arse about way and added to that is his drug habit, not to mention his depressing monologue which were at times just a little too much.
I used to really enjoy Scandi crime, but in the last couple of years I have found them to be far too convoluted with totally flawed and unlikable characters. Maybe I have had my fill of flawed characters that it just grates on me every time I come across one now. The world is depressing enough these days, I don't need a depressing main character to make my reads far from enjoyable.
While I didn't enjoy DIE FOR ME, many have done so. So maybe it's just me. It is a chilling read in parts but overall, not for me. However, don't take my word for it as others have thoroughly enjoyed it. You never know, you just may too
I would like to thank #JesperStein, #NetGalley and #MirrorBooks for an ARC of #DieForMe in exchange for an honest review.
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