The Nightmare

The Nightmare
Lars Kepler

From the bestselling author of The Hypnotist and Stalker comes the second high-octane thriller featuring Detective Inspector Joona LinnaHe is an artist in terrorThe lifeless body of a young woman is discovered on an abandoned boat. A man is found hanging alone in his apartment.This is his masterpieceShould the deaths be treated as suicide or murder? Four people know the answer. But a killer wants them dead.And only one man can destroy itCan Detective Inspector Joona Linna keep them alive long enough to find out the truth?

THE NIGHTMARE

LARS KEPLER

Translated from the Swedish by Neil Smith

This is entirely a work of fiction. Any references to real people, living or dead, real events, businesses, organizations and localities are intended only to give the fiction a sense of reality and authenticity. All names, characters and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and their resemblance, if any, to real-life counterparts is entirely coincidental.

HarperCollinsPublishers

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London SE1 9GF

www.harpercollins.co.uk (http://www.harpercollins.co.uk)

First published in Great Britain by HarperCollinsPublishers 2012

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Copyright © Lars Kepler 2010

Translation copyright © Neil Smith 2018

All rights reserved

Originally published in 2010 by Albert Bonniers Förlag, Sweden, as Paganinikontraktet

Lars Kepler asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work

Cover design by Claire Ward © HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 2018

Cover photography © Jill Battaglia/Trevillion Images

Grateful acknowledgement is made for permission to reprint excerpts from the following previously published material: ‘Starman,’ ‘Life on Mars,’ and ‘Ziggy Stardust,’ written by David Bowie, reprinted by permission of Hal Leonard Corporation and Tintoretto Music admin. By RZO Music, Inc.; Pablo Neruda, ‘Soneto XLV,’ Cien sonetos de amor, © Fundación Pablo Neruda, 2012

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books

Ebook Edition © APRIL 2018 ISBN: 9780007488087

SOURCE ISBN: 9780008241827

Version: 2018-02-22

International Praise for Lars Kepler: (#u676fc43b-501e-579e-87a2-8462c9c6b225)

‘A terrifying and original read’ Sun

‘A rollercoaster ride of a thriller full of striking twists’ Mail on Sunday

‘Sensational’ Lee Child

‘An international book written for an international audience’ Huffington Post

‘Ferocious, visceral storytelling that wraps you in a cloak of darkness. It’s stunning’ Daily Mail

‘One of the best – if not the best – Scandinavian crime thrillers I’ve read’ Sam Baker, Red

‘A creepy and compulsive crime thriller’ Mo Hayder

‘Intelligent, original and chilling’ Simon Beckett

‘Mesmerizing … a bad dream that takes hold and won’t let go’ Wall Street Journal

‘One of the most hair-raising crime novels published this year’ Sunday Times

‘Grips you round the throat until the final twist’ Woman & Home

‘A serious, disturbing, highly readable novel that is finally a meditation on evil’ Washington Post

‘A genuine chiller … deeply scarifying stuff’ Independent

‘Far above your average thriller … you’ll be terrified’ Evening Standard

‘A pulse-pounding debut that is already a native smash’ Financial Times

‘The cracking pace and absorbing story mean it cannot be missed’ Courier Mail

‘Utterly outstanding’ Morgenavisen Jyllands-Posten, Denmark

‘Disturbing, dark and twisted’ Easy Living

‘Creepy and addictive’ She

‘Brilliant, well written and very satisfying. A superb thriller’ De Telegraaf, Netherlands

Table of Contents

Cover (#uf556e2f3-ca44-5149-b2da-ea85fce40e7e)

Title Page (#u84fcc677-47cd-58d9-9308-fa069ad7d5f4)

Copyright (#u571d467a-c0af-5255-a116-9fc8d9fd4a63)

International Praise for Lars Kepler: (#u283f536c-5eda-59d4-ac4b-08e244f729f3)

Preface (#uaf6f13fa-1a4c-546b-92c6-e0027a564028)

Chapter 1: A premonition (#ud1665107-77a9-5dc8-912c-a9403c128d36)

Chapter 2: The pursuer (#ua045ed03-e5d5-5697-9cd6-4e3948c1999e)

Chapter 3: A boat is left adrift in Jungfrufjärden (#ubfcf0384-d1dc-5fff-9d61-a6c5a741a1af)

Chapter 4: The floating man (#uab514b77-75c4-5ef7-a7ba-0b022e09c794)

Chapter 5: National Homicide Commission (#ubd6854ac-c62d-58a4-9baf-3801062774eb)

Chapter 6: How death came (#ufc6259ba-1437-5c94-8d5d-5e4ca4de3ca3)

Chapter 7: Helpful people (#u341208d5-75c0-51ce-9650-fdb957f2cb2d)

Chapter 8: Nils Åhlén (#u456d499e-d4e3-5c22-929e-6322526495ec)