Above: Walnut man (Mississippi version of a chestnut man)…a gift from bookclub 😀
Ok…so if you have been reading my blogs, you know that experimenting with new recipes just has not been a priority since school started. Although I really wanted to try Hønsekødssuppe (Danish chicken soup), I was exhausted from not only driving back from Memphis from seeing Hamilton (whoop whoop) but also busy putting the living room back together after being in disarray for three years while awaiting the finish of a major construction project at our house. Anyhoo… I made homemade chicken noodle soup which is VERY SIMILAR to Danish chicken soup. This Danish chicken soup recipe (click for a recipe) is basically chicken noodle soup but substitute pork instead of chicken and substitute dumplings instead of noodles. It’s sort of a mix between chicken and dumplings and chicken noodle soup. If you are looking for a great homemade chicken noodle soup, this is the one I use: recipe.
To the book…
Synopsis:
If you find one, he’s already found you ….
A psychopath is terrorizing Copenhagen.
His calling card is a “chestnut man”—a handmade doll made of matchsticks and two chestnuts—which he leaves at each bloody crime scene.
Examining the dolls, forensics makes a shocking discovery—a fingerprint belonging to a young girl, a government minister’s daughter who had been kidnapped and murdered a year ago.
A tragic coincidence—or something more twisted?
To save innocent lives, a pair of detectives must put aside their differences to piece together the Chestnut Man’s gruesome clues.
Because it’s clear that the madman is on a mission that is far from over.
And no one is safe.
I LOVED this book! Loved, loved! It may not be for everyone, though. You have to like thriller books (mystery, criminal psychotics, etc.). There is a Netflix series but the book is way better than the series. I also think the series did not do the ending (like, “the last page of the novel” ending) very well.
I think a great discussion point you can think about is nature versus nurture – are psychopaths born evil and demented or does their environment (or event in environment) “create” a psychopath? This has been a thought I reflect on a lot when I consider various situations (abusive homes, serial killers, etc.).
Anyhoo… short, sweet, and to the point…if you decide to start this book, make sure you have plenty of time available because you are not going to want to put it down. Happy reading!
