Davidsstjärnor (Fredrika Bergman \u0026 Alex Recht #5) by Kristina Ohlsson

Davidsstjärnor (Fredrika Bergman \u0026 Alex Recht #5) Reviews

• 
  Maya

  ARC received in exchange for an honest review.
  
  
  
  This is my first read by this author and I'm so happy I found her! The best thing ever! This story, I still can't fully comprehend what just happened. Wow, I feel like I've just re-lived what each character in this book went through and it's A LOT! The story and plot are so complex, interesting and just a lot to take in. You have one plot and that is to find the killer (or possible killers) but the way the story unfolds is very fascinating, at least to me. So many twists I didn't see coming. You see the story progress through each more importand character, that leaves another clue of who the killer is and what happened in the past that lead to this event in the present. Just the efford and brilliance of the writer to make this puzzle and then pull off the conclusion, that is mindblowing btw, is just amazing! As a person who studies law, I fell completely in love with this story. It shows you the way the police thinks, the way the killer(s) thinks, the way the victims and their families think...wow! Absolutely love it! Also, if you want a HEA, forget it! We Europeans do things differently. We tell a story that hurts the most but also stays in your memory for a really lng time. Yes, there might be a smal HEA but I still believe that the tragic story overshadows that by a lot. Also, when you've finished the story, I hope you take a minute and wonder what lead to that critial point that took so many lives. Because the story has a strong message that shouldn't be ignored! These are themes that might lead to discomfort of some readers but that's exctly the point of the book. Just take a chance and read it! What a brilliant writer!
  
  
• 
  İntellecta

  "Man durfte über Kinder keine bösen Gedanken hegen, denn schließlich hatten sie sich noch nicht zu fertigen Persönlichkeiten entwickelt."
  Seite 103
• 
  Fred Shaw

  The Chosen by Kristina Ohlsson, narrated by Justine Eyre, a Dreamscape Audio production., and number 5 in a series. The story takes place in Stockholm, current day, as 2 10 yr. old boys go missing and an elementary school teacher is murdered, both occurring on the same day and all victims from the same Jewish community. Protagonists Alex Recht and Fredericka Bergman, Stockholm police officers, are tasked to find the kidnappers and killer and determine if the incidents are related.
  
  I chose this book, written by a Swedish author, because i enjoyed The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo series so much also by a Swedish author. I had hopes this would be as good. The Chosen is good, and I recommend it because of the intricate plot, the international flavor, a little espionage thrown in and the great characters. There are so many twists and turns that there was no way I could figure out who shot whom, much less predict the ending which was a complete surprise. I LOVE SURPRISES!
  
  Enjoy!
• 
  CL

  A pre-school teacher is shot and two boys are missing all from the Jewish community and all with in hours of each other. Are the two incidents related or is it just coincidence. Fredrika Bergman and Alex Recht are only a two man/woman team and they are tasked to investigate these crimes but when it appears the teacher's death is unrelated to the boy's disappearance the crime is assigned to another team. As they continue to investigate it seems more and more as if the two cases may be related. An ex-team member has been assigned as head of security at the Jewish school and now he has tips and insites that may help them solve these crimes. Great read. I would like to thank the Publisher and Net Galley for the chance to read this ARC.
• 
  Cortney LaScola Hornyak - The Bookworm Myrtle Beach

  I loved the first 3 books in this series, but was not a fan of #4, so this one has been sitting on my shelf for years.
  
  I'm so glad I finally picked it up! Even though it was repetitive at times, I still really enjoyed it. It was nice to be back with Fredrika and Alex again
• 
  Karen

  The Chosen by Kristina Ohlsson
  I would like to thank Net Galley, Kristina Ohlsson and Simon & Schuster publisher for providing me with my advanced readers copy in exchange for a fair and honest review.
  
  This novel was translated by Marlaine Delargy who did an amazing job with the prose. The author, Kristina Ohlsson lives in Stockholm, Sweden, although she wrote the book in Jerusalem. To give the vast background of the author she is a political scientist. She previously worked as a counterterrorism officer at the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe. (OSCE). Some of the jobs she has held were at the Swedish Security Service, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs. She was also a junior expert on the Middle East conflict the foreign policy of the European Union at the Swedish National Defense. All of the experience she had brought authenticity to her international writing especially this book.
  
  The setting for the most part takes place in Stockholm, Sweden. It also takes place in Jerusalem and London. One of the characters who is integral in this story is a Mossad Israel agent. Kristina Ohlsson has been compared to Joe Nesbo. All of her past experience makes her international writing especially intriguing.
  
  Since this is a translation I don't know who would get credit for the sparkling prose, the author or the translator. Maybe the credit belongs to both. The writing flows smoothly and naturally. Their are many characters, but they are easy to keep track of them.
  
  The novel takes off fast with a shooting of a teacher at a Jewish community center. Then immediately following that incident two ten year old boys get abducted and are brutally shot and murdered and the killer leaves his calling card which is a brown paper bag with a face drawn on each one for all three murders. Are they hate crimes or a more personal act of vengeance? Who would perpetrate such brutally acts of violence? There is a myth about a killer called "the paper boy" who seeks to abduct young children and murder them. This kind of crime or thriller is not for the faint hearted people. The subject matter is actually quite disturbing. The plot is the investigation into whom is responsible for these three incomprehensible deaths. The complexity of the many different branches of agencies that handle this type of investigation is interesting. It is revealed to the reader early who is responsible for the crimes, while the two chief investigators named Alex and Fredricka try to understand the many false leads.
  
  This is a suspense driven mystery and thriller which is compulsively readable. This is truly a page turner. It kept me up all night while I was reading it. Even though as I mentioned the reveal of who murdered them is early in the novel, there are many more surprises that propels the narrative forward at a fast pace. The descriptions of the freezing temperatures and the freshly fallen snow, with the rays of sunshine are so beautifully described, it was visually stunning and pure as if I saw it with my own eyes. The many characters are fully developed. There are many characters but they are easy to keep track of.
  
  This is a unique story with international settings. There are multicultural layered characters. It was interesting and a novel that I couldn't stop reading until I got to the end. I would highly recommend this book to lovers of thrillers and mysteries who enjoy international places with complex but easy to follow characters.
• 
  Kelly

  “Davidsster” - Kristina Ohlsson
  ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
  
  Amai! Wat een boek! 🤭😍
  In het begin vrij moeilijk in te komen. Het verhaal speelt zich af in Stockholm in een Joodse gemeenschap.
  
  Het begin is vrij verwarrend doordat de moord door verschillende partijen wordt onderzocht én zij gelijktijdig tot verschillende inzichten komt. Zodat je telkens twijfelt bij welke hypothese nu de juiste zou kunnen zijn. Maar dit zorgde er net voor dat ik bleef doorlezen.
  
  Het einde?! 😱
  Volledig onverwacht, verrassend, hoopvol en droevig tegelijkertijd. Meer kan ik niet zeggen zonder spoilen... 🤭
• 
  Ken Fredette

  I like the way that Kristina Ohlsson keeps you informed but has Fredrika and Alex always guessing. It keeps you in the know while her characters are always guessing whats happening. They come close to what really happens but they will never know the truth. You didn't know the truth until the last few chapters. It was a good read and I would recommend it to my readers.
• 
  Susanne

  The Chosen by Kristina Ohlsson is a mystery novel with recurring characters of Alex Recht, Fredrika Bergman and Peder. Alex and Frederika are detectives with the Stockholm police who are called in to investigate the murder of a teacher at the Solomon Community. Immediately after the initial crime, a subsequent kidnapping and murder of two children who are students at the Solomon Community, occurs. Alex and Fredrika take over the investigation. Peder, a former detective on their team, becomes a security officer for the Solomon Community and works with Alex and Fredrika to solve both crimes. In this way, Peder learns that he misses being a detective and most of all, working with Alex and Fredrika.
  
  While there are many twists and turns in this mystery, and it was fast-paced enough to hold my attention, much of the story itself was unnecessary. That said, having the team back together again was wonderful. I look forward to another novel in the series and potentially having Peder back on the force.
  
  Thank you to NetGalley, Atria Books and Kristina Ohlsson for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.
  
  Published on NetGalley, Goodreads and Amazon on 12/24/16.
  
  
• 
  Elvan

  Fear came with the darkness.
  
  This opening line sets the tone for all that follows, in this case a well thought out complex thriller written by Kristina Ohlsson. As the blurb states, a schoolteacher in a Jewish community in Stockholm gets shot on the same day two ten year old boys go missing, all during a snowstorm which envelops the city. Detectives Alex Recht and Fredrika Bergman are tasked with solving what might be a random murder and kidnapping or something far more sinister.
  
  This is the fifth novel in the series but my first read of this author. Events from past novels are mentioned and it is clear that these two along with the new chief of security for the Solomon Community, Peder Rydh have been through a lot together. Rather than a distraction, the mentions of previous cases whet my appetite and I look forward to reading more of Ms Ohlsson's novels.
  
  This story was slow to develop with limited clues and leads to follow for the detectives. When an alphabet soup of agencies including the Israeli Mossad, MI5 and the Swedish Sapo get involved it becomes clear that there is more to this murder than the the investigating officers are being told. As readers, we often know more than Alex and Fredrika. They stumble about in the snow trying to sort out the bits of information they obtain from unwilling witnesses while we sit back hoping they will make the connections we have already made. The pacing of this almost 600 page novel may be slow but the rewards in the final reveals are worth the effort.
  
  I also enjoyed the way this novel is organized. Following the preface the author inserts a fragment of the conclusion. It is such a tease, like taking a peek at the last pages which is something I never do. A few tidbits of information are tossed out forcing you to guess who is involved at the end of the novel while you work through what is going on in the present. A mystery within a mystery.
  
  Stieg Larsson might be the best know Swedish writer in this genre on this side of the pond but the author of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo has good company with Ohlsson's The Chosen.
  
  ARC received with thanks from the publisher via NetGalley for review.
  
• 
  Mainlinebooker

  Personally, I don't know how anyone could give less than five stars to this terrific novel. It had more twists,turns and zigzags than a roller coaster.
  When a schoolteacher is shot at a Jewish congregation in Stockholm, shockwaves went through the community. A few hours later two Jewish boys were abducted. Fredrika Bergman and police superintendent Alex Recht then begin a hunt to ascertain who could be the killer. Were the two crimes connected ? Suddenly the intrusion of an Israeli myth about The Paper Boy gets injected into the mystery bringing the investigation to a whole new level. You have to read this book to find out the incredible plotting and conclusion. I plan on downloading all of her other four books right now. Don't miss this one!
  It's a true winner!
• 
  Amanda Jane

  Review to come...
• 
  Gisela Hafezparast

  Best in series, read it in one long sitting. Real page turner.
• 
  Sheila Beaumont

  In just a few weeks, I've read all five of this first-rate Swedish author's books, and this is the best of them all. And the most suspenseful. The very complex story is fascinating, with many twists and a wide variety of interesting, well-drawn characters, yet it's easy to follow and never confusing.
  
  The novel starts off with a fatal shooting at the Solomon Community, a Jewish congregation in Stockholm. Then two 10-year-old boys who belong to the community are abducted on their way to tennis practice and murdered. Also involved in the story is an Israeli mythical killer of children called the Paper Boy.
  
  It's a beautifully written (and well translated) page-turner that's so readable it's nearly impossible to put down. It's a good idea to read the five books in series order, as there are many changes in the regular characters' lives. And when you read this book, don't neglect to read the author's Afterword and Acknowledgments at the end.
• 
  Deborah

  This was the first I've read in this series and I very much enjoyed it. The murder of a teacher and (subsequently) two young boys from the same school seems far from coincidental. And of course it isn't. But the case at hand is complex and Ohlsson delves into national security, terrorism and religion. And there's the underlying theme of a terrifying mythical figure added into the mix.
  
  I realise I'd missed quite a bit of backstory, but it made no difference. I probably didn't identify with the key players (Frederika, Alex and disgraced former detective Peder) as much as regulars of the series however they're obviously all quite developed (and mostly likeable) characters.
  
  We're given obvious hints as to the 'baddie' early on but not exactly sure what it is they've done or why... and of course there complicating factors to keep us guessing.
  
  An enjoyable read and an easy 3 stars.
• 
  Monika

  Jag har läst alla de tidigare böckerna om Fredrika Bergman och gillat dem och till skillnad från de flesta, känns det som, så älskade jag Paradisoffer. Läs mer på
  http://bokslut.blogspot.se/2015/07/da...
• 
  Kathy Sales

  I love this series with the protagonist Frederika Bergman. This is an excellent book in an excellent series.
• 
  Elza (Elzasbokhylla)

  
  Här kan du läsa flera recensioner från mig =)
  
  3,5
  
  I femte boken om Fredrika Bergman och Alex Recht skriver Kristina Ohlsson om en gammal israelisk legend, Papperspojken som får liv om natten. Han kommer med mörkret och rövar bort barn. Idag är det inte många som minns legenden. Men så skjuts en förskolelärare på Judiska Församlingen till döds och bara några timmar senare försvinner två judiska pojkar.
  
  Precis som i de andra böckerna kastar Ohlsson in oss läsare i ett fall som i början är förvirrande men som sakta klarnar upp. Den här historien är invecklad och Ohlsson väver in politik och historia på ett skickligt sätt. Styrkan i berättelsen ligger i just att fallet de ska lösa är invecklad och tar poliserna överallt i världen. Det gör det svårt för mig som läsare att se vem som ligger bakom morden vilket gjorde att jag satt på helspänn.
  Jag gillar både Alex Recht och Fredrika Bergman som karaktärer. Det är väldigt kul att få läsa hur deras samarbete och relation har utvecklats från första boken. Ohlsson välkomnar även tillbaka karaktärerna Eden Lundell och Peder Ryd vilket gör berättelsen ännu mer invecklad och intressant.
  
  Jag har bara positivt att säga om den här boken men om jag ska klaga på något är det att ibland känns berättelsen för långsökt. Det är något jag känner igen även i de andra böckerna i serien. Ohlsson drar iväg och det kan ibland kännas overkligt. Men samtidigt är det just det som också gör att hennes böcker är så spännande.
  
  Nu ser jag fram emot att få läsa den senaste boken i serien.
• 
  Madeleine Granath

  Handlingen är extremt intressant med flera perspektiv från både offer, polis och gärningsmän. Som läsare får man hela tiden veta saker som gör att man bara vill läsa mer. Det brott som hela boken handlar om är också kreativt, spännande och något som man som läsare aldrig skulle kunnat föreställa sig.
• 
  Purple Country Girl (Sandy)

  
  Thank you to Netgalley, Atria Books and Kristina Ohlsson for making an e-ARC of The Chosen available in exchange for an unbiased review.
  
  It’s been quite some time since I’ve read a Scandinavian crime novel and, after finishing The Chosen, I’m sure I’ll be reading a lot more of them. The Chosen is my first book by Kristina Ohlsson but it’s the fifth in a series featuring Stockholm detectives Fredrika Bergman and Alex Recht. I was a little wary of starting five books in because I generally prefer to start a series at the beginning but Ohlsson provides just enough back story to keep you from being lost. That said, major plot elements from previous books are mentioned so, if you like to read all of a series without surprises, I’d definitely recommend starting with the first book, Unwanted. If you just want a complex and intriguing read and don't really mind having spoilers on earlier plots, you can jump right in with The Chosen.
  
  The story begins with a preschool teacher having been shot to death outside the entrance of the Solomon Community, a Jewish association in Stockholm. All signs point to a sniper firing from across the street but most of the trace evidence has been destroyed by the near-blizzard conditions so the investigation is hampered from the start. The case is given to Alex Recht and Fredrika Bergman to investigate at first but when two young boys, students of this same school, are reported missing, they are eventually asked to focus on the children. The schoolteacher’s murder is handed off to another unit. As the two detectives start digging, they can’t help but speculate on whether or not there is a link between the two cases. And, they wonder if these are hate crimes because the victims are connected by a Jewish association, or is the motivation more personal? Recht and Bergman also have some assistance from a former colleague, Peder Rydh, who has just been hired as the head of security for the Solomon Community.
  
  The book is a police procedural but it feels very much like a spy thriller as well. There is a very sketchy Mossad agent with ties to the Solomon Community as well as to another central character, Eden Lundell, the head of Sapos’s (the Swedish Security Service) counter-terrorism unit who, in turn, has had ties to MI-5. Their tumultuous past is explored throughout the book. And, it’s pretty interesting, to say the least! There are several narratives and several locations involved from Stockholm to Jerusalem which add depth to the book. Sometimes I find multiple threads and narratives to be distracting but, in this instance, they brought a wonderful complexity to the story.
  
  The Chosen is rather difficult to review because it is so loaded that it’s hard to avoid spoilers. I was impressed with the way Ohlsson wove her story together. There are multiple investigations taking place by multiple characters and agencies. There is also an interesting bit of folklore running through the story: the tale of the Paper Boy who hates children and takes them at night. It’s a pretty creepy tale. It is introduced in the preface and keeps coming up in the investigation but is it just a bit of legend or is there really a Paper Boy? As if all that wasn’t enough, there are sections titled Fragment that offer clues to the conclusion. I had to stop myself from flipping ahead to discover how it all ended. Those really grab your attention and ratchet up the suspense several degrees.
  
  There is a lot going on in The Chosen and in some hands, this could have ended up a muddled mess but Ohlsson steers her story and characters expertly and brings the threads to a conclusion without any loose ends. I most definitely will be reading her again.
• 
  Gretel

  The Chosen, Ohlsson's fifth novel in the series, starts with the shooting of a nursery teacher and is closely followed by the disappearance of two young students after a tennis lesson. The shot teacher and the boys happen to belong to Stockholm's Jewish Solomon community, and at first it looks as if the crime and disappearances are down to anti-Semitism, but as Frederika Bergman and Alex Recht start to investigate and put the pieces together, the motives appear not to be so clear-cut.
  
  I enjoyed this book and find that Ohlsson is back to her high standards after the rather disappointing Hostage. It was good to come back to Frederika, Alex and even Peder, and it was good to notice the characters' growth throughout the series. Eden Lundell, part of Sapo, also weaves her way into the story and her own background I found was relevant and especially gripping to read about. The book is well-paced with enough twists and surprises to keep you engaged, and with the short chapters you'll find the book ending much sooner than you expected. In some places I found the Jewish community in Stockholm to be a little undeveloped, but I think this is down to Ohlsson admitting she made up the community, rather than writing about an existing community so to not cause confusion or offense. On reflection I remember some things that weren't resolved like who was in the car that took the two boys? And what really was the motive of the old Paper Boy, Saul's father? Why did he kill children?, but I still really enjoyed this book, and looking back this was one of the books I enjoyed most in 2015.
• 
  Charlene Intriago

  A teacher killed at a Jewish school in Stockholm and later that day two ten year old Jewish boys from the same school go missing and are found murdered. This happens just when the school is looking for a new head of security and has brought in a Mossad agent from Israel to help them find the best candidate. And, the boys, they are from families that left Israel ten years ago in search of a better life in Sweden. Is there a connection between their lives in Israel and the killings? Our two detectives have a case that seems impossible to solve because there are so many secrets that have been buried for years and no one is willing to tell the truth. And the clues, what little there are, lead in so many directions! This one takes Fredrika to Israel to find out if there is a connection while Alex stays in Sweden trying to make sense of it all. Lots of twists and turns in this one. Kristina Ohlsson has written the best in the Fredrika Bergman and Alex Recht series. Loved it!
• 
  Debbie

  4.5 stars
  Twists and turns galore,-another roller coaster ride. I can’t say enough about this excellent Swedish series. Intricate plots abound with wonderful characters. If you haven’t read any of this series, you should!
• 
  Amanda

  I found this book a disappointment compared to earlier in the series, especially the excellent Unwanted and Silenced.
  
  Unfortunately, the best word I can use to describe this book is dull. I have especially enjoyed the pacing in previous books- slowly building intrigue and tension. However, this one was equally slow, but nothing happened, and it never reached a crescendo. The fragments of the conclusion dispersed throughout the book are a redeeming feature; if not, it could have been even worse.
  
  I usually find Ohlsson's books have lovely details that create great character and relationship depth. I felt this was missing in this book, and even though it was regularly mentioned about the character's love for their spouses and children (which goes without saying?), there was not much below the surface to add to this. Because of this, the book did not evoke any emotions or empathy toward the characters from me.
  
  I also found that the Israel story did not appeal, and it was unnecessarily complicated in places. I will read the last in the series (The Flood) and hope that The Chosen was just not for me, rather than an indication that the series has run its course.
  
• 
  Carol - Reading Writing and Riesling

  My View:
  This is the 5th book in the series and I feel my reading experience would have benefited from reading the earlier books and therefore being more invested in the main characters relationships. Despite my lack of background this was an intriguing read; the political and social commentary was thought provoking and reflective of many recent worldwide events (no spoilers here).
  
  I really liked the clever use of the violin and superstition to add another layer of intrigue to this narrative – I was constantly revising who I thought the owner of the violin was – and was surprised by the final scenes this instrument was specific to. Likewise the story of The Paper Boy was equally fascinating – superstition, folk tale or truth? You will need to read the book yourself to find out :)
  
• 
  Thebooktrail

  I love a good Scandi thriller and this one set in Stockholm is jam packed full of intrigue and mystery. What starts off as a murder of two young boys turns into something of international importance. This case turns out to be an issue of national security, terrorism and religion. And that's not all.
  The Paper Boy—a mysterious old Israeli legend of a nighttime killer— was something I'd never come across before in a novel and this brought the novel to a new level to me. Chilling, brilliant and complex. There are twisty twists and pulsating plots which interweave, seemingly randomly,but which are actually threaded with skill so you don't see the overall pattern until the end.
  
  Another one for your Scandi TBR pile I think!
• 
  Marie Bergman

  I raced through this book like I was paid to do it. Twisty twists, good plot, characters that you don't want to kill off; I suggest you put this one in your beach bag and read it pronto!
• 
  Zelly

  Recension:
  ZellysBokhylla
  
• 
  Carolyn

  This is the first book I've read by this author and very much enjoyed it. Lots of twists and turns to keep the reader guessing. I will definitely read more by Ohlsson
• 
  Mario

  This is the fifth Kristina Ohlsson book involving Bergman and Recht that I have read and the series is one of my favourites.
  
  The Chosen has a similar style to the others with strong and complex relationships and conflicting emotions. Also like the others the book has at its heart a delicate and difficult subject that spills over into terrible consequences when the people concerned can’t cope with the situations that confront them.
  
  In this case the root of the story is in the conflict between Israel and Palestine and involves espionage and the secret services. Unfortunately this is a storyline that didn’t appeal to me at all, probably because it is so divorced from the everyday life of most people that I found it all rather unreal.
  
  I’m glad I read it and followed the evolving storyline of Fredrika and Alex’s lives and will read the last book to finish the series but I’m afraid this one just didn’t manage to draw me in like the others.