According to Jewish legend, there are 36 righteous people on Earth at any given time. Without them, humanity would perish. But the 36 do not know they are the chosen ones, and many are dying. A monk in Beijing, an economist in Mumbai, a glassmaker in Venice and more have all perished under bizarre circumstances, with strange marks on their backs.
Veteran Danish detective Niels Bentzon is called to investigate. He’s ready to dismiss the assignment—but then he meets Hannah, a brilliant astrophysicist mourning the death of her son. Together, they piece together the puzzle of these far-flung deaths, and a pattern emerges. Thirty-four have died, and only Bentzon and Hannah can predict the time and place of the final two.
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"Received this as an ARC from the publisher. The author A.J. Kazinski is a pseudonym for Anders Ronnow Klarlund and Jacob Weinreich. This is an excellent thriller. Some of the "chapters" are only one page long, and yet they still leave you hanging at the end of that one page, just as they do for the longer chapters----I loved it. I like books that make me read faster toward the end. This book had me "speedreading" all the way through. Based on the Jewish legend of 36 righteous people on Earth being the saviors of mankind, this book is hard to put down. And the surprise ending will keep you guessing. One of the best books I've read in many years."
— David (5 out of 5 stars)
" This was quite simply an EXCELLENT book! I loved the authors's frank style. My jaw was literally sore as I approached the end due to the momentum, I was so tense and on edge. Ha! The "makes you wonder" premise of this book always makes for a good read for me. I highly recommend this for anyone's "to read" list. "
— Mary, 2/5/2014" I found this book even more intriguing when I found out that the theory of the 36 righteous men is infact belived to be true amongst the Yiddish/Jewish religion. Good Read. "
— Steve, 1/21/2014" why do these awesome scandinavians (in this case danish) authors have such "esoteric" answers??? "
— Magutheia, 1/20/2014" I really enjoyed the audio version of this book. The narrator had a wonderful voice and the characters certainly came to life. I believe this is a translation but has none of the stilted feeling that translations sometimes have to overcome. The plot is intriguing and for the most part fast-paced, although I would have liked a bit more of an explanation at the end. It was satisfying, but only to a point. That said, I would recommend it to anyone who likes a thriller/mystery with a supernatural or speculative edge. Very enjoyable! "
— Sherry, 1/10/2014" an interesting topic, good and well structured characters, but an end in disagreement with the pace of the story "
— Sergio, 1/9/2014" Complex characters, thrilling plot, and a supernatural twist. Satisfying read. "
— Heather, 1/9/2014" The book started off well with a well researched premise. However, it moved on to endless chases that did nothing to the plot and the ending was anti-climatic with no real conclusion. Best avoided. "
— William, 12/12/2013" This book didn't know whether it was about terrorism, climate control or religion. Very disapointing "
— Lavinia, 12/5/2013" Interesting idea; great writing. "
— Kirsty, 12/4/2013" Disappointed in that this is billed as a thriller. Interesting plot and characters but sort of lost steam about 2/3 of the way in. I finished it and am happy I didn't purchase it. "
— Connie, 5/30/2013" Loved this. It was almost divincicode-esc. Would love to see this as a movie. "
— Lucia, 4/12/2013" This was an interesting premise for a thriller, written in a Dan Brown kind of way. Character development was pretty good and the plot was interesting. I thought it fell down at the end a bit, but won't say why because it's a spoiler. Let's just say I never understood that part of the Bible anyway. "
— April, 4/11/2013" Started out well but just ended up a pile of drivel much like the The Girl with the Dragon Tatoo seris. "
— Quinnwilliam99, 3/22/2013" Mystery and suspense that keeps you glued to the book, it would make a great movie, to be honest I was not familiar with the author/s, so I was a bit hesitant, but it is a great story I'm glad to have read it. "
— Niv, 2/1/2013" More of a 2.5, I'm feeling generous right now but may change the rating later. Decent but ultimately not very memorable thriller, though it does have interesting and not-completely-flat characters. Liked the first half a lot better than the second half, to be honest. "
— Katharina, 1/10/2013" Recommended to me by a friend. Quite an interesting read. "
— Mirjam, 7/20/2012" Subtle racism and sexism! Mildly insulting. "
— Gina, 6/6/2012" I thought the first half of this book was really exciting and well written. I couldn't put it down during that time. Then it seemed the author had a hard time wrapping it up. It was still a good read but not one of my favorites. "
— Angie, 5/21/2012" Had to give up on this one. Too much jumping around to different points of view, and too many of what seemed to be extraneous details. I just couldn't maintain my interest. The final straw was the jump into what appeared to be the villain's point of view, and attempt to make him sympathetic. "
— Neil, 2/16/2012A. J. Kazinski is the pseudonym of Anders Rønnow Klarlund and Jacob Weinreich. Klarlund is a self-taught director and screenwriter whose 1999 film The Possessed caught the attention of Weinreich, who approached Klarlund with an idea for collaboration. Weinreich, a graduate of the National Film School of Denmark, is a screenwriter and novelist. He has published three novels for adults and more than twenty books for young adults. Both men live in Copenhagen with their families.
Simon Vance (a.k.a. Robert Whitfield) is an award-winning actor and narrator. He has earned more than fifty Earphones Awards and won the prestigious Audie Award for best narration thirteen times. He was named Booklist’s very first Voice of Choice in 2008 and has been named an AudioFile Golden Voice as well as an AudioFile Best Voice of 2009. He has narrated more than eight hundred audiobooks over almost thirty years, beginning when he was a radio newsreader for the BBC in London. He is also an actor who has appeared on both stage and television.