The Calendar Man

Dark Advent #1

by Christoffer Petersen

When a ritual murder is linked to a long-forgotten case, Greenland Police Commissioner Petra Jensen is forced out of retirement to catch a killer seeking revenge.

Following a period of compassionate leave, Petra Piitalaat Jensen is considering early retirement to work through the grief surrounding the loss of her partner. But when the frozen body of a young man is discovered several days before a referendum that will decide the future of Greenland, Greenland’s First Minister urges Petra to forgo retirement and investigate the case.

As the people of Nuuk lock their doors, and the voting booths are empty, Petra stretches the limited resources of the department and orders more police onto the streets in a desperate hunt for a killer determined to make this Christmas one to remember.

Set in Greenland, "The Calendar Man" twists Greenlandic politics, traditions and myths into a dark tale set in the darkest month of the year, in a frighteningly imaginable future. 

"The Calendar Man" is set many years after the events in the Greenland Crime series, but features several of the characters introduced in those books.

Inspired by the Scandinavian and Greenlandic tradition of Christmas Advent Calendars, "The Calendar Man" has 24 parts, one for each day in December, leading up to the conclusion on December 24th, Christmas Eve, when Greenlanders and Scandinavians celebrate Christmas. "The Calendar Man" can also be read as a "regular" book.

Genres: Mystery, Crime

244 pages, Paperback

Published November 14, 2018

Reviews

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was attracted to this offering by reading some interesting stuff from this author on his goodreads profile page. It was intriguing, slightly mysterious and very different from my usual crime reading. This particular set of books has its foundation in the Advent season, the year is 2042 and Greenland is the center of the action. I don't have the history of how/when Petra's husband David died, but it is central to the story as she is forced to leave off from a mourning period to focus on murders that are connected to her own history.
China and Denmark are forces to deal with in this future Greenland society. I liked the author's character building with a generous dose of compassion and will want to read further.

Kindle Unlimited

[Lilly Hi Way · Rating 5 out of 5]

My 5 star rating reflects the fact that I purchase Christoffer Petersen's books as soon as they come up for sale. I've been doing this since I read my first book by this author. His books are well written with intriguing plots and excellent character development. Each book tends to belong to a sequence of books that are best read in order. This book is the first book in a new sequence but builds on characters fleshed out in past sequences of books but can be read without reading the previous sequences. I'm glad I didn't do that because knowing each character's history adds additional depth to the story as well as providing a wealth of details about Greenland's history and culture.

[Susanna Duffy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Greenlandic politics, traditions and a determined police officer

[Annie Yotova · Rating 3 out of 5]

When the author starts his introduction of a novel with the sentence "This is not a book", one starts wondering what exactly they are going to read. The explanation after that makes it clear that the book is designed as a Scandinavian Julekalendar - usually a radio or TV series which runs in the first 24 days of December and lead into Christmas (and usually contains at least a hint that the holiday may not actually happen).

Set in 2042 in Greenland (the author also makes sure to tell you that it is not science fiction (because there is not enough technology - which a) is not necessary and b) is not true), it uses a lot of characters known from the author's other works (he claims that there are no spoilers but a quick look at his other books show that this is not entirely true either). I am not sure if it was a good place to start with the author's books but that's what I had so that's what I started with.

Petra Jensen, the Police Commissioner in Nuuk, Greenland is grieving - her partner had recently died so she is on leave. But then a murder seems to be connected to her - so she gets called back to assist. Meanwhile, Greenland is voting for its independence, the Dutch colony is trying to make a life for themselves after fleeing their flooded motherland and the Chinese are doing their own thing in their own established community connected to the local mines. Due to the structure of the novel, there is a single event happening in each chapter/day - a found body, a conversation, a reveal. It made the novel both episodic and fast moving - which was interesting to a point but did not allow the development of more complex lines of inquiry - leaving the plot somewhat simplistic despite all the shifts and surprises.

There is a certain charm in the way the story is told - I am still not sure if it is enough to offset the restraints that the structure enforced. I found myself wanting more details in places - in some places it felt that the police is slowing down just because moving fast was impossible. But if you read the novel with that structure in mind, it works... to a point.

I will probably pick up some of his other books - Greenland is a fascinating setting and the local details are fascinating (and are probably closer to reality in the books not set in the future). Not sure I would recommend this novel as an introduction though - unless you are interested in or curious about the format.

[Robert Baumann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read the world - Greenland

A Scandinavian crime drama through and through, full of the twists, turns, and fast paced language one might expect of the genre.

The main character receives much acclaim online in reviews, and I think I understand why; she's quick to solve mysteries, is humble, and deals with her demons successfully without burdening others. Overall a compelling protagonist I guess. The plot wasn't predictable but the ending was rushed. The pacing of the story was perfect, however. 24 8 page chapters, one day each, that's it.

I feel like I was largely missing out on the setting itself. Nuuk was not described with very many specific terms, and the transportation portions of the story didn't extrapolate the setting either. I would have liked more Greenlandic elements, I guess, besides just character's names and topical politics. There was nothing wrong with what was presented, and I understand that this kind of b0ok isn't designed to enlighten the reader with a broad swathe of national history, and so I feel that it was a success for including as much paratextual content as it did.

I don't know how well this book represents Greenland as a whole, though likely not accurately, but I do think it was pretty enjoyable as a crime drama. If I find myself wanting to read another crime drama in the future, I'll likely start his acclaimed series.

75/100

[Susann · Rating 4 out of 5]

So Beautifully Written!

Another triumph by Petersen. This story takes place in the future when Petra is Police Commissioner and Greenlanders are voting on self rule. Various dead bodies turn up ostensibly to stop the frightened would be voters. Petra is grieving deeply for Maratse who had recently died. The author gently and deftly weaves the plot with an amazing sensitivity to feelings and long held relationships. His love of Greenland is wonderful to behold! The reader is meant to read just a chapter a day in honor of Advent...but I couldn't help myself and whizzed through it in a day. 🤗

[Lee-Anne Fox · Rating 4 out of 5]

A tense daily read!

I loved reading this book over advent! There was such emotion and drama packed into every single chapter. It tells the tale of a dark time in Petra's life, while the future of Greenland's independence hangs in the balance, and a serial offender with a finger on the pulse of the authorities in Nuuk takes centre stage with bizarre corpses turning up, each with an advent calendar attached... Thoroughly recommended! (*4/5 is my top score for all but the likes of Austen/Dickens)

[Reader Rick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Magical Christmas Traditions.

I love the layout of this book. Every day a different event in the Greenlandic Christmas journey, coinciding with the darker events happening in the investigation into the Calendar Man.
It was not the author's intent that the story be read as a typical novel. Chris wanted the the book to be read a chapter per day, in line with the Greenlandic 25 day celebration of Christmas. Sorry, Chris, but you wrote a page turner. I couldn't help myself. I had to keep reading.

[Cassie “mommacass” · Rating 4 out of 5]

A different kind of Story for Advent

I purchased this title as a way of adding something different to my personal Advent celebration. Not knowing about Greenland or its people, I found that most interesting part. The names were kind of hard to pronounce. The story itself was not bad at all. However, like a lot of thrillers, l felt the last few chapters seemed rushed. I will definitely try another book in this series.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not often that we get the opportunity to read a book set in Greenland. Interesting look into the future, when global warming has made Greenland suddenly a more desirable place to live than much of Europe. A thriller with many surprises.

[JoJo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I did try to do as the author recommends and read one chapter a day as Xmas approaches, but I didn't have the discipline and skipped through the last few chapters in one go to find out the ending - most enjoyable.

[Harry Slaymaker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Reads

I have read most of Christoffer"s books and storied. They all give an insight to the customs and people of Greenland from a personal perspective. His stories are all entertaining, different and hold the readers attention.

[Sara · Rating 2 out of 5]

One of his weaker works

It my favorite of his work. Story is a bit convoluted though I feel like he strives for a bit more emotional depth than in his other novels.

[Birgit · Rating 5 out of 5]

Greenland so much history.

It’s wonderful to read a novel that includes the background of a country I know so little about. Christoffer Petersens novel are always interesting.

[Andy Plonka · Rating 3 out of 5]

The best parts were the data about Greenland

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

a,making

I have learned so much about Greenland ,the Arctic and the life style It is hard and amazing. Thank you

[Ellen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting read from a great author.

[Alice Kleidon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent

I am quite new to Chris and delight in reading all of the adventures the characters have. Different from American authors and very exciting.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the book a lot. It did surprise me. I had expected a traditional detective story along the vein of the others I had read by this author. Instead, it is set in the near future and Greenland is accepting climate refugees. The story is still a tightly woven thriller by the author. I recommend it to all fans.

[Judith · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have to admit I’m reading everything I can from him at the moment. Great storyline,strong characters and set beautifully in Greenland. Petra Jensen is a fabulous creation,if you’ve read the earlier books you already know her and she doesn’t disappoint in her more mature character. I love a good crime novel and this maintains the standard.

[Shawn Callon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Petersen has written an enjoyable thriller with an original plot. Is the Calendar Man pursuing a personal vendetta against the Police Commissioner or is he trying to disrupt the vote on independence from Denmark? As the plot unravels the reader is inclined to think his weird acts of placing corpses and coded messages around the capital city are attempts to embarrass her and curtail her career. But his real objectives become much clearer as Petersen develops the plot. The Commissioner is slowly recovering from the death of her partner (an interesting detective who played a major role in the author's earlier novels.) At times I got impatient with her dithering and her inability to take a more scientific approach to identifying the Calendar Man. There are some good hints in the story to help the reader determine who is the culprit. Petersen develops the character of the Police Commissioner well so that at the end she takes full control of the situation and enables her team to arrest the right Greenlander.

Review written by author of The Diplomatic Spy from Shawn Callon.