The Chestnut Man: A Novel

Thulin drops her daughter Le at school. Le questions their small family and asks if they will move in with Sebastian. Once again, Thulin deflects.

Thulin gets a call from the secretary of her superior officer, Nylander, to tell her he is canceling their meeting a second time. Thulin, unhappy in Major Crimes, had planned to request a transfer, and moves to intercept Nylander before his next appointment. The secretary also informs Thulin she is being assigned a new partner. Returning to her car, she senses she is being watched by someone.

Nylander learns from the deputy commissioner that his department’s budget is being cut in favor of the National Cyber Crime Centre (NC3). Though Nylander had requested additional manpower, he is informed that he will get only one investigator from Europol. 

Thulin asks Nylander for a transfer recommendation to NC3, having been personally recruited by its boss. Nylander, who secretly considers her one of his best A-team detectives, is stunned and frustrated. He deflects her request.

Thulin picks up her new partner Mark Hess, who was abruptly reassigned to Major Crimes by Europol as punishment for an unspecified offense. 

En route to a crime scene, they listen to the news briefly announce Minister for Social Affairs Rosa Hartung’s return to her post nearly a year after the tragedy involving her daughter. Hess deflects Thulin’s questions about his years abroad. Once they reach the crime scene, Hess stays in the car to take a call in French.

At his home, Steen Hartung turns off the news about his wife Rosa’s return to work after their 12-year-old daughter’s disappearance. He hurries their son Gustav to get ready for school. A large car arrives to pick up Rosa.

Steen finds Rosa in their daughter’s cold, packed-up bedroom, distressed she can no longer remember her scent. Steen reassures her that returning to work will be helpful. 

Rosa meets with her advisor, Frederik Vogel, who will escort her to the opening of parliament. After Rosa leaves, Steen downs a miniature bottle of alcohol, packs the rest, and prepares to leave with Gustav.

Thulin arrives at the home of murder victim Laura Kjær, a 37-year-old nurse. Laura’s nine-year-old son, Magnus, had woken up to an empty house and went to a neighbor, who found Laura’s body in the outdoor play area. Laura was a widow living with her son and a new boyfriend, who was away on business. There is no sign of forced entry, nor evidence of theft. Thulin feels unsettled and heads to the back garden.

At the rainy playground scene, forensics head Simon Genz shows Thulin the body against a playhouse. Thulin is shaken by the brutality of the murder: Kjær’s body was mutilated, which included the amputation of her right hand, which is missing. Thulin spots a small chestnut doll hanging on a string from a beam above the body.

Arriving at parliament, Rosa overrules Vogel’s suggestion to take an alternate entrance and avoid the press. Swarmed by reporters, she delivers a brief statement thanking supporters and declaring focus on her duties. A journalist shouts that her daughter’s killer never revealed where the body was as Vogel ushers her inside.

At her new ministry office, Rosa finds that her email is down and her chief of staff Engells unexpectedly absent. Photos of her family, including her missing daughter, Kristine, are gone. A secretary informs Rosa that Engells is dealing with a threatening email about her daughter.

Laura’s partner Hans Henrik Hauge arrives at the house. His alibi is that he was at an IT fair in Roskilde. He calls their relationship happy, indicating they were engaged to marry in Thailand. 

Hess discovers a locksmith’s receipt showing Laura changed the locks the previous afternoon, after Hauge had left. Hauge claims ignorance and demands to see Magnus. Hess advises Thulin to check Hauge’s alibi.

Steen arrives at his architectural firm to find employees watching news of Rosa. He dismisses a firm partner’s suggestions to take a leave. 

Steen’s lawyer informs him that with the anniversary of Kristine’s disappearance approaching, he can have his daughter legally declared dead. Steen asks for the appropriate documents, then pours alcohol into his coffee, rationalizing not letting the dead overshadow the living.

Engells shows Rosa the threatening email: a collage of Kristine photos taken from a Facebook account deleted over a year ago. The caption welcomes Rosa back to work but warns that she will die. Rosa refuses bodyguards, insisting her family needs normalcy, and leaves for the prime minister’s speech.

At Laura Kjær’s autopsy, the coroner reveals she was tortured about 20 minutes, struck up to 60 times with a spiked bludgeon, and her hand amputated while she was still alive. Hauge’s DNA is only consistent with sharing a bed; there is no evidence of rape. Thulin feels his alibi is shaky but insufficient. 

Thulin tries but fails to reach Genz. She confronts Hess for neglecting the case in favor of settling into his new environment. Genz sends an urgent message calling Thulin to Forensics.

At Forensics, Genz displays a partial fingerprint taken from the chestnut man. Thulin is stunned: it matches Kristine Hartung, the minister’s daughter who disappeared and was declared dead a year ago. Hess, suddenly engaged, asks Thulin who Kristine Hartung is.

Steen dreams of his daughter returning at a soccer field, then is woken by Gustav after training in his car. Angry and embarrassed, Gustav tells him not to pick him up anymore because the car smells, confronting him about drinking. Steen apologizes; Gustav coldly asks to be dropped at a friend’s.

Rosa and Steen share a rare pleasant moment cooking, laughing over her story of a disruptive politician. Steen pushes aside an unspoken thought that would sadden her. Rosa’s work phone rings, and she goes to take the call upstairs. The doorbell rings, which Steen assumes is Gustav.

Hess is updated on the details of the Kristine Hartung case. Kristine disappeared suddenly nearly a year ago. During the investigation, a man named Linus Bekker confessed to murdering her and was convicted. However, he never led the police to Kristine’s remains, nor gave any indication of where they might be.

Thulin and Hess visit the Hartungs about the chestnut man’s fingerprint. Steen is hostile; Rosa overhears and reveals Kristine and her friend Mathilde used to make and sell chestnut figures at a roadside stall each autumn. They had gathered chestnuts in the garden the weekend before her disappearance. Satisfied with the explanation, the detectives leave.

On the way home, Thulin updates Nylander, who is satisfied and urges discretion around the case. Uneasy, she arranges for Le to stay with her grandfather, Aksel, and goes to Sebastian’s apartment, making an aggressive advance, only to be interrupted by his father. Sebastian is hosting a large family dinner, and his family insists she stay.

Hess settles into his neglected Copenhagen apartment. It is revealed that his Europol boss Freimann relieved him from duty pending evaluation for disciplinary issues and burnout. 

Speaking with his Europol partner François, Hess coordinates reports, desperate to return to the service. He is unsettled by the visit to the Hartungs, but dismisses his unease. Restless, he leaves.

The narrative shifts to Nehru Amdi, caretaker of the Odin housing complex, entertains Hess, who wants access to the complex painting supplies so that he can paint his unit, 37C, immediately and sell it thereafter. Hess insinuates that he is armed and is a plainclothes officer working abroad. 

Bothered by Hess’s frantic painting, Nehru insists on helping and fetches better equipment for him to use. Returning, he sees the officer hurrying away, abandoning the task.

At Sebastian’s family dinner, Thulin gets an urgent call from Hess, who wants to question Magnus. She tells him the boy was taken to the emergency room after being evacuated from the crime scene.

Arriving at the Children’s and Adolescent Psychiatric Centre, Thulin finds Hess arguing with a nurse. The nurse insists that Magnus shouldn’t be disturbed. She asks Hess to justify the interview.

Thulin and Hess visit Magnus Kjær, who is withdrawn and focused on playing League of Legends. Hess uses game knowledge to build rapport, framing the interview as a “mission.” Shown three home photos, Magnus points to the chestnut man in the playhouse picture, confirming it wasn’t there the previous day. This establishes that the killer left it behind. Hess gently tells Magnus his mother is in Heaven. Magnus asks him to return.

Outside, Thulin shares her belief that Hauge is the strongest suspect they have at the moment. Hess counters: If the boy is truthful, the chestnut man was brought that night and that it is unlikely for Hauge to have bought it from Kristine before her disappearance, only to place it at the crime scene a year later. Thulin remains skeptical. 

After Hess leaves, Thulin visualizes Kristine making chestnut men somewhere other than her home living room.