Views
-
- Pre-Order
-
- Expected May 19, 2026
-
- $13.99
Publisher Description
Black Mirror meets Stieg Larsson in Views, a compulsive thriller that explores the toxic relationship between technology and humanity, and the fallout after unthinkable lines are crossed.
Sixteen-year-old Lena Palmer has gone missing when a violent video of her assault by masked men goes viral. Yashira, chief inspector at the German FBI, has been put in charge of the case. As a single mother of a sixteen-year-old girl herself, Yashira is deeply affected by the crime and swears she will do everything in her power to find Lena Palmer. Surely the video must contain clues. Who are these people? Why would they commit such a horrible crime?
Together with her partner Michael they follow all the usual suspects. Lena's father. Her boyfriend. Her friends. Nothing in this case seems to follow any of the usual patterns. Far-right groups are quickly taking matters into their own hands. Yashira is running out of time, but it feels like she's chasing a ghost.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
A viral video of a sexual assault prompts a police investigation in this brisk, Berlin-set mystery from novelist and podcaster Kling (Qualityland). The victim in the video is 16-year-old Lena Palmer, who has since gone missing, igniting a search for both her and the masked, dark-skinned men who appear to be her assailants. Detective Yasira Saad, a single mom who's deeply affected by the crime, leads the investigation. She interviews Lena's boyfriend, father, and friends, all to no avail; meanwhile, the public demands answers and a right-wing political group uses the case to ramp up its anti-immigrant rhetoric. With all her investigative avenues exhausted, Yasira begins to wonder whether the video might be a deepfake doctored by someone with a political agenda. Kling keeps the action moving and the suspense taut while offering insightful observations about the conflicting pressures that bear down on law enforcement. Unfortunately, he ties things up with an unsatisfying finale that sacrifices thrills for the sake of (admittedly trenchant) critiques of technology. Still, readers seeking an immersive procedural will get what they came for.
