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piggelin's review against another edition
Långsam och varken central händelse eller karaktärerna intresserar mig.
kcfromaustcrime's review against another edition
4.0
Combined review of Fatal Isles, Wild Shores and Cruel Tides (books 1 - 3 in the Doggerland series):
https://www.austcrimefiction.org/review/fatal-isles-wild-shores-cruel-tides-maria-adolfsson
https://www.austcrimefiction.org/review/fatal-isles-wild-shores-cruel-tides-maria-adolfsson
clazzyb82's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
kazza27's review against another edition
4.0
I was originally drawn to this book as my Dad used to listen to the Shipping Forecast and the names used to really capture my imagination.
Doggerland is a small group of Islands between UK and Denmark which is now submerged by water . The author has fictionalised this which I found fascinating that she went to so much detail to create this setting. I loved the descriptions of Doggerland :
She never thinks of the sea as blue. Down on Frisel and even in Dunker and along the entire west coast up toward Ravenby, the sea is different from here. There, white breakers skip merrily across deep blue seas and white cotton-ball clouds drift across the clear blue sky. There, the rolling hills are green and the trees grow tall and lush.
Thank you to Tracy Fenton for my invitation to the tour and for copy of the books from Zaffre in return for a fair and honest review.
The story is also engaging, Karen wakes up in bed next to a man and she knows she has messed up big time. She sneaks out while he is asleep but it is not long before we discover the man is her boss ! She goes home and then gets called by the chief of police to tell her she needs to lead an investigation into the brutal death of a woman Susan Smeed, who happens to be the ex wife of the man she slept with last night.
Beaten to death with a poker Karen has to uncover why this woman has been murdered. This means interviewing Jounas her boss as he is a suspect, he is not happy about this at all.
This was quite a slow paced crime novel which had lots of details and also some surprises. I liked Karen as a character and I would be interested in reading more about this fictional setting and Detective. She works hard and has experienced sexism at work as a woman in the police force and her latest boss is part of prominent family in Doggerland.
This was a good read which kept me interested, I was not convinced that Jounas had killed his wife but the evidence does seem to be pointing towards him.
A great debut and introduction to a new series.
4 stars ****
Doggerland is a small group of Islands between UK and Denmark which is now submerged by water . The author has fictionalised this which I found fascinating that she went to so much detail to create this setting. I loved the descriptions of Doggerland :
She never thinks of the sea as blue. Down on Frisel and even in Dunker and along the entire west coast up toward Ravenby, the sea is different from here. There, white breakers skip merrily across deep blue seas and white cotton-ball clouds drift across the clear blue sky. There, the rolling hills are green and the trees grow tall and lush.
Thank you to Tracy Fenton for my invitation to the tour and for copy of the books from Zaffre in return for a fair and honest review.
The story is also engaging, Karen wakes up in bed next to a man and she knows she has messed up big time. She sneaks out while he is asleep but it is not long before we discover the man is her boss ! She goes home and then gets called by the chief of police to tell her she needs to lead an investigation into the brutal death of a woman Susan Smeed, who happens to be the ex wife of the man she slept with last night.
Beaten to death with a poker Karen has to uncover why this woman has been murdered. This means interviewing Jounas her boss as he is a suspect, he is not happy about this at all.
This was quite a slow paced crime novel which had lots of details and also some surprises. I liked Karen as a character and I would be interested in reading more about this fictional setting and Detective. She works hard and has experienced sexism at work as a woman in the police force and her latest boss is part of prominent family in Doggerland.
This was a good read which kept me interested, I was not convinced that Jounas had killed his wife but the evidence does seem to be pointing towards him.
A great debut and introduction to a new series.
4 stars ****
tucholsky's review against another edition
1.0
Must be so good to have a scenario of a crime book series in a land which only exists under the sea and in history. A blank slate for a writer unfettered by reality. Invent towns, invent family sagas, invent social situations and festivals, no continuity errors, no forensic errors and no laughable improbable actions or twists because, "its my world, I invented it so that just happens". Like a game of dungeons and dragons. Unfortunately Maria Adolfson likes that inventing bit too much and this is so slow to get onto any police work because the family sagas of the Smeeds and the Commune are too inviting a sidetrack to avoid. When the end comes its no spoiler to say "just run down a list of cliche crime book outcomes and you'll come across the very, very sudden denouement
yollie's review against another edition
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
mevrouwboek's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
medium-paced
3.0
6.0
cantocultzineo's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
mpr2000's review against another edition
4.0
What a surprising read! Slow paced and full of interesting characters, Fatal Isles keeps you glued to the story without even noticing! The case seems quite easy, a woman with troubles with her ex-husband appears dead. Of course, the main suspect will be the ex-husband, the only problem is that he is a police officer and has a tight alibi for the moment of the killing. So, who had motives to kill her? Is the husband really innocent?
This had been a very addictive read, seen from Detective Inspector Karen Eiken perspective, we will see how everyone in this little community keeps secrets from each other, for fear or shame, but they hide some really dark secrets.
I was surprised how is it possible that in this case, in which the wife appeared dead and the main suspect is the husband, all the police thinks that he is innocent. Jounas is not an easy man or very likable, the marriage was hell, but is this motive enough to kill? They have been divorced for a long time, so, why now?
Sexism and women discrimination is always present on this story, Karen has to fight it everyday, from her colleagues and bosses, but it makes the reader realize how we all sometimes don’t pay enough attention or ignore the comments and we should answer more to it. Because it seems that if we (women) stay silent, they continue provoking us, maybe it’s time that we say stop, we don’t like this type of comments or abuse!
I like when a book tries to provoke some type of reaction and believe me, this one has done it. From now on, I won’t stay as quiet as I was before on sexism comments, enough is enough! This is the first book of the series “Doggerland” and I can’t wait to read the next one!
Ready for “Fatal Isles”?
This had been a very addictive read, seen from Detective Inspector Karen Eiken perspective, we will see how everyone in this little community keeps secrets from each other, for fear or shame, but they hide some really dark secrets.
I was surprised how is it possible that in this case, in which the wife appeared dead and the main suspect is the husband, all the police thinks that he is innocent. Jounas is not an easy man or very likable, the marriage was hell, but is this motive enough to kill? They have been divorced for a long time, so, why now?
Sexism and women discrimination is always present on this story, Karen has to fight it everyday, from her colleagues and bosses, but it makes the reader realize how we all sometimes don’t pay enough attention or ignore the comments and we should answer more to it. Because it seems that if we (women) stay silent, they continue provoking us, maybe it’s time that we say stop, we don’t like this type of comments or abuse!
I like when a book tries to provoke some type of reaction and believe me, this one has done it. From now on, I won’t stay as quiet as I was before on sexism comments, enough is enough! This is the first book of the series “Doggerland” and I can’t wait to read the next one!
Ready for “Fatal Isles”?
jmatkinson1's review against another edition
5.0
When Karen Eiken wakes up with an almighty hangover and in the bed of her boss, she doesn't think the day could get worse. She manages to drive home and crash into bed but is awakened by a call into work. A woman has been murdered, the ex-wife of her boss and Karen is to lead the investigation. For the island nation of Doggerland, murder is becoming too frequent but the roots of this murder lie back in the past.
If one reads this as purely another scandi-crime novel then it rates very highly but there is far more. The author has imagined an entire nation that doesn't exist, a group of islands in the North Sea with a distinctly Scandanavian character but close links to continental Europe and the UK. Therefore there is a whole other layer to this book which is phenomenal, the setting and the detail given to different areas, transport links, history and folklore is spot on.
If one reads this as purely another scandi-crime novel then it rates very highly but there is far more. The author has imagined an entire nation that doesn't exist, a group of islands in the North Sea with a distinctly Scandanavian character but close links to continental Europe and the UK. Therefore there is a whole other layer to this book which is phenomenal, the setting and the detail given to different areas, transport links, history and folklore is spot on.