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jessicah95's review against another edition
3.0
Such conflicting feelings about this one, and I have a lot of them. I might try and construct a more coherent review at some point, but for now, here are some of my *spoiler free!* thoughts:
The portrayal of mental illness is definitely problematic, albeit with good intentions I think.
I can't decide whether the plot is intricately woven and clever or lazily piecemeal and convoluted.
Personally, I couldn't distinguish between which of the two authors were writing at any one time, and that impressed me.
Without revealing any spoilers, I think the characters that needed depth to their backstories were glossed over, and others were given too much - but I can also see how this was necessary to ensure the reader wasn't given all the information and the twists and turns could continue until the last few pages; I was successfully duped at least.
All the trigger warnings for psychological abuse, incest, sexual violence and actually just brutal violence in general; it did start to feel more and more gratuitous the longer the book went on.
I think the author's were trying to say some really important things about misogyny, treatment of immigrants, the complexities of gender and sexuality (which was probably the most poorly handled) and society in general; but these good intentions weren't necessarily executed well and it can definitely be said that some of the subplots could have been sacrificed in order to make space for this.
Originally published in Sweden as a trilogy I think the middle book, Part II in this case, was the weakest and dragged a little.
I feel like it would be easy to say this was too long but I do not typically read novels much beyond 300 pages, and this did keep me intrigued enough to finish it's near 800 pages.
Finally, I don't know who I would recommend this to. It's not a pleasant read, but it was a successful 'thriller' for me, although definitely an uncomfortably read. I don't read much of this genre at all, so I don't have much to compare it to.
If you're reading this 'review', have read this book and have read more Scandinavian crime than I have, please do let me know how this compares to others of this ilk!
The portrayal of mental illness is definitely problematic, albeit with good intentions I think.
I can't decide whether the plot is intricately woven and clever or lazily piecemeal and convoluted.
Personally, I couldn't distinguish between which of the two authors were writing at any one time, and that impressed me.
Without revealing any spoilers, I think the characters that needed depth to their backstories were glossed over, and others were given too much - but I can also see how this was necessary to ensure the reader wasn't given all the information and the twists and turns could continue until the last few pages; I was successfully duped at least.
All the trigger warnings for psychological abuse, incest, sexual violence and actually just brutal violence in general; it did start to feel more and more gratuitous the longer the book went on.
I think the author's were trying to say some really important things about misogyny, treatment of immigrants, the complexities of gender and sexuality (which was probably the most poorly handled) and society in general; but these good intentions weren't necessarily executed well and it can definitely be said that some of the subplots could have been sacrificed in order to make space for this.
Originally published in Sweden as a trilogy I think the middle book, Part II in this case, was the weakest and dragged a little.
I feel like it would be easy to say this was too long but I do not typically read novels much beyond 300 pages, and this did keep me intrigued enough to finish it's near 800 pages.
Finally, I don't know who I would recommend this to. It's not a pleasant read, but it was a successful 'thriller' for me, although definitely an uncomfortably read. I don't read much of this genre at all, so I don't have much to compare it to.
If you're reading this 'review', have read this book and have read more Scandinavian crime than I have, please do let me know how this compares to others of this ilk!
anharris's review
Was hard to follow with the translation from Swedish.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Violence, Excrement, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
kba76's review against another edition
4.0
At a hefty 700+ pages this was always going to take a while. The subject matter also ensured that this needed to be put down regularly.
The Crow Girl is a story that can, in no way, be described as anything other than showing people at their basest. When the mummified body of a young boy is found in a bag it is evident that this is not going to be pleasant…but as the strands were joined up, and we saw how pervasive the spread of these characters and their actions had been, I found myself repulsed. Yet the depiction of our main two female characters was fascinating, and I found myself keen to see this through in spite of its deeply troubling subject matter.
DS Jeanette Kihlberg is the person who finds herself caught up in the search for a serial killer. The bodies pile up, and we see the same names cropping up time and time again. One of these names is Sofia Zetterlund, a psychotherapist who seems to have treated a number of the young people involved, and her involvement in these events that have spanned decades is really not at all what you expect.
There’s more than one or two surprising twists to this story. The psychological study involved really kept me engaged when I might, otherwise, have stopped reading. I can’t say I enjoyed this, but it was certainly plotted well.
The Crow Girl is a story that can, in no way, be described as anything other than showing people at their basest. When the mummified body of a young boy is found in a bag it is evident that this is not going to be pleasant…but as the strands were joined up, and we saw how pervasive the spread of these characters and their actions had been, I found myself repulsed. Yet the depiction of our main two female characters was fascinating, and I found myself keen to see this through in spite of its deeply troubling subject matter.
DS Jeanette Kihlberg is the person who finds herself caught up in the search for a serial killer. The bodies pile up, and we see the same names cropping up time and time again. One of these names is Sofia Zetterlund, a psychotherapist who seems to have treated a number of the young people involved, and her involvement in these events that have spanned decades is really not at all what you expect.
There’s more than one or two surprising twists to this story. The psychological study involved really kept me engaged when I might, otherwise, have stopped reading. I can’t say I enjoyed this, but it was certainly plotted well.
jennamae's review against another edition
5.0
It’s lengthy but so worth it. Normally I’m good at guessing what’s going to happen, but this book had so many twists and turns i couldn’t figure it out. This is definitely a ride.
myweereads's review against another edition
4.0
This was a very lengthy read theres no doubt about that but also remembering its 3 books in one volume. The plot has so many twists and turns and constantly keeps the reader changing their mind about what they think is happening and who done it. It is very descriptive and quite graphic with its themes of child abuse etc. Although i found it hard to read due to those reasons at times i was still left determined to finish this book. Im glad i did and would recommend this to every fan of a good detective thriller featuring strong female characters and a well planned plot.
waheela's review against another edition
3.0
Started out well enough, but devolved into too much human drama. However, that was part of the plot, so I guess generally it should have been fine. Unfortunately I lost interest and got bored. Dont think I will read the next.
Two and a half star but rounding up as I was well enough entertained while drivning.
Two and a half star but rounding up as I was well enough entertained while drivning.
melonpea's review against another edition
4.0
So many twists and turns, some I saw coming but more I really didn't. It's a great read but very dark, with awful and upsetting themes.